International Paper Co.

INTERNATIONAL PAPER COMPANY 483 press helpers (feeders),19 artists, camera operators, photocomposers, platemakers, provers and assistant cameramen, grainermen, grainer- men-platemakers, and winders on regular assignment in the litho- graphic department,20 excluding inkmen, rollmen, composers, proof- readers, ream cuttermen, truckers, letterpress winders, and sorter- inspectors, and also excluding office and clerical employees, guards, professional employees, supervisors as defined in the Act, and all other employees. If, in this election, the employees in the above-described voting group select the Petitioner, they will be taken to have indicated their desire to constitute a separate collective bargaining unit. [Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication in this volume.] 19 Not including the part-time press helpers who spend less than 50 percent of their time in work on the lithographic presses. 21 Not including the extra winders who spend less than 50 percent of their time in work on the lithographic presses. INTERNATIONAL PAPER COMPANY, SOUTHERN KRAFT DIVISION and IN- TERNATIONAL PAPER COMPANY, CONTAINER DIVISION and INTERNA- TIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS, LODGE No. 1002, PETITIONER. Cases Nos. 10-RC-900,10-RC-901,10-RC-902,10-RC-903,10-RC- 904, 10-RC-905,10-RC-906, and 10-RC-907. May 15, 1951 Decision and Direction of Elections Upon petitions duly filed,' a hearing on these consolidated cases was held before James W. Mackle, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed .2 At the request of the Employer, the International Brotherhood of Paper Makers, the International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite and Paper Mill Workers, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers,3 the Board heard oral argument on March 13, 1951. All i The petitions and other formal papers were amended at the hearing to show the correct name of the Employer 2 The hearing officer referred to the Board the Employer's motion to delete from the petitions all reference to International Paper Company, Container Division. For reasons set forth herein, the motion is denied. 3 These labor organizations, collectively called the Joint Intervenors, and separately referred to herein as the Paper Makers, Pulp Workers, and the Electricians , respectively, intervened jointly. United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices ofthe Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada, A F. L , hereinafter known as the Pipefitters, the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers , Iron Ship Builders and Helpers of America, hereinafter known as the Boilermakers , and the International Union of Operating Engineers , Local No 497, hereinafter known as the Operating Engineers , also intervened in this proceeding. 24 NLRB No 81 484 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD parties were represented by counsel and participated in the argument.4 The St. Regis Paper Company, Pacific Coast Association of Pulp and Paper Manufacturers, and the American Paper and Pulp Associa- tion filed briefs as amici curiae. They are accepted and made part of the record. Upon the entire record in the consolidated cases, the Board finds : 1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. 2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain em- ployees of the Employer. 3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa- tion of certain employees of the Employer, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.5 4. The Petitioner seeks the establishment of eight separate units, craft in character, limited to the Employer's two Georgetown opera- tions. The Pipefitters, the Operating Engineers, and the Boiler- makers also make craft unit contentions. The Joint Intervenors and the Employer, however, contend that the units sought by the Machin- ists and the other Intervenors are inappropriate and that the only appropriate unit is one including all production and maintenance em- ployees of the Southern Kraft Division consisting of nine mills. The Employer further contends, contrary to the Machinists, that employees in the Container Division should not be included in a unit with em- ployees of the Southern Kraft Division c General Operations The International Paper Company is a New York corporation en- gaged in the manufacture of paper, pulp board, and paper bags. Its principal office is located in New York City. It has mills and plants in various parts of the United States and Canada. The parent com- pany has several distinct divisions, including among others, the Southern Kraft Division, and the Container Division. The Southern Kraft Division of the Employer, with its principal office in Mobile, Alabama, operates nine plants 7 in six southern States, including the plant at Georgetown, South Carolina. There is a head- 4 Oral argument was heard jointly in the instant cases and in International Paper Company, Southern Kraft Division (Rayon Plant), 04 NLRB No 87, because of certain issues common to them. 5 The parties do not urge current contracts as a bar to a present determination of representatives. 6 Although the Petitioner expresses a preference for units coextensive with the opera- tions of the Southern Kraft Division and the Container Division at Georgetown, this issue arises only in the case of the millwrights who ate the only classification involved having counterparts at the Container Division in Georgetown. 7 These plants are located as follows : Two at Bastrop , Louisiana ; one at Springhill, Louisiana ; one at Camden, Arkansas ; one at Mobile, Alabama ; one at Moss Point, Mississippi ; one at Panama City, Florida ; one at Georgetown , South Carolina ; and one at Natchez , Mississippi . The Natchez plant commenced operations on May 12, 1950. INTERNATIONAL PAPER COMPANY 485 quarters staff in Mobile which handles all matters of policy in the operation of the nine plants, as well as the scheduling of production; the purchase and distribution of timberlands and other raw materials; and allocation of equipment, pulp, byproducts, and, waste material. Wage rates and labor policies are the responsibility of the division office and all collective bargaining negotiations for the plants in the Southern Kraft Division are conducted at Mobile. The Container Division of the Employer is operated separately and apart from the Southern Kraft Division. It has its headquarters in New York City, andoperates nine plants in various States,$ including the plant in Georgetown, South Carolina. The principal products manufactured by the Container Division are corrugated boxes and fiber containers. The Southern Kraft Division plant at Georgetown, hereinafter called the paper plant, converts wood, in the form of small logs, into finished paper or paperboard. In the course of this process the wood is chipped and cooked in a caustic liquor solution. The resulting pulp in solution passes through washing, screening, refining, pressing, and drying in a continuous flow, all for the purpose of removing the water, drying the pulp, and making the finished paper or paperboard. The paper-making process, as well as the various recovery operations, is a continuous, mechanical, and chemical operation carried on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.' The Georgetown box plant obtains the paper used in its manufac- turing operations from the paper plant at Georgetown. At the pres- ent time, the box plant uses less than one-sixth of the output of the paper plant. The waste material resulting in the manufacture of con- tainers in the box plant is baled and, on occasion, may be purchased by the paper plant to be reused in the manufacture of paper stock. Steam, electricity, and water used in the box plant are purchased from the paper plant. Electricians, pipe fitters, sheet metal workers, and welders, employed by the paper plant, are frequently "hired" to repair breakdowns occurring in the box plant. Integration of the Maintenance Force With the Production Process at the Plant Level The Employer's Georgetown plant is directed by a mill manager. Reporting directly to the mill manager are the superintendent of utilities, maintenance, and engineering; the superintendent of the pulp 8 Plants of the Container Division are located as follows, One in Whippany, New Jersey ; one in Summerville, Massachusetts ; one in Ohio ; one in Illinois ; two in Missouri ; one in Springhill, Louisiana ; one in California ; and one in Georgetown, South Carolina. Of the nine. plants comprising the Container Division, the Georgetown plant and the Spring- hill plant are the only Container Division plants located adjacent to paper and pulp mills of the Southern Kraft Division. 9 The Georgetown plant is shut down four times a year for cleaning and repairs. 486 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD mill ; and the superintendent of the paper mill 1o The mechanical or maintenance force is under the supervision of the master mechanic who reports to the superintendent of utilities, maintenance, and engi- neering. The master mechanic has two assistants; the first assistant, is in charge of maintenance generally, and the second assistant is in charge of shift maintenance men. The Employer has classified its maintenance force generally into two groups. A substantial number of the mechanics are called "oper- ating" mechanics. "Operating" mechanics and their helpers are assigned to one of three shifts to perform maintenance work required within a department. The "operating" mechanic's time is carried-by the maintenance foreman assigned to the department in which he is working. Once assigned to a shift and a department, the "operating" mechanic and helper meet the shift as does a production worker. The "operating" mechanic is under the general supervision of the master mechanic, and, if on the day shift, he is usually supervised by the maintenance foreman. However, if assigned to a shift or department having no maintenance foreman, he is directed by the production tour foreman on duty. For administrative purposes, he is still under one of the maintenance foremen. The, remainder of the mechanics and helpers 'are called "day" me- chanics and helpers 11 The "day" mechanics and helpers are assigned exclusively to day work. They receive their assignment each day and then report to the department where their services are needed. The greater portion of the work performed by the maintenance mechanics, with the exception of the work of the machinists and the blacksmith, is carried on throughout the entire mill.12 The mechanics perform the usual installation and repair of the production equipment. Although their work takes them into the production area, the mechanics do not operate the production machinery, nor do the production employees assist them in their maintenance work 13 Part of the repair and main- tenance work is done while the machinery and equipment is in opera- tion, but if it becomes necessary to shut- down any part of the ma- chinery, the shutdown is coordinated between the maintenance and production supervisors. Only a skeleton crew of "day" mechanics works week ends, although the production process continues. "It would appear that the Georgetown operations are typical of the plants in the Southern Kraft Division. In view of the great distances between plants, varying from approximately 650 miles to approximately 1,100'miles there is no employee interchange of moment among, the plants Seniority, irrespective of the contract provisions, would appear to be applied , in practice , on a plant level. 11 Some of the mechanics , such as carpenters, painters , steelworkers , the sheet metal workers, and the blacksmith and their helpers, are on day work exclusively. 12 On occasion the machinists also work on equipment in the production area. ii Some of the maintenance jobs are regularly recurring jobs necessary to keep the equipment in operation. For example, the Fourdrinier wires and felts on the paper machine must be changed and replaced ; the disks in the Southland refiners must be changed and iegrooved ; pipelines carrying milk of lime , liquor, and pulp must be removed and cleaned ; and digester valves are regularly removed and overhauled INTERNATIONAL PAPER COMPANY 487 The Employer does not maintain a formal apprenticeship training program. However, it conducts a training program by which journey- men mechanics are developed.14 Helpers progress through a series of classifications before they become eligible for a position as mechanic, and usually the minimum normal time for an inexperienced employee to advance to the lowest rated mechanic classification is approximately 25 months.',' Approximately 18 months more are required before the mechanic advances to the top rate of his classification. And while the Employer urges that there is a real distinction between what he terms paper industry mechanics and building trades craftsmen, we note that the Employer has, in the past, hired craftsmen from the building trades as journeymen mechanics. Bargaining History In 1937 the Paper Makers, after 4 years of abortive organizational activity at some of the plants in the division, joined with the Pulp Workers to organize the plants of the Southern Kraft Division.',' In January 1938, the Employer and the Paper Makers and Pulp Workers entered into a maintenance-of-membership agreement covering pro- duction and maintenance employees at the Mobile mill. The Em- ployer recognized the Paper Makers and the Pulp Workers as the agencies representing their members and "those employees designat- ing the above affiliates of the American Federation of Labor as their representatives for the purpose of collective bargaining." In March of that year, these unions together with the Machinists and the Elec- tricians entered into a single contract containing an identical recog- nition clause, for the Panama City mill. By May of the following year, similar contracts were negotiated by the Paper Makers and the Pulp Workers with the Employer for the other plants then in the Southern Kraft Division. The same year, 1939, also brought the first general agreement for all the Employer's Southern Kraft mills. This contract accorded the same type of recognition as before to the Elec- tricians, Paper Makers, Pulp Workers, and Machinists in the units in which each had locals which were signatory to the agreement 17 Agreements with substantially the same provisions were negotiated in 1940, 1941, and 1942. As new locals were formed at various plants, 14 A substantial number of the Employer 's mechanics have beeen trained under this system. J5 This period may be longer because promotion from the helper status to mechanic status is not made automatically but is contingent upon openings in the mechanics classification. 16 This Division of International Paper Company was then known as the Southern Kraft Corporation. 17 The Paper Makers and the Pulp workers had signatory locals in all the plants then comprising the Southern Kraft Division. In fact, two locals of the Paper Makers appear as signatories at all the plants except Panama City ; one apparently being a maintenance and one a production local The Electricians had signatory locals at the Panama City and Springhill mills, and the Machinists had a signatory local at the Panama City mill. 488 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD they joined as signatories."' By 1942 the Electricians and Machinists had formed locals at Georgetown and Camden, and the Pipefitters International and one of its locals also were signatories to the contract.19 As the 1942 agreement included a union-shop provision, the Paper Makers, Pulp Workers, and Machinists entered into a jurisdictional agreement among themselves to clarify any doubt as to which union the employees should join in order to comply with this provision .20 This agreement was not signed by the Electricians, but was later ac- cepted by them. The Employer did not participate in this jurisdic- tional agreement. The annual agreements through 1947 remained substantially the same. However, the Machinists did not participate in the 1947 nego- tiations because it had withdrawn from the AFL at the time, and the other unions refused to carry on negotiations together with the Ma- chinists. The Machinists later signed the agreement. The 1948 and 1949 agreements remained substantially the same. Recognition was accorded to the Unions "as the sole agencies repre- senting their employees for purpose of collective bargaining." The union-security clause was to apply only to those unions complying with the requirements of the 1947 amendments to the Act.21 Petitions for union-shop elections were thereupon filed by the five International Unions. These petitions were for the respective categories which each union claimed to represent at the various plants of the Employer. A consent-election agreement 22 was then entered into by all parties, and the Petitioners won each Board election 23 is Voluntary recognition was extended by the Employer at bargaining conferences to newly formed craft locals at any of its plants upon the request of their respective craft Internationals without objection by the Joint Intervenors. 19A Pipefitters' local and a Machinists' local had been formed at the Springhill mill. 20 The agreement provided that one who was already a member of a Paper Makers' local was eligible for transfer at his request, but would not be required to transfer unless he chose to do so. 21 The union-security provision appearing in both contracts exceeded the permissive bounds of Section 8 (a) (3) of the amended Act. After requiring that all permanent (eligible) employees become members of their respective signatory locals 30 days after being employed, the contract further provided "Any permanent employee who is now in good standing in his local signatory Union, or who after this date becomes or is reinstated as a member shall, as a condition of employment, maintain such membership in these unions during the life of this agreement, or any extension thereof." Shepherd Manufac- turing Company, Inc, 90 NLRB 2196. 22 The ultimate consent-election agreement entered into by the parties contained the following unit designation : "All employees as defined in the Collective Bargaining Agree- ment which became effective on May 31, 1948, between the Company and the undersigned International Unions on behalf of their local unions in malls having local signatory thereto at Georgetown, S. C , Mobile, Ala, Moss Point, Miss, Bastrop, La, and Springhill, La , plants of Southern Kraft Division of International Paper Company, excluding all employees not covered by the Collective Bargaining Agreement, guards, watchmen, protes- sional employees, and supervisors as defined in the Act. (All of the above plants constitute a single unit.)" "The elections were not conducted at Panama City, Florida, and Camden , Arkansas, plants because union-security provisions are illegal in both States. INTERNATIONAL PAPER COMPANY 489 Before the negotiations in 1950, the Employer was notified by the Paper Makers that, in the coming negotiations, they would no longer participate jointly with the Pipefitters and Machinists, but would continue to negotiate jointly with the Pulp Workers and the Elec- tricians. Up to this time negotiations for all these contracts had been conducted in the following way : Delegates from each of the locals at each mill met in Mobile and through committees, settled on a pro- gram for the coming negotiations. After formulating their policy, the delegates and the representatives of the five Internationals 24 met with the Employer. If a new local were participating for the first time, the Employer would be notified, and the Employer recognized the local informally. The chairman, selected by the Unions, acted as their spokesman, with international representatives of the various Unions participating directly in discussions of problems relating to their members. After final agreement was reached, the contract was referred to the local unions for approval. The Employer complied with the Paper Makers' request, and there- upon entered negotiations first with the Paper Makers, Pulp Workers, and Electricians who had apparently caucused among themselves at Mobile. The Paper Makers and Pulp Workers represented at that, time employees at all eight of the Employer's mills, and the Elec- tricians represented employees at all but one of the plants. A union- security contract resulted.25 The separate negotiations thereafter with the Machinists and the Pipefitters, in that order, resulted in similar union-security contracts. The Machinists then represented employees at four of the Employer's mills,"' and the Pipefitters at three of the Employer's mills 21 In each of these separate contracts the Employer extended recognition to the signatory union or unions "as the sole collective bargaining agency for the hourly rated em- ployees in the Units in those plants where these Unions through a National Labor Relations Board certification or other appropriate means satisfactory to the parties concerned, collectively or severally'28 have been or shall be certified or recognized as the sole collective bar- gaining agency for such units." Contentions The employer and the Joint Intervenors, in support of their posi- tion that the only appropriate unit is one including all production and u During the 1947 negotiations the Machinists did not participate. u The three separate contracts negotiated during 1950 contained similar union -security provisions to those of the 1948 and 1949 contracts already set forth. 26 The Machinists had locals at Georgetown , Panama City , Springhill , and Camden mills. 27 The Pipefitters had locals at Panama City, Springhill, and Camden mills "The words "collectively and severally " were omitted from the Machinists' and Pipefitters' contracts. 490 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD maintenance employees of the Southern Kraft Division , contend that the collective bargaining has always been of the industrial type, and on a multiplant basis, with the crafts participating only on a non- craft basis acting in concert. The Petitioner and other Intervenors view the collective bargaining as supporting their unit contentions of craft bargaining on a single -plant basis. In resolving the issues of craft versus industrial bargaining and single-plant versus multiplant bargaining, we are unable to accord any ,controlling weight to the bargaining history through 1947. As al- ready pointed out, the recognition clauses in these contracts extended recognition to the signatory Unions only for their members and those designating the Unions as their representatives for collective bargain- ing purposes. Such recognition falls short of the exclusive recognition required by the Act and is akin to "members-only" recognition. Bar- gaining on such a basis is, under well -established Board principles, not controlling on matters of unit Y In any event, however, on the issue of craft versus industrial bargaining , we note that all the bar- gaining up to and including 1949 was on a joint and several basis, that is, whenever matters vital to a particular craft were up for discussion, the craft representative bargained for his craft . Voluntary recogni- tion was extended by the Employer at bargaining conferences to newly formed craft locals at any of its plants , upon the request of their respective craft Internationals without objection by the Joint Intervenors. Both Employer and Joint Intervenors acknowledged thereby that the crafts' interests and desires were to be respected in the bargaining scheme. Indeed, the Paper Makers found it ex- pedient to have both a production and a maintenance local at virtually every plant in the Division, a further acknowledgment of craft bar- gaining, albeit on a multicraft basis. And in the day-to-day admin- istration of contracts, such matters as grievances and union security were handled by each union for its constituents. Moreover, this prevalent type of bargaining , which the Joint Inter- venors and the Employer urge was industrial in character , was dras- tically revised by the Joint Intervenors in 1950 by their insistence that the Machinists and the Pipefitters go their separate ways. The conse- quence of this action was the filing of the Machinists' petitions herein and the execution thereafter of separate contracts with the Joint Intervenors, the Machinists, and the Pipefitters. In these circumstances the fact that the contracts up to and includ- ing 1949 were planned jointly and ratified on a joint basis, and that a single contract covering all employees in the claimed appropriate units was executed each time, fall short of establishing bargaining on an industrial basis. We find instead, that the bargaining , although = Crucible Steel Castings Company, 00 NLRB 1843. INTERNATIONAL PAPER COMPANY 491 intended to provide any advantage which might flow from collective action, nevertheless operated to preserve the craft identities of the various AFL affiliates and was craft-like in character. On the issue of single-plant versus multiplant bargaining it is clear that all the contracts through 1949, whether members only or exclusive bargaining agreements, merely disclose the plants intended to be cov- ered, but contain no provision defining the unit either in the recogni- tion clause or elsewhere. Moreover, the substantive provisions of these contracts and the practice of the parties in administering them de- scribed above are more consistent, in our opinion, with the view that the parties intended simply to cover many units by one uniform agreement than that a single amalgamated unit was intended. And similarly, in the 1950 contracts, which spoke generally in terms of unit in, their recognition clauses, the language is more consistent with a conclusion of single-plant units. Thus recognition is extended in the "units in those plants" where the bargaining agency involved is or shall become either certified or recognized as "the sole collective bargaining agency for such units." [Emphasis supplied.] Signifi- cantly too, these contracts were executed after the filing of these petitions which put the alleged multiplant bargaining in issue. Under these circumstances and on the basis of the entire record, the bargain- ing history does not preclude the right of self-determination in units on a single-plant basis.311 Nor does the integrated nature of the Operations serve, as the Joint Intervenors and the Employer contend, to prevent the establishment of units less than plant-wide on a craft basis. We are satisfied, on the basis of the comprehensive record, that the maintenance functions are not so closely identified with production functions as to be indistinct. The maintenance employees do a substantial amount of nonrepetitive work in addition to their repetitive or prescheduled duties. Although the work of some classifications takes them to the production area, functional and supervisory lines are generally maintained. In addi- tion, the employees are more than specialists in maintenance of paper machinery and equipment. Some of them are craftsmen hired from the building trades. Those who come up through the ranks undergo about 2 years of training and as a consequence appear to acquire the essential skills of their craft. Nor do we find such a degree of integration here as existed in the National Tube Company, 76 NLRB 1199, Permanente Metals Corpora- tion, 89 NLRB 804, Weyerhaeuser Timber Company, 87 NLRB 1076, and Corn Products Re fining Company, 80 NLRB 362, where the Board found craft bargaining inappropriate in the basic steel, aluminum, 311 Cf HUdr ade Food Products Corporation, 85 NLRB 841. 492 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD lumber, and "wet" milling industries, respectively.31 We are of the opinion that the operations before us do not require an integration of men and machines equivalent to that in the basic steel, basic aluminum, or "wet" milling industry, or a coordination of well-trained and highly specialized personnel to such a degree that it has tended, as in the lumber industry, to develop specialists rather than workmen in the craft tradition. Accordingly, as the integration of operations and the bargaining history are not sufficient to offset the special community of interests among smaller than plant-wide units, we find, in order to effectuate the policy of the Act as amended in 1947 and as we have hitherto found in other cases arising in this industry,32 that craft units are appropriate. And, depending upon the desires of the employees in- volved, they may be bargained for separately or as part of the more inclusive plant-wide unit. Composition of the Units Case No. 10-RC-900 The Machinists seeks a unit of all machinists, millwrights, automo- tive mechanics, welders, knife grindermen, oilers, toolroom man, black- smith, and their leadmen and helpers at both the Container Division plant and the Southern Kraft Division plant in Georgetown. In the alternative, it would represent the welders separately, or represent all the above employees together with other maintenance classifications (except electricians) as a single maintenance unit. Neither the Em- ployer nor the Joint Intervenors take any position as to the composi- tion of this or any other unit sought in these proceedings by the Petitioner or other Intervenors. The Employer, however, does ob- ject to the inclusion of the Container Division employees in any unit of Southern Kraft Division employees. As the request to include employees from both plants ignores the divisional lines of the Em- ployer and past bargaining conducted on a separate basis, we are 91 We are assuming, for the sake of argument , that the prerequisites for the application of these principles in these cases are present here, viz, a history of bargaining in the industry on an industrial basis and a similar pattern of integration throughout the industry. The Employer, who urges the applicability of the principles set forth in these cases, acknowledges, in effect, that the bargaining history in other sections of the country has not been consistently on an industrial basis , and that some , but not all , plants in the paper industry are as integrated as the Southern Kraft Division plants. zr One of these cases involved the Camden , Arkansas, plant of the Employer, Interna- tional Paper Company, Southern Kraft Division, 87 NLRB 49. See also Coosa River Newsprint ' Company, 90 NLRB No 57 ; Rem Paper Company, 83 NLRB 265; Worthy Paper Company Ass'n., 80 NLRB 19 ; Southland Paper Mills, Inc, 81 NLRB 330; Gaylord Container Corporation, 80 NLRB 1201; Smith Paper Company, 76 NLRB 1226; St. Regis Paper Company ( Kraft Pulp Division ), 80 NLRB 570; West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company, 45 NLRB 69 and 61 NLRB 438, West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company, 89 NLRB 815 ; Gaylord Container Corporation, supra. INTERNATIONAL PAPER COMPANY 493 satisfied, and find, that employees at these two plants may not be placed in the same bargaining unit. However, as appears hereinafter, this does not preclude any separate unit determinations as to the Georgetown plant of the Southern Container Division.-33 In the Southern Kraft Division plant at Georgetown, there are 18 machinists and 5 machinist helpers. Four machinists and 4 ma- chinist helpers are assigned to operating or shift work and the remain- ing machinists and helpers are "day" mechanics. All the machinists spend most of their time in the machine shop operating machine shop equipment, such as lathes,, drill presses, shapers, and hydraulic presses. They make parts and repair the machinery and equipment in the plant. This work requires close tolerances as well as the exercise of other skills of a journeyman machinist. The approximately 43 millwrights and 31 millwright helpers in the plant work under the supervision of several millwright foremen. Twenty-seven of them are assigned as "day" millwrights and 16 are assigned to shift work. Eight of the millwright helpers are also assigned to shift work. Those millwrights who are not assigned to a department, work throughout the entire mill. All of them maintain and replace various types of machinery, install bearings, pumps, and impellers. They remove and repair suction boxes, grind the rolls used on the paper machines, and install new machinery in the plant. In performing this work, they exercise the skills required of a journey- man millwright. There are five auto mechanics working under the supervision of the garage foreman in the Employer's garage. These mechanics re- pair automobile, truck, and tow motor engines. They also repair all gasoline motors at the Employer's plant. Twenty welders and 10 welder helpers work throughout the Em- ployer's operations. Normally 2 welders are assigned to the Kem Fiber and Wood Yard, 2 to the Kraft mill, 1 to the powerhouse, 3 to the machine shop, 1 to the garage, 1 to the marine way, and the balance are not assigned. The welders do both acetylene and electric welding. They repair cribs, braise or build up equipment and machinery which is worn, renew liner plates in conveyers, rebuild chipper spouts, and weld all types of pipe. In addition, those welders who have been cer- tified by the Hartford Insurance Company's procedure or by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers perform high pressure welding. Welders and welder helpers are supervised by the mainte- nance foreman on duty in the department to which they are assigned, or by the "craft" leadmen or foreman with whom they are working at the time. As already noted , the only classification in issue which is found at both plants is that of millwrights. 494 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Three knife grindermen spend their time sharpening knives used in the chippers. They work in the woodroom and are supervised by the foreman of the woodroom. All 18 oilers are assigned to specific parts of the plant. Their duties include oiling and greasing of all production machinery, and assist- ing the maintenance mechanics when their other duties permit. The oilers are usually supervised by the millwright foreman on duty in the department to which they are assigned, or, on the night shifts, by the production tour foreman on duty. There is one toolroom man located in the machine shop. He per- forms the usual functions of a toolroom man under the supervision of the machine shop foreman. The blacksmith and his helper are located in the blacksmith shop which is adjacent to the machine shop. These employees are under the supervision of the machine shop foreman. The blacksmith uses the tools and exercises the skills of his trade in making, among other things, pipe hangers, special bolts, and special brackets used through- out the plant. It is clear that the various categories of employees, whom the Machinists would join in a single unit in this case, together form a. heterogeneous group having no common supervision or place of work, and performing substantially unrelated work. We believe, therefore, that they lack a sufficient community of interest to warrant their place- ment in a single bargaining unit apart. from all other employees in the plant. It is clear, however, that the millwrights at the Georgetown plant of Southern Kraft Division, as well as those at the Georgetown plant of Container Division, constitute traditional craft groups, and may constitute separate units.3 As to the welders, we find that they perform craft functions and may therefore also function separately.35 In addition, because the machine shop employees perform a function- ally distinct aspect of the plant work, are under the common super- vision of the machine shop foreman, and are grouped around a very substantial nucleus of highly skilled machinists, we believe that they too, apart from all other employees, may, if they so desire, constitute a separate bargaining unit 33 The oilers, the knife grindermen, and the auto mechanics, by reason of their duties, functions, work situs, and their lack of special com- munity of interest with either the millwrights or the machinists, more appropriately belong in the residual production and maintenance unit. The blacksmith's work functions, his location adjacent to the machine shop, and his supervision by the machine shop foreman con- vinces us that he is to all intents and purposes part of the machine 14 Coosa River Newsprint Company, supra. as United States Rubber Company, 91 NLRB No. 21 3, and cases cited therein. 36 Coosa River Newsprint Company, supra. INTERNATIONAL PAPER COMPANY .495 shop. We shall also include him and his helper in that voting group.37 We shall therefore establish separate voting groups of (1) mill- wrights, their leadmen 38 and helpers, at each Georgetown plant, (2) welders and welder helpers at the Southern Kraft Division plant, and (3) all employees in the machine shop of the Southern Kraft Division plant including machinists and the blacksmith, and their helpers and leadmen, and the toolroom man. Case No. 10-RC-,901 The Machinists seeks a unit of all crane operators, tractor oper- ators,39 truck drivers, and their leadmen and helpers. The Operating Engineers seeks an identical unit, or in the alternative, a unit of crane operators alone. Of the 25 crane operators, all, except one who oper- ates a utility crane throughout the entire operation, are assigned to the woodyard. All are classified as production employees by the Em- ployer. They are not supervised by a maintenance foreman, but are tinder the supervision of the woodyard shift foreman, who supervises them in the operation of various cranes used in moving the logs. In several cases involving employees performing duties similar to those of the crane operators involved herein, the Board has held that such employees are not craftsmen."' On the facts before us, we perceive no persuasive reason for departing from our determinations in those cases. Nor do we believe that the crane operators, bulldozer operators, and truck drivers have sufficient homogeneity and community of inter- est to warrant their being joined for bargaining purposes. However, the truck drivers form an identifiable group, performing work functionally different from that of other employees, and we have frequently held that truck drivers may constitute a separate bargain- ing unit.41- In these circumstances, we find that truck drivers, truck driver helpers, and their leadman, may, if they so desire, constitute'a separate appropriate unit. We shall accordingly establish them as a separate voting group. Cases Nos. 10-RC-90., 10-RC-903, and 10-RC-904 In Case No. 10-RRC-902, the Machinists seeks a unit of one tinsmith and/or sheet metal worker and his helper; in Case No. 10-RC-903, a unit of boilermakers and boilermaker helpers; and in Case No. "Coosa Raver Newsprint Company, supra. 3e It does not appear that any of the Employer 's leadmen are supervisors within the meaning of the Act. 31 The record indicates that there are no tractor operators at the Employer's plant. There is, however, a bulldozer operator 40 Coosa River Newsprint Company, supra ; Southern Paperboard Corporation, 80 NLRB 1456. 41 Coosa River Newsprint Company, supra. 496 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 10-RC-904, a unit of steelworkers, steelworker riggers, and their help- ers and leadman. The Boilermakers would combine all three groups and also include welders assigned to work with these groups. The boilermakers are trained in the various skills of boilermaking such as riveting, welding, caulking, chipping, rolling, flanging, and laying out of sheet iron and steel. The machinery and equipment which they repair include boilers, tanks, and conveyers. The duties of the steel- workers overlap somewhat the duties of the boilermakers. They work together on the repair of barking drums and relining of conveyers. The steelworkers, however, are the only mechanics who install struc- tural steel. The steelworker rigger prepares all the rigging for the steelworkers enabling them to move heavy pieces of equipment or beams of steel 42 The sheet metal worker and/or tinsmith performs the duties of his craft working primarily with light gauge metals. He builds duct work, junction boxes, and repairs the hot-air system which is part of the drying operation. The boilermakers steel- workers, steelworker rigger, and the sheet metal worker and their helpers are assigned for administrative purposes to the steelworker leadman, and he frequently directs their work. They are, however, not grouped into an identifiable department. Although these classifications frequently get their directions from the same leadman, they constitute a heterogeneous grouping and we perceive no basis for establishing them as a single voting group. However, as the boilermakers and their helpers, the sheet metal worker and his helper, and the steelworkers, steelworker rigger, and their helpers, and leadman are engaged in work typical of their respective trades which, in each instance requires a high degree of skill, we shall establish them as separate voting groups, as we have heretofore done with respect to the welders. Cases Nos. 10-RC-905 and 10-RC-907 In Case No. 10-RC-905, the Machinists seeks a unit of painters and their helpers, and in Case No. 10-RC-907 a unit of carpenters and their helpers. In the alternative, it would consolidate both groups into one unit. The Employer's 14 painters, under the direction of a painter lead- man, and working out of the paint shop, do protective painting on tanks, conveyers, doors, window sashes, and on many other pieces of equipment. The nine carpenters, nine carpenter helpers, and one carpenter lead- man work out of the carpenter shop. They are supervised by a car- penter foreman. They build scaffoldings used by the maintenance 12 The steelworker rigger will also, on occasion , set up rigging to aid other maintenance mechanics. INTERNATIONAL PAPER COMPANY 497 mechanics, repair wooden head boxes, maintain roofs, install corru- gated sidings on buildings, repair wooden docks, and build wooden flights used in the chip conveyers. It is clear from the record that both the painters and the carpenters possess the traditional skills of their craft and are entitled to separate representation, if they so desire. We shall therefore establish sepa- rate voting groups for the painters and carpenters, together with their helpers and leadmen 43 Case No. 10-IBC-906 The Machinists seeks a unit of all pipefitters, their helpers, and leadmen. In the alternative it would include them in a comprehensive unit consisting of boilermakers, welders, pipe fitters, steelworkers, riggers, sheet metal workers, and their leadmen and helpers. The Pipefitters generally agrees with the unit request of the Machinists, but would include welders regularly assigned to work with the pipe fitters. The 19 pipe fitters, 19 pipe fitter helpers and 2 pipe fitter leadmen, are under the supervision of the pipe fitter foreman. All the pipe fitters have substantially the same skills. They work throughout the entire plant, performing the traditional work of their trade. As the Employer's pipe fitters comprise a traditional craft group, we find that they may, if they so desire, constitute a separate appropriate unit " We shall therefore establish a voting group of pipe fitters, their lead- men, and helpers excluding welders. In view of the foregoing determinations, we shall direct separate elections among the employees of the Employer at its Georgetown, South Carolina, plant of its Southern Kraft Division, in the voting groups set forth below, including in each, leadmen and helpers, but excluding from each all supervisors as defined in the Act: (a) All millwrights. (b) , All welders. (c) All machine shop employees including machinists, the toolroom man, and the blacksmith. (d) All truck drivers. (e) All tinsmiths and/or sheet metal workers. (f) All boilermakers. (g) All steelworkers, and the steelworker rigger. (h) All painters. (i) All carpenters. (j) All plumbers and pipe fitters. ?? Coosa River Newsprint Company, supra ; Merck h Co., Inc., 88 NLRB, 975, and cases cited therein 44 International Paper Company, Southern Kraft Division, supra; Coosa River News- print Company, supra, and cases cited therein. 953841-52-vol. 94-33 Ogg DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD - We shall also direct a separate election at the Georgetown, South Carolina, plant of the Employer's Container Division among its mill- wrights,4' their helpers, and leadmen. If a majority of the employees in any of these voting groups vote for the Machinists; or for the Pipefitters, or the Boilermakers, or the Operating Engineers, in the voting groups where these labor organiza- tions also appear on the ballot, they will be taken to have indicated their desire to constitute separate bargaining units. Direction of Elections 46 As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the pur- poses of collective bargaining with the Employer, separate elections by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than 30 days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Region in which these cases were heard, and subject to Sections 102.61 and 102.62 of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations, among the employees in the voting groups described in paragraph numbered 4, above, who were employed during the payroll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction of Elections, including employees who did not work during said payroll period because they were ill or on vacation or temporarily ]aid off, and employees in the military services of the United States who appear in person at the polls, but excluding those employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause and have not been rehired or reinstated prior to the date of the elections, and also excluding employees on strike who are not entitled to reinstate- ment, to determine whether the employees desire to be represented for purposes of collective bargaining: (1) In voting groups (a), (c), (h), and (i), by International Brotherhood of Paper Makers, AFL, International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite and Paper Mill Workers, AFL, International Brother- hood of Electrical Workers, AFL, jointly, or by International Associa- tion of Machinists, Lodge 1002, or by neither. " Contrary to the Machinists ' contentions , we shall not include adjusters as the record clearly shows that they do not possess the skills of millwrights , and are under different supervision. 96 The compliance status of the following Local Unions at the Southern Kraft Division and the Container Division plants in Georgetown has lapsed : International Brotherhood of Paper Makers, Georgetown Local No. 378, International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite and Paper Mill Workers, Seaboard Local No. 357 , Will Go Local No. 606, Georgetown Local No. 420 , Lafayette Local No 477, and West End Local No 618 . The Regional Director is herewith instructed to delete the International Brotherhood of Paper Makers and the International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite and Paper Mill Workers from the ballots in the applicable elections directed herein if the above locals have not, within 2 weeks from this date , renewed their compliance with Section 9 (f), (g), and (h). No election shall be scheduled within the 2-week period allowed until and unless compliance has'been determined: Any participant in the elections directed herein may, upon its prompt request to, and approval thereof by, the Regional Director , have its name removed from the ballot. INTERNATIONAL PAPER COMPANY 499 (2) In voting group (d) by International Brotherhood of Paper Makers, AFL, International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite and Paper Mill Workers, AFL, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL, jointly, or by InternationalAssociation of Machinists, Lodge 1002, or by International Union of Operating Engineers, Local No. 497, or by none. (3) In voting groups (e), (f), and (g) by International Brother- hood of Paper Makers, AFL, International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite and Paper Mill Workers, AFL, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL, jointly, or by International Association of Machinists, Lodge 1002, or by International Brotherhood of Boiler- makers, Iron Ship Builders and Helpers of America, or by none. (4) In voting group (j) by International Brotherhood of Paper Makers, AFL, International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite and Paper Mill Workers, AFL, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL, jointly, or by International Association of Machinists, Lodge 1002, or by United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada, AFL, or by none. (5) In voting group (b) by International Brotherhood of Paper Makers, AFL, International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite and Paper Mill Workers, AFL, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL, jointly, or by International Association of Machinists, Lodge 1002, or by International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders and Helpers of America, or by United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting In- dustry of the United States and Canada, AFL, or by none. In the voting group established at the Employer's Georgetown operation of the Container Division whether the employees desire to be represented by International Association of Machinists, Lodge 1002, or by International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite and Paper Mill Workers, AFL, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL, jointly, or by neither 47 MEMBER REYNOLDS , dissenting : I disagree with the conclusion of my colleagues that single-plant units are appropriate . In my opinion, the labor relations history from 1939 to 1950 clearly reflects an intention by the parties to bargain on a multiplant basis, as manifested by the 11-year period during which the Employer entered into one contract covering all employees in all plants with the labor organizations involved acting jointly and 471t does not appear that the International Brotherhood of Paper Makers, AFL, bargained in conjunction with the Pulp Workers and the Electricians for employees'in the Employer's Georgetown operation of the Container Division. 500 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD concertedly as one bargaining agent.48 Therefore, - consistent with well-established Board precedent, I would find that where, as here, there has been a long and continuous bargaining history on the basis of a multiplant unit, a unit limited to employees of one plant is not appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining.49 Accordingly, I would dismiss the petitions herein. 48 Although there was an abandonment of joint negotiations by some of the intervening unions in 1950, the ensuing contracts did not change the multiplant character of the prior bargaining history. 0Hanovia Chemical and Manufacturing Company, 90 NLRB 650; Manhattan Sponging Works, 90 NLRB 13 , and cases cited therein . See also cases cited in footnote 24 of my dissenting opinion in Hygrade Food Products Corporation , 85 NLRB 841. INTERNATIONAL PAPER COMPANY , SOUTHERN KRAFT DIVISION (RAYON PLANT ) and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF PAPER MAKERS, AFL, INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF PULP, SULPHITE AND PAPER MILL WORKERS, AFL, INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS, AFL, JOINT PETITIONERS 1 INTERNATIONAL PAPER COMPANY , SOUTHERN KRAFT DIVISION (RAYON PLANT ) and LOCAL No. 681, UNITED ASSOCIATION OF JOURNEYMEN AND APPRENTICES OF, TIIE PLUMBING AND PIPE FITTING INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA, AFL, PETITIONER INTERNATIONAL PAPER COMPANY , SOUTHERN KRAFT DIVISION (RAYON PLANT) and INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS, PETI- TIONER. Cases Nos.15-RC-383,15-RC-386, and 15-RC-395. May 15, 1951 Decision and Direction of Elections Upon separate petitions duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, a consolidated hearing was held before Richard C. Keenan, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. On February 23, 1951, these cases were consolidated with Case No. 10-RC-900, et al., for the purpose of oral argument, which was heard before the Board on March 13, 1951.2 All parties were repre- sented by counsel and participated in the argument. Upon the entire record in these cases, the Board finds : 1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act. 1 The names of all labor organizations participating in this proceeding appear as corrected at the hearing. 2 Oral argument was heard jointly in the instant cases and in International Paper Company, Southern Kraft Division, Cases Nos. 10-RC-900-907 (involving other opera- tions of the Employer) because of certain issues common among them. 94 NLRB No. 87.