Jones Lumber Company

In the Matter of Jo s LUMBER COMPANY and LUMBER AND SAW- MILL WORKERS UNION, LOCAL No. 2877, CHARTERED BY UNITED BROTHERHOOD OF CARPENTERS AND JOINERS OF AMERICA, AFFILIATED WITH THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR Case No. R-1148 SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION AND SUPPLEMENTAL DIRECTION August 29, 1939 On April 11, 1939, the National Labor Relations Board, herein called the Board, issued a Decision and Direction of Election in the above-entitled case.' The Direction of Election directed that an election by secret ballot be conducted within twenty (20) days from the date of the Direction of Election among all plant and production employees employed by Jones Lumber Company during the pay-roll period next preceding the date of said Direction of Election, exclud- ing office employees, foremen, and other supervisory employees, to determine whether they desired to be represented by Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union, Local No. 2877, chartered by United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, herein called Local No. 2877, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, or by Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union, Local No. 3, International Woodworkers of America, herein called Local No. 3, affiliated with the Committee for Industrial Organization, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither. Pursuant to the Direction, an election by secret ballot was con- ducted on April 28, 1939, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Direct or for the Nineteenth Region (Seattle, Washington). On May 23, 1939, the said Regional Director, acting pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 1, as amended, issued and duly served upon the parties an Intermediate Report upon the secret ballot. 112 N. L. R. B. 209. 14 N. L. R. B., No. 95. 1179 1180 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD As to the balloting and its results, the Regional Director reported as follows : Total No. eligible voters____________________________________ 159 -Total•No. of ballots cast____________________________________ 159 Total No. of valid ballots cast______________________________ 155 Total No. of votes in favor of Lumber and Sawmill Workers' Union, Local No. 2877, chartered by United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America____________________ 74 Total No. of votes in favor of Lumber and Sawmill Workers' Union, Local No. 3, International Woodworkers of America__ 78 Total No. of votes in favor of neither______________________ 1 Total No. of blank ballots__________________________________ 0 Total No. of void ballots__________________________________ 0 Total No. of challenged votes________________________________ 6 Total No. of challenged votes sustained______________ 4 Total No. of challenged votes disallowed_____________ 2 Total No. eligible voters not voting__________________________ 0 Local No. 3 challenged the. right of. Frank Stewart, set-up man. in the planing mill, Joe Lombardi, rough-dry grader in yard, Paul Stier, Mill B employee, J. A. Johnston, chain-order checker, and G.' W.. McEachran, warehouseman, to vote on the ground that they were supervisory, employees within the meaning of the Direction of Election. Local No. 3 also challenged the right of Phil Harris, Mill,B employee, to vote on the ground that he was not an employee at the plant within the meaning of the Direction of Election. In his Intermediate Report the Regional Director sustained the challenges with respect to Frank Stewart, Joe Lombardi, Paul Stier, and J. A. Johnston. He ruled that Phil Harris and G. W. McEachran were eligible to vote but did not count their ballots because they could not affect the outcome of the election. Thereafter Local No. 2877 duly filed exceptions to the finding of the Regional Director in his Intermediate Report that the ballot was impartially conducted, to his rulings with respect to Frank Stewart, Joe Lombardi, Paul Stier, and J. A. Johnston, and moved to reopen the case for additional evidence. Local No. 3 filed no exceptions to the Intermediate Report. In Section V of its Decision and Direction of Election,2 issued on April 11, 1939, the Board discussed the question concerning the appropriate unit and found certain facts in respect thereto. In accordance with these findings we excluded "office employees, fore- men, and other supervisory employees" from the unit and hence from participation in the ballot. Except for the ruling on. the eligibility $ See footnote 1, supra. JONES LUMBER COMPANY 1181 of Phil Harris, which is hereby sustained, the challenges under con- sideration require that we construe this language of the Direction. We think it is clear from. the record of the hearing upon which our findings and Direction were based, and from the discussion in our Decision, that the only supervisory employees excluded from the unit were foremen, and supervisory employees of rank equal to or higher than foremen. Applying the Direction of Election as interpreted in the light of the record to the facts found in the Regional Director's Inter- mediate Report, we conclude that Frank Stewart, Joe Lombardi, Paul Stier, and J. A. Johnston as well as Phil Harris and G. W. McEachran were eligible to vote. Accordingly, the exceptions to the Intermediate Report filed by Local No. 2877 are sustained with respect to Frank Stewart, Joe Lombardi, Paul Stier, and J. A. Johnston. The exception to the finding of the Regional Director in the Inter- mediate Report that the ballot was impartially conducted does not raise a material and substantial issue with respect to the conduct of the ballot,4 and the motion to reopen the case for additional evidence is denied. On the basis of the entire record in the proceeding, the Board makes the following: DIRECTION By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, it is hereby DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation directed by the Board to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bar- gaining with Jones Lumber Company, the Regional Director for the Nineteenth Region (Seattle, Washington), shall, pursuant to the rulings of the Board set forth above, and subject to Article S The exclusion was in accordance with, and predicated upon, the express desire of Local No. 3, the organization which asked to have foremen excluded from the unit. At the original hearing the business agent of Local No. 3 was asked to point out on the pay roll of the Company , the names of the men whom Local No. 3 claimed were foremen and should be included . Although the names of all the employees whose ballots are challenged appeared on the pay roll, they were not objected to by the witness. 4In its exceptions Local No . 2877 alleged that at the election Local No. 3 objected to Paul Stier's participation in the ballot solely on the ground that he was an employee of Mill B but that the Regional Director later permitted Local No. 3 to make a new objection based upon the alleged supervisory status of Stier. Local No. 2877 contended that for this reason the ballot was not impartially conducted . As stated above, we hold that Paul Stier is eligible to participate in the ballot. 1182 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD III, Section 9, of said Rules and Regulations, within ten (10) days from the date of this Direction , open and count the ballots of Frank Stewart, Joe Lombardi, Paul Stier, J. A. Johnston, Phil Harris, and G. W. McEachran, and shall thereafter prepare and cause to be served upon the parties in this case his amended Intermediate Report embodying his findings thereon and his recommendations as to the results of the secret ballot.