Booth Fisheries Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Sep 21, 1950

91 N.L.R.B. 363 (N.L.R.B. 1950)

In the Matter of BOOTH FISHERIES CORPORATION, EMPLOYER and
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR, PETITIONER
Case No. 1-RC-1632.Decided September 21, 1950.
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, a hearing was held before Joseph Lepie, hearing officer.
The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from preju-
dicial 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 [Members Houston, Reynolds, and Styles].
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 organization involved claims to represent certain
employees of the Employer.
3. Questions affecting commerce exist concerning the representation
of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9 (c) (1)
and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The Petitioner contends that production and maintenance em-
ployees at the Employer's plants B and, C, including watchmen, but
excluding office and clerical employees, professional employees, boat-
men, guards, executives, foremen, and other supervisors, constitute an
appropriate bargaining unit. The Employer contends that employees
at plants B and C, respectively, constitute separate appropriate plant
units. It would exclude watchmen and include American boatmen,
taking a neutral position with respect to Canadian boatmen. There is
no history of collective bargaining for employees at either plant.
The Employer is engaged in canning sardines and in processing cod
fish and herring at its two Lubec, Maine, plants, situated one-third
of a mile apart and known, respectively, as plant B and plant C.
Both plants are operated on a seasonal basis. The canning season for
plant B runs from June to October, and the canning season for plant C
runs from the end of August until the following April. The two
91 NLRB No. 72.
363
364 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
plants, though subject to general over-all supervision, are run as sep-
arate enterprises, under different plant superintendents, and their
production operations and machinery are unrelated. There is no
interchange of employees between the plants. Each plant is separately
equipped with a maintenance crew, and separate payrolls and records
are maintained at each plant. Work differs, and piecework wage
scales differ in the respective plants. In view of the dissimilarity of
plant operations, the lack of employee interchange, and different work-
ing conditions, we find that employees at plants B and C, respectively,
constitute separate bargaining units.
The Petitioner would include watchmen and would exclude boat-
men. The Employer disagrees.
Watchmen: The Employer has one watchman at plant B, not armed,
uniformed, or deputized, who performs the customary duties of a
watchman for approximately 90 percent of his working time. During
the remainder of the time, he does maintenance work in the boiler
room. We find that the watchman is employed as a guard within the
meaning of the Act and shall exclude him from the unit found appro-
priate for plant B employees.'
Boatmen: To supply its Lubec plant with fish, the Employer owns
three carrier boats, of which one is under American registry and oper-
ated by American boatmen and the other two are under Canadian regis-
try and operated by Canadian boatmen in American waters.. The
boatmen on each carrier are a licensed captain'and an engineer with no
special skill or experience.2 Boatmen buy fish for the Employer's
cannery at a price and in an amount fixed by the Employer. The
Employer reimburses the fishermen directly for the purchases made
and compensates the boatmen on the basis of a fixed amount per hogs-
head of fish, the exact amount depending on the distance travelled by
the boatmen. From this amount, the Employer deducts social secu-
rity, unemployment compensation, and workmen's compensation, as
required by law ; makes an allowance for maintenance of the boat ; and
pays the remainder to the captain, who shares it with the engineer.
The captains have authority to hire engineers and recommend their
discharge. The operations of the Employer's boatmen form an in-
tegral part of the Employer's production processes. We shall include
the engineers, but exclude captains, as supervisors, from the units.3
1 Riverside Mills,.85 NLRB 969.
2 Canadian boatmen hold American licenses and are not required to hold Canadian
licenses.
'Cf. Seaboard Packing Company , 91 NLRB 529; North Lubec Manufacturing Can-
ning ., Company, 1-RC-1650 ; Haskins - Canning Corp .; 1-RC-1649 , decided this day.
BOOTH FISHERTES CORPORATION 365
The following employees of the Employer constitute separate units
appropriate for the purpose of collective bargaining within the mean-
ing of Section 9 (b) of the Act:
(a) All production and maintenance employees at the Employer's
plant B at Lubec, Maine, including engineers, but excluding office and
clerical employees, professional employees, guards, watchmen, execu-
tives, captains, foremen, and other supervisors.
(b). All production and maintenance employees at the Employer's
plant C at Lubec, Maine, including engineers, but excluding office and
clerical employees, professional employees, guards, executives, cap-
tains, foremen, and other supervisors.
[Text of Direction of Elections omitted from publication in this
volume.] '