Marcal Pulp & Paper Co., Inc.,

In the Matter Of MARCAL PULP & PAPER Co., INC., and UNITED, CONSTRUCTION WORKERS, UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA Case No. 0--R-5661.-Decided January 8, 1946 Mr. Oscar Berman, of Paterson, N. J., for the Company. Messrs. Thomas F. Wilson and Albert L. Grove, both of Newark,. N. J., for the Construction Workers. - Messrs. Theodore Wilmot, Jacob Friedland, and Joseph Rispoli, of Jersey City, N. J., for the Paper Box Makers. Mr. Joseph Carrella, of Philadelphia, Pa., for the Paper Makers.- Mr. John A. Nevros, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND ORDER STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon a petition duly filed by United Construction Workers, United Mine Workers of America, herein called the Construction Workers, alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Marcal Pulp & Paper Co., Inc., East Paterson, New Jersey, herein called either Marcal or the Com- pany, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropri- ate hearing upon due notice before Henry J. Kent, Trial Examiner. The hearing was held at New York City, on August 7, 1945. The Company, the Construction Workers, and Paper Box Makers Union Local #300, affiliated with International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite and Paper Mill Workers, A. F. of L., herein called the Paper Box Makers, 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. The Trial Examin- er's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. All parties were afforded opportunity to file briefs with the Board. I International Brotherhood of Paper Makers , affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, herein called the Paper Makers, appeared and participated for the limited purpose of claiming jurisdiction over some of the employees of the Company, but did not formally intervene in this pioceeding , because agreement was reached at the hearing with the Paper Box Makers that any question of jurisdiction would later be settled by the respective inter- national unions 65 N L. R. B. No. 53. 263 264 ' DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Marcal Pulp & Paper Co., Inc., a New Jersey Corporation, having its principal office and plant at East Paterson, New Jersey, is engaged in the manufacture of paper. The Company annually purchases raw ma- terials valued in excess of $300,000, of which approximately 80 per- cent is procured from sources outside the State of New Jersey. All the Company's products are sold to Marcahis Manufacturing Company, an affiliated corporation, herein called Marcalus, which in turn ships approximately 80 percent of its finished products to points outside the State. The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED United Construction Workers, affiliated with United Mine Workers of America, is a labor organization admitting to membership em- ployees of the Company. Paper Box Makers Union Local #300, affiliated with the Interna- tional Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite and Paper Mill Workers, A. F. of L., is a labor organization admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE ALLEGED APPROPRIATE UNIT The Construction Workers and the Paper Box Makers agree that the production and maintenance workers of the Company constitute an appropriate bargaining unit. The Company contends that in view of the close integration of its operations with that of Marcalus the ap- propriate unit should include the employees of both companies. Both corporations are under common ownership, management, and control. An interlocking Board of Directors directs and administers the business operations and policies of both concerns.2 Top super- vision of both companies is identical.3 The same person hires all labor for both corporations. Both companies use the same machine shop, time clock, and office. Marcal processes pulp wood into primary paper, and Marcalus converts the paper into various paper products N Marcalus is president and director of both corporations, Robert L Marcalus is vice president of Marcalus and secretais-treasurer of Maical, and Mildred M. Marcalus is secretarc-treasurer of Marcalus and assistant secretary-assistant treasurer of Marcal. 3 This includes the general manager, facitory superintendent, general maintenance super- intendent, administrative manager, director of purchasing and personnel, office manager, and traffic manager - MARCAL PULP & PAPER CO., INC. 265 such as paper napkins and toilet tissue. The paper-making machinery owned and operated by Marcal is located in one of the two adjoining buildings which comprise the physical facilities of both corporations, and is on the 'same floor with the machinery owned and operated ' by Marcalus. There is also considerable interchange of employees be- tween the two companies. Thus, the production workers of Marcal, i. e., the paper machine-workers, work for Marcalus about 25 percent of the time.4 In addition, laborers on the Marcal pay roll work inter' changeably for both concerns; and the maintenance men on the same pay roll form part of a single crew which includes employees of both companies and takes care of all the maintenance work in both build- ings. Furthermore, the firemen and assistant firemen, who are on the Marcal pay roll, operate the same boiler for both Marcal and Marcalus, and there are three watchmen employed by Marcal who function for both companies.-' The afore-mentioned categories, with the exception of the watchmen, constitute all the employees included within the alleged appropriate unit sought by both labor organizations. There is no history of collective bargaining confined to the unit sought by the Construction Workers. The only previous bargaining history consists of a contract between Marcahis and United Paper Novelty and Toy Workers International Union, C. I. 0., which was in effect from July 1941 to July 1942. Although signed by Marcalus, alone, this agreement apparently covered the employees of both Mar- calus and Marcal. Accordingly, under all the circumstances of the case, including the integration of the operations of both companies, and the dual functions and considerable interchange of employees of both companies, we are persuaded that the proposed unit consti- tutes a heterogeneous group incapable of precise definition and that it is therefore inappropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining. W'e shalt accordingly dismiss the petition.° Its 7IIE ALLEGED QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION Since the bargaining unit sought to be established by the peti- tion is not appropriate, as found in Section III, above, we find that no question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the representa- tion of employees of the Company within the meaning of Section 9 (c) of the Act. 4 Although a witness for the Construction Workers testified that these employees worked for Marcalus less than 5 percent of the time, his testimony does not appear to conform with the facts 5 Marcalus employs no watchman See Matter of Brown Paper Mill Co , Inc., 58 N L R. B. 283 , Matter of Salmon and, Cowin, Inc, 59 N L K B 312 266 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD ORDER Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and the entire record in the case, it is hereby ordered that the petition for investigation and certification of representatives of employees of Marcal Pulp & Paper Co., Inc., East Paterson, New Jersey, filed by United Construction Workers, United Mine Workers of America, be, and it hereby is, dismissed.