Long-Bell Lumber Co.

In the Matter of LONG-BELL LUMBER COMPANY and INTERNATIONAL, BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS, LOCAL UNION #B77, AFFIL- IATED WITH THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR In the Matter of LONG-BELL LUMBER COMPANY, LONGVIEW BRANCH and BOOMMEN AND RAFTERS, LOCAL UNION No. 107, CHARTERED BY THE INTERNATIONAL WOODWORKERS OF AMERICA, AFFILIATED WITH THE' CONGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS In the Matter of LONG-BELL LUMBER COMPANY and LUMBER AND SAWMILL WORKERS UNION, LOCAL 2610, CHARTERED BY THE UNITED BROTHERHOOD OF CARPENTERS & JOINERS OF AMERICA, AFFILIATED WITI-I THE AMERICAN .FEDERATION OF LABOR Cases Nos. R-1095 to h-2097 inclusive. Decided February 13, 1941 Jurisdiction : lumber industry. Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: dis- pute as to appropriate unit; conflicting claims of rival representatives:, elec- tion necessary. Four A F. of L affiliates that urged separate units for employees found to constitute a single unit placed on ballot as joint representatives affiliated with the A F of L with option of withdrawing upon request Units Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : (1) boommen, rafters, and slip- men excluding shingle-mill slipmen and the foreman of the log-pond department; and (2) all production and maintenance employees excluding supervisory,, clerical, office, and shingle-mill employees, and boommen, rafters, acid slipmen; electricians, machinists, and electrical crane, monorail and transfer car operators included within the unit, notwithstanding the requests of several craft unions that they respectively constitute separate craft units, in view of nature and organization of operations performed, and of the history of collective bargaining at the plant and in the industry. Mr. Patrick H. Walker, for the Board. Mr. C. E. Lombardi, of Kansas City, Mo., and Mr. David F. Mc- Lean, of Longview, Wash., for the Company. Mr. H. F. Mullaney, of Seattle, Wash., and Mr. Lawson Wimberly, of Washington, D. C., for the I. B. E. W. Mr. James J. Molthan, of Seattle, Wash., for the Boommen and Rafters. Mr. L. Presley Gill, of Seattle, Wash., for L. and S., Local 2610 and Local 2678. 29 N I, 11 11 , No 102 586' LONG-BELL LUMBER COMPANY 587 Mr. James A. Duncan, of Seattle, Wash., Mr. Carl Nagel, of Kelso, Wash., and Mr. Paul R. Hutchings, of Washington, D. C., for the I. A. M. Mr. Perry Gershon and Mr. John C. Stevenson, both of Seattle, Wash., for I. W. A., Local 36. Mr. Bertram Diamond, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS STATEMENT-OF THE CASE On July 25, 1940, International Brotherhood of Electrical Work- ers, Local Union #B77, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, herein called the I. B. E. W.; on August 13, 1940, Boommen and Rafters, Local Union No. 107, chartered by the International Woodworkers of America, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, herein called the Boommen and Rafters; and on August 26, 1940, Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union, chartered ,by the United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor,' respectively, filed with the Regional Director for the Nineteenth Region (Seattle, Wash- ington) three separate petitions, each alleging that a question affect- ing commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Long-Bell Lumber Company, herein called the Company, employed at its Longview, Washington, division, and requesting an investiga- tion and certification of representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On September 20, 1940, 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 2, 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 consolidated for the purposes of the hearing. On September 25, 1940, the Regional Director issued separate notices of hearing in the three cases, copies of which were duly served upon I Prior to the hearing formal papers in this proceeding were so captioned At the hear- ing they were amended to read Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union , Local 2610 , chartered by the United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, herein called L. and S ., Local 2610 . L. and S , Local 2610, was not chartered until September 9, 1940 588 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD A he Company; upon the I. B. -E. W., the Boommen and Rafters, and L. and S., Local 2610, the petitioners herein; and upon International Woodworkers of America, Local 36, herein called I. W. A., Local 36, .a labor organization claiming to represent employees directly affected by the investigation. Pursuant to the notices, a hearing was held at Kelso, Washington, commencing on October 9, 1940, and concluding on October 15, 1940, before Webster Powell, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Board. In the course of the hearing the Trial Examiner granted leave to intervene to Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union, Local 2678, chartered by the United Brotherhood of-'Carp-enters & Joiners of America, herein called L. and S., Local 2678, and to Local 1350, Inter- national Association of Machinists, affiliated with the American Feder- ation of Labor, herein called the I. A. M. All parties were represented by counsel or by official representative and participated 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 hearing the Trial Examiner made several 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 for the purpose of oral argument was held before the Board on November 19, 1940, at Washington, D. C. The Company, the L B. E. W., and the I. A. M. were represented and participated in the argument. The Company filed a brief which the Board has considered. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following: - FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY 2 Long-Bell Lumber Company is a Missouri corporation with prin- cipal offices at Kansas City, Missouri, engaged in the business of log- ging and manufacturing lumber and lumber products. It owns and operates properties in Washington, California, Oregon, Texas, Arkansas,' Mississippi, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas, and New Mexico. At Ryderwood and Longview, Washington, it has, respectively, a. logging and sawmill division. This, proceeding is restricted to employees in the Longview division. In the year 1939 about 91 percent of the principal material used by the respondent in 3 Cf. Matter of Long-Bell Lumber Company and International Association of Machinists, etc, 16 N. L. R . B. 892. LONG-BELL LUMBER COMPANY 589 the manufacture•of lumber and lumber products at Longview consisted of logs.. About 37 percent of such logs came from the Company's logging operations at Ryderwood. About 41 percent of the total amount ' of logs used was shipped to Longview from Oregon; the remainder came from within the State of Washington. In 1939 about $296;173 was expended by the Company upon general machinery and supplies for use at Longview; these materials were chiefly pur- chased fr'oln sources outside the State of Washington. During the same period shipments of lumber and lumber products from Longview totalled 365;382,250 feet and were valued at $8,817,543. About 94 percent of the' shipments went to points outside of the State of Washington. ` H. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED I{nternatiolial Brotherhood of Electrical Workers; Local Union #B77; is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federa- tion' of Labor, admitting to membership employees of the, Company at Longview. Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union, Local 2610, chartered by the 'United- Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America, is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, ad- mitting to membership electrical crane, monorail and transfer car operators employed by the Company at Longview. Local 1350, International Association of Machinists is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, ad- •mitting to membership machine-shop employees of the Company at Longview. Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union, Local 2678, chartered, by, the ;United Brotherhood. of Carpenters & Joiners of America, is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, ad- mitting to membership production and maintenance employees of the Company at Longview, excluding office and supervisory employees.3 Boommen and Rafters, Local Union No. 107, chartered by the Inter- national Woodworkers of America, is a labor organization affiliated with the North West Council of Boommen and Rafters and the Con- gress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to membership employees .of the Company at Longview. - International Woodworkers of America, Local 36, is a labor organi- zation affiliated with the Congress of Industrial' Organizations, admitting to membership employees of the Company at Longview. - 6 L. and S. , Locals 2610 and 2678 are also affiliated with Longview District Council Lum- ber and Sawmill Workers Union ; the I. B. E W. and the I. A M.-are affiliated w;ith the Cowlitz Metal Trades Council of Longview, Kelso , and Vicinity. 590 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL - LABOR RELATIONS BOARD III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION On numerous occasions since 1938 , when the Boommen and Rafters first entered into bargaining relations with the Company , the Com- pany has refused to allow the inclusion of slipmen within the group which the Boommen and Rafters sought , and now seeks, to represent. Within the past year representatives of about ten companies with booms located on the Columbia River and its tributaries and repre- sentatives of three locals of the North West Council of Boommen and -Rafters arrived at a tentative agreement dealing with >,wages; hours, and working conditions at the booms. The Company and the Boom- men and Rafters were parties to the negotiations but the Boommen and Rafters declined to ratify the tentative agreement because it did not cover slipmen. - As discussed in detail in Section 1', the claims as to the appropriate unit, of the Boommen and Rafters and I . W. A., Local 36, conflict with those of the I. B. E. W., the I . A. M., and L. and S., Locals 2610 and 2678 . The Company opposes, in whole or in part, therclaims - of each of the labor organizations. A statement of the Company's 'position which was read into the record concluded with the assertion that "the Company will await the Board's certificate before conclud- ing a collective agreement with any claiming to represent these employees." There were introduced in evidence statements by the Trial Exam- iner and by the Field Examiner showing that each of the labor organizations involved represents a substantial number of employees in the-unit which it claims to be appropriate.' 4 The I. B. E. W. presented an authorization petition containing 19 signatures that ap- peared to be genuine original signatures Of these signatures, 18 are names which appear on the Company's pay roll of August 22, 1940 That pay roll discloses a total of 22 employees within the unit claimed by the I B E W to be appropriate .1. W. A , Local 36, submitted 281 application authorization cards and 159 authorization cards bearing what appeared to be genuine original signatures. About 82 cards were un- dated, the rest were dated from 1937 to 1940, mclusne Of these signatures, 264 are names which appear on the Company's pay roll of August 22, 1940 That pay roll discloses about 1.600 persons within the unit claimed by I W A , Local 36, to be appropriate The Boommen and Rafters submitted 40 cards taken from membership roster and dues records, 4 application authorization cards and 1 withdrawal card from Shingle Weavers Union, Local No 2755, chartered by the United Brotheihood of Carpenters & Joiners of America The records appeared to be genuine iecords and the signatures affixed to the application authorization cards and the withdrawal card appeared to be genuine original signatures Of the latter cards, 3 were undated and 2 were dated in 1940 The member- ship roster and dues record cards showed that for the 40 names appearing thereon, dues had been paid up to from May to August 1940, inclusive All the 45 names appearing on the application autlioiizalion cards, the membership roster, and dues record cards , and the withdrawal card, are on the Company's pay roll of August 22, 1940 That pay roll dis- closes 47 persons within the unit claimed by the Boommen and Rafters to be appropriate L and S , Local 2610, submitted 38 application authorization cards bearing what ap- peared to be genuine original signatures The caids were dated from July to August 1940, inclusive All the 38 names appearing on these cards are on the Company' s pay roll of LONG-BELL LUMBER COMPANY 591 We find that a question has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Company. IV. THE EFFECT OF TILE QUESTION CONCERNING REPREuENTATION UPON COMMERCE We find that the question concerning representation which has arisen, occurring in connection with the operations of the Company described in Section I above, has a close, intimate, and substantial relation to trade, traffic, and commerce among the several States, and tends to lead to labor disputes burdening and obstructing commerce and the free flow of commerce. V. THE APPROPRIATE UNITS The I. B. E. W. claims as an appropriate unit all employees en- gaged in the construction, maintenance, and operation of the elec- trical equipment of the Longview division,' excluding the foreman of 'the electrical department. The I. A. M. asks for a unit of machine shop employees at Longview, excluding .the foreman of the machine shop, and L. and S., Local 2610, for a unit of electrical crane, mono- rail, and transfer car operators. L. and S., Local 2678, contends for a unit of all production and maintenance employees at Longview, excluding shingle mill, office and supervisory employees, and all those included within the units requested by the I. B. E. W., the I. A. M., and L. and S., Local 2610. The Boommen and Rafters seek a unit of boommen, rafters, and slipmen; excluding shingle-mill slipmen and supervisory employees with power to hire and discharge. I. W. A., Local 36, contends for an "industry unit" with exclusions based on previous "history of bargaining in the industry," that is, a unit including all production and maintenance employees at Longview, except for •boommen, rafters, and slipmen, and supervisory, clerical, office, and shingle-mill employees. The Company's contention is that the "entire Longview lumber mill" constitutes a single appropriate August 22, 1940 The pay roll of the Company for August-26, 1940, discloses about 87 persons in the unit claimed by L. and S , Local 2610, to be apps opriate The I. A. M. submitted 12 authorization cards bearing what appeared to be genuine origi- nal signatures. The cards were dated from October 11 to October 14, 1940, inclusive All the names on the cards appear on the Company's pay roll of October 2, 1940. `In addition, the financial secretary of the I A M identified a thirteenth name on the pay roll of that date as the name of it member of the I A M That pay roll discloses about 25 persons in the unit claimed' by the I' A M to be appropriate. L and S, Local 2678, submitted 89 application cards, of which 88 appeared to bear genuine original signatures, and 1 was unsigned The cards were dated from September to January 1940, inclusive. Of the 88 signed cards, 87 have names appearing on the Com- pany's pay roll of October 2, 1940. That pay roll discloses about 1.600 employees in the unit claimed by L and S , Local 2678, to be appropriate 6 The record shows that this unit is intended to consist of all electricians and electrician's helpers employed at the plant. 592 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD unit; its brief indicates that it is opposed to the claim of the Boom- men and Rafters only in so far as it seeks to include slipmen along with boommen and rafters: The history of organization and collective bargaining at the Com- pany's Longview division dates from 1935. In that year Local 2504 of, the Lumber and Sawmill Workers, chartered by the United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America, was formed. It admitted to membership employees throughout the mill. ' Local 2504' was in existence only for a few months; it was succeeded by Local 2640 of the same union. In December-1935 the Company concluded a collective bargaining agreement with this local. The agreement, recognized- Local 2640 as the collective bargaining agency, for its members in the Company's "sawmills and manufacturing departments at Longview," and regulated wages, hours, and working c6nditions.6 It was for an indefinite term, permitting modification or termination on 60 days' notice. A similar agreement succeeding the first was, concluded between the same parties in April 1937. Sometime in 1938 the agreement was terminated when officers of Local 2640 informed the Company that they wished to do so because they had sent in their, charter for cancellation. L.' and S., Local 2678, was chartered' in 1938 as a successor to Local 2640, but has had no bargaining relations with the Company. - The Company has also bargained with the Boommen and Rafters. - That organization first made bargaining requests of the Company in 1935 and again in the 'fall of 1937. In June 1938, the Board's Regional Director for the Nineteenth Region called to the attention of the Company a field examiner's investigation, undertaken at the request of the Boommen and Rafters, which had disclosed that a majority of the boommen and rafters had designated the aforemen- tioned organization, that no other labor organization was seeking to represent them, and that the Company- could safely enter into bar- gaining relations with the designated organization. Thereupon the Company entered into bargaining relations with the Boommen -and Rafters for its members only. Subsequently bargaining between the Company and the Boommen and Rafters was carried on by means of district-wide negotiations between Columbia- River boom operators and three locals affiliated with the North West Council of Boommen and Rafters. The Company and the Boommen and Rafters `were • Article XV reads : "The wage scales establ»hed under this agreement shall be fifty cents' per hour for unskilled labor with the same differentials that apply at this date for semi-skilled and skilled labor" An oxertime section makes mention of transfer men, elec- tricians, and machinists The record does not show whether boonimen, rafters, or slipmen came within the general scope of the agreement The agreement itself is ambiguous with respect to whether it governed the- terms of employment of non-members and the record does not show "hat the practice under the agreement was LONG-BELL LUMBER. COMPANY. : 593• parties to these 'llegotiittions,' which were not continuous and took place over a period of a year. Both in the individual and joint ne- gotiations tentative understandings, not reduced to writing, were arrived at. The negotiations covered boommeu and rafters. As previously stated, on numerous occasions the Boommen and Rafters have sought to bargain with the Company for slipmen, but without success. In the past year a proposed agreement resulting, front the joint negotiations was rejected by the Boommen and Rafters because it did not apply to slipmen. The Company has bargained with no other organizations for any part of the Longview operations involved in this proceeding.? There are at the plant a general interdependency of functions and unified management and supervision. a. Boommen, rafters, and slipmen. The Company's pay roll of October 2, 1940, listed about 34 boom- men and rafters 3 and 10 slipmen. Adjoining the sawmill is a mill pond in which the logs float im- meditely before being taken into the , mill. The mill pond covers an area of about 40 acres. Connected with the mill pond by a canal, and extending from a point approximately a quarter of a mile dis-' tart from it to a point approximately one and onne-half miles distant is a log-storage pond into which logs are dumped from trucks and from trains before being taken to the mill. About 1500 feet beyond the log-storage pond is an outside log pond, which is really a kind of log harbor in the Cowlitz River. Here rafts of logs purchased by the Company are towed in from other river points before being taken to the mill. All but one of the boommen and rafters work on the log storage and outside log ponds. There they break down large rafts of logs, sort logs according to size, grade, and species; and assemble'rafts for transportation to other points on the river or to the mill pond. The work is skilled and hazardous. ' Rafts of logs are towed from the log-storage pond through the canal into the mill pond. They are placed by launches in raceways that extend out about 500 feet. from the^,points where the logs are hauled into the mill by "bull chains." Slipmen are engaged in con- . ° The Company is a party to an industry-wide agreement with the Shingle Weavers Union covering the employees of the shingle mill at the Longview division. None of the labor organizations participating in this proceeding is seeking to represent such employees. These terms include within their scope occupations designated on the pay roll as boom- man, boem filer, head boom, marker , bead raftsman, logger on launch, and dragsaw operator 594 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL -LABOR RELATIONS BOARD veying these logs to the "bull chains." There is one boomanan on the mill pond to do such sorting work as might be necessary. While the boommen and rafters are under the,supervision of the head of the Company's logging and timber department, the slipmen are under the supervision of the head of the sawmill and lumber manufacturing plant; slipmen receive, a lower wage than boommen and rafters. The Company contends that slipmen could perform, their work from the planked surfaces of the raceways that extend out into the mill pond and that such work is much less skilled than that of the boommen and rafters. The record shows, however, that the slipmen perform work similar to that performed by boommen and rafters. Although they do not have to sort logs according to species or grade, or to assemble rafts, they do break down rafts ; in practice, like the boommen, they per- form a substantial part of their work on the floating logs. Boommer and rafters are recruited from slipmen. The North West Council of Boommen and Rafters has a consider- able history of bargaining in the lumber industry.9 The Boommen and Rafters have established a history of bargaining for boommen and rafters at the Company's Longview division. Furthermore they have consistently striven to represent slipmen; in 1939 boommen, rafters, and slipmen struck together. In view of these facts we are of the opinion that the boommen, rafters, and slipmen employed by the Company constitute an appropriate bargaining unit. The launches which haul logs from the log-storage pond to the mill pond are owned by independent contractors and are not operated by employees of the Company; the launch operators are not eligible for membership in the Boommen and Rafters and that organization does not desire to include them within the unit hereinafter found appropriate. It also seeks to exclude the foreman of the log-pond department, as 'an employee with power to hire and discharge, and the slipmen at the shingle mill, who are regarded by the Boommen and Rafters as covered by the contract between the Company and the Shingle Weavers Union. We find that all boommen, rafters, and slipmen employed by the Company at its Longview division, excluding shingle-mill slipmen and the foreman of the log-pond department, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining and that said unit will insure to employees of the Company the full benefit of their 0 It, or its locals, had about 50 signed agreements throughout the industry at the time of the heating See Matter of Crown Zellerbach Corporation, Crown Willamette Paper Com- pany Dn'ision and Bownmen and Rafters Local #68, 26 N L R B 1014. LONG-BELL LUMBER COMPANY 595 right to self-organization and to collective bargaining and otherwise effectuate the policies of the Act. b. The remaining employees At the time of the hearing there were about 85 electrical crane, monorail, and transfer car operators. They are engaged in the operation of electrically driven devices for transporting, lumber. These devices are necessarily scattered throughout, the plant and the operators are under the supervision of the foremen in the different departments where they work. There was some conflict in the evi- dence as to whether crane and monorail operators were skilled or semi-skilled workers. Less skill is required to run a transfer car than to operate the cranes or monorail hoists ; there is not much simi- larity between the work of a transfer car operator and .that of crane and monorail operators. Crane and monorail operators are generally recruited from among the lead men who assist them from the ground; it does not appear that they are recruited from transfer car operators. There is some similarity between the skills required to operate the various cranes and that necessary for the operation of the monorail hoist. However, there is no showing that crane and monorail opera- tors have been used interchangeably ; crane operators themselves are not shifted from one type of crane to another. L. and S., Local 2610, was chartered by the United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners on September 5, 1940, after the filing of the petition by the Lumber and Sawmill Workers requesting a unit of crane, monorail, and transfer car operators. L. and S., Local 2678, had admitted to membership those now eligible to join L. and S., Local 2610. There is no history of separate bargaining for such a group in the lumber industry. The pay roll of October 2, 1940, discloses about 25 machine-shop employees.10 All of these employees work in the machine shop lo- cated in the center of the southerly portion of the plant and are under the supervision of the foreman of the shop. All the machinists work in the machine shop ; they do only machinist's work. The pay roll of October 2, 1940, discloses about 24 electricians. Of these about nine rarely work outside the electrical shop situated near the machine shop at the plant. About seven are roving crane electricians who do crane maintenance work throughout the plant, using the electrical shop as their base. About eight others do electrical maintenance work in various departments of the plant and are considered by the Company to be attached to these departments; "Included with the machinists in the machine shop are blacksmiths and tinsmiths and their helpers , whom the I A. M apparently is seeking to represent , although they are not eligible to membership in the I A. M. 413602-42-N of 29-39 596 DECISIONS- OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD they are, however, generally recruited from the employees in the electrical shop and are responsible, like such employees, to the fore- man of the electrical department for the manner of performance of their work. As stated above, there has been no history of separate bargaining at the Longview division for either crane, monorail and transfer car operators, or electricians, or machine shop employees. On the con- trary, the history of organization and collective bargaining at Long- view has been on an industrial basis. Crane, monorail, and transfer car operators were until only recently admitted to membership within L. and S., Local 2678. O. F. Adney, who as president of L. and S., Local 2640 signed the. agreement of 1935 between that local and the Company, was a machine-shop employee; C. E. Richter, who as president of the Longview District Council Lumber and Sawmill Workers, signed the 1937 agreement between L. and S., Local 2640 and the Company, was an employee in the electrical department. In February 1940 the Longview District Council Lumber and Saw- mill Workers, with which L. and S. Locals 2610 and 2678 are affili- ated, and the Cowlitz Metal Trades Council of Longview, Kelso, and Vicinity, with which the I. B. E. W. and the I. A. M. are affiliated, entered into an agreement fixing the jurisdiction of the two councils; the Metal Trades Council was given jurisdiction over all employees not then members in good standing with the Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union and all new employees, who were in a series of occu- pations which included machinists and electricians and their helpers. The agreement provides for the formation of "a joint committee for the purpose of negotiating an agreement with the companies covering all employees and signed by both parties hereto, thereby combining the strength of both parties into one agreement with the employers." From the agreement and the testimony it is clear that these organiza- tions stand ready to bargain with the Company and other employers in the vicinity upon an industrial basis. The record indicates, and our experience persuades us, that, bar- gaining in the -lumber industry has generally had an industrial character;h1 in the vast majority of representation cases arising in the industry which have come before us, locals both of the Lumber and Sawmill Workers, United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners, and of the International Woodworkers of America, have been in agree- ment upon the appropriateness of an industrial unit. In view, therefore, of the history of collective bargaining at the Longview division and in the industry, and of the nature and organi- zation of the operations performed at Longview, we find inappropriate U See Matter of Weyerhauser Timber Coinpany, Longview Branch and International Woodwoi kei s of America, etc, 29 N L R B 571 - LONG-BELL LUMBER COMPANY 597, the units requested by the I. B. E. W., the I. A. M., and L. and S., Locals 2610- and 2678. We find that all production and maintenance em- ployees' at the- Company's Longview division, excluding supervisory, clerical, office, and shingle-mill employees, and boommen, rafters, and slipmen; constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining, and that such unit will insure to employees of the Com- pany the full benefit of their right to self-organization and to collective bargaining and otherwise effectuate the policies of the Act. VI., THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES The question concerning representation which has arisen can best be resolved by, and we shall accordingly direct, elections by secret ballot. Since the'Boommen and Rafters is the only labor organization that, has indicated an interest in the election among boommen, rafters, and slipmen, only its name will appear on the ballot in that election. Inas- much as the four A. F. of L. affiliates urged separate units for the remaining employees whom we found to constitute a single unit, we shall direct that I. W. A., Local 36, and the A. F. of L. are the organizations to appear upon the ballot in the election among such employees. The I. B. E. W., the I. A. M., and L. and S., Locals 2610 and 2678, shall be set forth thereon in brackets as joint representatives affiliated with the A. F. of L. Any organization desiring not to appear on the ballot shall notify the Regional Director to that effect within 5 days after the receipt of this Decision and Direction of Elections; thereupon its name shall be omitted from the ballot. We shall direct that those eligible to vote in the elections shall be the employees in the appropriate units who are employed by the Company during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of our Direction of Elections herein, including 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 off, but excluding those who have since quit or been discharged for 'cause. Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre- sentation of employees of Long-Bell Lumber Company, Longview, Washington, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act. 2. All boommen, rafters, and slipmen employed by the'Company at its Longview division, excluding shingle-mill slipmen and the 598 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD foreman of the log-pond department, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining ' within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. 3. All production and maintenance employees of the Company at its Longview division, excluding supervisory, clerical, office, and shingle-mill employees , and boommen , rafters, and slipmen, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the 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 Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is hereby DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation authorized by the Board to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Long-Bell Lumber Company, Longview , Washington , elections by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible but not later than thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction of Elections, under the supervision of the Regional Director for the Nineteenth Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Rela- tions Board and subject to Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and Regulations , ( 1) among all boommen , rafters, and slipmen, who were employed at the Company's Longview division during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of -this Direction of Elections, including 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 off , but excluding shingle-mill slipmen, the foreman of the log-pond department, and those who have since quit or been discharged for cause , to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by Boommen and Rafters, Local Union No. 107, chartered by the International Woodworkers of America, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations , and (2) among all production and maintenance employees of the Company who were employed at its Longview division during the period immediately preceding the date of this Direction of Elections , including 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 tem- porarily laid off , but excluding supervisory , clerical, office, and shingle- mill employees , and boommen , rafters; slipmen , and those who have since quit or been discharged for cause , to determine whether they desire to be represented by International Woodworkers of America, Local 36, affiliated with the C . I. 0., or American Federation of Labor LONG-BELL LUMBER COMPANY 599 [Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union, Local 2610, Lumber and Saw- mill Workers Union, Local 2678, International Brotherhood of Elec- trical Workers, Local Union #B77, International Association of Machinists, Lodge 1350], or by neither. MR. WILLIAM M. LEISERSON, concurring- in part and dissenting in part : Most of the electrical workers and machinists have organized them- selves under separate international labor organizations. I would therefore permit,the-employees in these occupations to choose whether they' desire separate bargaining units or whether they want to be included in the larger bargaining unit. In a previous case involving another division of this same Company the Board gave machinists the right to choose their representatives separately from the other employees, and I think the machinists and electrical workers should have the same right in the present case .1-2 23 Matter of Long-Bell Lumber Company and International Association of Machinists, etc., 16 N. L. R. B. 892. See Matter of The Globe Machine and Stamping Co and Metal Polishers Union, etc., 3 N. L. R. B. 294 ; Matter of Weyerhauser Timber Company and International Woodworkers of America, etc., 16 N. L. R. B. 902; Matter of Western Pipe and Steel Company of California and International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, etc., 17 N. L. R. B. 942.