Christian Coal Co.

In the Matter of THOMAS CHRISTIAN, D/B/A 'CHRISTIAN COAL COM- PANY, EMPLOYER and UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA, DISTRICT 23, PETITIONER - Case No. 11-R-1070.-Decided August 19, 19.16 Withers & Lism'an, by Mr. W. Fred Hume, of Providence, Ky., for the Employer. .;.iliessrs. Earl Suver and Ed. J. Moran, both of Madisonville, Ky., for the Petitioner. Mr.'Martin T. Camacho, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION Upon an amended petition duly filed, hearing-in this case was held at Wheatcroft, Kentucky, on July 2, 1946, before Arthur R. Dono- van, Trial Examiner. The Trial ,Examiner's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations Board makes the following: FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER Thomas Christian, d/b/a Christian Coal Company is a firm solely owned and operated by one Thomas Christian. It is engaged in the business of mining and selling bituminous coal in Webster County, Kentucky, and has its principal office at Sturgis, Kentucky: During 1945 its purchases of raw materials such as feed, lumber, powder, fuse, and repair .parts, for use in the maintenance of its operations amounted to approximately $21,075.35. An estimated 15 percent of these purchases was made from points outside the Commonwealth of Kentucky. For the same period the Employer's sales of mined coal were in excess of $100,000, of which an estimated 10 percent was shipped to points outside the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Thomas Christian testified at the hearing that presently 50 tons of the approximately.,250 tons of coal'mined daily is sold alternately to 70 N. L. R. B., No. 16- 161 162 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD West Kentucky Company and/or Meador, Young & Holt Coal Com- pany? The record indicates that both of these companies are engaged in interstate commerce in the sale and distribution of coal in and outside the Commonwealth of Kentucky.2 We find that the Employer is engaged in commerce within the mean- ing of the National Labor Relations Act.3 H. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED The Petitioner is a' labor organization affiliated with American Federation of Labor claiming to represent employees of the Employer. -III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The Employer refuses to recognize the Petitioner as the exclusive bargaining representative of employees of the Employer until the Petitioner has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit. We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Employer, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT We find, in accordance with the stipulation of the parties, that all production and maintenance employees of the Employer; but excluding watchmen, inspectors, -office, and clerical employees, sales and/or tech- nical employees, head electricians, head mechanics, fire bosses, mine foremen, and all or any other supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend such action, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. 1 R. D. Holt, general manager , Meador, Young & Holt Company , testified that his com- pany purchased 5 carloads of coal or 250 tons of coal weekly from the Employer 2R. D. Holt, general manager, Meador , Young & Holt Company testified that the Em- ployer has consistently requested that the coal purchased by his Company be resold and dis- tributed wherever at all possible only within the Commonwealth of Kentucky , that, how- ever, his Company has not been able to comply with the Employer's request , that it ,conservative estimate of 10 percent of coal purchased from the Employer has been shipped outside the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Holt further testified that 50 percent of all the coal purchased by his Company is shipped outside the Commonwealth of Kentucky ; that in many instances the remaining 50 percent goes to industries engaged in interstate com- merce ; that some of the coal purchased from the Employer is sold to the aforesaid -industries 3 See Matter of Armour Fertilizer Works, Division of Armour and Company, 65 N. L. R. B 796; in the Matter of Crowe Coal Company, 9 N. L It. B. 1149, enforced 104 F. (2d) 633 (C. C A. 8), cert. denied 308 U. S 584. - CHRISTIAN COAL COMPANY DIRECTION OF ELECTION 163 As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the pur- poses of collective bargaining with Thomas Christian , d/b7a-Christiaxi Coal Company, an election by- secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Eleventh Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article III, Sections 10 and 11, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations- Series 13, as amended, among the employees in the unit found appro- priate in Section IV, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction , including employees who did not work during said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or temporarily laid off, and including employees in the armed forces of the United States who present themselves 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 election , to determine whether .or not they desire to be represented by United Mine Workers of America, Dis- trict 23, for the purposes of collective bargaining. - 712344-47-vol. 70--12