Warren Paper Products Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 4, 1951

93 N.L.R.B. 1187 (N.L.R.B. 1951)

WARREN PAPER PRODUCTS CO. 1187
gaging in unfair labor practices within the meaning of Section 8 (a) (3) of
-the Act.
7. By discriminating in regard to the hire and tenure of employment of
Frank Paredez, thereby encouraging membership in a labor organization, Respond-
ent Hollywood has engaged and is engaging in unfair labor practices within the
meaning of Section 8 (a) (3) of the Act.
8. By enforcing its 1948 contracts with Respondents Hollywood and Serber,
by negotiating and executing the 1950 contracts with Respondents Hollywood
and Serber, and by enforcing such agreements, thereby causing them to dis-
criminate against employees in violation of Section 8 (a) (3), and by caus-
ing Respondent Hollywood to discriminate in regard to the hire and tenure
of employment of Frank Paredez in violation of Section 8 (a) (3) of the
Act, the Respondent Union has engaged and is engaging in unfair labor
practices within the meaning of Section 8 (b) (2) of the Act.
9. By restraining and coercing employees of Respondent Hollywood in the
exercise of their right to refrain from any and all of the concerted activities
guaranteed by Section 7 of the Act, the Respondent Union has engaged and
is engaging in unfair labor practices within the meaning of 'Section 8 (b)
(1) (A) of the Act.
10. The aforesaid unfair labor practices are unfair labor practices affecting
commerce within the meaning of Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
11. Respondent Serber and the Respondent Union have not engaged in un-
fair labor practices within the meaning of Section 8 (a) (1) and (3) and
Section 8 (b) (1) (A) and 8 (b) (2) as alleged in the complaint in respect to
the discharge of Carl Sacks.
12. Respondent Hollywood and the Respondent Union have not engaged in
unfair labor practices within the meaning of Section 8 (a) (1) and (3) and
Section 8 (b) (1) (A) and 8 (b) (2) as alleged in the complaint in respect to
the discharge of Sam Le Pante.
[Recommended Order omitted from publication in this volume.]
WARREN PAPER PRODUCTS Co. and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF
BOOKBINDERS , A. F. L.
WARREN PAPER PRODUCTS Co. and INTERNATIONAL PRINTING PRESSMEN
AND ASSISTANTS' UNION OF NORTH AMERICA, A. F. L. Cases Nos.
13-RC-1582 and 13-RC-1583. Ap7i1 4,1951
Decision, Direction of Election , and Order
Upon petitions duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, a hearing was held before John P. von Rohr, 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 Reynolds and Murdock].
Upon the entire record, the Board finds:
93 NLRB No. 200.
1188 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
1. The Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce
within the meaning of the Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain em-
ployees 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 in Case No. 13-RC-
1582.1
4. The appropriate unit:
The Petitioner in Case No. 13-RC-1583, herein called the Press-
men, seeks a unit of all employees in the pressroom, including press-
men, pressmen assistants and helpers, but excluding all other. The
Petitioner in Case No. 13-RC-1582, herein called the Bookbinders,
seeks a unit of all production, maintenance, and shipping employees.
The Bookbinders conceded that the pressmen and pressmen helpers
more properly belong in a pressmen's unit. However, it did not spe-
cifically indicate that it would refuse to represent the pressmen em-
ployees if they were included in a unit found appropriate by the
Board. The Employer contends there is no basis for the craft unit
sought by the Pressmen in Case No. 13-RC-1583. It further con-
tends, by extension of the unit sought by the Bookbinders in Case
No. 13-RC-1582, that the only appropriate unit is a single produc-
tion and maintenance unit for all its employees,. with the usual
exclusions.
Case No. 13-RC-1583
The Pressmen here seeks a unit of employees classified as pressmen
and pressmen helpers who work in the printing room. The record
shows that although as many as eight employees have worked in the
pressroom, at the time of the hearing there were only three such
employees, of whom only one (Beck) was a skilled employee. This
single employee, who obtained his experience at another plant and is
paid at the rate of $2 an hour, performs all the printing work which
requires any skill. The other two pressmen helpers, sought to be
included, do work such as moving stock, loading the feeders, empty-
ing the deliveries on the machines, washing the rollers, scrubbing the
forms, cleaning up and sweeping in the vicinity of the presses, and
such other jobs as maybe necessary. The Employer's superintendent
testified without contradiction that the helpers also operate the auto-
matic presses by pushing the start or stop buttons, but do no work
which requires any skill. He also testified that the duties performed
I As will hereinafter appear, no question of representation in Me appropriate unit exists
in Case No . 13-RC-1583.
WARREN PAPER PRODUCTS CO . 1189
by the helpers could be learned in a few weeks at most. There is no
training or apprenticeship program and there is no method whereby
the helpers may become skilled craftsmen. Although the helpers,
when hired, are intended primarily for work in the pressroom,2 due
to the seasonal nature of the business, the helpers are frequently and
regularly transferred to other departments where they spend a sub-
stantial portion of their time doing miscellaneous kinds of unskilled
production work under the supervision of the department to which
they are transferred. Production workers in other departments are
likewise frequently transferred to the printing room whenever needed
there.
Upon the basis of the foregoing, it appears that the Pressmen's
Union seeks a unit in which there is but one skilled employee with
two helpers,3 who spend a substantial portion of their time doing
other than printing work. Because of the frequent and regular inter-
change of these helpers to and from other departments, we do not
believe that the helpers possess a sufficiently close relationship to the
craftsman to warrant their inclusion in a separate bargaining unit
with the latter 4 It is well established that the single craftsman
herein could not by himself constitute an appropriate units We
therefore find that the proposed unit of pressmen is not appropriate
for purposes of collective bargaining, and we shall order that the
petition of the Pressmen's Union (Case No. 13-RC-1583) be
dismissed.
Case No. 13-RC-1582
As indicated above, the Bookbinders seeks a unit of all production,
maintenance , and shipping employees, excluding the pressmen. We
find that all production, maintenance and shipping employees, but
excluding office and clerical employees, the pressman, guards, profes-
sional employees, and all supervisors' constitute a unit appropriate
for purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section
9 (b) of the Act.
2 The pressroom , although referred to in the record as a department , has no separate
departmental supervision apart from the over-all supervision embracing also the lining
and puzzle departments.
Until about 3 weeks before the hearing , there were seven unskilled helpers employed
in the pressroom, which is the highest number ever working there at any one time. All
but two of the helpers were laid off due to the seasonal fluctuations in the business.
Shell Chemical Corporation, 81 NLRB 965, footnote 11.
Robertshaw -Fulton Controls Company (Fulton Sylphone Division ), 88 NLRB 1508.
See also J. C. Penney Company, 92 NLRB 1286, footnote 3, where the petitioner sought
a unit consisting of one elevator mechanic and his helper. The Board held that as the
helper spent a substantial part of his time in general utility work, the Board was
precluded from setting up a bargaining unit for the one skilled employee.
6 The Employer and the Bookbinders stipulated that the working foremen or lead men,
as they are called, do not possess the powers of supervisors as defined in the Act.
1190 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
- Order
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petition in Case No. 13-RC-1583
herein be, and it hereby is, dismissed.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted' from publication in this
volume.]
ALUMINUM COMPANY OF AMERICA and UNITED STEELWORKERS OF
AMERICA , C. I.O., PETITIONER . Case No.13-I?C-1683. April 4,1951
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 Irving M. Friedman,
hearing officer . The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are
free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed?
Pursuant to Section 3 (b) of the Act, the Board has delegated its
powers in connection with this case to a three-member panel [Chair-
man Herzog and Members Reynolds and Murdock].
Upon the entire record in this case , the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain em-
ployees of the Employer.
3. The question concerning representation :
The Aluminum Workers Union Local 23120, AFL, herein called the
Inter-error , have for a number of years been the contractual repre-
sentatives for a unit of production and maintenance employees at
the Employer 's Lafayette , Indiana, plant , the only plant herein in-
volved. On April 9, 1947, the Employer and the Intervenor executed
a 2-year contract containing a maintenance -of -membership provision.2
On June 25 , 1948, the parties executed a supplemental agreement
extending the contract to April 9, 1950 , which provided as follows :
Under the extension of the Union agreement , the company
agrees that Article II will continue in force after April 9, 1949,
upon the Union 's fulfilling any then existing legal requirements
'The Intervenor moved to dismiss the petition on the ground that the Petitioner made
no formal demand for recognition before filing its petition . The motion is hereby denied.
Adi,ance Pattern Company, 80 NLRB 29.
' Article II-Maintenance of Membership :
All employees who, fifteen (lays after the date of the signing of this Agreement,
are membeis of the Union in good standing in accordance with its constitution and
by-laws, and all employees who become members after that date shall, as a condition
of employment , maintain their membership in the Union in good standing for the
duration of this Agreement.
93 NLRB No. 206.