Menasha Pressroom Unit

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Dec 13, 1972

200 N.L.R.B. 881 (N.L.R.B. 1972)

MENASHA PRESSROOM UNIT 881
The Menasha Pressroom Unit of the Printing Trades
Specialty Local #531, International Printing
Pressmen and Assistant 's Union of North America,
AFL-CIO and George Banta Company, Inc and
Local #32, International Brotherhood of Bookbin-
ders, AFL-CIO 1 Case 30-CD-50
December 13, 1972
of the Act, and that it will effectuate the policies of
the Act to assert jurisdiction in this proceeding
II THE LABOR ORGANIZATIONS
The parties stipulated, and we find, that the
Pressmen and the Bookbinders are labor organiza-
tions within the meaning of Section 2(5) of the Act
DECISION AND DETERMINATION OF
DISPUTE
BY CHAIRMAN MILLER AND MEMBERS
FANNING AND JENKINS
This is a proceeding under Section 10(k) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, follow-
ing charges filed by George Banta Company, Inc,
hereinafter called the Employer, alleging a violation
of Section 8(b)(4)(D) by The Menasha Pressroom
Unit of the Printing Trades Specialty Local # 531,
International Printing Pressmen and Assistant's
Union of North America, AFL-CIO, hereinafter
called the Pressmen Pursuant to notice, a hearing
was held on June 29, 1972, at Menasha, Wisconsin,
before Hearing Officer Shirley A Bednarz The
Employer, the Pressmen, and Local #32, Interna-
tional Brotherhood of Bookbinders, AFL-CIO,
hereinafter called Bookbinders, appeared at the
hearing and were afforded full opportunity to be
heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and
to adduce evidence bearing on the issues The
Employer, the Pressmen, and the Bookbinders filed
briefs with the National Labor Relations Board
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the
National Labor Relations Board has delegated its
authority in this proceeding to a three-member panel
The rulings of the Hearing Officer made at the
hearing are free from prejudicial error and are
hereby affirmed
Upon the basis of the briefs and the entire record
in this case, the Board makes the following findings
I THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
The Employer is a Wisconsin corporation engaged
in the business of commercial printing at its facilities
in Menasha, Wisconsin During the course of the
past calendar year, a representative period, the
Employer purchased and received goods valued in
excess of $50,000 directly from points located outside
the State of Wisconsin We find, accordingly, that
the Employer is engaged in a business affecting
commerce within the meaning of Section 2(6) and (7)
' The Board has been administratively advised that the International
Brotherhood of Bookbinders , AFL-CIO and the Lithographers & Photoen
III THE DISPUTE
A Background and Facts of the Dispute
The Employer is engaged in the commercial
printing business at two plants in the Menasha,
Wisconsin, area, the Main plant (the site of the
dispute here) in downtown Menasha, and the
Midway plant on the outskirts of Menasha At these
two sites, the Employer bargains with a number of
unions, including the Pressmen, for a unit at the
Main plant and with the Bookbinders for a single
bargaining unit of employees located at both plants
Prior to April 1972, the Employer had used flatbed
letterpresses for printing, and perfect binder ma-
chines for binding, the books which it produced at its
Main plant These presses and binders, which were
functionally and physically separated, were operated
by employees represented by the Pressmen and the
Bookbinders, respectively
On April 20, 1972, the Employer began operating
the Banta Book System at the Main plant The Banta
Book System is a process by which a roll of blank
paper can be converted into a completely printed,
assembled, and bound book in a single m-hne
operation This system is comprised of a Cameron
belt press (which prints and collates the materials), a
transfer mechanism (which is timed to receive the
printed material from the press and deliver them to
the binder or, if the binder is inoperative, automati-
cally diverts the materials for stacking and binding
later), and a Sheridan binder machine The work in
dispute here is solely limited to the operation of the
Sheridan binder machine
The Sheridan binder machine saws off the spine of
each book, applies an adhesive glue to bind the pages
together, and marries the cover to the book Then the
books are trimmed, stacked in piles, and made ready
for shipping
While the Banta Book System is a single in-line
operation, the record shows that the binder can be
detached and that the press and the binder each have
separate controls and can be, and have been,
gravers International Union merged on September 4 1972 to become the
Graphic Arts International Union
200 NLRB No 111
882 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
operated independently of each other Two employ-
ees are required to operate the binder 2 One is in
charge of the binder and the other stacks the books
after the binding is completed It is the responsibility
of the operator of the binder machine to make
necessary adjustments to the binder, including
adjustment of the cams and air controls so as to
properly feed the cover to the book
Along with the new Banta Book System, the
Employer has maintained the operation of several
other binder machines at its two plants Employees
represented by the Bookbinders traditionally have
operated these binder machines
When the Employer began operating the Banta
Book System on April 20, 1972, it did so in
accordance with assignments of work it made on or
about March 15, 1972, including, among others, the
operation of the Cameron belt press by employees
represented by the Pressmen and the operation of the
Sheridan binder machine by employees represented
by the Bookbinders 3 On May 11, 1972, the shop
committee of the Pressmen threatened the Employer
that they would strike if they did not receive
jurisdiction over the work here in dispute
B The Work in Dispute
The work in dispute involves the operation of the
Sheridan binder machine of the Cameron belt
press-Sheridan binder machine unit (also known as
the Banta Book System) at the Employer's main
plant in Menasha, Wisconsin
C Contentions of the Parties
The Employer assigned the work in dispute to
employees who are represented by the Bookbinders
and urges the Board to sustain the assignment The
Employer contends that its contract with the Book-
binders clearly covers the work in dispute and
requires an assignment to that Union's constituency
Further, the Employer contends that the work in
dispute is all but identical to the work performed on
other binder machines at its plants and that such
binders historically come under the exclusive juris-
diction of the Bookbinders Finally, the Employer
contends that the skills involved in performing the
work in dispute are bindery skills and that such skills
outweigh whatever gain in efficiency might be
2 Four employees were being used on one shift at the time of the hearing
to operate the binder machine because this is a new operation After this
shakedown stage, two shifts with at least two employees each will be
used in this bindery operation
3 The record shows that the Employer also made an assignment relative
to platemaking for the belt press That assignment of work is not involved in
this proceeding
A Although each of the disputants contracts have a provision for binding
achieved in awarding such work to employees
represented by the Pressmen
The Bookbinders predicates its claim on the
following contentions one, that its Board certifica-
tion and collective-bargaining agreement cover the
disputed work, two, that company and industry
practice uniformly favor the Bookbinders, three, that
employees represented by the Bookbinders possess
the relative skills necessary to do the work and to do
it efficiently and economically, finally, they cite the
Employer's preference and the existing assignment of
the work
The Pressmen predicates its claim for the work
here in dispute on three contentions one, that the
Banta Book System is an integral operation demand-
ing the skills peculiar to panting pressmen, two, that
the assignment of the work to pressmen would result
in a more efficient operation of the Employer's
business, and third, that the work is covered by its
contract with the Employer
D Applicability of the Statute
The charges herein allege a violation of Section
8(b)(4)(D) of the Act The record shows, and the
Pressmen concedes, that on or about May 11, 1972,
the Pressmen threatened John Hue, director of
industrial relations for the employer, that it would
strike if it were not given jurisdiction over the entire
Banta Book System which encompasses the work
here in dispute On the basis of the entire record, we
conclude that there is reasonable cause to believe
that a violation of Section 8(b)(4)(D) has occurred
and that the dispute is properly before the Board for
determination under Section 10(k) of the Act 4
E The Merits of the Dispute
As the Board stated in J A Jones Construction
Company, 5 we shall determine the appropriate
assignment of disputed work in each case presented
for resolution under Section 10(k) of the Act only
after taking into account and balancing all relevant
factors
We shall set forth below those factors which we
find relevant in determining the dispute herein
I Certification6 and bargaining agreement
The Pressmen, which characterizes the Banta
System as a "printing process," contends that its
arbitration, the parties stipulated , and we find that there is no agreed-upon
method, binding on all the parties for resolving the dispute herein
5 International Association of Machinists Lodge No 1743 AFL-CIO (J
A Jones Construction Company) 135 NLRB 1402
6 Although the Bookbinders avers that its certification by the Board
covers the work here in dispute , it did not introduce a record of its
certification at the hearing The Pressmen has not been certified by the
Board Consequently the factor of certification favors neither disputant
MENASHA PRESSROOM UNIT 883
collective-bargaining agreement with the Employer
covers the work in dispute 7 The record reveals,
however, that the Banta Book System combines a
printing process with an in-line binding process to
form a single flow printing and binding production
process Moreover, both the printing process and the
binding process retain their separate identity and can
be, and in fact have been, operated independently of
each other 8 Consequently, we are not convinced,
based on the record here, that the Pressmen's
contract is sufficiently broad so as to cover the work
in dispute
The Bookbinders also contends that its collective-
bargaining agreement covers the work here in
dispute 9 The Employer joins the Bookbinders in this
contention, asserting further that the "contract
language makes sense only if the term bindery is read
to refer to the nature of the work involved, and not
the geographical location of the work " In light of the
location of the Banta Book System in the pressroom,
it would appear that the Employer's interpretative
assertion is based on the undisputed fact that it
always has assigned bindery work to employees
represented by the Bookbinders Given the entire
record in this matter, particularly the "work in-
volved" and the "company practice," both discussed
infra, it is arguable that the Bookbinders contract
with the Employer could cover the work in dispute
However, in view of our findings with respect to
other applicable factors, we find it unnecessary to
rely on this factor in making an award in this
proceeding
2 Work involved
The Sheridan binder machine of the Banta Book
System saws off the spine of each book, applies an
adhesive glue to bind the page together, and marries
the cover to the book The books are then trimmed,
stacked in piles, and made ready for shipping While
there is no dispute that this process constitutes
bindery work, the Pressmen contends, nonetheless,
that the Banta Book System is an integral operation
which it characterizes as a "printing process," and
7 The Pressmen contract provides for excluding jurisdiction over
all printing presses or processes which are now m operation or may replace
such printing presses or processes which are now in operation in the George
Banta Company Inc exclusive of any lithographic production work
8 See discussion under heading 2 Work involved infra
9 The Bookbinders contract recognizes it as exclusive bargaining agent
for all employees in the Bindery Unit located in the City of Menasha
Wisconsin said Bindery Unit shall be composed of
Main Plant-Wis Midway Plant-Menasha Wis
departments defined
Bindery
Folders
Shipping Room
Mailing Room
departments defined
Bindery (including Folders &
Trimmers)
Stockroom
Sheeter Department
Warehouse
therefore, that the employees it represents should
operate the entire system, including the Sheridan
binder machine Contrary to the contentions of the
Pressmen , the record reveals that the Banta Book
System combines a printing component (the Camer-
on belt press) with an in-line binding component (the
Sheridan binder machine) to create a single flow
printing and binding production process 10 The
printing component and the binding component each
retain their separate identities and can be, and in fact
have been, operated independently of each other
Consequently, the essential character of the bindery
work in dispute has not been changed merely
because it has become a component of an integral
operation Accordingly, we find that the work in
dispute here is clearly bindery work
3 Training, skills, experience, and efficiency
The Pressmen contends that the employees it
represents possess the necessary skills to perform,
and in fact have performed, the disputed work It
further contends that an assignment of the disputed
work to these employees would result in a more
efficient operation of the Employer's business,
primarily because the Bookbinders contract with the
Employer provides for a 30-minute lunch break at a
set time per shift, while its contract does not provide
for a lunch break Bookbinders argues that the
bindery employees possess the requisite training and
skills to perform the work in dispute
The record established that bindery work has been,
and currently is being, performed on all binding
machines throughout the Employer's plant by em-
ployees represented by the Bookbinders and that
these employees clearly possess the training, skills,
and experience required to operate binding machines
generally, and the binding machine in dispute
particularly The Pressmen's experience with respect
to the disputed bindery work is limited to the
performance of certain work tasks which are related
to, but not included in, the operation of binding
machines 11 Moreover, Pressmen members did not
participate with the bindery workers in the training
program relating to the operation of the Sheridan
Stock Department Receiving Room
Reprint Department Shipping Room
Truck Drivers
10 The Cameron belt press and the Sheridan binder machine are joined
by a transfer mechanism which is timed to receive the books from the press
and deliver them to the binder or if the binder is inoperative, automatically
diverts the materials for stacking and later binding
11 These work tasks include stacking books, which becomes necessary
only when the binder machine is inoperative and hand feeding books into
the pocket device after the binder machine is once again operational Both
of these tasks take place before the actual binding process begins In
addition pressmen have occasionally assisted bindery workers in sorting
covers and stacking completed books All of these tasks are manual and
unskilled and none involves the actual operation and control of the
884 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
binder machine component of the Banta Book
System In addition, while pressmen may be availa-
ble to operate the binder machine without a lunch
break, availability alone is not necessarily the
equivalent of efficiency, especially where, as here, the
facts show that the disputed work is bindery work
and that pressmen do not have the familiarity or
bindery skills and experience possessed and exercised
by bindery workers either generally or with regard to
the Sheridan binder machine in dispute According-
ly, we find that the factors of training, skill,
experience, and efficiency favor an assignment of the
disputed work to employees represented by the
Bookbinders
4 Industry practice
The evidence shows that there is limited use in the
printing industry of a press-binder unit similar to the
Banta Book System The Respondent' s plant manag-
er, Niles Emerich, testified that he knew of three
other similar systems Of these three, two are located
in nonunion businesses The remaining one, accord-
ing to the Bookbinders International representative,
is manned in the same manner as the Employer's
assignment here Thus, based on the limited use of
such press-binder units, the industry practice is not
sufficiently widespread to establish a general practice
in the industry
5 Employer practice and assignment
While the Employer has not operated a press-
binder unit prior to the introduction of the Banta
Book System, the record shows that the Employer's
assignment of the disputed work to employees
represented by the Bookbinders follows its practice
of assigning all bindery work to employees represent-
ed by the Bookbinders The record also reveals that
the disputed work is virtually identical to that
performed by three Sheridan perfect binder ma-
chines at the Employer's Midway plant, except that
the three Sheridan perfect binder machines at the
Midway plant also collate the materials, a function
performed by the press of the Banta Book System,
and the Sheridan perfect binder machines at the
Midway plant are not operated in conjunction with a
press unit Thus, given the fact that the bindery work
here in dispute has not changed its essential
character because it has become a component of the
Banta Book System, we find that the Employer's
work assignment is consistent with its past practice
and favors an assignment of the disputed work to
employees represented by the Bookbinders
CONCLUSION
Having considered all pertinent factors herein, we
conclude that employees represented by the Book-
binders are entitled to perform the work in dispute
In making this determination , we are assigning the
disputed work to the employees of the George Banta
Company, Inc, who are represented by Local #32,
International Brotherhood of Bookbinders, AFL-CIO
but not to the Union or its members Our present
determination is limited to the particular controversy
which gave rise to this proceeding
DETERMINATION OF DISPUTE
Pursuant to Section 10(k) of the National Labor
Relations Act, as amended, and upon the basis of the
foregoing findings and the entire record in this
proceeding, the National Labor Relations Board
hereby makes the following Determination of Dis-
pute
1 Employees of George Banta Company, Inc,
who currently are represented by Local #32, In-
ternational Brotherhood of Bookbinders, AFL-CIO,
are entitled to perform the work of operating the
Sheridan binder machine of the Cameron belt press-
Sheridan binder machine (also known as the Banta
Book System) used by the Employer at its Menasha,
Wisconsin, plant
2 The Menasha Pressroom Unit of the Printing
Trades Specialty Local #531, International Printing
Pressmen and Assistant's Union of North America,
AFL-CIO , is not entitled by means proscribed by
Section 8(b)(4)(D) of the Act to force or require
George Banta Company, Inc, to assign the above-
described bindery work to pressmen represented by
The Menasha Pressroom Unit of the Printing Trades
Specialty Local #531, International Printing Press-
men and Assistant's Union of North America,
AFL-CIO
Sheridan binder machine which work the record shows has been done
only by the Bookbinders members
MENASHA PRESSROOM UNIT
3 Within 10 days from the date of this Decision
and Determination of Dispute, The Menasha Press-
room Unit of the Printing Trades Specialty Local
#531, International Printing Pressmen and Assist-
ant's Union of North America, AFL-CIO, shall
notify the Regional Director for Region 30, in
writing, whether or not it will refrain from forcing or
requiring the Employer, by means proscribed by
885
Section 8(b)(4)(D) of the Act, to assign the work in
dispute to pressmen represented by The Menasha
Pressroom Unit of the Printing Trades Specialty
Local #531, International Printing Pressmen and
Assistant's Union of North America, AFL-CIO,
rather than to employees represented by Local #32,
International Brotherhood of Bookbinders,AFL-CIO