McGoldrick Lumber Co.

In the Matter Of MCGOLDRICB LUMBER COMPANY and INTERNATIONAL WOODWOR$ERS OF AMERICA, LOCAL 100, AFFILIATED WITH THE C. I. 0. Case No. R-24.50.-Decided April 26, 1941 Jurisdiction : lumber industry. -Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question • re- fusal to accord union recognition ; electron necessary. Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all production and maintenance employees, excluding supervisory employees, foremen with the power to hire and' fire, office and clerical employees, and employees of the City Garage,; agreement as to. Mr. Robert L. Condon, for the Board. Mr. C. D. Randall, of Spokane, Wash., for the Company. Mr. Roy W. Atkinson and Mr. Virgil Burtz, of Seattle, Wash., for the Union. 'Mr. William, H. Bartley, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND - DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF TIIE CASE On January 31, 1941, International Woodworkers of America, Local 100, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, herein called the Union, filed with the Regional Director for the Nineteenth Region' (Seattle,- Washington) a petition alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representa- tion of employees of McGoldrick Lumber Company, Spokane, Wash- ington, herein called the Company, and requesting an investigation and certification of representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On March 21, 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 March 27, 1941, the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company and the Union. 31 N L. R. B.,,No. 59. 1 389 390 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL .LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held on April 3, 1941, at Spokane, Washington, before Edward Grandison Smith, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Chief Trial Examiner. The Company was represented by counsel and the Union by its representatives;, both participated in the hearing. Full opportunity to be heard, to exam- ine and cross-examine witnesses and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues was afforded all parties. During 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 McGoldrick Lumber Company is a Washington corporation, hav- ing its principal office and place of business in Spokane, Washing- ton. It is engaged in a general logging, sawmill, mill, and manu- facturing business. It cuts timber into logs, saws, and mills logs into lumber and lumber products and sells such products throughout the United States. The Company operates a sawmill and manu- facturing plant at Spokane, a logging camp near Fernwood, Idaho, and a logging camp at Pend Oreille County, Washington. , It owns 33,476 acres of timberland, of which 31,674 acres are in, Idaho and the remainder in Washington. ' The president of the Company testified, and we find, that the facts with respect to the Company's business in 1939 and 1940 are sus- stantially identical to the findings of fact relating to the Company's business which the Board made in a previous case involving the Company.l In that case we found and we find here that about 73.3 per cent of the logs cut at the Spokane mill during 1935 came from McGold- rick's timberlands in Idaho. In 1936 the figure was 69.6 per cent. The balance of the logs came from Washington. McGoldrick pur- chases about 10 per cent of the logs cut at the Spokane mill from independent contractors, the logs being shipped to it from Washing- ton and Idaho in approximately equal proportions. 'Matter of McGoldrick Lumber Company, a corporation; Industrial Employees' Union, Inc, a corporation, and Industrial Employees' Union, Inc., Local No. 76, District 9 and Lumber, and Sawmill Workers, Union, Local No 2552, 19 N L R' B 887. McGOLDRICK LUMBER COMPANY 391 The principal production and sales figures for McGoldrick during the years 1935 and 1936 are shown iii the accompanying table : Lumber cut (board feet, timber scale) ---_--_----.----_----------------------- 46, 363, 533 51, 372, 456 Sales-------------------------------------------------------------------------- $1,463,105 $1,830,278 Per cent of lumber sold shipped out of Washington I By, value-------------------------------------------------------------- 73 8 76 By footage----------------------------------------------------------------- 84 87 The percentage of sales, by value, involving shipments outside of Washington was substantially the same for the first 8 months of 1937 as it was for the years 1935 and 1936. II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED - International Woodworkers of America, Local 100, is a labor or- ganization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The Company has refused to recognize the Union unless the Board certifies it as the exclusive representative of its Spokane plant. A statement prepared by the Field Examiner and introduced at the hearing shows that the Ui ion represents a substantial number of employees in the unit found below to be appropriate.2 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 within the several States and tends to lead to labor disputes burdening and obstructing com- Inerce and the free flow of commerce. V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT The Union and the Company agree, and we find, that all produc- tion and maintenance employees, employed by the Company at Spo- kane, Washington, exclusive of supervisory employees, foremen with 2 The Trial Examiner's statement shows that 210 employees whose names appear on the Company's pay roll of February 27, 1941, have signed application-authorization cards in the Union. The cards were dated between December 1, 1940, and March 1, 1941. There were approximately 306 employees in the alleged appropriate unit on February 27, 1941. 392 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD the power to hire and fire, office fin,-] clerical employees, and em- ployees of the City Garage, constitute a unit appropriate for the pur- poses of collective bargaining. We further find that said unit will insure to employees of the Company the full benefit of their right to self-organization. and to collective bargaining, and otherwise ef- fectuate the'policies of the Act. VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES We find that the question concerning representation which has arisen can best be resolved by yam election by secret ballot. We find that the employees of the Company eligible to vote in the election shall be those employees in the appropriate unit who were employed, during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election herein, subject to such limitations and additions as were set forth in the Direction of Election. 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 McGoldrick Lumber Company, Spokane, Washington, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7 ) of the National Labor Relations Act. 2. All production and maintenance employees of the Company at Spokane, Washington, excluding supervisory employees, foremen with the power to hire and fire, office and clerical employees, and employees of the City Garage, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the National Labor Relations 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 purpose of collective bargaining with McGoldrick Lumber Company, Spokane, Washington, an elec- tion by,secret ballot shall b'e!,conducted as early as possible, but not later than thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Nine- teenth Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor McGOLDRICK LUMBER COMPANY 393 Relations Board, and subject to Article III, Section 9, 'of said Rules and Regulations, among all production and maintenance employees of the Company who were employed at Spokane, Washington, during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction, including employees who did not work during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or in the active military service or training of the United States, or temporarily laid off, but exclud- ing supervisory employees, foremen with the power to hire and fire, office and clerical employees, and employees in the City Garage, and employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether or not,they desire to be represented by Inter- -national Woodworkers of America, Local 100, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, for the purposes of collective bargaining. 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