Inyo Lumber Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jan 11, 1951

92 N.L.R.B. 1267 (N.L.R.B. 1951)

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In the Matter of INYo LUMBER COMPANY, EMPLOYER and INTER-
NATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS, LOCAL No. 12, AFL,
PETITIONER
In the Matter Of INYO LUMBER COMPANY, EMPLOYER, and TEAMSTERS,
CHAUFFEURS, WAREHOUSEMEN & HELPERS LOCAL UNION 87, INTER-
NATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS, CHAUFFEURS, WAREHOUSE-
MEN & HELPERS OF AMERICA, AFL
In the Matter of INYO LUMBER COMPANY, EMPLOYER, and LUMBER AND
SAWMILL WORKERS UNION, LOCAL 3181, UNITED BROTHERHOOD OF
CARPENTERS & JOINERS OF AMERICA, AFL
Cases Nos. 00-RC1027, 2O-RC-1033, and 00-RC-1042.Decided
January 11, 1951
DECISION, ORDER, AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon petitions duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, a consolidated hearing was held before Harry Bamford,
-hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are
free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the Act, the Board
has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three-member
panel [Chairman Herzog and Members Murdock and Styles].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is a partnership comprised of William I. Moffett
and Carl B. Goldstein, doing business as Inyo Lumber Company. It
is engaged in the logging, manufacturing, and selling of lumber. and
box shook. Its logging operations are conducted in Mono County,
California, approximately 60 miles from Bishop, California; its
sawmill, dry yard, and box factory are in Inyo County 9 miles from
Bishop. A retail lumberyard is maintained by the Employer at
Bishop, California.
In 1949 the Employer's purchases of raw materials, principally logs
and lumber, totaled $431,097.27, of which amount approximately 33
percent was shipped to the Employer from points outside the State
of California. During the same period, the Employer's sales of fin-
ished products, consisting of lumber and box shook, totaled $1,004,-
877.31, of which amount approximately 15 percent was shipped to
92 NLRB No. 185. 1267
1268 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
points outside the State. In addition to these direct shipments, an
undetermined but substantial quantity of the Employ er's sales to
purchasers within the State were transshipped to points outside =the
State by purchasers thereof.
We find that the Employer is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the National Labor Relaions Act, and, in view of the
fact. that the Employer's out-of-State shipments for 1949 exceeded
.$25,000, that it will effectuate the policies of the Act to assert
jurisdiction.,
2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain
employees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9
(c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act 2
4. The Engineers and Lumber Workers both seek an over-all unit
of production and maintenance employees, including the woods, mill,
yard, box factory, and retail yard employees. The Teamsters seeks
a unit of truck drivers, mechanic's helpers in the repair shop, and all
-men under the supervision of the yard foreman. The Employer, in
its brief, contends that only an over-all unit is appropriate because
of the almost complete integration of its operations.
The Employer operates a comparatively small logging and saw-
mill plant. All timber is procured from its own logging operation
which is located about 65 miles north of the mill. There the trees
are felled, limbed, bucked, and skidded to the landing, where they are
loaded on the Employer's trucks by a crane. They are then trucked
to the mill where they are dumped into the pond, floated to the slip,
lifted to the log deck, cut by the band saw, trimmed, sent down the
green chain, .graded, and plat on blocks where the cut lumber is then
carried to the dry yard by the Ross carrier and there piled for drying.
A:ftr the lumber is dried it is regraded, placed on Employer's. trucks
or on independent contractors' trucks, -and hauled to the Employer's
-markets. The box factory uses ]umber, which is not otherwise market-
able. In addition, the Employer merchandises some of its lumber
through its retail lumberyard. At the time of the hearing approxi-
mately 125 employees were employed by the Employer.
' Stanislaus Implement and Hardware Company , Limited, 91 NLRB 618.
2 The Employer, in its brief , objects to any election being directed in this case until after
unfair labor practice charges filed by the Employer have been disposed of and their effects
dissipated . No waiver was filed by the Employer . The Regional Director entered into a
settlement agreement , providing for the posting of notices by the labor organization, and
dismissed the charges on August 14. 1950, which action was thereafter sustained by the
General Counsel . Such ,dismissal disposes of the charge insofar as it concerns this
representation case. We shall direct the Regional Director not to conduct the election
hereinafter provided for until after January 13, 1951, the expiration date of the period for
posting notices.
INYO LUMBER COMPANY 1269
All operations are directly supervised by William I. Moffett, the
managing partner. Under Moffett are six working foremen, all of
whom are stipulated by the parties to be supervisers : woods, box fac-
tory, sawmill, yard, retail yard, and shop foremen. The employees
sought by the Teamsters work in the shop, retail yard, and yard sec-
tions.
Under the shop foreman are 12 truck drivers (heavy), 8 mechanic's
helpers (also called lube men and grease monkeys)., 2 welders, an
electrician, a, machinist, and a "cat" (heavy duty) mechanic. Of these,
the Teamsters seeks to represent only the truck drivers and the me-
chanic's helpers. The shop services, repairs, and maintains all the
equipment of the Employer used in both the woods and mill opera-
tions. The employees in this section, as is true in the Employer's other
sections, are used as a common working pool for various tasks. The
truck drivers also help load and unload the trucks and are employed
on other jobs, such as crane operating and grading. During ap-
proximately five winter months the truck drivers are kept busy doing,
maintenance work on the equipment used in the woods operations and
in doing any other work that may be found for them at the, sawmill,
in the box factory, or around the yard or shop: The mechanic's helpers
perform maintenance work directly under the instructions of the shop
foreman or assist the machinist, electrician, or welders in their work.
They also unload logs from logging trucks into the pond.
Working in the retail yard are several yard boys (laborers), a
truck driver who makes retail lumber deliveries in a light truck, and
an office girl. They are under the supervision of the retail yard fore-
man. The Teamsters would include only the truck driver in its unit.
The Teamsters seeks all. the men under the yard foreman. These
employees include the Ross carrier operator, two lumber pilers, the
lift truck driver and his helper, and from two to six lumber. handlers.
In the yard the two lumber pliers, who are paid on a piecework basis,.
stack and stick the green lumber in piles where it stands, in the sum
until dried. It is then repiled by the dry lumber handlers, after which
it is. moved-.to the box factory or upon over-the-road trucks as the
business requires. The lumber is moved about the yard by the Ross
carrier. Piles are raised and lowered by the lift truck. The operator
of the lift truck is assisted by a swamper.
There is constant interchange of jobs between all operations in
addition to those already indicated. During the winter months the
woods employees are shifted to the mill operations. Helpers who
handle the logs in the pond may come either from the shop, box fac-
tory, or-sawmill. Mechanic's helpers also work in the sawmill, woods,
or sprilk1e roads. The truck drivers sometimes fell their own trees
1270 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
and limb them and then load them on the trucks. The Ross carrier
operator has piled lumber, worked on the pond, and in the retail yard.
In addition to the widespread use of all employees as a common labor
pool, there is a considerable history of permanent transfer between
the different operations of the Employer. Employees who are hired
as common laborers may progress to any of various classifications.
The record shows that during the past year three mill workers were
promoted to truck drivers. Present truck drivers have heretofore
worked in the woods, in the shop, driven graders, cranes, or hauled
timber, driven a cat, worked in the garage, and as lumber handlers.
The employees sought by the Teamsters are paid on the same hourly
basis, have the same hours of work, overtime provisions, hiring pro-
cedure, common supervision, and share the same company-wide in-
surance benefits.
From the above facts, and from the complete record, it appears
that the working conditions -and interests of the employees sought by
the Teamsters are not essentially different from those of other pro-
duction and maintenance employees .3 In the light of the integration
of these employees with the Employer's production process, the his-
torical pattern of bargaining in the lumber industry, and the result-
ing mutuality of interests and working conditions of all employees,
we believe that only a single unit of all production and maintenance
employees is appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining.4 Ac-
cordingly, we shall dismiss the petition of the Teamsters for separate -
representation of the truck drivers, mechanic's helpers in the repair
shop, and the yard employees, and we shall include those employees
in the production and maintenance unit hereinafter found appropriate.
We find that all production and maintenance employees 5 of the
Employer, including the woods, mill, yard, box factory, and retail
yard employees, but excluding clerical employees, guards, and all
supervisors as defined in the Act, constitute a unit appropriate for
e For approximately 10 years the Employer has had oral contracts with the Teamsters
covering only the truck drivers. These agreements were made in April of each year. There
has never been an election of any type conducted among the employees involved and there
Is no other bargaining history. We find this bargaining history inconclusive and not
determinative of the issues.
* See Weyerhaeuser Timber Company ( Springfield Lumber Division ), 87 NLRB 1076, and
88 NLRB 155 . Also, White River Lumber Company, 88 NLRB 158.
6 We shall include the woods janitress in the unit found appropriate . This employee
works and lives at the logging operation , where she cleans the bunkhouse and community
'washroom facilities . She is supervised by the woods foreman and performs her duties
during the day.
The parties are in dispute as to the office janitress . This employee is the wife of
Moffett's brother-in-law. She usually works 3 or 4 hours a night after the other employees
have gone home, and is directly supervised by Moffett . In view of her close relationship
to management , we shall exclude her from the unit. See Wm. P. McDonald Corporation,
83 NLRB 427.
INYO LUMBER COMPANY 1271
the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section
9 (b) of the Act.
ORDER
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petition filed in Case No. 20-RC-1033
be and it hereby is dismissed.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication in this
volume.]