J. O. Rhude and Gilbert Corp.

536 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD of August 1953, it expects to have a representative complement of about 4 employees in the Carpenters' proposed craft group and about 19 employees in the maintenance department group. The Carpenters submitted no showing of interest in support of its motion to intervene. In these circumstances, we deny the Carpenters' motion to intervene, without prejudice, however, to its right to file a petition or petitions before the date of the election herein directed, covering either or both of the above- described groups of employees, supported by a proper showing of interest. In such event, the employees so affected will be permitted to vote subject to challenge pending processing of the petitions by the Board. [Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.] J. O. RHUDE AND GILBERT CORPORATION , a Joint Ven- ture' and INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGI- NEERS , LOCAL NO. 49, AFL, Petitioner GILBERT CORPORATION and UNITED STEELWORKERS OF AMERICA, CIO, Petitioner. Cases Nos. 18-RC-1940 and. 18-RC-1957. July 31, 1953 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 Clarence A. Meter, hearing officer. The hearing offi- cer'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 has delegated its powers in connection with these cases to a three -member panel [Members Houston, Styles, and Peterson]. Upon the entire record in these cases, the Board finds: 1. J. O. Rhude and Gilbert Corporation, a joint venture, and Gilbert Corporation, which are hereinafter found to constitute a single employer, are engaged in commerce within the mean- ing of the Act. 2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain employees of the Employer. 3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representation of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. 1 The name of this Company appears in the caption as amended at the hearing 2 At the hearing, the Steelworkers, the Petitioner in 18-RC-1957, moved to dismiss the petition of the Operating Engineers in 18-RC-1940, on the ground that the unit sought therein was inappropriate. The hearing officer referred the motion to the Board For the reasons stated in paragraph numbered 4, infra, the motion is denied 106 NLRB No. 100. J. O. RHUDE AND GILBERT CORPORATION 537 4. The parties are in agreement that the appropriate unit or units should include all production and maintenance em- ployees. However they disagree as to the scope of the unit. In 18-RC-1940, the Operating Engineers seeks to represent the employees at the Rhude and Gilbert operations in the Alworth mine at Hibbing, Minnesota. In 18-RC-1957 the Steelworkers seeks to represent in a single unit the employees at the Alworth mine requested by the Operating Engineers, as well as those at the Mary Ellen and Gilbert mines at Biwabik and Gilbert, Minnesota, respectively, operated by Gilbert Corpora- tion.' The companies are in agreement with the primary unit sought by the Steelworkers. There is no history of bargaining among the employees involved herein. J. O. Rhude, an individual, and the Gilbert Corporation, are joint lessees of the Alworth mine. J. O. Rhude furnishes the necessary capital and the Gilbert Corporation supplies the labor and equipment, manages and operates the mine. All employees are generally hired by and are under the exclusive control of the Gilbert Corporation. They are presently engaged in stripping operations and expect actual mining operations to start in the near future. The Gilbert Corporation operates the Mary Ellen and Gilbert mines under separate contracts with the leaseholders of the two properties. Operations at the Mary Ellen mine consist mostly of stripping. At the Gilbert mine the Employer is performing all the work, including the stripping and shipping of ore. The three mines are all under the common supervision and control of the president of Gilbert Corporation. He has the responsibility for establishing management functions, is prima- rily responsible for operations, and establishes the laborpoli- cies for all three mines. Under these circumstances, we find that J. O. Rhude and Gilbert Corporation, a joint venture, and Gilbert Corporation constitute a single employer within the meaning of Section 2 (2) of the Act." There are certain factors pre sent which indicate that a single unit of employees at all three mines , as contended by the Employer and the Steelworkers, might be appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining. For example, in addition to the fact that all three are under the common supervision and control of the president of Gilbert Corporation, the skills, functions, job classifications, and conditions of employment of the employees are substantially the same. Each mine has the same hiring and discharging policy, uses the same wage- rate structure, and provides the same reemployment rights for employees inducted into the armed services. A single mine safety program is applicable to all three and all use the same type of equipment, which is exchanged between mines from 3Alternatively, the Steelworkers requests that "Globe" elections be conducted. 4See Coburn Catering Company, 100 NLRB 1133; Lloyd A. Fry Roofing Company and Volney Felt Mills, Inc., 92 NLRB 1170; and South Georgia Pecan Shelling Company, 85 NLRB 591. 538 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD time to time as needed. The Gilbert Corporation maintains some records pertaining to all three mines at its office in Gil- bert where it has an employee who maintains social-security and other tax records for all three mines. The Gilbert Corpora- tion also maintains an electrician and a master mechanic at Gilbert who perform all the necessary electrical and mechan- ical work at all three mine s.5 On the other hand, the following factors, among others, support the Operating Engineers' position that the employees at the Alworth mine constitute a separate appropriate unit. The Alworth mine is a jointventure and all checks for payments are signed by Rhude-Gilbert agents. The three mines are geographically separated.6 There is a separate supervisory hierarchy headed by a mine superintendent at each mine who has the authority to hire employees. Each mine maintains a separate office with an office manager and mine clerk; keeps its funds separate; maintains separate books, records, and bank accounts; files separate tax returns; and separately orders items of supply. In addition, temporary transfers of employees between the three mines is infrequent, and the employees at Alworth are not covered by the health and welfare plan shared by the employees at the Mary Ellen and Gilbert mines. Finally, there has been no bargaining history involving the Employer's employees.? Under these circumstances we shall make no final unit deter- mination at this time, but shall be guided in part by the desires of the employees as expressed in the elections hereinafter directed. Accordingly, we shall direct that separate elections be held among each of the following voting groups of the Em- ployer's employees, excluding from each group office clerical employees, guards, professional employees, and supervisors as defined in the Act: Group 1, all production and maintenance employees at the Employer's Alworth mine at Hibbing, Minnesota; and group 2, all production and maintenance employees at the Employer's Mary Ellen and Gilbert mines at Biwabik and Gilbert, Minnesota, respe ctively. 8 If a majority of the employees in voting group 1 select a labor organization which is not selected by the employees in voting group 2, the employees in voting group 1 will be deemed to have indicated their desire to constitute a separate unit and the Regional Director conducting the election is instructed to issue a certification of representatives to the labor organization selected by the employees in that group, which the Board, in 6These employees are transferred from one mine to another for 2 or 3 days at a time. 'The Mary Ellen and Gilbert mines are approximately 8 to 10 miles apart. The Alworth mine is approximately 25 to 30 miles from the Gilbert mine. ?Contrary to the Steelworkers' contention, the bargaining pattern in the area on a division- or company-wide basis, and the alleged benefits of such bargaining, do not preclude a sep- arate unit at the Alworth mine. 6 The Operating Engineers has not indicated any desire to appear on the ballot in voting group 2. CALCOR CORPORATION 539 such circumstances, finds to be a separate unit appropriate for collective-bargaining purposes. If a majority of the em- ployees in voting group 2 also select a labor organization, the Regional Director conducting the election is instructed to issue a certification of representatives to the labor organiza- tion selected by the employees in that group, which the Board in such circumstances also finds to be a separate unit appro- priate for collective bargaining purposes. However, if a majority of the employees in both voting groups select the same labor organization, they will be deemed to have indicated their desire to constitute a single unit and the Regional Director conducting the election is instructed to issue a certification of representatives to the labor organization selected by the employees in the two groups, which the Board in such circum- stances finds to be a single unit y propriate for the purposes of collective bargaining . If the employees ir, either or both voting groups do not select a labor organization, the Regional Director conducting the election is instructed to issue a cer- tificate of results of election with respect to each such group or groups. [Text of Direction of Elections omitted from publication.] CALCOR CORPORATION' and INTERNATIONAL UNION, UNITED AUTOMOBILE, AIRCRAFT AND AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT WORKERS OF AMERICA (UAW-CIO), Peti- tioner. Case No. Zl-RC-2930. July 31, 1953 SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION AND CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES On May 27, 1953, pursuant to a Decision and Direction of Election issued herein by the Board,2 an election by secret ballot was conducted under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Twenty-first Region. Upon con- clusion of the balloting a tally of ballots was issued and served upon the parties hereto in accordance with the Rules and Regulations of the Board. The tally shows that of approximately 231 eligible voters, 211 voted. One hundred ten votes were cast for the Petitioner, 93 for the Intervenor, Local 548, Sheet Metal Workers Inter- national Association, AFL, 7 for no union, and 1 was chal- lenged. On May 28, 1953, the Intervenor filed detailed objections to the conduct of the election, and moved that the election be set aside. After-an investigation the Regional Director issued a 1Pursuant to advice of the Employer, the Board on May 19, 1953, ordered that the Em- ployer's name be changed from "California Cornice Steel and Supply Corporation" to "Calcor Corporation." 2 104 NLRB 787. 106 NLRB No. 92.