Weyerhaeuser Timber Co.

In the Matter Of WEYERHAEUSER TIMBER CODiPANY and INTERNA- TIONAL WOODWORKERS OF AMERICA, LOCAL No. 107, BoolI rEN AND RAFTERS In the. Matter of LONGVIEW BRANCH, WEYERHAEUSER Tii rnrR CoTI- PANY and BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE.FIREIEN, AND^ENGINEMEN, In the Matter of LONGVIEW BRANCH, WEYERHAEUSER TIMBER COM- PANY and BROTHERHOOD OF RAILROAD TRAINMEN Cases Nos. R-1315, R-1316, and R-1317, respectively.-Decided. October 30, 1,939 Lumber Industry-Investigation of Representatives : controversy concerning representation of employees : rival organizations ; employer refuses to nego- tiate with exponents of craft groups, asserting that it is bound by contract with industrial union-Unit Appropriate-for Collective Bargaining: jurisdic- tional dispute: units sought by affiliates of American Federation of Labor involved in a dispute over jurisdiction not passed upon ; traimnen, firemen, aVd boommen, rafters, and slipmen each given opportunity to select separate repre- sentation ; determination of appropriate unit or units held dependent upon outcome of elections-Elections Ordered: exponents of industrial units placed upon ballots in elections among craft groups with provision that proceeding would be dismissed if either industrial union won unless, within thirty (30) days of the date of the elections,, winning industrial union notified Board that it desired to be certified as the representative of a craft group. Mr. Patrick H. Walker, for the Board. Mr. W. E. Heidinger, of Tacoma, Wash., for the Company. Mr. John C. Stevenson, of Seattle, Wash., for I. W. A. Local 107 and for I. W. A. Local 36. Mr. C. W. Stevens, of Portland, Oreg., for the Firemen and for the Trainmen. Mr. L. Presley Gill, of Seattle, Wash., for L. and S., Local 2641 and Local 2642. Mr. James A. Duncan, of Seattle, Wash., and Mr. David Kaplan, of Washington,'D. C., for the I. A. M. Mr. A. E. Martin, of Seattle, Wash., for the I. B. E. W. Mr. John T. Gunn, of Longview, Wash., and Mr. J. N. Davis, of Kansas City, Kans., for the Boilermakers. Mr. Robert Burstein, of counsel to the Board. 16 N. L. R. B., No. 75. 902 WEYERHAEUSER TIMBER COMPANY DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS STATEMENT OF THE CA SE 903 On Sepember 15, 1938, International Woodworkers of America, Local No; 107, Boommen and Rafters, herein called I. W. A. Local..,. 107, and on December 14, 1938, Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen, herein called the Firemen, and Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, herein called the Trainmen, respectively, filed with the Regional Director for the Nineteenth Region (Seattle, Washington), three separate petitions, each alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of em- ployees of Weyerhaeuser Timber Company,' herein called the Com- pany, who are employed at its Longview Branch, Longview, Wash- ington, and requesting an investigation and certification of repre- sentatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On February 20, 1939, the National Labor Relations Board, herein called the Board, acting pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the Act and Article III, Section 3, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 1, as amended, ordered an investigation and authorized the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice; and, pursuant to Article III, Section 10 (c) (2), of said Rules and Regulations, ordered that the three cases be con- solidated for the purposes of the hearing. On February. 25, 1939, the Regional Director issued separate notices of hearing in the three cases, copies of which were duly served upon the Company; upon I. W. A. Local 107, the Firemen, and the Trainmen, the petitioners herein; and upon Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union, Local 2641, herein called Local 2641, Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union, Local 2642, herein called Lo- cal 2642, International Association of Machinists, Local No. 1350, herein called the I. A. M., International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union No. B 77, herein called the I. B. E. W., Inter- national Brotherhood. of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders and Helpers of America, Lodge No. 611, herein called the Boilermakers. and International Woodworkers of America, Local 36, herein called I. W. A. Local 36, labor organizations claiming to represent em- ployees directly affected by the investigation. 1 Erroneously referred to in one of the petitions and in the order directing investigation as Weyerhauser Timber Company. 247383-40-vol. 16-58 904 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Pursuant to the notices , a hearing was held at Longview, Wash- ington, commencing on March 9 , 1939, and concluding on March 18, 1939, before Henry W. Schmidt, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Board. In the course of the hearing, the Trial Examiner granted leave to intervene to Local 2641, Local 2642, the I. A. M., the I . B. E. W., the Boilermakers , and I . W. A. Local 36. All parties were represented by counsel or by union officers and par- ticipated in the hearing. Full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses , and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues was afforded all parties. During the course of the hear- ing the Trial Examiner made a number of rulings on motions and 'on objections to the admission of evidence. The Board has reviewed the rulings of the Trial Examiner and finds that no prejudicial errors were committed . The rulings are hereby affirmed. Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held before'the Board on May 25, 1939, at Washington , D. C., for the purpose of oral argument. The Company, the Firemen, the Trainmen , the I. A. M., and the Boilermakers were represented and participated in the argument. The Company, the Firemen and the Trainmen , and Local 2641 and Local 2642 filed briefs which the Board has considered. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the 'following : FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS .OF THE, COMPANY Weyerhaeuser Timber Company is a Washington corporation en- gaged in the manufacture and sale of fir, cedar, and hemlock timber. Its principal office and place of business is at Tacoma , Washington. It operates manufacturing branches at Longview , Everett, Vail, and Melbourne, Washington, and Klamath Falls, Oregon. This pro- ceeding concerns representation of employees at the . Longview Branch. The operations of the Company at this branch are, briefly de- scribed, as follows : The logging operations are normally conducted in four camps, which were, at the time of the hearing, located at a distance of 5 to 30 miles from each other and approximately 50 miles from the mills at Longview. The camps are connected by the Com- pany's logging railroad, consisting of about 123 miles and extending to about 28 miles from the mills. For a distance of approximately 19 miles from that point, the Company operates its trains over the railroad of the Cowlitz Development Company, an intrastate rail- road owned jointly by the Company and by Ostrander Railway and Timber Company and used exclusively by them for the transporta- tion of logs; and, for the remaining 9 miles, over the railroad of the WEYERHAEUSER TIMBER COMPANY 905 Columbia and Cowlitz Railway Company, a common carrier having switching connections with transcontinental railroads. In the- course of production the trees are felled by the fallers, cut into log lengths by the buckers, brought to the railroad siding by the loggers, and placed on the Company's trains by the loaders. The logs are then transported by the Company's train crews to Long- view and dumped into the mill pond adjoining the sawmills. At this point the logs are sorted by the boommen and directed by them to the proper "pockets," or lanes, leading to the different mills. At the lower ends of the pockets, or slips, they are placed by the slipmen on moving chains, known as "log haul chains," which convey them to the log deck and the mills. - In the mills the logs are cut into lumber and then subjected to various processes, such as drying and planing. In both the woods and the mills the Company, in addition to the employees engaged in the logging and sawmill work proper, maintains machine shops and maintenance and construction depart- ments which are composed of engineers, machinists, electricians, boilermakers, welders, millwrights,. and other mechanics. The raw materials, other than logs, used by the Company in its operation consist of fuel oil, cables, belting, and similar supplies. Approximately 75 per cent of such materials are secured outside of the State of Washington . During the year 1938 the Company pro- duced and sold approximately 311,256,000 feet of lumber, aggregating in value $8 ,336,435. Approximately 85 per cent of the entire output was shipped to points outside the State of Washington. All sales of the Company's products are made through the Weyer- haeuser Sales Company, a. Washington corporation having its prin- cipal office at St. Paul , Minnesota. At the date of the hearing the Company, at its Longview Branch, employed approximately 1,600 employees in the sawmills , herein called the mills employees, and approximately 800 in the logging operation, herein called the woods employees. If. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED International Woodworkers of America, Local No. 107, Boommen and Rafters, is a labor organization affiliated with the International Woodworkers of America, herein called the I. W. A., which is in turn affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations. It admits to membership the boommen and rafters and slipmen of the Company. I. W. A. Local 107 is also a member of the Northwest Council of Boommen, an intermediate organization acting on behalf of various boommen's local unions. The ' Council was organized in 1935 by a number of such locals which had been chartered by United Brother- 906 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD hood of Carpenters and Joiners -of America, herein called the Car- penters. At some time thereafter these locals changed their affiliation to the I. W. A. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen and the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen are unaffiliated labor organizations admitting to membership the Company's locomotive firemen and en= gineers and train conductors and brakemen, respectively. Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union, Local 2641 and Local 2642, are labor organizations affiliated with the Carpenters which in turn is affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, herein called the A. F. of L. Local 2641 admits to membership all the production and maintenance employees of the Company in the mills. Local 2642 admits to membership all of the production and maintenance, em- ployees of the Company in the woods. International Association of Machinists, Local No. 1350, is a labor organization affiliated with the A. F. of L., admitting to membership employees of the Company engaged in machine work, including ma- chinists,.machini.sts' helpers, welders, and millwrights. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union No. B 77, is a labor organization affiliated with the A. F. of L., admitting to membership electricians employed by the Company. International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders and Helpers of America, Lodge No. 611, is a labor organization affiliated with the A. F. of L., admitting to membership boilermakers, welders; and helpers employed by the Company. International Woodworkers of America, Local 36, is a labor organ- ization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, ad= mitting to membership all the production and maintenance employees of the Company. _ III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION In 1933 the employees of the Company at its Longview Branch were organized in Federal Union 18260, herein called the old Federal Union, which was directly affiliated with the A. F. of L. and had jurisdiction over the employees of the Company and of the Long-Bell Company. In March 1934, an election was held under the National Industrial Recovery Act between the old Federal Union and the Loyal Legion of Loggers and Lumbermen, another labor organization, to determine the bargaining representatives of the, employees of the Company. The election was won by the old Federal Union. Early in 1935, the old Federal Union, upon order of the Executive Council of the A. F. of L. affiliated with the Carpenters and shortly thereafter became Local 2504. Local 2504 was dissolved in the latter part of July or early in WEYERHAEUSER TIMBER COMPANY 907 August 1935, and was succeeded by Local 2641 and Local 2642 which were granted jurisdiction over the woods employees and the mills employees, respectively. In May or June 1935, a committee of Local 2504 began to negotiate a working agreement with the Company. A tentative agreement was reached, but before it was submitted for approval to the membership of Local 2504, the employees of the Company joined in the general strike in the lumber industry which took place at that time and lasted about 6 weeks. Thereafter, Local 2641 undertook to negotiate an agreement for the mills employees. On October 30, 1935, the Company executed an agreement with Local 2641 governing wages, hours, and working conditions of the mills employees generally. Although in the negotiations leading to this agreement Local 2641 had requested bargaining rights for all the mills employees, exclusive recognition was withheld. The agreement provided that the "Union shall be dealt with by the Employer as the collective bargaining agency for all its members employees of the Employer in its sawmills and manufac- turing:departments at Longview; Washington, and for this purpose the Union shall certify the names of its members to the Employer, which the Employer may verify." On April 15, 1937, the Company renewed its agreement with Local 2641. According to the testimony of Clifford- Richter, a representative of the Carpenters, who attended the negotiations leading to this .agreement, Local 2641 demanded a closed-shop provision, although it was principally concerned with a wage increase. The Company granted the wage increase but denied the demand for a closed shop and again recognized Local 2641 as the bargaining agent of its members only. On the same day the Company also entered into a similar agreement with Local 2642 pro- viding for recognition of Local 2642 as the bargaining agent for its members and governing wages, hours, and working conditions of the woods employees generally. Both of these agreements were renewed with minor changes on October 31, 1938, subject to termination or modification by either party upon 30 days' notice. The conductors and the brakemen and the firemen and the engineers employed by the Company on its logging trains, some of whom had heretofore been members of Local 2642, began to affiliate with the Trainmen and Firemen, respectively, in September or Octo- ber 1938. Late in November 1938 a committee composed of members of the Trainmen and the Firemen requested Local 2642 to relinquish jurisdiction over the train crews. Local 2642 denied the request on the ground that it had no authority under the constitution of the Car- penters to take such action. It assured the committee, however, that it would not interfere in any way with the activities of the Trainmen and Firemen and would, moreover, lend them its "moral support." On 908 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD October 20, 1938, the Trainmen and the Firemen notified the Company that the train crews had withdrawn from Local 2642 and requested a conference for the purpose of negotiating an agreement. The Com- pany refused to enter into such .negotiations on the ground that it already had a binding agreement with. Local 2642 covering all the- woods employees, including the train crews. The boommen and rafters and slipmen employed at the mill pond began to organize in I. W. A. Local 107 late in July 1938. - A month or two thereafter they attempted to bargain with the Company, but were unsuccessful.. The Company stated that it was barred from doing so by its contract with Local 2641 which covered all the mills employees, including the boommen and rafters and slipmen. The Company, for the same reason, refused to enter into negotiations with the I. A. M. and the I. B. E. W. on behalf of the machinists and the electricians, respectively. We find that questions have arisen concerning representation of employees of the Company. IV. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTIONS CONCERNING REPRESENTATION UPON COMMERCE We find that the questions concerning representation which have arisen, occurring in connection with the operations of the Company, described in Section I above, have a close, intimate, and substantial relation to trade, traffic, and commerce among the several States, qnd tend to lead to labor disputes burdening and obstructing commerce and the free flow of commerce. V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT I. W. A. Local 107 claims as an appropriate bargaining unit the boommen, rafters, and slipmen employed at the mill pond. The I. A. M., the I. B. E. W., and the Boilermakers, respectively, claim as separate appropriate units the machinists, machinists' welders, and their helpers employed at the machine shops in the mills and in the woods; the electricians employed in the mills; and the boiler- makers, welders, and helpers in the mills.2 Local 2641 and the Com- pany contend that all the production and maintenance employees in the mills, including those claimed by I. W. A. Local 107, the I. A. M., the I. B. E. W., and the Boilermakers, and excepting only supervi- sory and office employees,'constitute a single appropriate unit. The Trainmen and the Firemen claim that the conductors and the • brakemen and the firemen and the engineers, employed on the Com- 2 Although the petition of intervention of the Boilermakers does not so state expressly, it is clear from the record that the Boilermakers confines their claim to the boilermakers, welders, and helpers in the mills. \vEYERHAEUSER TIMBER COMPANY 909 parry's logging trains, respectively, constitute units appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining. Local 2642 and the Company contend that all the production and maintenance employees in the woods, including those claimed by the I. A. M., the Trainmen, and the Firemen, and- excepting only supervisory employees having the authority to hire or discharge; office employees. and civil engineers, constitute a single appropriate unit. In its petition of intervention, I. W. A. Local 36 alleges as an appropriate unit the "logging woods and timber mill" employees.!, All the unions involved, with the exception of I. W. A. Local 36,5 request affirmative findings that the units claimed by them are appropriate and seek to be certified as the representatives of the em- ployees in such units. Locals 2641 and 2642 urge, in part, the following reasons in sup- port of the appropriateness of the units claimed by them: (1) there is interdependence between the various departments in the mills operation and in the woods operation in the sense that a stoppage of work in any one department would soon result in a shut-down of the entire operation; (2) the Company follows, to some extent, the policy of transferring employees from one department to another within the mills operation and within the woods operation in the event of curtailment of work; (3) although the agreements entered into with the Company recognized Locals 2641 and 2642 as the bargaining agents only for their members, they were applicable to all the departments within the respective operations and to all the employees, non-union as well as union; (4) Locals 2641 and 2642 did not as a matter of practice follow the restrictive phraseology in the contract with respect to recognition, but took up grievances and negotiated wages, hours, and working conditions, without objection from the Company, on behalf of all the employees and all the crafts. A. The jurisdictional. disputes As stated previously, Local 2641, Local 2642, the I. A. M., the I. B. E. W., and the Boilermakers are all affiliated wit4i the A. F. of L. Local 2641 and Local 2642 assert that they have jurisdiction over and seek to represent all the employees in the mills operation and the woods operation, respectively, inclusive of the crafts claimed by the other organizations. E Local 2642 ' s petition of intervention refers to "supervisory employees of higher rank." At the hearing it was stipulated that the supervisory employees to be excluded from the appropriate unit are those listed in Board Exhibit No. 21, all of whom "have sole right to hire and fire and are therefore considered supervisory." ' See infra, Part V, B. See infra, Part V, B. 910 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Local 2641 and Local 2642 predicate their contentions in this respect on the action of the Executive Council of the A. F. of L. taken at the meeting of January-February 1935, at which "it was decided that the request of the Carpenters be granted and the directly affili- ated unions of the American Federation of Labor involved be directed to ,transfer to the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and the A. F. of L. label be withdrawn." This action was thereafter approved by the A. F. of L. in convention assembled as follows : Your committee approves the action of the Executive Council in turning over to the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, Loggers, Lumbermen and Saw Mill Workers, who are now turning out the finished product ready for instal- lation and who properly come under the jurisdiction of that organization.,' Pursuant to this action, the Carpenters chartered Local 2641 and Local 2642. The I. A. M., the I. B. E. W.. and the Boilermakers, on the other hand, contend that the action of the Executive Council of the A. F. of L. did not contemplate the granting of jurisdiction to the Carpenters.over craft employees which fall within the jurisdic- tion of other A. F. of L. international unions. In support of this position, the I. B. E. W. introduced in evidence a letter from D. W. Tracy, its international president, stating that "at no time and under no condition were Carpenters granted jurisdiction over Electrical Workers in either lumber or sawmills." The I. A. M. similarly in- troduced in evidence a letter from H. W. Brown, its general vice president, stating, in part, that when the Federal Labor Unions were transferred to the Carpenters "it was definitely understood that the Carpenters would not represent the machinists working in these mills." The I. A. M. further introduced a copy of a purported let- ter to A. O. Wharton, dated April 22, 1936, from William M. Hutche- son, the general president of the Carpenters, stating as follows : [I] would suggest that you advise your members to tell any representative of any of our Local Unions of Lumber and Saw- mill Workers that wants your members to become affiliated with their Local Unions to politely go to H-, as we have no desire, in the organizing and establishing conditions for the men employed as Lumber and Sawmill Workers, to encroach on the jurisdiction of any other craft organization. At the hearing Homer L. Haney, a representative of the Carpenters and president of the Oregon-Washington Council of Lumber and Sawmill Workers, questioned the authenticity, of this letter, and 6Report of Proceedings of Fifty-Fifth Annual Convention of the American Federation of Labor (1935), p. 366. WEYERHAEUSER TIMBER COMPANY 911 stated that, to his knowledge, the letter did not represent the policy of the Carpenters. Similarly, Clifford Richter, a direct representa- tive of Hutcheson, asserted that Locals 2641 and 2642 are industrial unions. In conformity with our prior decisions 7 refusing to exercise jurisdiction in cases where two or more unions, each affiliated with the same parent body, seek to represent the same employees, we will not exercise jurisdiction in the dispute between Local 2641 and Local 2642 and the L A. M., the I. B. E. W., and the Boilermakers, and we will not make any determination with respect to their claims. B. The position of I. W. A. Local 36 As already noted, I. W. A. Local 36, in its petition of inter- vention, claims as an appropriate unit the "logging woods and timber mill" and alleges that it has been designated by 1,000 employees in such unit to be their representative for collective bargaining. At the hearing it was stipulated between all parties that I. W. A. Local 36 "has jurisdiction in, both the woods and the mill and that Local 36 has present membership in both divisions." I. W. A. Local 36, however, introduced no evidence as to the extent of its membership or as to the appropriateness of the unit. claimed by it in, its petition of intervention. Counsel for I. W. A. Local 36 stated its position to be that it was not "suggesting the appropriate bargaining unit," but that it was "merely placing [its] position before the Board so that, in the event the Board calls an election Local 36 . will become a party thereto on the ballot." 8 We shall, therefore, consider I. W. A. Local 36 only in so far as concerns placing it on the ballot in such elections as we direct. C. The boommen and rafters and siipmen At the date of the hearing the Company employed 15 boommen and rafters 9 and 12 slipmen.' The-boommen, and. rafters- are. con- 7 See Matter of Aluminum Company of America and Aluminum Workers Union No . 19101, 1 N. L. R . B. 530; Matter of Axton-Fisher Tobacco Company and International Association of Machinists, Local No. 681, and Tobacco Workers' International Union, Local No. 16, 1 N. L. It. B. 604 ; Matter of Curtis Bay Towing Company and Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association No. 5, 4 N. L. R . B. 360. 8 There is no dispute between I . W. A. Local 36 and I . W. A. Local 107 in regard to jurisdiction over the Company's boommen , rafters, and slipmen . In a letter to the Board's Secretary , dated September 19, 1939, copies of which were served upon all parties, counsel for both locals of the I . W. A. stated affirmatively that there was no conflict between the positions of the two locals and that Local 36 concurred in the claim of Local 107 for a separate unit and did not desire to be on the ballot in the event that an election Is held among such employees . This letter Is hereby incorporated into and made part of the record. - U In the pay rolls submitted by the Company these employees arre classified as follows : 10 pondmen , 2 sorters , 2 head raftsmen , and 1 log unloader. 912 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD sidered by the Company as constituting a separate department and work under the supervision of a separate foreman. The slipmen are not considered by the Company to fall within this department but are listed among the employees in the sawmill department proper. However, the work of the slipmen and the boommen and the rafters is interchangeable. I. W. A. Local' 107 admits the, ' slipmen to mem= bership in accordance with the general policy of the boommen's unions to admit them where their work is interchangeable with that of the boommen and rafters. The record shows that a number of companies have entered into and are operating under contracts with boommen's unions. Although, for the most part, such contracts have thus been entered into by commercial booming companies which boom or raft logs to be towed over long distances and by logging companies which boom or raft logs for sale rather than by companies operating booms directly in connection with and as an incident to their sawmill operations, the nature of the work itself is substantially the same. The boommen and rafters perform most of their work upon the water and require a certain degree of skill and experience. not . pos- sessed by other employees of the Company. Their status as a well- defined skilled group of employees is further evidenced by their long history of self-organization and successful bargaining with other companies. We are of the opinion that the boommen, rafters, and slipmen might properly constitute a separate bargaining unit.10 We will, therefore, follow our usual rule that the desire of the employees themselves is the determining factor. At the hearing I. W. A. Local 107 submitted evidence in the form of applications cards that 24 employees of the group of 27 it claims to be 'within an appropriate unit have designated and elected it as their bargaining agency. It was stipulated between all parties that the signatures appearing on the cards are authentic. Counsel for Local 2641, however, limited the stipulation "to the authenticity as of the date that the card bears date . . . without admitting that such person would desire to continue stich bargaining agency choice." Under all the circumstances, we shall order an election in order to determine the desires of the boommen, rafters, and slipmen. In this election the boommen, rafters, and slipmen shall be given an opportunity to indicate whether they desire to be represented for the purposes of collective bargaining by I. W. A. Local 107, by Local 2641, or by neither. If, in this election, a majority of the boommen, rafters, and slipmen cast their votes for I. W. A. Local 107, we shall find that they constitute an appropriate unit and certify I. W. A. Local 107 as exclusive representative thereof. Should a 10 But cf. Matter of West Coast Wood Preserving Company and Boommen and Rafters Union, Local 130 I. W. A., 15 N. L. W B. 1. WEYERHAEUSER TIMBER COMPANY 913 majority vote for neither, we shall dismiss this proceeding. We shall also dismiss this proceeding if a majority of the boommen, rafters, and slipmen voted for Local 2641, unless, within thirty (30) days from the date of the election, Local 2641, which is seeking a unit composed of all the employees in the mills, shall notify us in writing that it desires to be certified as the representative of a unit consisting only of the boommen, rafters, and slipmen. D. The conductors and brakemen; and the firemen and engineers As indicated above, the Company operates an extensive railroad system in the transportation of logs from the woods to the mills. Its trains run over approximately 170 miles of railroad. In the operation of such trains the Company, at the date of the hearing, employed 34 train conductors and brakemen and 25. locomotive firemen and engineers. These employees are well-recognized craftsmen in the railroad industry. The record shows that there are no great dif- ferences in equipment and in the method of operating trains between a main-line railroad and the Company's logging railroad. The Com- pany employs the standard signal system employed on other rail- roads. The same principle of dispatching trains is used except that in the case of the Company the orders are oral rather than written. Engineers or brakemen with experience on a main-line railroad are, with little special training, qualified to operate the Company logging trains. Similarly, experience on the logging railroad enables such employees to operate main-line trains. Although many of the en- gineers and conductors have been secured from the Company's own employees who had been engaged in other work, such transfers were not, for the most part, due to interchangeability of work, but were in the nature of promotions made ordinarily at the request of the employees themselves. However, employees without previous train experience who are transferred to such positions are required to undergo a training period before they become fully qualified. Interchangeability by reason of similarity of work is possible in the case of locomotive firemen and employees firing steam engines on skidders, but does not appear to be frequent. In view of the facts described above, we are of the opinion that the conductors and the brakemen, and the firemen and the engineers might properly constitute separate bargaining units.h1 In accord- "See Matter of Sloss Sheffield Steel and Iron Company and Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, et at., 14 N. L. R. B.. 186; and matter of Great Lakes Steel Corporation and Brotherhood of Railroad. Trainmen., at al:, 14 N. L. R. B. 197. Cf. Matter of Wheeling Steel Corporation, Steubenville, Ohio and Order of Railway Conductors of America, 8 N. L. R. B. 102. where the Board dismissed a petition of the Order of Railway Conductors of America, claiming that the conductors and brakemen employed by Wheeling Steel Corporation at its 914 DECISIONS' OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD ance with our previous 'rulings in this type of case,, we hold that the- determining factor is the desire of the employees themselves: At the hearing it was stipulated between the parties that all the. conductors and brakemen claimed by the Trainmen to constitute, an appropriate unit were members of the Trainmen, and that 24 of the 25 firemen and engineers claimed as an appropriate unit by the Firemen were members of the Firemen. Local 2642 submitted in evidence typewritten lists purporting to show a membership of 906 employees in the group claimed by it to constitute an appropriate bargaining unit. Counsel for Local 2642 admitted that he was not relying on such lists as proof of membership. The Trainmen and the Firemen, however, requested an election on the basis of their respective showings rather than certification on the record. Under all the circumstances, we conclude that elections should be held to determine the desires of the conductors and brakemen, and of the firemen and engineers. We shall, therefore, direct elections (1) among the conductors and brakemen employed by the Company on its logging trains to deter- mine whether they desire to be represented for the purposes of col- lective bargaining by the Trainmen, by Local 2642, by I. W. A. Local 36, or by none of them, and (2) among' the firemen and engineers employed on the logging, trains to determine whether they desire to be represented for the purposes of collective bargaining by the Fire- men, by Local 2642, by I. W. A. Local 36, or by none of them. ' If the Trainmen should receive a majority of the votes cast by the conductors and brakemen, we shall find that they constitute an appropriate unit and certify the Trainmen as exclusive representa- tive thereof. Similarly, if a majority of the firemen and engineers should designate the Firemen as their representative, we shall find that they constitute an appropriate unit and certify the Firemen as exclusive representative thereof. Should a majority in either elec- tion vote for none of the unions, we will dismiss this proceeding to that extent. We shall also dismiss the proceeding if, in either election, a majority cast their ballots for Local 2642 or I. W. A. Local 36, unless, within thirty (30) days from the date of the elec- tion, Local 2642 or I. W. A. Local 36, both of which are seeking a unit broader than the units advocated by the Trainmen and Firemen, Steubenville plant constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining. The Board there stated : "The railroad is used chiefly to transport materials from department to department within the plant and the trains do not run outside of plant property , except for the cross- ing of the Pennsylvania's tracks as stated above. . . . The work of the employees engaged in operating trains on runs known as stock -house runs Is closely interrelated with the work performed in the open -hearth furnace department. Their work is governed by the schedule of the furnaces and the open -hearth foreman exercises virtually exclusive juris- diction over them." WEYERHAEUSER TIMBER COMPANY 915 notify us in writing that it desires to be certified as the representative of a unit consisting of the conductors and brakemen, if it shall have received a majority in the election among these employees, and/or of a unit consisting of the firemen and engineers, if it shall have re- ceived a majority of the votes cast by these employees. E. The eligibility of voters The parties stipulated at the hearing that the Company's pay rolls as of February 28, 1939, which were admitted in evidence, be used as a basis of eligibility of employees in the event of an election. Due to the lapse of time since the hearing, we believe that the in- terests of the parties will best be served by basing the eligibility of employees to vote on a more current pay roll. Accordingly, for this purpose we will use the Company's last regular pay roll immediately preceding the date of this Decision and Direction of Elections, in- •cluding employees who did not work during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation, and employees who were then or have since-been temporarily laid-of£;but excluding those-employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause. Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and the entire' record in the case, the Board makes the following : CONCLUSION OF LAW Questions affecting ., commerce; 'have , arisen concerning. the' repre- sentation of employees of Weyerhaeuser Timber Company, Longview Branch, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act. DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS . 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 8, of Nationa-1 Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Se'ries,2, it is hereby DIRECTED that, as part`of'the investigation authorized by the Board to ascertain representatives for collective bargaining with Weyer- haeuser Timber Company at its Longview Branch, Longview, Wash- ington, separate electiolis shall be conducted as early as possible but not later than' thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction of Elections under the 'direction and- supervision of the Regional Director for the Nineteenth 'Region; acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article III, Section 9,' of .s<ud Rules :and; Regulations,., among the employees of Weyerhaeuser Timber Company, Longview Branch, Longview, Washington, who fall within the groups indicated below who were on the Company's last regular pay roll immediately preceding this 916 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Direction of Elections, including employees who did not work during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation, and em- ployees who were then or have since been temporarily laid off, but excluding those employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause : (a) All boommen and rafters and slipmen employed at the mill pond, falling within the classifications of pondmen, sorters, head raftsmen, log unloaders, slipmen, or any other such classifications, to determine whether they desire to be represented for the purposes of collective bargaining by International Woodworkers of America, Local. No. 107, Boommen and Rafters, or by Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union, Local 2641, or by neither; (b) All conductors and brakemen employed on the logging trains to determine whether they desire to be represented for the purposes of collective bargaining by Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, or by Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union, Local 2642, or by Inter- national Woodworkers of America, Local 36, or by none of them ; (c) All firemen and engineers employed on the logging trains to determine whether they desire to be represented for' the purposes of collective bargaining by Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen, or by Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union, Local 2642, or by International Woodworkers of America, Local 36, or by none of them. MR. WM. M. LEISERSON, concurring : I agree that three separate ballots should be spread (1) among the boommen, rafters, and slipmen, (2) among the conductors and brakemen; and (3) among the firemen and engineers; but I am of the opinion that a determination of the bargaining units should be made before the elections are held. MR. EDWIN S. SMITH, dissenting in part and concurring in part : I would not permit either the boommen and rafters or the railroad employees an opportunity to set themselves apart in bargaining units separate from the two large units, one composed of the mills employees and the other, the woods employees, in which the employees have been represented for several years. My reasons are in substance those which I have set forth in other dissenting statements.12 Local 2641 and Local 2642 have had an extensive history of collective bar- gaining with the Company on the basis of the afore-mentioned. two large units. No other labor organization, until- sometime in 1938, 12 See, for example , Matter of Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company and International Union, United Automobile Workers of America, Local 24 4 N. L. R. B. 159. WEYERHAEUSER TIMBER COMPANY 917 has claimed to represent any employees of the Company. A claim for separate craft representation has never been advanced prior to the petitions by I. W. A. Local 107, the Trainmen, and the Firemen. Although under the contracts which had been negotiated between the Company and Local 2641 and Local 2642, exclusive recognition was withheld, Local 2641 and Local 2642 bargained for all the em- ployees in the respective units, including those now claimed by I. W. A. Local 107, the Trainmen, and the Firemen. Under these circumstances, I would dismiss the petitions. If, however, the petitions are not dismissed for the above reasons, as the majority holds, I agree with Chairman Madden's opinion that final determination of the bargaining unit should await the outcome of the separate elections.