Muller Paper Goods Co., Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 20, 1943

48 N.L.R.B. 1408 (N.L.R.B. 1943)

In the Matter of MuLLER PAPER GOODS Co., INC. and INTERNATIONAL
BROTHERHOOD OF PULP, SULPHITE AND PAPER MILL WORKERS,
A. F. OF L. u
Case No. R 5091.Decided April 20, 1943
Jurisdiction : paper products manufacturing industry.
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: fail-
ure to fulfill pay-roll check agreement; election necessary.
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : production employees, with speci-
fied inclusions and exclusions.
Lotterman and Tepper, by Louis A. Tepper, of New York City, for
the Company. .
Mr. George V. Cook, Mr. Joseph Tonelli, and Mr. Raymond Leone
of New York City, for the Union.
Mr. Joseph E. Gubbins, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon petition duly filed by International Brotherhood of Pulp,
Sulphite and Paper Mill Workers, affiliated with the A. F. of L., herein
called the Union, alleging that a question affecting commerce had
arisen concerning the representation of employees of Muller Paper
Goods Co., Inc., Long Island City, New York, New York, herein called
the Company,' the National Labor Relations Board provided for an
appropriate hearing upon due notice before Martin I. Rose, Trial
Examiner. Said hearing was held at New York City on March 30,
1943. The Company and the Union appeared, participated, and
were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-
examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing upon the issues.
During the course of the hearing counsel for the Company moved to
dismiss the petition upon the grounds that the Union failed to prove
' The name of the Company was erroneously designated as "Muller Paper Goods Com-
pany" in the petition and some of the formal papers, all of which were corrected by amend-
ment at the hearing.
48 N. L. R. B., No. 175. -
1408
MULLER PAPER 'GOODS CO., INC: - 1409'
any membership among the -Company's employees. The motion is
hereby denied. The Trial Examiner's rulings made at the hearing are
free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Muller Paper Goods Co., Inc., a New York corporation, with its
principal offices and plant at Long Island City, New York, is engaged
in the manufacture, sale, and distribution of paper products. During
the 12-month period preceding March 22, 1943, the Company purchased
raw materials, consisting- principally of paper, valued at approxi-
mately $250,000, 75 percent of which was shipped to its plant from
places outside the State of New York. During the same period sales
value of the finished products was in excess of $500,000, 75 percent
of which was shipped to points outside the State of New York. The
Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning
of the National Labor Relations-Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
.. International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite and Paper Mill Work-
ers, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, is a labor organi-
zation, admitting to membership employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
At a conference held' February 4, 1943, by the parties, the Union
requested recognition asserting that it represented the majority, of the
Company's employees but the Company refused to grant such recogni-
tion until the Union proved its assertion. The parties agreed to check
the Union's membership cards against'the Company's pay roll in'order
to determine the question but the agreement never materialized. The
Union filed its petition on February 15, 1943.
A statement prepared by the Regional Director, introduced in evi-
dnce at the hearing, indicates that the Union represents a substantial'
number of employees in the unit hereinafter found to be appropriate.2
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the
representation of employees -of the Company, within the meaning of
Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations
Act. '
2 The Regional Director 's statement shows that the Union submitted 32 application for-
membership cards, 25 of which bear apparently genuine signatures and also bear the naives
of persons whose names are listed on the Company 's pay toll of February 18, 1943; the
pay roll contains the names of 58 employees in the appropriate unit. Twenty -four cards
are dated between January 15 and February 11, 1943, and ' andated.
1410 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR -RELATIONS BOARD
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The parties agree that all production employees, ' including cutters,
,cupping machine operators and machine tenders, packers, pressmen,
feeders, shipping clerks, machinists, weighers and packers, watchmen,
freight elevator operators, doormen, and porters should be included in
the bargaining unit. The parties further agree that managerial, cleri-
cal, supervisory, and office employees should be excluded. However,
there is a dispute over order clerks, bookkeepers, a planning depart-
ment employee, a purchasing department employee, and working fore-
men. The Union would exclude all these categories with the exception
of working foremen, whereas the Company denies that there is a cate-
gory, of working foremen in its employ but, as to the others, it would
include them.
The record shows that the work of the order; clerks is purely clerical.
The bookkeepers'keep production and inventory records and compute
time records of factory employees. Since the duties of these two groups
are substantially different from those of the production employees, we
shall-exclude them from the unit.
The employee in the planning department in dispute is highly skilled,
plans and makes the lay-out for printed materials, and is paid' a sub-
stantially higher hourly rate than the average production employee.
The other employee in dispute works in the purchasing department and
has to do with the flow of materials through the plant and the requisi-
tioning and giving of orders for all materials. These employees are
carried on the pay roll of the Old Mill Paper Co., a wholly owned and
controlled subsidiary of the Company, which operates as a selling
agent for it. We shall exclude them from the unit since their duties
and interests are substantially different from those of the production
employees.
In respect to the category. of working foreman, an officer of the
Company testified without contradiction that the Company has no
employees so classified. Henry Muller, an officer of the Company,
has, complete charge of, production and supervision over all the em-
ployees:
We find that all production employees, including cutters,, cupping
machine operators and machine tenders, packers, pressmen, feeders,
shipping clerks, machinists, weighers and packers, watchmen, freight
elevator operators, doormen, and porters, but excluding managerial,
clerical, supervisory, and office employees, order clerks, bookkeepers,
and the two employees listed on the pay roll of the Old Mill Paper
Co., constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of, collective bar-
gaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
.DZULLER PAPER GOODS CO;, INC. 1411
V. TILE DETER^IINATION1OF REPRESENTATIVES
We shall direct that the question concerning representation which
has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot among the em-
ployees in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-roll
period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election
herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in the
Direction.
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 Rela-
tions Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is
hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representatives
for the purposes of collective bargaining with Muller Paper Goods'
Co., Inc., Long Island City, New York, New York, 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, under the direction and su-
pervision of the Regional Director for the Second Region, acting in
this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and sub-
ject to Article III, Section 10, of said Rules and Regulations, among
the employees in the unit found appropriate in Section IV, above, who
were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the
date of this Direction, including employees who did not work
during said pay-roll period because they were ill, or on vacation or
temporarily laid off, and including employees in the armed forces of
the United States who present themselves in person at the polls, but
excluding any who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to
determine whether or not they desire to be represented by International
Brotherhood of Pulp, - Sulphite and Paper Mill Workers, affiliated
with the A. F. of L., for the purposes of collective-bargaining.
621247-43-vol. 48-90