Imperial Rice Mills, Inc.

612 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD IMPERIAL RICE MILLS, INC.,' LOUISIANA RICE GROWERS, INC. and NA- TIONAL AGRICULTURAL WORKERS UNION, AFL, PETITIONER BROWN AND CASSIDY WAREHOUSE, INC.; 2 LOUISIANA IRRIGATION AND, MILL COMPANY; MOWATA RICE DRIER, INC.;' INDEPENDENT RICE MILL, INC.; LOVING RICE MILLS, INC. ; RICE CITY MILLING CO., INC. and RICE WORKERS LOCAL 321, NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL WORKERS UNION, AFL, PETITIONER. Cases Nos. 15-RC-1083, 15-RC-1084 15-RC-1139, 1,5-RC-1140,15-RC-1141,15-RC-1142,15-RC-1143, and 15-RC-1144. October 27, 1954 Decision and Direction of Elections Upon petitions duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, a consolidated hearing was held before William W. Fox, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. Upon the entire record in these cases, the Board finds : 1. The following Employers contend that they do not meet the Board's jurisdictional standards and that the Board should therefore decline to assert jurisdiction over them : Brown and Cassidy Warehouse, Inc., is a public storage warehouse in Crowley, Louisiana, which is engaged in storing rice and selling seed rice and fertilizer. During the Company's past fiscal year, it received $10,000 to $12,000 for storage services, made $15,000 in sales of ferti- lizer to local farmers, and sold them between $400,000 and $450,000 of seed rice. The Company also sold seed rice valued at $60,000 to customers in Cuba. The Company argues that the shipment to Cuba was a "freak sale" brought about by the unusual shortage of Texas rice which its Cuban customers normally prefer over the Louisiana variety. However, the record shows that at the time of the hearing the Company's manager was in Cuba for the express purpose of retaining these customers and developing additional business. As the Employ- er's shipments outside the State amounted to more than $50,000 during the Company's past fiscal year and the Company is endeavoring to continue its sales to Cuba, we find that Brown and Cassidy Ware- house, Inc., is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act and that it will effectuate the policies of the Act to assert jurisdiction over it. Louisiana Irrigation and Mill Company operates a rice drier and warehouse and does irrigation work in Crowley, Louisiana. During 1953, the Company received about $89,430 from the operation of its 1 The petition in this case was withdrawn by the Petitioner with the approval of the Regional Director immediately preceding the hearing. 2 The names of the Employers in Cases Nos . 15-RC-1139 and 15-RC-1141 appear as amended at the hearing. 3 As the Board desires to give further consideration to Afowata Rice Drier, Inc , Case No. 15-RC-1141, that case is heieby severed from the other consolidated cases herein. 110 NLRB No. 87. IMPERIAL RICE MILLS, INC. 613 drier, cleaning and treating seed rice, and storing rice. The Company also received in return for irrigation services to farmers about $532,- -000 of rice at least $427,000 of which is sold to Louisiana mills that in 'turn make out-of-State shipments in excess of $50,000 each. The Company contends that the furnishing of irrigation services to local farmers is an entirely agricultural operation and that the income received from this aspect of its business should not be considered by the Board in deciding the question of jurisdiction. As the Louisiana Irrigation and Mill Company last year furnished in excess of $100,000 of rice to interstate milling companies, each of which made out-of- State shipments of at least $50,000, we find that this Employer is en- gaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act, and that it will ef- fectuate the policies of the Act to assert jurisdiction over it. As to the remaining Employers involved in these proceedings, we find that they are engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act and that it will effectuate the policies of the Act to assert jurisdiction over them because each makes shipments outside the State which are valued at a minimum of $50,000 annually. 2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain em- ployees of the Employers. 3. Questions affecting commerce exist concerning the representa- tion of employees of the Employers within the meaning of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. 4. The parties are agreed that separate production or production and maintenance units are appropriate for each of the Companies involved herein. "However, the Employers would exclude all those seasonal employees who worked less than 20 weeks during the pre- ceding year. The record discloses that the rice milling and ware- house companies herein are all located in and near Crowley, Louisiana. In addition to their small year-round crews of 5 to 8 employees, the Companies each hire up,to,about 35 employees who work from the be- ginning of the milling, season in August until some time in the first 3 or 4 months of the following year. During the peak of the milling season from mid-September until late in December, the Companies further augment their working force by as many as 10 employees each. The Petitioners' witnesses testified that mills hire back sub- stantially the same employees from year to year, while the Employers' witnesses estimated that only about 10 percent of the seasonal em- ployees return to the same Employer the following season. In any event, it is clear that most seasonal employees are recruited from the Crowley area and depend upon these mills for employment. Seasonal employees work on the various shifts along with year-round employees but do not acquire the seniority rights or receive the hospitalization and insurance benefits to which the year-round employees are en- titled. In view of the foregoing, particularly the fact that the Em- 614 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD ployers draw their seasonal employees from the same labor market area from season to season, we find that all seasonal employees have sufficient interest in employment conditions to warrant their inclusion in the respective units and their participation in the elections directed herein 4 We find that the following employees of the Employers constitute units appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act : (1) All year-round and seasonal production and maintenance em- ployees of Louisiana Rice Growers, Inc., at Crowley, Louisiana, ex- cluding office clerical employees; professional employees, miller, first miller, second miller, third miller, buyers, graders, watchmen, guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act. (2) All year-round and seasonal production employees of Brown and Cassidy Warehouse, Inc., at Crowley, Louisiana, excluding all office -clerical employees, professional employees, miller, first miller, second miller, third miller, buyers, graders, watchmen, guards, main- tenance employees, and supervisors as defined in the Act. - (3) All year-round and seasonal production employees of Louisi- ana Irrigation and Mill Company at Crowley, Louisiana, excluding all office-clerical employees, plant clerical employees, maintenance em- ployees, professional employees, miller, first miller, second miller, third miller, buyers, graders, watchmen, guards, and supervisors as -defined in-the Act. - - - -- (4) All year-round and seasonal production and maintenance em- ployees of Independent Rice Mill, Inc., at Crowley, Louisiana, ex- -eluding all office clerical employees, professional employees, miller, first miller, second miller, third miller, buyers, graders, watchmen, guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act. (5) All year-round and seasonal production and maintenance,em- -ployees of Loving Rice Mills, Inc., at Crowley, Louisiana, excluding all office clerical 'employees, professional employees, buyers, graders, miller, first miller, second miller, third miller, watchmen, guards, and -supervisors as defined in the Act. - (6) All year-round- and seasonal production and maintenance; ern- -ployees of Rice City Milling Co., Inc., at Crowley, Louisiana, ex- cluding all office clerical employees, professional employees, buyers, graders, miller, first miller, second miller, third miller, watchmen, guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act. [Text of Direction of Elections omitted from publication.] MEMBER PETERSON took no part in the consideration of the above Decision and' Direction of Elections. 4Nephi Processing Plant, Inc, 107 NLRB 647; Western Hyway Oil Company, 106 NLRB 125. Cf Producers Rice Mill, Inc. and Producers Dryer, Inc., 106 NLRB 119.