American Can Co.

18 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD American Can Company and International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite & Paper Mill Workers, AFL-CIO, Petitioner, and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union No. 280, AFL-CIO, Petitioner, Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers, Independent and Cannery , Warehousemen and Helpers Local Union No. 670, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, Independent, Intervenors.' Cases 36-RC-2496 and 36-RC-2499 October 9, 1969 DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ,ELECTIONS By CHAIRMAN MCCULLOCH AND MEMBERS FANNING AND JENKINS Upon separate petitions duly filed under Section 9(c) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, a consolidated hearing was held before Hearing Officer E. G. Strumpf of the National Labor Relations Board. The Hearing Officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error, and are hereby affirmed.' Following the hearing and pursuant to Section 102.67 of the National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations and Statements of Procedure, Series 8, as amended, these cases were transferred to the National Labor Relations Board for decision. Thereafter, the Employer, the Petitioners, and the Intervenor AWPPW filed briefs which have been considered by the Board. 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. Upon the entire record in these cases, the Board finds: 1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act. 2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain employees of the Employer. 3. Questions affecting commerce exist concerning the representation of certain employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9(c)(1) and Section 2(6) and (7) of the Act. 4. The Employer opened a pulp and paper mill at Halsey, Oregon, in October 1968. There is no history of representation and bargaining at the plant. In Case 36-RC-2496, the Petitioner, At the hearing, Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers, Independent (herein called AWTPW), and Cannery, Warehousemen and Helpers Local Union No 670, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, Independent (herein called Teamsters), were permitted to intervene on the basis of their showings of interest. 'At the hearing, the Petitioner in Case 36-RC-2499, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union No. 280, AFL-CIO (herein called IBEW), was granted leave to intervene in Case 36-RC-2496 International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite and Paper Mill Workers (herein called Pulp Workers), seeks to represent all production and maintenance employees employed at the Employer's Halsey pulp and paper plant. As amended at the hearing, IBEW's petition, in Case 36-RC-2499, seeks self-determination elections for employees in two units: Unit A to include all recovery steam power employees, including those in the powerhouse and recovery area; and Unit B to include all maintenance department employees. As alternatives to its Unit B request, IBEW proposes either a unit of all maintenance electricians and instrument men, or a unit of all maintenance electricians. All proposed units provide for the usual exclusions of office clerical employees, guards, professional employees, and supervisors as defined in the Act. The Employer and the Intervenors, AWPPW and Teamsters, agree with the Pulp Workers' position that, because of the highly integrated nature of the operation, the only appropriate unit here is composed of all production and maintenance employees. Pulp Workers, AWPPW, and Teamsters, however, wish to appear on the ballot in any election directed; IBEW, on the other hand, does not wish to participate in an election if ordered only among the production and maintenance employees. The Employer is engaged in the manufacture of tissue products at its newly constructed pulp and paper mill in Halsey. The entire production operation, from raw materials (wood chips, fibers, and sawdust) to finished product (tissues, napkins, and towels), involves three basic and integral manufacturing operations which are performed in separate manufacturing areas of the Halsey Mill: the Pulping and Utilities operation, which is responsible for the production of a uniform grade of bleached pulp from the raw materials; the Paper Mill, which produces various grades of tissue paper (parent rolls) from the bleached pulp; and, the Converting Plant, which produces the finished tissue products from the parent rolls.3 When fully operational, the Halsey Mill will be operating on a continuous basis, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. Unit A The recovery steam power employees perform the utilities function for the entire Mill and are part of the Pulping and Utilities operation . When fully operational, this group will have 16 employees, 'At the time of the hearing, the Halsey Mill was still partially under construction and not yet fully operational. The mill was engaged in the process of converting paper to tissue but neither the pulping process nor paper machines were in operation About 148 employees of an expected total complement of 384 employees were at work, in 33 of 50 expected job classifications Plant completion was expected by the end of the year. Although the plant was not fully operational, no party contended that the record did not adequately describe the functions and work task of all who will be employed. Indeed, all agreed that an immediate election would best serve everyone's interests 179 NLRB No. 12 AMERICAN CAN COMPANY 19 consisting of one power and recovery operator and a first, second, and third helper on each of the four shifts. The power and recovery employees perform 90 percent of their work at the powerhouse, which is a separate building, and in the recovery area. The rest of their time is spent in other parts of the plant - checking on the water plant, running various chemical tests, reading meters, checking water pumps to the river. The power and recovery operator on each shift is responsible for the utilities operation, including the supplying of water from the Willamette River, and the treatment and distribution of it throughout the mill. He is responsible for the operation of the steam generating facilities, and the distribution of steam throughout the mill; the generation of compressed air and its distribution throughout the mill; the distribution of electricity and electrical power throughout the mill;4 and, the evaporation and burning and chemical recovery as performed by the evaporators and the chemical recovery boiler. The first helper will generally operate the chemical recovery unit and the steam generating power boiler and the facilities within the power house itself. He may also be involved in the water intake, the water effluent treatment system, and distribution of the utilities throughout the mill, as directed by the power and recovery operator. The second helper will generally be engaged in the operation of the evaporators and the external facilities at the power house. As the needs require, he may also be assigned to other facets of the utilities operation. The third helper will generally be engaged in assisting the first helper on the chemical recovery boiler and operations relating thereto. These employees do not interchange with employees in other departments, nor do they interchange with employees engaged in the pulping operation. There is separate job progression through the four classifications of employees in this group - from third helper to power and recovery operator. The recovery steampower employees on each shift are supervised by a pulp and utilities shift supervisor who is, in turn, responsible to the pulp and utilities superintendent. There is presently also a utilities supervisor, Leo Hamilton, who acts as a general troubleshooter in the utilities operation. He participates in interviewing job applicants, and trains new employees in the steampower and recovery operations. Hamilton, however, works only one shift and is being groomed to become assistant pulp and utilities superintendent. It is apparent, from the foregoing and the entire record, that the recovery steampower employees who work in the powerhouse and in the recovery area comprise a functionally distinct group to whom the Board customarily grants separate representation.5 Their function, performed 'Halsey Mill does not generate its own electrical power but purchases all electricity from Pacific Power and Light Company. essentially in the powerhouse and recovery area, is distinct from that performed by employees in other departments; they have a separate line of job progression; they do not interchange with employees in other departments. And, although the recovery steampower employees are supervised by pulp and utilities shift supervisors, this fact alone does not, in our opinion, militate against finding that these employees comprise a functionally distinct group. Accordingly, under all the circumstances, we find that all recovery steampower employees, including those in the powerhouse and recovery area, constitute a functionally distinct powerhouse department, appropriate for representation in a unit by themselves, if they so desire. Unit B The maintenance department employees whom IBEW seeks to represent are responsible for maintaining and repairing plant equipment within the pulp and utilities area, the paper mill, and the yard and shop area.' Included in this group are employees with primary skills as machinist, millwright, pipefitter, welder, electrician, instrument man, oiler, and yard man. When fully operational, the Employer will have approximately 69 maintenance employees. Except for the oilers and yard men, all maintenance employees are experienced and are classified by the Employer as "Journeyman Maintenance Mechanic" with an identified "primary skill" such as electrician, instrument man, welder, pipefitter, etc. Although they work throughout the plant on a daily assignment basis, the maintenance employees' "home base" is the machine shop, an area located within the converting building. And, while it appears that only the machinists perform any substantial work in the shop, all maintenance employees have their tool lockers there. All maintenance employees, except the electricians and instrument men, are supervised by a mechanical maintenance foreman in the area to which they are assigned to do a particular job. Thus, there is a mechanical maintenance supervisor in the pulp and utilities area, in the paper mill, and in the shop and yard area. These foremen are responsible to the maintenance superintendent, who is responsible to the superintendent of engineering. The latter reports to Mill Manager Thomas Orr. The maintenance electricians and the instrument men, on the other hand, are supervised by the electrical and instrument foreman (Don James). There is also an electrical and instrument engineer , Larry Woolums, who, 'Georgia-Pacific Corporation, et al., 156 NLRB 946, 948; International Paper Company, 171 NLRB No. 89. 'It is noted that IBEW's Unit B does not include the converting mechanics who perform maintenance work in , and are permanently assigned to, the converting operation . These employees report directly to a supervisor of converting maintenance who is responsible to the converting superintendent . The converting mechanics were described as "a kind of blend of millwrights and machinists." 20 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD together with Don James reports directly to the superintendent of engineering, thereby bypassing the maintenance superintendent. Mill Manager Orr testified, however, that Woolums will, in time, also report to the maintenance superintendent. The work of the maintenance employees will be scheduled on a' daily basis by the maintenance planning section, which is not yet operational, and which will be headed by a maintenance planning superintendent. Actual assignment of particular maintenance employees to a specific job will be done by their supervisors. Such assignments were made, at the time of the hearing, by the maintenance superintendent. In performing their functions throughout the mill, the maintenance employees work closely with the production workers because of the operators' familiarity with their machines and, at times, may even be directed in their work on machines by production supervisors. Production employees are also responsible for keeping their equipment in working order and, to that extent, are required to make minor adjustments. In addition, the production employees frequently assist the maintenance people by preparing their machines for service, but the function of the former is incidental to that of the maintenance people. Production workers do not, however, assist in preparing or servicing machines not assigned to their use. Maintenance employees do not perform production work and, except as noted, production employees do not perform maintenance work. There is, however, interchange within the maintenance department itself under the Employer's flexible concept of maintenance. Thus, the Employer recognizes an' employee's primary skill and will normally assign him work in that skill area. In addition, however, the employee is expected to learn and perform work in a "secondary skill." For example, a machinist might, do the work of a welder; a welder the work of a pipefitter,,and so on. The maintenance department employees are among the highest paid hourly employees at the Mill with a starting rate of $4.32, compared to the starting rate of $2.99 1/2 - earned by other employees. The Employer maintains separate records of the labor costs of the maintenance department alone. On the other hand, the Employer has a single labor policy for all hourly- rated employees which is administered by the Employee Relations Department. All hourly employees participate in the same insurance programs, and have the same vacations and holiday; all hiring and firing is done by the Employee Relations Department, although special skill interviews, when necessary, may also be conducted by the superintendent of the department to which the applicant is to be assigned. All hourly rated employees share a common parking lot, time clock, lockerroom, and lunchroom facility. In view of the foregoing and the entire record herein, we find that, despite the integrated nature of the Employer's operation, the employees performing the maintenance function are an identifiable group with separate interests. In accord with long standing Board policy concerning initial organization, and based on the record here made concerning the separate function of the maintenance department employees, we find that they may constitute a separate unit if they so desire.7 This will include the maintenance electricians and instrument men who, although currently under separate immediate supervision, are an integral part of the maintenance operation. In view of our determination that certain departmental employees may constitute separate units if they so desire, and as a production and maintenance unit is a normal unit appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining, we shall make no final unit determination at this time, but shall direct separate elections by secret ballot among the employees at the Employer's Halsey, Oregon, pulp and paper mill in the following voting groups, excluding from groups A and B all otheremployees and supervisors as defined in the Act. Voting Group A: All recovery steampower employees, including those in the powerhouse and recovery area. Voting Group B: All 'maintenance department employees. Voting Group C: All production and maintenance employees, excluding the employees in Voting Groups A - and B, and office clerical employees, guards; professional employees, and supervisors as defined in the Act. If the majority of the employees in Voting Group A selects the IBEW, or if the majority of the employees in Voting Group B selects the IBEW, the employees in that group will be taken to have indicated their desire to constitute a separate bargaining unit, and the ' Officer-in-Charge conducting the elections is hereby instructed to issue a certification of representatives to the IBEW for such , unit or units, which the Board under the circumstances finds to be appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining. However, if a majority of the employees in either voting group does not vote for separate' representation, that group will appropriately be included in the production and maintenance unit and their ballots shall be pooled with those of Voting Group C.8 If a majority in Voting Group C, including any pooled group, vote 'Crown Simpson Pulp Company, 163 NLRB 796. 'If the votes are pooled, they are to be tallied in the following manner The votes for International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union No. 280, AFL-CIO, seeking separate units in Voting Groups A and B shall be counted as valid votes but neither for nor against the labor organizations seeking to represent the production and maintenance unit. All other votes are to be accorded their face value. AMERICAN CAN COMPANY election shall be held between the two choices having polled the most votes to determine which organization shall be certified as the representative of employees in Voting Group C, pursuant to Section 102.70 of the Board's Rules and Regulations. [Direction of Elections' ommitted from publication.] 'In order to assure that all eligible voters may have the opportunity to be informed of the issues in the exercise of their statutory right to vote, all parties to the election should have access to a list of voters and their addresses which may be used to communicate with them. Excelsior Underwear Inc.. 156 NLRB 1236; N.L.R.B. v. Wyman-Gordon Company. 394 U.S. 759. Accordingly, it is hereby directed that an election eligibility list, containing the names and addresses of all the eligible voters, must be 21 for the Pulp Workers; the AWPPW, or the Teamsters, said labor organization shall be certified as the representative of employees in such group, which, under the circumstances, the Board finds to be an appropriate unit for purposes of collective bargaining. If none of these labor organizations receives a majority of the votes cast, a run-off filed by the Employer with the Officer-in-Charge for Subregion 36 within 7 days of the date of this Decision and Direction of Elections. The Officer-in-Charge shall make the list available to all parties to the election. No extension of time to file this list shall be granted by the Officer-in-Charge except in extraordinary circumstances . Failure to comply with this requirement shall be grounds for setting aside the election whenever proper objections are filed.