Groveton Papers Co.

In'the Matter of GROVETON PAPERS Co.' and UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA , DISTRICT 50 Case No. 1-J?-0614.-Decided December 29, 194.5 Mr. J. C. Wemyss, of Groveton , N. H., for the Company. Messrs. Grant d Angoff, by Mr. Harold B. Boitman, of Boston, Mass., for District 50. Mr. J. GriffinMclfiernan, of Albany, N. Y., and Mr. Fred W. Morris, of Madison , Maine, for the A. F. L. Mr. David V.,Easton, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon a petition duly filed by United Mine Workers of America, District 50, herein called District 50, alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Groveton Papers Co., Groveton, New Hampshire, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an ap- propriate hearing upon due notice before John W. Coddaire, Jr., Trial Examiner. The hearing was held at Groveton, New Hampshire, on September 28, 1945. The Company, District 50, and International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite and Paper Mill Workers (AFL), herein called the Pulp Workers, and International Brotherhood of Paper Makers (AFL), herein called the Paper Makers, both herein collec- tively called the A. F. L., appeared and participated. All parties were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues. At the hearing the A. F. L. moved for a dismissal of the petition. The Trial Examiner reserved ruling on the motion for the Board. For reasons stated in Section III, infra, the motion is hereby denied. The Trial Examiner's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby afiii+med. All parties were afforded opportunity to file briefs with the Board. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : At the hearing, the Trial Examiner granted a motion to correct all papers in the proceeding to reflect the true name of the employer as set forth above. 65 N. L. R. B, No 6. 26 GROVETON PAPERS CO. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY 27 Groveton Papers Co. is a Maine corporation with its main office and plant at Groveton, New Hampshire, where it is engaged in the manu- facture of wood pulp and bond, writing, butcher, and printing papers. Raw materials used in the business consist primarily of pulpwood, coal, and sulphur. The annual value of the raw materials used by the Company amounts to more than $1,000,000. Part of the pulpwood and all the coal and sulphur comes to the Groveton plant from points outside the State of New Hampshire. Approximately 50 percent of the raw materials used in the business are shipped to the Groveton Plant from points outside the State of New Hampshire. The Company produces 22,000 tons of its products per year; its sales amount to ap- proximately $3,500,000, approximately 90 percent of which is shipped by it to points outside the State of New Hampshire. A consider- able quantity of its products are bought and used by the United States Government in States other than New Hampshire. The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED United Mine Workers of America, District 50, is a labor organiza- tion admitting to membership employees of the Company. International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite and Paper Mill Work- ers, and International Brotherhood of Paper Makers, are labor organ- izations affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION By a document dated August 1944, the Company and the A. F. L. extended an existing collective bargaining agreement for a period ending August 31, 1945. The agreement thus extended contained a modified union-shop clause, and provided, inter alia,, that it was to, remain in effect "from year to year . . . unless terminated by either party's serving notice upon the other 30 days prior to September 1 of any given year." On July 18, 1945, the A. F. of L. served, the required notice upon the Company. The parties then began to nego- tiate a new agreement, the terms of which were finally agreed upon by the parties on August 10; this agreement was not, however, formally executed by them until August 13 2 2 This agreement also contained a union -shop clause. 28 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD District 50, by a letter dated July 25, 1945, requested recognition from the Company as the bargaining agent of the employees then represented by the A. F. L. According to the Company, this letter was not received by it until August 11, after the time when all terms of the new agreement between it and the A. F. L. had been de- termined, but before the date the contract was formally executed. The-Company and the A. F. L. contend that a bar exists to a current determination of representatives. We do not agree. It is clear, under the circumstances set forth, that the original contract, as extended in August 1944, was terminated by the notice sent by the A. F. L. on July 18, 1945. Thus, this agreement cannot be suc- cessfully raised as a bar.3 And it is also clear that District 50 apprised the Company of its claim to representation before the Com- pany and the A. F. L. actutrlly executed their agreement dated Au- gust 13, 1945. Consequently, neither does the 1945 contract preclude a current determination,of representatives.' A statement of a Field Examiner for the Board, introduced into evidence at the hearing, indicates that District 50 represents a sub- stantial number of employees in the unit hereinafter found appropriate.' We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Company within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. IV. TILE APPROPRIATE UNIT All parties agree upon the propriety of a unit consisting of all em- ployees of the Company, including working foremen,s but excluding office workers, salesmen, administrative employees, guards, outside con- struction workers, superintendents, assistant superintendents, foremen, and all other supervisory employees. Dispute exists, however, with respect to boss machine tenders, whom District 50 would exclude from the unit, and the A. F. L. would include; the Company takes no posi- tion with respect to these employees: a Matter of General Metals Coi poration, 59 N L R B 1252 Matter of Eicor, Inc, 46 N L R B 10$5 a The Field Examiner reported that District 50 submitted 95 designations and that there are approximately 550 employees in the appiopriate unit The A F L relied upon its contract with the Company as evidence of its inteiest The Company 's objection to the admission of the Field Examiner 's statement into evi- dence was correctly overruled by the Trial Examiner, since it report of it Bo id 's agent ennbodynng the results of his miestigation of the proof of substantial representation is not subject to direct or collateral attack at the heaung See Matter of Buffalo Arms Cor- poaation, 57 N L It B 1560 The A F L' s objection to the sufficiency of District 50's showing is also without merit in view of the union-shop provision in the contracts between the A F L and the Company See Matter of National Container Corporation, 62 N L. R B 48. It does not appear that working foremen are supervisory employees within the meaning of ovr customary definition. GROVETON PAPERS CO. 29 In a prior proceeding involving the same parties and the same em- ployees,' boss machine tenders were included within the unit in ac- cordance with a stipulation of the parties , apparently without any evidence being adducedas to their status. The present record clearly indicates that these employees have authority to hire and discharge and are looked upon by the Company as part of its supervisory hier- archy. However, the Paper Makers adduced some evidence indicating that it admitted them to membership, and its New England Regional Director testified that boss machine tenders were customarily included within units of paper mill employees. Yet no specific evidence, such as collective agreements, was introduced showing this to be the prac- tice in the industry . We are of the opinion that the evidence is not sufficient to warrant a departure from our customary practice of ex- cluding supervisory employees from bargaining units of non-super- visory workers. Nor does the previous determination predicated upon agreement of the parties or the collective bargaining history of the 'Company based thereon so warrant , for had the issue been raised in the prior proceeding, and evidence similar to that presented here been introduced, we would have excluded boss machine tenders at that time. Consequently , we shall now exclude them from the unit. We find that all employees of the Company, including working fore- men, but excluding office workers, salesmen, administrative employees, guards, outside construction workers, superintendents, assistant super- intendents, foremen, boss machine tenders, and all other supervisory employees with authority to lure, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively rec- ommend such action, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining, within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. V. THE DE'1'1,'RS IN \71UN OF REPRESENTATIVES We shall direct that the question concerning representation which has arisen be resolved by means of an election by secret ballot among the employees in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in the Direction. DIRECTION OF ELECTION By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Rela- tions Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, as amended, it is hereby 'Matter o f Groveton Papers Co , 52 N L R B 1256 30 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa- tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Groveton Papers Co., Groveton, New Hampshire, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than sixty (60) days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the First Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article. III, Sections 10 and 11, of said Rules and Regulations, among employees in the unit found appropriate in Section IV, above, who were em- ployed 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 elec- tion, to determine whether they desire to be represented by United Mine Workers of America, District 50, or by International Brother- hood of Pulp, Sulphite and Paper Mill Workers (AFL) and Inter- national Brotherhood of Paper Makers (AFL), for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither. MR. GERARD D. REILLY took no part in the consideration of the above Decision and Direction of Election.