Anderson-Tully Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 21, 1943

50 N.L.R.B. 731 (N.L.R.B. 1943)

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In the Matter of ANDERSON-TIILLY COMPANY and INTERNATIONAL
WOODWORKERS OF AMERICA, C. I. O.
In the Matter of ANDERSON-TULLY COMPANY and INTERNATIONAL
WOODWORKERS OF AMERICA, C. I. O.
Cases-Nos. R-5426 and B-5427.-Decided June 21,1943
Dent, Robinson c Ward, by Mr. 01. E. Ward,, of Vicksburg, Miss.,
for the Company.
Mr. John L. Hawkins, of Vicksburg, Miss., for the Union.
Mr. Louis Cokin, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon separate petitions duly filed by International Woodworkers of
America, C. I. 0., herein called the Union, alleging that questions
affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of em-
ployees of Anderson-Tully Company, Vicksburg, Mississippi, herein
called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board consolidated
the cases and provided for an. appropriate hearing upon due notice'
before J. Michael Early, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at
Vicksburg, Mississippi, on May 26, 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 on the issues. The Trial Examiner's rulings made at the hear-
ing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. '
On June 11, 1943, the Company filed a brief which the Board has
considered. -
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Anderson-Tully Company is a Michigan corporation with its prin-
cipal office at Memphis, Tennessee. The Company operates five plants
50 N. L. R. B., No. 103.
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731
732 DECISION O'F NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
at Vicksburg, Mississippi, where it is engaged in the manufacture of
lumber, veneer, and hardwoods. We are here concerned with its plants
known as Plant D and Plant •J, located at Vicksburg, Mississippi.
During 1942 the Company purchased raw materials valued in excess
of $1,000,000 for use in Plants D and J, approximately 40•per cent of
which was shipped, to it from points outside the State of Mississippi.
During the same period the Company manufactured products at its
Plants D-and J valued in excess of $1,000,000, 99 percent of which was
shipped to points-outside the State of Mississippi. The Company
admits, for the purpose of this proceeding, that it is engaged in com-
merce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
International Woodworkers of America is 'a -labor organization
affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to
membership employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTIONS CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Company refuses to recognize the Union as the exclusive collec-
tive bargaining representative of its employees at Plants D and J
,until such time as the Board determines the appropriate unit or units.
A statement of the Trial Examiner, read into evidence at the hear-
ing, indicates that the Union represents a substantial number of
employees in each of the units hereinafter, found to be appropriate'
We find that questions affecting commerce have arisen concerning
the representation of employees of ,the Company, within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNITS
The Union urges that (1) all production and maintenance employees
at Plant D of the Company, including firemen and lumber inspectors,
but excluding superintendents, foremen, subforemen, engineers,
guards, watchmen, clerical employees, shipping clerks, and tally men;
and (2) all production and maintenance employees at Plant J of the
Company, including firemen, but excluding superintendents, foremen,
subforemen, engineers, full-time watchmen, guards, clerical employees,
and temporary construction employees, constitute two separate appro-
priate bargaining units. The only controversy with respect to the
i The Trial Examiner reported that the Union presented 111 merbership -application cards
rearing apparently genuine signatures of persons whose names appear on the Company's
pay roll of-May 19, 1943, for its Plant D Theie are 163 eiriployees in the appropriate unit
at Plant D The Trial Examiner further reported that the Union presented 93 member-
ship-application cards bearing apparently genuine signatures of persons whose names ap-
pear on the Company 's pay roll of May 19 1943, for Plant J. There are 155 employees in
the appropriate unit at Plant J.
ANDERSON-TULLY COMPANY 733
units concerns firemen at Plants D and J and lumber inspectors at
Plant D.
The Union urges that firemen be included in each of the units, while
the Company requests that they be excluded. The record indicates
that firemen are ordinary maintenance employees and have no super-
visory duties. The firemen keep the Company's boilers operating and
also certain fire equipment. Inasmuch as the duties of the firemen are
closely allied with those of the other employees of the plants, we shall
include them in the units.
The Company urges that the lumber inspectors be excluded from
the Plant D unit on the ground that they are skilled employees, while
the Union requests that they be included in the unit. Inspectors
grade the lumber used by the Company and have no' supervisory
duties. Their work is merely one step in an integrated process. We
shall include the lumber inspectors in the unit at Plant D.
We find that all production and maintenance employees in Plant D
of the Company, including firemen and lumber inspectors, but exclud-
ing superintendents, foremen, subforemen, engineers, guards, watch-
men, clerical employees, shipping clerks, and tally men, constitute a
unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining, within the
meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
We further find that all production and maintenance employees at
Plant J of the Company, including firemen, but excluding superin-
tendents, foremen, subforemen, engineers, full-time watchmen, guards,
clerical employees, and temporary construction employees, constitute
a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining, within
the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We shall direct that the questions concerning representation which
have arisen be resolved by means of elections by secret ballot among
the employees in the appropriate units who were employed during the
pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of
Elections herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in!
the Direction.
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
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 representa-
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Anderson-Tully
734 DECUSIONS OR NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Company, Vicksburg, Mississippi, elections 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 supervision
of the Regional Director for the Fifteenth Region, acting in this
matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject
to Article III, Section 10, of said Rules and Regulations, among the
employees in each of the units 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, with respect to each group, whether or not they desire
to be represented by International Woodworkers of America, affili-
ated with the Congress of. Industrial Organizations, for the purposes
of-collective bargaining.
MR. GERARD D. R1 iLJ y took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Direction of Elections.
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