Harriston Hardware Co.

In the* Matter Of HARRISTON HARDWARE COMPANY, EMPLOYER and INTERNATIONAL WOODWORKERS OF AMERICA, CIO, LOCAL S-440, PETITIONER Case No. 15-R-1697.-Decided September 10, 1946 Mr. Robert L. McKnight, of Memphis, Tenn., for the Employer. Mr. Doyle Dorsey, of Natchez, Miss., for the Petitioner. Miss Kate Wallach, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION Upon an, amended petition duly filed, hearing in this case was held at Natchez, Mississippi, ;on July .19, 1946, before C. Paul Barber, 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 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER Harriston Hardwood Company, ,a Mississippi corporation, operates a sawmill at Harriston, Mississippi, where it is engaged in the pro- cessing of logs into hardwood lumber. During the fiscal year ending April 30,1946, the Employer purchased approximately $126,000 worth of logs and-other raw material for use in its manufacturing operations, of which about 1 percent was delivered to its Harriston plant from States other than the State of Mississippi. During the same period the Employer sold from this plant approxi- mately $250,000 worth of hardwood lumber, of which amount approxi- mately 75 percent represented shipments to points outside the State of Mississippi. ' At the hearing, the Employer moved that the Board introduce evidence showtng that the Petitioner represents a substantial number of employees in the unit alleged to be ay' piopiiate The Trial Examiner properly denied the motion Matter of 0. D. Je+u`ings A Company, 68 N L R B 516. See also Matter of Nash Motors Division of Nash-K.i- 'vinator Sales, Corporation (Philadelphia Zone), 68 N. L. R B. 651; Matter .f I. IFsn4 Hosiery, Incorporated, 70 N. L. It. B 37 70 N. L. R. B., No. 123. 0 1296 HARRISTON HARDWOOD COMPANY 1297 The Employer admits, and we find, that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. - II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED' The Petitioner 2 is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, 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. TLIE APPROPRIATE UNIT The parties agree, and we find, that all production and maintenance employees of the Employer at its Harriston, Mississippi, operations, including woods crews 3 and watchmen, but excluding clerical employ- ees, lumber inspectors, filer and sawyer, and all other supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend such action, consLifute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES We shall direct that the question concerning representation which- has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in the Direction. The Employer employed at the time of the hearing about four or five temporary employees. It appears that the employment of these individuals is casual in nature. In accordance with our established practice in such cases we find these temporary employees ineligible to vote. 2 The name of the Petitioner appears in the caption as amended at the hearing - ' The record shows that the Employer relies on independent contractors for most of its logging operations Although the woods crews ate engaged in lumber cutting, they also work inside the null during bad weather , enjoy the same rate of pay and hours of work as those of the production employees , and are under the supervision of the superintendent of the mill. Under these circumstances , we agree with the parties that the woods crews should be included in the unit 1298 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS' BOARD DIRECTION OF ELECTION As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Harriston Hardwood 'Com- pany, Harriston, Mississippi, an election by secret ballot shall be con- ducted 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 Fifteenth 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 3, as-amended, and to our determination in Sec- tion V, 'above, among the employees in the unit found appropriate in Section IV, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period im- mediately 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 empolyees 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 de- sire to be represented by International IV, ood"'orkers of Ainerica, CIO, Local 8-440, for the purposes of collective bargaining. MR. JAMES J. REYNOLDS, JR., took nu part-in the consideration of the above Decision and Direction of Election.