Enterprise Lumber & Supply Co.

784 DECISIONS,OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD despite a history of collective bargaining on a broader basis 4 Con- trary to the Employer's contention, this record indicates no inseparable integration of the craft functions of the die room employees with the production processes. In addition, the Garwood plant is obviously a manufacturing plant, the operations of which are not a part of the basic reduction and rolling mill phases of the aluminum industry within the meaning of our decision in The Permanente Metals Corpo- ration, 89 NLRB 804.5 In these circumstances, we believe that, unlike the situation in the Permanente case, no cogent reason appears for denying separate rep- resentation to the die room employees, who, as herein found, are en- titled to such representation by our usual standards.,' Accordingly, we deny the Intervenor's motion to dismiss because of the alleged in- appropriateness of the unit and find that the employees in the proposed unit may, if they so desire, constitute a separate bargaining unit. However, we shall reserve final determination as to the unit until the outcome of the election hereinafter directed. We shall direct an election among all die room employees of the employer at its Garwood, New Jersey, plant, excluding all other employees and supervisors as defined in the Act. [Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication in this volume.] * See John Deere Plow Works of Deere & Company, 94 NLRB 1286. ° See Reynolds Metals Company, 93 NLRB 721, wherein the Permanente decision was distinguished and a self-determination election was granted boiler room employees in an aluminum plant devoted to scrap reclamation , an operation the Board found "merely ancillary to a manufacturing process" ; see also, Mesta Machine Company, 94 NLRB 1624, wherein the Board found that a manufacturer of steel plant equipment was, in greater part, competing with foundries and hence not primarily engaged in the basic steel industry. John Deere Plow Works, footnote 4, supra. H. T. DAVENPORT D/B/A ENTERPRISE LUMBER & SUPPLY Co.' and INTERNATIONAL WOODWORKERS OF AMERiICA, CIO, PETITIONER. Case No. 34-RC-324. October 12, 1951 Decision and Direction of Election Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor -Relations Act, a hearing was held before Lincoln Klaver, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the Act, the Board 1 The name of the Employer appears as amended at the hearing. 96 NLRB No. 111. . ENTERPRISE LUMBER Sr SUPPLY CO. 785 has delegated its powers in connection with case to a three-member panel [Members Houston, Murdock, and Styles]. ' Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds : 1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act. 2. The labor organization involved claims to represent certain em- ployees of the Employer. 3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa- tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. 4. The appropriate unit : The Petitioner requests a unit consisting of all production and maintenance employees employed at the Employer's Columbia, North Carolina, plant, including the employees employed in logging and sawmill operations conducted in Hyde County, North Carolina. The Employer, while in agreement with the composition of the unit, op- poses the inclusion of the employees employed at the Hyde County operations 2 on the ground that they are employees of an independent contractor. The Employer is engaged in the lumber and building supply busi- ness at Columbia, North Carolina. In connection with this business the Employer operates a planing and sawmill and logging operations at Columbia. In addition the Employer has a lease of timber rights, on a tract of land where logging and sawmill operations, known as Fairfield, are conducted. Fairfield is approximately 27 miles from Columbia. Walter McClees, who the Employer alleges is an inde- pendent contractor, is in charge of this latter operation. McClees works exclusively for the Employer under an oral agree- ment whereby he is paid a fixed sum per thousand feet of lumber processed by the crew of employees working under him; he has com- plete authority with respect to the hiring and discharge of these employees. The agreement under which McClees works, however, appears to be one terminable at the will of either party. While McClees maintains the time records of the employees working under him, the actual com- putation of the amount due each employee after various deductions for social security, employment security, and other items, is made by or with the assistance of an office clerical employee of the Employer, who in addition also maintains all the social security, workmen's compen- sation, and employment security records and makes all such necessary payments for these employees. The amount of these deductions is subtracted from the amount due McClees. The wages to be paid each Y The logging and sawmill operations conducted in Hyde County were referred to through- out the hearing as the Fairfield operations . Hereinafter "Fairfield" will be used to desig- nate that operation. 786 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD employee are placed in a small envelope which McClees hands to the employee. McClees has no bank account. When the amount due McClees is not sufficient to meet his payroll, the Employer advances the necessary amount. Except for the small tools which are furnished to the employees by McClees, all the heavy machinery used in the logging operations and the sawmill at Fairfield are owned or borrowed by the Employer. The Employer pays for all major repairs of equip- ment. The Employer's woods foreman designates the particular area where McClees is expected to conduct logging operations and the lum- ber is cut at the Fairfield mill in accordance with the instructions of the Employer. Finally, it appears that McClees at the instance of the Employer has reduced the wage scale of the employees working under him In view of the foregoing, it is clear that although McClees has a certain amount of discretion in the conduct of the logging and sawmill operations at Fairfield, the Employer nevertheless retains substantial control over these operations. We find, therefore that Walter McClees is, in effect, a supervisor rather than an independent contractor and that the employees at Fairfield are employees of the Employer. We find, further, that the Employer's operations at Fairfield constitute a single integrated enter- prise in which all of the employees involved share a common interest. Accordingly a single unit, including these employees, is appropriate for collective bargaining purposes.3 We find that a unit consisting of all production and maintenance employees employed at the Employer's Columbia, North Carolina, operations, including the employees at the Fairfield operations, but excluding professional employees, office clerical employees, guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act, is appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. [Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication in this volume. ] 8 See J. G. Howard Lumber Company, 93 NLRB 1230. J. R. CANTRALL AND Jo G. CANTRALL D/B/A J. R. CANTRALL COMPANY AND H. C. SMITH COMPANY and INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MA- CHINISTS, LOCAL LODGE No. 12,35. Case No. 01-CA-714. October 15,1951 Decision and Order On June 29, 1951, Trial Examiner Charles L. Ferguson issued his Intermediate Report in the above-entitled proceeding, finding that the 96 NLRB No. 124.