Carlisle Lumber Co.

In the Matter Of CARLISLE LUMBER COMPANY and LUMBER AND SAW- MILL WORKERS UNION9 LOCAL No. 2697, CHARTERED BY THE UNITED BROTHERHOOD OF CARPENTERS AND JOINERS OF AMERICA, AFFILIATED WITH THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR Case No. R-203°1.-Decided April 22, 1941 Jurisdiction : lumber industry. Investigation and-Certification of Representatives : existence of question • stip- ulated; election necessary. Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : production and maintenance em- ployees of the Company in its mill and logging operations including the head sawyers, the head filer, the store clerk, the car loading and lumber piling boss in the yard and shed, and the head car whacker, but excluding employees in the shingle mill, the Jap boss, the night foreman of the machine shop, the employees of Newaukum Valley Railroad Company, clerical and office employees, and supervisory employees with the power to hire or discharge, or to recommend for hiring or discharging. Mr. Carl W. Dingess, of Onalaska, Wash., for the Company. Mr. L. Presley Gill, of Seattle, Wash., for the Sawmill Workers. Mr. Dick Law, of Aberdeen, Wash., and Mr. Ed Schaeffer, of Onalaska, Wash., for the I. W. A. Mr. Eugene M. Purver, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE On September 7, 1938, and January 20, 1941, Lumber and Saw- mill Workers Union, Local No. 2697, chartered by the United Broth- erhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, herein called the Sawmill Workers, filed with the Regional Director for the Nineteenth Region (Seattle, Washington) a petition and an amended petition, respectively, alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Carlisle Lumber Company, Onalaska, Washington, herein called the Company, and requesting an investiga- tion and certification of representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) 31 N. L. R. B., No. 31. 180 - CARLISLE LUMBER COMPANY 181 of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On , January 24, 1941, 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. On February 3, 1941,. the Regional Director issued a notice 'of hearing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company, the -Sawmill Workers, and International Woodworkers of America, Local No. 3-6, affiliated with the C. I. 0., herein called the I. W. A., a labor organization claiming to represent employees directly affected by the investigation. Pursuant to the notice a hearing was held on Feb- ruary 13, 1941, at Chehalis, Washington, before William A. Babcock, Jr., the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Chief Trial Examiner. The Company, the Sawmill Workers, and the I. W. A. were repre- sented and participated in the hearing. Full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evi- dence bearing upon 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. Upon the entire record in the case the Board makes'the following : FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Carlisle Lumber Company, a Washington corporation with its principal place of business at Onalaska, Washington, is engaged in the production and sale of lumber. During 1940 the Company sold and shipped to points outside the State of Washington in excess_ of 90 per cent, in value, of its products, for which it. received ap- proxirrately $1,364,792. Since January 1, 1941, the Company has sold appreciable quantities of logs to other lumber companies, which manufacture therefrom finished lumber products, a substantial per- tentage of which is sold and shipped outside the State of Washington. II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union, Local No. 2697, chartered by the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, .affiliated with the American, Federation of Labor, is a labor organi- zation admitting to membership employees of the Company. 182 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD International Woodworkers of America, Local No. 3-6, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, is a labor organiza- tion admitting to membership employees of the' Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION At the hearing the Company, the Sawmill Workers, and, the I. W. A. stipulated inter alia, that the Company refuses to recognize or bargain collectively with either the Sawmill Workers or the I. W. A. as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for its em- ployees until the Board determines which organization, if either, represents a majority of the employees within an appropriate unit. At the hearing a report prepared by the Field Examiner was introduced in evidence showing that each of the two organizations represents a substantial number of the employees within the unit found in Section IT, infra, to be appropriate' We find that a question has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Company. IV. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION 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. i The statement of the Field Examiner concerning Claims of Authorization for the Pur- pcse of Representation shows that : (1) The Sawmill workers submitted 517 membership application-authorization cards, all bearing apparently genuine original signatures , 429 of which are names appearing on the Company's pay roll of December 18, 1940. (2) The I W. A. submitted 439, membership application-authorization cards, all bearing apparently genuine original signatures, and 34 of which , exclusive of duplications from other lists, are names appearing on the Company 's pay roll of December 18, 1940 In addi- tion thereto the I. W. A. submitted a certified list of dues -paying members containing names of 142 persons , dated December 18, 1940, and a certified list of persons who had signed application or authorization cards in the I. W. A containing the names of 77 persons, also dated December 18, 1940 ; one clearance card dated February 19, 1940; 2 transfer cards dated 1938 and 1939 respectively , and 2 withdrawal cards both dated in 1937. The lists and other documents appear to be genuine records. One hundred and forty-one of the 142 names appearing on the list of dues-paying members are names which appear on the Com- pany's pay roll of December 18, '1940. Se%enty-six of the 77 names on the list of persons who had signed application or authorization cards appear on the Company 's pay roll of December 18, 1940. There are thus a total of 251 signatures or names which appear on the Company's pay roll of December 18, 1940 The signatures or names of 36 persons appear in the membership evidence submitted by both the Sawmill Workers and the I. W. A. Excluding supervisory and clerical personnel , the Company's pay roll of December 10, 1940, contains the names of 780 persons CARLISLE LUMBER COMPANY 183 V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT With certain exceptions discussed below, all the parties agree that the unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining should consist of all the production and maintenance employees of the Com- pany in its. mill and logging operations at and near Onalaska, Washington, and in its town department at Onalaska, Wash- ington, but excluding the employees in the shingle mill, clerical or office employees, supervisory employees with the power to hire or discharge or recommend for hiring or discharging, and employees of the Newaukum Valley Railroad Company.2 The parties further agreed that the head car whacker 3 should be included and that the persons named in Appendix "A", herein, are clerical or supervisory employees who should be excluded from the unit. The controversy herein, involves the following employees whom the Sawmill Workers would include in, and the I. W. A. exclude from, the appropriate unit : - The head sawyers operate the head-saws and supervise the move- ment of the logs to the saws by hand signals. We shall include them in the unit.4 The head filer is engaged in filing and caring for the saws of the head-rig. He has one assistant.5 The head filer is responsible to the superintendent of the plant and does not have the power to hire or discharge or to recommend for hiring or discharging. We shall include him within the unit. The store clerk takes care of the tool room and is responsible for storing and dispensing supplies and equipment. On occasion he has a helper to assist him in his work The store clerk exercises no supervisory authority. We shall include him within the unit. The night foreman in the machine shop is listed by the Company as a machinist. He has -charge of the night shift in the machine shop and he carries out the orders left by the day foreman. Al- though he has no authority to hire or discharge or to recommend for hiring or discharging, it appears that he occupies a status similar to the night pond foreman whom the Sawmill Workers has agreed to'exclude. We shall exclude him from the unit. The car loading and lumber piling boss takes an active part in loading and his duties are the same as those of the other loaders. 'All the shares of the Newaukum Valley Railroad Company except the director 's quali- fying shares are owned by Carlisle Lumber Company , which, however , pays the railroad for haulage according to the tariff set by the Interstate Commerce Commission ' The head car whacker works under the direct supervision of the car shop foreman. 'Matter of Kesterson Lumber Corporation and International Woodworkers of Ametica, Local 6-12, C 1 0., 30 N L R B. 87. 5 A witness for the I. W. A. "thought " that there were three men under the bead filer on the day shift. He did not know how many filers were employed at night. 184 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Owing to his greater experience he acts, as leader but exercises no supervisory authority. We shall include him within the unit. Shingle mill workers presently employed in the sawmill. As in- dicated above both unions would exclude from the unit the employees of the shingle mill. The shingle mill is not now in operation and a number of the employees thereof are now employed in the sawmill. The Sawmill Workers desires to include them as employees of the sawmill; the I. W. A. to exclude them as permanent employees'of the shingle mill, temporarily employed in the sawmill. The shingle mill operates at irregular intervals, and owing to unfavorable busi- ness conditions, there is' no certainty as to when it will reopen. It 'does not appear, however, that these employees will return to the shingle mill when operations therein are resumed." We shall include, along with the other sawmill workers, the employees in the sawmill who were formerly employed at the shingle mill. The I. W. A. desires to include the Jap boss; the Sawmill Workers to exclude him. The Jap boss is in charge of the green chain gang and works under contract with the Company. It appears that he pays his men and has the power to hire and discharge. We shall exclude him. We find that all the production and maintenance employees of the Company in its mill, and logging operations at and near Onalaska, Washington, and in its town department at Onalaska, Washington, including the head sawyers, the head filer, the store clerk, the car loading and lumber piling boss in the yard and shed, and the head car whacker, but excluding employees in the shingle mill, the Jap boss, the night foreman of the machine shop, the employees of the Newaukum Valley Railroad Company, clerical and office employees, and supervisory employees with the power to hire or discharge, or to recommend for hiring or discharging, 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 right to self-organization and collective bargaining and otherwise effec- tuate the policies of the Act. VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES We find that the question which has arisen concerning the repre- sentation of employees of the Company can best be resolved by an election by secret ballot. We shall direct that those eligible to vote 11 Shingle mill employees have been represented by the Shingle Weavers Union, an affiliate of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America . Formerly , through the efforts of this Union , employees of the shingle mill had received higher wages than other employees. Recent wage adjustments , however, have eliminated the wage differentials and thus the inducement of the employees herein discussed to return to their former duties. 11 CARLISLE LUMBER COMPANY 185 in the election shall be the employees within the appropriate unit who were employed by the Company during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of our Direction of Election, subject to such limitations and additions as are set forth in the Direction. 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 tha rep- resentation of employees of Carlisle Lumber Company, Onalaska, Washington, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. 2. All the production and maintenance employees of the Company in its mill and logging operations at and near Onalaska, Washing- ton, and in its town department of Onalaska, Washington, including the head sawyers, the .head filer, the store clerk, the car loading and lumber piling boss in the yard and shed, and the head car whacker, but excluding employees in the shingle mill, the Jap boss, the night foreman of the machine shop, the employees of the Newaukum Val-, ley Railroad Company, clerical and office employees, and supervisory employees with the power to hire or discharge, or to recommend for hiring or discharging, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. DIRECTION OF ELECTION By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Re- lations Act, 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 Carlisle Lumber Company, Onalaska, Washington, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted as -early as possible but not later than thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction of Election 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 said Rules and Regulations among all the production and maintenance employees of the Company in its mill and logging operations at and near Onalaska, Washington, and in its town department at Ona- laska, Washington, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction, including the head 186 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD sawyers, the head filer, the store clerk, the car loading and lumber piling boss in the yard and shed, and the head car whacker, and employees who did not work duffing such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or in the active.military service or traili- ing of the United States, or temporarily laid off, but excluding em- ployees in the shingle mill, the Jap boss, the night foreman of the machine shop, the employees of the Newaukum Valley Railroad Company, clerical and office employees, supervisory employees with the power to hire or discharge, or to recommend for hiring or dis- charging, and those who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether they desire to be represented for the purposes of collective bargaining by Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union, Local No. 2697, chartered by the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, or by International Woodworkers of America, Local No. 3-6, affiliated with the .Congress of Industrial Organiza- tions, or by neither. APPENDIX A Name Department Position J. H Clyde------------------------- Sawmill-------------------------- Superintendent. H. D Cobble----------------------- Sawmill-------------------------- Foreman. F. R. Butz -------------------------- Millwright------------------------ Head Millwright. J. R Poore -------------------------- Power ---------------------------- Chief Engineer C. R. Reed Machine shop --------------------- Master Mechanic. R P Burnham --------------------- Shipping------------------------- Shipping Clerk. Clarence Jacobson ------------------- Shipping------------------------ Shipping Clerk, nights. H. D. Stevens----------------------- Sawmill-------------------------- Foreman, nights. Norman Peterson------------------- Planing Mill---------------------- Foreman Henry Warner ---------------------- Planing Mill---------------------- Foreman, nights. Henry Choiniere -------------------- Extra Gang ---------------------- Foreman. Val Meyers ------------------------- Woods---------------------------- Superintendent. Perry Ingraham --------------------- Woods---------------------------- Foreman E. J Grandchamp ------------------ Fire Department------------------ Fire Chief. L. D Brenneis ---------------------- Carpenter Shop ------------------- Foreman C. M. Osborne---------------------- N V R R----------------------- Freight Agent. H H Porter ------------------------ N. V. R. R -------------------- Clerical C. Plummer--------------------- Office----------------------------- Cashier M L. Kendall---------------------- Office---------------------------- Timekeeper. Louise Pauli ------------------------ Office----------------------------- Clerk Loretta Reed------------------------ Office--------------------------- Stenographer. Donna Jones ------------------------- OfBce-- - ------------------------- Stenographer. Florence Plummer ------------------ Office - ------------------------- Stenographer Helen Reddig ----------------------- Office----------------------------- Stenographer Flora Merithow --------------------- Ofice----------------------------- Stenographer. Natalie Hartman-------------------- Office----=------------------------ Stenographer. Dave Mathis , Jr-------------------- Office -------------------------- Clerk H. A. Brandmeir-------------------- Office----------------------------- Sales Manager. Mary Porter ------------------------ N V.R. R----------------------- Clerk. I D. McCutcheon ------------------ Woods---------------------------- Engineer and Cruiser. Herman Brodbeck ------------------ Woods---------------------------- Bull Buck. John Christian ---------------------- Mill------------------------------ Night Pond Foreman. Herman Pierce---------------------- Mill -- ------------------------- Day Pond Foreman. Woodrow Van Debo ---------------- Hotel---------------------------- Head Cook.