Shoreland Freezers, Inc.

SHORELAND FREEZERS, INC. 723 defense area installations at Vashon Harbor, Manchester, and Winslow, Washington. The nature of these latter installations is not completely disclosed by the record, but the importance of their role in our Nation's defense may be inferred from the Employer's characterization of them as follows: "Well, I can say this much, they were triple defense sites , I shouldn't say anything more." One need not be a military expert to appreciate the important role the Seattle area, with its greatport(the point of embarka- tion for Alaska), its large airplane manufacturing plants, and the military post, Fort Lewis, plays in our Nation's defense. Nor does it require such imagination to appreciate the vital part electrical energy performs in the operation of the military installations designed to defend such an important area of our country. It is thus plain that the services supplied by this Employer to these vital army defense installations have a substantial effect on our Nation ' s defense , and this is true whether or not the prime contractor is himself engaged in interstate commerce and without regard' to whether this Employer provides them as a prime contractor or as a sub- contractor. To hold otherwise is to sacrifice realism for the sake of dogma. For the foregoing reasons I find that it would effectuate the policies of the Act to assert jurisdiction over the Employer'I 6See also my dissent in Taichert's Inc., 107 NLRB 779. SHORELAND FREEZERS, INC. and INTERNATIONAL BROTH- ERHOOD OF BOILERMAKERS, IRON SHIPBU ILDERS, BLACKSMITHS, FORGERS AND HELPERS, Petitioner. Case No. 5-RC-1439. April 30, 1954 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 Louis S. Wallerstein, hearing officer. I The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. I I At the hearing, the petition and other formal papers were amended to show the correct name of the Employer. On March 11, 1954, the Employer filed a motion to make certain corrections in the transcript of the hearing. As no objections have been made by the Petitioner, the Employer's motion is granted. It is hereby ordered that the record be, and it hereby is, corrected in accordance with the Employer's motion. 2 The hearing officer referred to the Board the Employer's motions to dismiss the petition on the following grounds: (1) As the operations of the Employer are essentially local and agricultural, the Board should not assert jurisdiction; (2) the unit requested by the Petitioner is inappropriate, and can be justified only by giving controlling weight to the Petitioner's extent of organization; (3) because of the seasonal nature of the Employer's business, an 108 NLRB No. 96. 724 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds: 1. The Employer, a Maryland corporation, is engaged inthe freezing of fruits and vegetables. The Employer does not grow any crops. During the year 1953, the Employer's purchases amounted to approximately $900,000, about 70 percent of which were received from points outside the State of Maryland. The Employer has entered into a contract with Peninsular Farms, a separate corporation, which functions as a contracting agency, contracting for the purchase of these crops with the growers.' As a purchasing agent it buys the crops in the open market. As a grower in its own right, it grows a variable amount of pro- duce, which constitutes less than 10 percent of the total produce. During the year 1953, the Employer' s sales amounted to ap- proximately $1,800,000, approximately 90 percent of which were shipped to points outside the State of Maryland. The Employer contends that the Board should not assert jurisdiction because the operations of the Employer are es- sentially local and agricultural. We find no merit in this contention. In the operation of its processing plant, the Employer is not engaged in agricultural activities so as to constitute its employees agricultural laborers within the mean- ing of the Act.4 We find that the Employer is engaged in com- merce within the meaning of the Act, and that it will effectuate the policies of the Act to assert jurisdiction herein.' 2. The labor organization involved claims to represent cer- tain employees of the Employer. 3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representation of employees of the Employer within the mean- ing of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. 4. The Petitioner seeks to represent all of the Employer's maintenance employees in a single unit. The Employer contends that the requested unit is inappropriate because of the inte- gration of the Employer' s operations , and because the em- ployees sought lack craft skills and homogeneity of interests. election directed at this time would be premature, and (4) the Petitioner failed to establish its burden of proof of establishing a prima facie case that the unit it seeks to represent is appropriate. The Employer's motions to dismiss are hereby denied. Fol the reasons appearing in para- graph numbered 1, we find no merit in the Employer's first contention. For the reasons stated in paragraph numbered 4, we find no merit in the Employer's second contention, and for the reasons stated in paragraph numbered 5 we find no merit in the Employer's third contention. The Employer's fourth contention, in our opinion, misconceives the nature of representation proceedings. Representation hearings are not adversary proceedings, and are designed merely to ascertain whether or not a question concerning representation exists. It is immaterial which party presents the factual material for the record. It is only neces- sary that there be a full and complete record, so that the Board will be in a position to decide all issues involved in the proceeding. Saunders Tool and Die Company, 101 NLRB 263. 'The record does not show where Peninsular Farms is located. 4Nephi Processing Plant, Inc., 107 NLRB 647. Cf. Wells Dairies Cooperative, 107 NLRB 1445. 5 Stanislaus Implement and Hardware Co., Ltd., 91 N.RB 618. Chairman Farmer and Mem- bers Rodgers and Beeson concur in this finding, but do not hereby adopt the Board's present jurisdictional plan as a permanent policy. SHORELAND FREEZERS, INC. 725 There has been no history of collective bargaining at the Em- ployer' s plant. The Employer' s operations are headed by its president and general manager , under whom are a production superintendent, a plant superintendent , an office manager, and a personnel manager . There is an assistant plant superintendent who reports directly to the plant superintendent . Directly respon- sible to the production superintendent are the processing room foreman, the night processing room foreman , a shipping room foreman, and a receiving room foreman. There are no particular classifications for processing room employees . Female employees normally perform such work as trimming and packaging , whereas the male employees do work which requires more physical effort, such as moving the raw products and supplies . No schooling or experience is required of processing room employees . They work under the immediate supervision of the processing room foreman, and the night processing room foreman when two shifts are running. Processing room employees unload the incoming trucks of each product , feed the raw product to the processing equipment, clean up the waste , move the skids where the raw products are spilled around the processing room as necessary , furnish cartons to the girls who do the packing of the products, and move tunnel trucks to or from the freezing tunnel. The pro- duct comes to the wrapping machine in a carton. It is fed into the machine and a wrapper is put on. After the wrapper has been placed around the carton it is heated , sealed, and dis- charged from the end of the machine . It is then taken by another girl who puts it on a tray which goes on the tunnel truck, which goes into a tunnel of freezing temperature, or the freezing room. The maintenance employees consist of 3 full-time engineers and 1 relief engineer , 3 mechanics , 2 mechanics' helpers, 1 electrician , 2 welders , 2 line mechanics , 2 wrapping and filling machine mechanics , and 1 stock clerk. The maintenance employees work under the separate supervision of the plant superintendent , who does not supervise any processing room employees . During the peak season , when the Employer runs 2 shifts , any mechanics assigned to the night shift are under the supervision of the night processing room foreman as far as hours of work or disciplinary action is concerned. They are, however , under the supervision of the plant superintendent with respect to their mechanical work. The line and wrapping machine mechanics receive orders from the processing room foreman as to what work is to be done , but they are under the supervision of the plant superintendent as to the mechanics of their work. None of the maintenance employees are licensed, and the Employer does not have a formal apprentice system at its plant. The functions of the maintenance employees are as follows: 726 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Engineers : One engineer must be on duty at the plant at all times. The regular engineers work on 3 different shifts, from 8 a. m. to 4 p . m., from 4 p. m. to midnight , and from midnight to 8 a. m. The relief engineer works when one of the regular engineers is absent , over the weekend , and sometimes during the latter part of the week, when the engineers work a 4-shift day. No experience is required for the job , and an employee can learn the work in 3 or 4 weeks. The engineers work throughout the group of buildings which make up the Employer ' s plant . They attendto the high pressure boilers, 6 check the refrigeration machines, the temperatures in the storage rooms , the well pumps, the water system, and the garbage disposal system. During the processing season, the engineer maintains a record of the temperature of each truck that goes into the freezing room. Mechanics ' helpers: No skill or experience is required to be employed as a helper . They start to work at the same rate as the general laborers . Helpers must learn the rudiments of 4 or 5 trades before the Employer considers them as mechanics. The training period varies from 6 months to 2 years , depending on the individual' s aptitude. Mechanics : These employees have amachineshopwherethey repair certain items of equipment , and where new items are built . The major portion of their work, however , is on equip- ment throughout the plant . Their duties include the repair and replacement of parts in the Employer ' s processing equipment, the construction of conveyors, flumes, and other pieces of pro- cessing machinery which are not purchased from outside sup- pliers. They also set machinery on foundations, and do some pipefitting , millwright work, and carpentry work, such as building partitions. The mechanics may be hired as mechanics' helpers or as mechanics. Line mechanics : These mechanics are usally men who have just come up from the helper classification . Their work is mainly checking the processing equipment to see that it operates properly . They adjust the conveyor belts, and see that the motors are not hot and are properly lubricated. The main difference between the mechanics and the line mechanics is that the mechanics are not directly , connected with the pro- cessing equipment as are the line mechanics. It is the duty of the line mechanic to check the line constantly , whereas the other mechanics are called in only in the event of a break- down. Wrapping and filling machine mechanics : These mechanics are the most highly skilled of the Employer ' s maintenance employees because of their specific knowledge of the machines. The job requires about a year of general mechanical knowledge, and it takes about 2 years to make a good wrapping machine mechanic. The main job of these mechanics is to adjust the 6 The boilers used by the Employer are automatic oil-fired boilers. The compressors are automatic with an alarm system. SHORELAND FREEZERS, INC. 727 wrapping machine in the processing room to be sure that the packages are wrapped properly. Electrician: This job requires a very rudimentary knowledge of electrical work, which can be obtained with about 6 months to a year's training. The electrician spends part of his time installing switches, electrical machinery, conduits, and running electrical wires, and replacing fixtures and light bulbs. During the remainder of his time he does pipefitting or assists the me- chanics. Welders: This job requires a year's experience as ahelper. The welders usually work in the processing room. Their duties are to use a torch where machinery is being disassembled, to install pipelines, and to assemble various pieces of machinery. When there is no welding work to be done in the plant, they do pipefitting or general mechanical work. Stock clerk: This employee works in the stockroom, located in the machine shop. His duties are to look after tools and mechanical supplies, to dispense them to the mechanics and helpers, to keep records of the supplies used on various jobs that are being done, and to keep track of the time the men spend on these jobs. The job does not require any experience. Both maintenance and processing employees are hourly rated, and except for the rotating of the engineers, all have the same hours of work. All have the same group insurance, vacation, and holiday benefits. The record shows that there is some interchange of personnel for short periods of time. At such times, processing employees may do some painting, or work as rough carpenters or helpers. On the other hand, maintenance employees may unload produce from trucks when there are no processing room employees at the plant to do this work. They also assist processing room employees in cases of emergency. In view of the foregoing facts, it appears that the Employer's operations are not so integrated as to destroy the separate identity of the maintenance employees, a group whose interests are distinguishable from those of the processing employees. 7 Therefore, in accordance with the Board 's established policy of granting separate representation to such maintenance em- ployees, in the absence of any bargaining history on a broader basis, we find that the maintenance employees constitute an appropriate unit apart from other employees.8 Contrary to the Employer's contention, we do not consider it necessary that the maintenance employees be skilled em- ployees of craft status.9 Nor do we consider it essential that 7National Carbon Company, a Division of Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation (Edgewater Works), 107 NLRB 1486. 8Schering Corporation. 107 NLRB 1540; National Carbon Company, a Division of Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation (Edgewater Works), 107 NLRB No. 300; Animal Trap Company of America, 107 NLRB No. 58 (not reported in printed volumes of Board Decision and Orders.) 9 Tuxedo Candy Company, a Division of Salem Commodities, Inc., 106 NLRB 1399; Carboloy Department of General Electric Company, 104 NLRB 596; Monsanto Chemical Company, 728 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD the maintenance employees be set up in a separate department for administrative purposes . We believe that it is sufficient that the maintenance employees are a clearly identifiable, functionally distinct and homogeneous group , whose work and interests are different from those of the other employees in the plant. We have also considered the Employer ' s contention that the unit requested by the Petitioner is based on its extent of organization among the Employer' s employees , and should therefore be found inap ropriate. We find no merit in this contention . Section 9 (c) (5) of the Act precludes the Board from giving controlling weight to this factor in determining the appropriateness of a unit. As pointed out above , however, other factors wholly unrelated to the extent of organization support our finding that a maintenance unit is appropriate when, as here , there is an absence of any bargaining history on a broader basis 10 We find that all maintenance employees at the Employer's Salisbury, Maryland, plant, including 'engineers , mechanics, mechanics ' helpers electricians , welders , line mechanics, wrapping and filling machine mechanics , and maintenance stock clerks, but excluding all other employees , guards, and super- visors, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. 5. The Employer contends that an election should not be directed until the approximate seasonal peak . The Employer starts processing operations sometime between April 1 and 15, and the processing season lasts until about the end of December or January . As this decision will issue at a time when the Em- ployer's processing season has already begun , and as the normal crew of maintenance employees is relatively stable throughout the year, we see no reason to depart from our usual practice of directing an immediate election. [Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.] Muscle Shoals Chlorine Caustic Plant, 102 NLRB 273; General Dyestuff Corporation, 100 NLRB 1311; Western Kentucky Gas Company, 97 NLRB 917; J. C. Penney Company, 92 NLRB 1286; Tyre Brothers Glass & Paint Co., 85 NLRB 910. mNational Carbon Company, a Division of Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation, (Edge- water Works), 107 NLRB 1486. NEW ENGLAND CONFECTIONERY COMPANY and LOCAL 3, INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF FIREMEN & OIL- ERS, POWERHOUSE EMPLOYEES, OPERATORS AND MAIN- TENANCE MEN, AFL, Petitioner. Case No . 1-RC-3550. April 30, 1954 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 Sidney A. 108 NLRB No. 106.