Fey Publishing Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

May 25, 1954

108 N.L.R.B. 1031 (N.L.R.B. 1954)

FEY PUBLISHING COMPANY 1031
objections. Within 10 days from the date of issuance of such
report, any party may file with the Board in Washington
D. C., an original and six copies of exceptions thereto.
Immediately upon the filing of such exceptions, the party
filing the same shall serve a copy thereof upon each of the
other parties, and the Regional Director ,. If no exceptions are
filed thereto , the Board will adopt the recommendations of the
hearing officer.
FEY PUBLISHING COMPANY and AMALGAMATED LITHO-
GRAPHERS OF AMERICA, CIO, Petitioner . Case No. 18-
RC-2063. May 25, 1954
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National
Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before Hjalmar
Storlie, hearing officer . The hearing officer 's rulings made
at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are
hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in this case , the Board finds:
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce withinthe meaning
of the Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent
certain employees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the
repre s entation of employees of the Employer within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The Petitioner seeks to sever a unit of all lithographic
production employees from the existing contract unit. The
Employer and Local 313, International Printing Pressmen and
Assistants' Union of North America, AFL, herein called
the Intervenor, oppose the requested unit and contend that only
a plantwide unit is appropriate.
The Employer operates a commercial combination printing
and lithographic shop in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. It
maintains both letterpress and offset equipment together with
a composing room, bindery, camera, and platemaking opera-
tions. The Intervenor has represented the Employer's press-
men' for approximately 30 years under contract.2 Offset
pressmen have been covered by the contracts since 1941
when the Employer acquired its first offset equipment. The
contract was expanded in 1948 to cover other lithographic
employees.
i There are 4 composing room employees and 15 bindery, cutting, and shipping employees
not covered by the contracts.
2 The most recent contract expired September 1, 1953, and no new contract has since been
executed.
108 NLRB No. 144.
103 Z DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
The lithographic process is distinguishable from letterpress
printing in that it involves printing from a plane surface and
depends for its operations upon a chemical difference between
various portions of the surface of the plate used in making the
impression . Each step in the process is separate and distinct
from that of letterpress . The Employer's lithographic presses
are located on the same floor as the letterpresses but are in
a separate area . The other lithographic operations such as
platemaking , camera, stripping , and darkroom are separately
located elsewhere in the plant apart from the letterpresses.
The lithographic presses, camera , and platemaking equipment
used in the plant are standard lithographic equipment; the work
performed is substantially the same as performed in the
lithographic industry generally; the plates used are exclusively
for offset presses; and there is a close interrelationship
between the lithographic pressmen and platemaking employees;
but there is no interchange , however , between lithographic
and letterpress employees .3 Furthermore, the lithographic
employees have never had the opportunity to express their
desires as to their representative.
The Board has frequently consideed the skills and techniques
incident to the lithographic process and has held that all such
employees engaged in the lithographic process forma cohesive
unit appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining not-
withstanding bargaining history on a broader basis.4 Further-
more, the Petitioner is a union which has traditionally devoted
itself to serving the special interest of the lithographic em-
ployees. In view of the foregoing , and in accordance with our
decision in the American Potash case ,s we find that the
lithographic employees may constitute a single appropriate
unit if they so desire . We shall not, however , make a final
unit determination at this time , but shall direct that the
question concerning representation which exists be resolvedby
an election by secret ballot among the employees in the fol-
lowing voting group:
All lithographic production employees at the Employer's
Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, plant , including offset pressmen, 6
cameramen, strippers , opaquers , platemakers , and the multi-
lith operator ,7 excluding office and clerical employees , guards,
all other employees, and supervisors as defined in the Act.
3On infrequent occasions, an assistant letterpressman, Donald Gasch, assisted on offset
work when there was work to be done and the regular assistant offset pressman was absent.
420th Century Press, 107 NLRB 292; The Coleman Company, Inc., 101 NLRB 667; Josten
Manufacturing Company, 101 NLRB 189.
5 American Potash and Chemical Corp., 107 NLRB 1418.
6 The Petitioner contends that Offset Pressman Mrochek should be excluded from the unit
as a supervisor. This employee does not have the authority to hire, discharge, or effectively
recommend the same, and does not responsibly direct other employees. We find he is not
a supervisor within the meaning of the Act.
7 The multilith operator is included in the unit because the multilith operation is essentially
lithographic in character. The Standard Printing Company, Inc., 80 NLRB 338.
LINE MATERIAL COMPANY 1033
If a majority of the employees in the voting group vote for
the Petitioner , they will be taken to have indicated their
desire to constitute a separate appropriate unit, and the
Regional Director conducting the election directed herein is
instructed to issue a certificate of representatives to the Pe-
titioner for the unit described in the voting group above, which
the Board , under such circumstances , finds to be appropriate
for purposes of collective bargaining . On the other hand, if
a majority vote for the Intervenor , the Board finds the existing
unit to be appropriate and the Regional Director will issue a
certification of results of election to such effect.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.]
LINE MATERIAL COMPANY, DIVISION OF McGRAW ELEC-
TRIC COMPANY and TOOL & DIE MAKERS LODGE NO. 78,
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS, AFL,
Petitioner . Case No . 13-RC-3764. May 25, 1954
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National
Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before Jewel G . Maher,
hearing officer . The hearing officer's rulings made at the hear-
ing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. i
Upon the entire record in this case , the Board finds:
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the mean-
ing of the Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent
certain employees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the
representation of employees of the Employer within the mean-
ing of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The Petitioner seeks to sever from the existing production
and maintenance unit, a unit of all of the Employer's tool-
and die - makers and model shop employees, including the heat
treater, the tool and cutter grinder, and the tool . crib attendant,
but excluding all other employees. The Employer and Intervenor
contend that the requested unit is inappropriate because of the
history of collective bargaining on a plantwide basis and the
integration of the Employer's operations . The Intervenor further
contends that the employees in the requested unit are not skilled
craftsmen . Since 1937 , the Intervenor has been the bargaining
representative for all production and maintenance employees
in a single unit.
ILocal 1109, United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE), herein
called the Intervenor, was permitted to intervene on the basis of a recently expired contract.
108 NLRB No. 139.