Crane Creek Lumber Company

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 6, 1939

13 N.L.R.B. 105 (N.L.R.B. 1939)

In the Matter of META C. BOUTIN, DOING BUSINESS AS CRANE CREEK
LUMBER COMPANY and LUMBER AND SAWMILL WORKERS LOCAL
UNION No. 76, INTERNATIONAL WOODWORKERS OF AMERICA
Case No. C-572-Decided June 6, 1939
Lumber and Logging Industry-Settlement: stipulation providing for com-
pliance with the Act, including cessation of unfair labor practices, reinstatement
of seven employees with back pay in specified amounts, back pay for one
employee in specified amount, back pay for three additional employees in an
amount equal to that which they would have earned as wages from date of
discharge to date of obtaining regular and substantially equivalent employment
elsewhere-Order: entered on stipulation-Complaint: dismissed as to dis-
charges of four persons.
Mr. Jonathan H. Rowell and Mr. John T. McTernan, for the
Board.
Williamson cti Wallace, by Mr. W. R. Wallace, of San Francisco,
Calif., for the respondent.
Mr. Lee Willard, of Klamath Falls, Oreg., for the Union.
Mr. A. G. Koplow, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
ORDER
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon charges duly filed by Lumber and Sawmill Workers Local
Union No. 76, International Woodworkers of America,l herein called
the Union, the National Labor Relations Board, herein called the
Board, by Alice M. Rosseter, Regional Director for the Twentieth
Region (San Francisco, California), issued its complaint dated Oc-
tober 6, 1937, against Meta C. Boutin, doing business as Crane Creek
Lumber Company, Willow Ranch, Modoc County, California, herein
called the respondent, alleging that the respondent had engaged in
and was engaging in unfair labor practices affecting commerce,
within the meaning of Section 8 (1) and (3) and Section 2 (6) and
(7) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called
I The Union and the respondent were incorrectly designated in certain formal papers
in the case . Correction was made in the amended complaint.
13 N. L. R. B., No. 15.
105
106 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
the Act. A copy of the complaint, accompanied by notice of hearing,
was duly served upon the respondent and the Union.
Concerning the unfair labor practices, the complaint alleged, in
substance, that the respondent on or about June 1, 1937, discharged
Agnes Frood,2 Echo Haines, Claude Nickerson, George Setlock, A. C.
Sears, C. A. Lovelady, Bill Beckham, Perry Hawkins, Ray Hawkins,
Jim Plumbe, Esther Atkinson, Jerry Rose, H. Tuxhorn, Phil Backus,
and Donald Buck, and on or about June 15, 1937, discharged Jack
Jenkins, and thereafter refused to reemploy said persons, for the
reason that said persons joined or assisted the Union,, and engaged
in concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining and
other mutual aid and protection; and that the respondent by the
above acts and by sundry and divers acts of intimidation and coer-
cion, during the months of May, June, and July, 1937, interfered
with, restrained, and coerced her employees in the exercise of the
rights guaranteed in Section 7 of the Act.
On October 19, 1937, the respondent filed an answer to the com-
plaint, in which she admitted certain facts concerning her business,.
but denied allegations with reference to the interstate character of the
business and denied that she had engaged in the unfair labor prac-
tices alleged in the complaint.
On October 25, 1937, the Union filed an amended charge adding
the names of Frank Cody and Harold Kafader to the list of persons
whom it had alleged were discharged and refused reemployment
because they joined the Union. At the hearing the complaint was
amended without objection, adding the name of Frank Cody to the
list of persons alleged to have been discharged on or about June 1,
1937, and thereafter refused reinstatement for joining and assisting
the Union and engaging in concerted activities for the purpose of
collective bargaining and other mutual aid and protection. The
name of Harold Kafader was not added to the complaint, since
counsel for the Board contemplated introducing no evidence with
regard to him. Pursuant to permission granted at the hearing, the
respondent, on November 8, 1937, served an amended answer denying
that she was engaged in interstate commerce and that she had en-
gaged in the unfair labor practices alleged in the amended complaint
and alleging certain matters by way of affirmative defense.
Pursuant to notice and amended notice, a hearing was held at Lake-
view, Oregon, on October 25, 26, and 27, 1937, before P. H. McNally,
the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Board. The Board and
the respondent were represented by counsel and participated in the
2 Some of the names were misspelled in the formal papers Correction was made in the
amended complaint and by stipulation entered into by all parties after the hearing was
concluded.
META C. BOUTIN 107
hearing. Full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-
examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing upon the issues
was afforded all parties.
At the hearing the Fandango Independent Woodworkers Associa-
tion requested permission to intervene in the case. The Trial
Examiner denied the request on the ground that the issues raised in
the complaint in no way concerned said Association. At the close
of the Board's case and again at the end of the hearing the respond-
ent moved to dismiss the complaint in its entirety or, in the alterna-
tive, as to various individuals alleged to have been discriminated
against. The Trial Examiner denied some of the aforesaid motions
and reserved ruling on the others, denying them in his Intermediate
Report. During the course of the hearing, the Trial Examiner ruled
on various other motions and on objections to the admission of
evidence. All the rulings of the Trial Examiner are hereby affirmed.
On April 11, 1938, the Trial Examiner filed, his Intermediate
Report, finding that the respondent had engaged in unfair labor
practices affecting commerce within the meaning of Section 8 (1)
and (3) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act and recommending
that the respondent cease and desist therefrom, offer reinstatement
with back pay to each of 13 employees who had not secured sub-
stantially equivalent employment, and take certain other affirmative
action.3 The Trial Examiner did not find that the respondent had
discriminated in regard to the hire and tenure of employment of
Jerry Rose, Jack Jenkins, and Frank Cody, for the purpose of dis-
couraging membership in a labor organization, and made no recom-
mendation as to them.
Exceptions to the Intermediate Report were filed by the respond-
ent on November 9, 1938. On April 20, 1939, the respondent, the
Union, and the Board's Regional Attorney for the Twentieth Region
entered into a stipulation for the purpose of settling the case, subject
to approval by the Board. On May 29, 1939, there was filed with
the Board another stipulation entered into among the same parties,
which was to be made a part of the earlier stipulation. On June 1,
1939, the Board issued an order approving the two stipulations and
making them a part of the record in the case. Under these circum-
stances we find it unnecessary to consider the respondent's exceptions.
The stipulation entered into on April 20, 1939, provides as follows :
It is hereby stipulated by and between Meta C. Boutin, doing
business as Crane Creek Lumber Company, and Lumber and
$ Those recommended for reinstatement with back pay were, Agnes Frood, Echo Haines,
Claude Nickerson, George Setlock, A C Sears, C. A Lovelady, Bill Beckham, Perry
Hawkins, Ray Hawkins , Jim Plumbe , Esther Atkinson , H Tuxhorn, Phil Backus One
employee, Donald Buck , was recommended for back pay but not for reinstatement.
108 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Sawmill Workers Local Union No. 76, International Woodwork-
ers of America, and John T. McTernan, Regional Attorney for
the National Labor Relations Board, that upon the record herein
and upon this stipulation, if and when approved by the Na-
tional Labor Relations Board, hereinafter called the Board, the
Board may make the following findings of fact:
1. BUSINESS OF RESPONDENT
Respondent, Meta C. Boutin, is now, and since 1932 has been,
doing business as Crane Creek Lumber Company, with its princi-
pal office and place of business at Willow Ranch, Modoc County,
California. It is engaged in operating a logging camp, saw-
mill, box factory and other lumber and milling facilities for the
manufacture and processing of lumber and lumber products,
and in the sale and distribution thereof.
For the years 1935 and 1936 and for the first nine months of
1937 respondent used in its production operations at Willow
Ranch, California, a total of approximately 57,000,000 board feet
of lumber, of which approximately 15,000,000 board feet were
purchased in the State of Oregon and transported to respond-
ent's place of business at Willow Ranch, California, and ap-
proximately 42,000,000 board feet were produced at respondent's
lumbering operations at or near Willow Ranch, California.
The machinery and equipment, including lumber for construc-
tion purposes at Willow Ranch, California, purchased by re-
spondent during the years 1935 and 1936 and the first nine months
of 1937, totaled approximately $80,000.00, of which over 70 per
cent were purchased in the State of Oregon and transported to
respondent's place of business at Willow Ranch, California.
Respondent's total lumber production at Willow Ranch, Cali-
fornia, measured over 22,000,000 board feet in 1935, 25,500,000
board feet in 1936 and 15,300,000 board feet in the first nine months
of 1937. Practically all of such products were shipped from re-
spondent's place of business by rail to both points in the State
of California and to points outside the State of California. All
such shipments were in interstate commerce within the meaning
of the National Labor Relations Act inasmuch as all movements
by rail from respondent's place of business, even to other points
in the State of California, must move through the State of
Nevada. Of such rail shipments the following percentages
moved to points outside the State of California : Forty per cent
in 1935, in excess of forty per cent in 1936 and approximately
sixty per cent in the first nine months of 1937.
META C. BOUTIN 109
Respondent's operations at its plant at Willow Ranch, Cali-
fornia, constitute a continuous flow of trade, traffic and commerce
among the several states of the United States.
2. THE LABOR ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
Lumber and Sawmill Workers Local Union No. 76, Interna-
tional Woodworkers of America, is a labor organization within
the meaning of Section 2, subdivision (5), of the National Labor
Relations Act.
It is further stipulated by and between Meta C. Boutin, doing
business as Crane Creek Lumber Company, and Lumber and
Sawmill Workers Local Union No. 76, International Wood-
workers of America, and John T. McTernan, Regional Attorney
for the National Labor Relations Board, that upon the record
herein and upon this stipulation, if and when approved by the
Board, an order may forthwith be entered by said Board pro-
viding as follows :
1. Respondent, Meta C. Boutin, doing business as Crane Creek
Lumber Company, shall cease and desist from :
(a) Interfering with, restraining or coercing its employees in
the exercise of the right to self-organization, to form, join or
assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through repre-
sentatives of their own choosing, and to engage in concerted ac-
tivities for the purposes of collective bargaining or other mutual
aid or protection, as guaranteed in Section 7 of the National
Labor Relations Act;
(b) Discouraging membership in Lumber and Sawmill Work-
ers Local Union No. 76, International Woodworkers of America,
or any other labor organization, by discharging its employees, or
in any manner discriminating against said employees in regard
to their hire or tenure of employment or any term or condition
of their employment, by reason of their membership in, sympathy
toward, or activity on behalf of, Lumber and Sawmill Workers
Local Union No. 76, International Woodworkers of America, or
any other labor organization of its employees.
2. Respondent, Meta C. Boutin, doing business as Crane Creek
Lumber Company, will take the following affirmative action to
effectuate the policies of the National Labor Relations Act:
(a) Offer the following employees immediate and full rein-
statement to their former, or substantially equivalent, positions,
without loss of seniority or other rights or privileges, or, if em-
ployment is not immediately available for any of said employees,
place such employees on a preferential list and offer them employ-
ment as it becomes available, according to seniority and qualifica-
110 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
tions for the particular employment in question, before other
persons are hired for such work, until each of the employees on
said list has been reinstated to his former, or substantially
equivalent, position, as aforesaid :
Echo Haines Perry Hawkins
Agnes Frood Jim Plumbe
Esther Atkinson Phil Backus
C. A. Lovelady
(b) (1) Make whole the following employees, and each of
them, for any loss of pay they may have suffered by reason of
their discharge, by payments to each of them of the sums of
money indicated opposite their respective names :
Echo Haines-------------------------------------- $150.00
Agnes Prood-------------------------------------- 150.00
Esther Atkinson----------------------------------- 150.00
C. A. Lovelady------------------------------------ 150.00
Perry Hawkins------------------------------------ 150.00
Jim Plumbe--------------------------------------- 150.00
Phil Backus--------------------------------------- 150.00
Donald Buck-------------------------------------- 135.52
(2) Make whole A. C. Sears, Ray Hawkins, Bill Beckham, and
each of them, for any loss of pay they may have suffered by
reason of their discharge, by paying to each of them a sum of
money equal to that which each would have earned as wages
from the date of discharge to the date each obtained regular and
substantially equivalent employment elsewhere than at respond-
ent's plant at Willow Ranch.
(c) Post, keep visible and maintain for thirty (30) consecu-
tive days from the date of posting notices in two prominent
places in the box factory, that (1) Respondent will cease and
desist in the manner aforesaid, and (2) Respondent's employees
are free to join. or assist Lumber and Sawmill Workers Local
Union No. 76, International Woodworkers of America.
(d) Notify the Regional Director for the Twentieth Region,
at San Francisco, California, in writing, within ten (10) days
from the date of this order, what steps respondent has taken to
comply with this order; and in addition place in the hands of
the Regional Director within ten (10) days from the date of this
order certified checks drawn to the order of those employees to
whom payment should be made.
It is further stipulated by and between Meta C. Boutin, doing
business as Crane Creek Lumber Company, and Lumber and Saw-
mill Workers Local Union No. 76, International Woodworkers
of America, and John T. McTernan, Regional Attorney for the
National Labor Relations Board, that after the entry of the order
META C. BOUTIN 111
by the Board, as provided in this stipulation, there may be entered
in the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth
Circuit a decree by said Court, enforcing in full the said order
of the Board, and each of the parties hereto hereby consents to
the entry of such decree and hereby waives prior notice thereto.
The stipulation filed with the Board on May 29, 1939, provides
as follows :
It is hereby stipulated by and between Meta C. Boutin, doing
business as Crane Creek Lumber Company, and Lumber and
Sawmill Workers Local Union No. 76, International Wood-
workers of America, and John T. McTernan, Regional Attorney
for the National Labor Relations Board, that upon the record
herein and upon this stipulation, if and when approved by the
Board, an order may forthwith be entered by said Board pro-
viding as follows :
1. Respondent Meta C. Boutin, doing business as Crane Creek
Lumber Company, will take the following affirmative action to
effectuate the policies of the National Labor Relations Act:
a. Offer the following employees immediate and full rein-
statement to their former, or substantially equivalent, positions,
without loss of seniority or other rights or privileges, or, if em-
ployment is not immediately available for any of said employees,
place such employees on a preferential list and offer them em-
ployment as it becomes available, according to seniority and quali-
fications for the particular employment in question, before other
persons are hired for such work, until each of the employees
on said list has been reinstated to his former, or substantially
equivalent, position as aforesaid :
George Setlock
Claude Nickerson
Provided, however, that the above two persons shall, within
thirty (30) days from the date that the respondent notifies them
of their reinstatement as provided in the above paragraph,
notify the respondent in writing of their acceptance of such
reinstatement.
It is hereby further stipulated and agreed that this stipulation
shall be made a part of the stipulation entered into between the
respective parties hereto on April 20, 1939.4
4It will be noted that the stipulations make-no disposition of the cases of Jerry Rose,
Jack Jenkins , Frank Cody, and H . Tuxhorn As set out above , the Trial Examiner in his
Intermediate Report made no recommendation in the cases of Rose , Jenkins, and Cody, for
the reasons stated above . As to H. Tuxhorn , there is a letter in evidence indicating that
he did not desire to testify except In the respondent's behalf and that he did not desire
to have his case pressed , for personal reasons. None of the parties voiced any objection
to his being left out of the stipulations
112 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE RESPONDENT
The respondent, Meta C. Boutin, is now, and since 1932 has been
doing business as Crane Creek Lumber Company, with her principal
office and place of business at Willow Ranch, Modoc County, Cali-
fornia. She is engaged in operating a logging camp, sawmill, box
factory, and other lumber and milling facilities for the manufacture
and processing of lumber and lumber products, and in the sale and
distribution thereof.
For the years 1935 and 1936, and for the first 9 months of 1937,
the respondent used in her production operations a total of approxi-
mately 57,000,000 board feet of lumber, of which approximately
15,000,000 board feet were purchased in the State of Oregon and
transported to the respondent's place of business at Willow Ranch,
California. In the same period the machinery and equipment, in-
cluding lumber for construction purposes, purchased by the respond-
ent totaled approximately $80,000, of which 70 per cent were pur-
chased in the State of Oregon and transported to Willow Ranch,
California. The respondent's lumber production at Willow Ranch
measured over 22,000,000 board feet in 1935, 25,500,000 board feet in
1936, and 15,300,000 board feet in the first 9 months of 1937. Almost
all of such products were shipped from the respondent's place of
business by rail, 40 per cent of such shipments moving to points out-
side the State of California in 1935, in excess of 40 per cent in 1936,
and approximately 60 per cent in the first 9 months of 1937. The
balance of such shipments also moved in interstate commerce within
the meaning of the Act, since all movements by rail from the
respondent 's place of business , even to other points in the State of
California, must move through the State of Nevada.
We find that the aforesaid operations of the respondent constitute
a continuous flow of trade, traffic, and commerce among the several
States.
H. THE UNION
Lumber and Sawmill Workers Local Union No. 76, International
Woodworkers of America, is a labor organization admitting to mem-
bership employees of the respondent.
ORDER
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact, stipulations, and the
entire record in the case, and pursuant to Section 10 (c) of the Na-
tional Labor Relations Act, the National Labor Relations Board
_IIETA C. BOUTIN 113
hereby orders that Meta C. Boutin, doing business as Crane Creek
Lumber Company, shall:
1. Cease and desist from :
(a) Interfering with, restraining, or coercing her employees in the
exercise of the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist
labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives
of their own choosing, and to engage in concerted activities for the
purposes of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection,
as guaranteed in Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act ;
(b) Discouraging membership in Lumber and Sawmill Workers
Local Union No. 76, Internationl Woodworkers of America, or any
other labor organization, by discharging her employees, or in any
manner discriminating against said employees in regard to their
hire or tenure of employment, by reason of their membership in,
sympathy toward, or activity on behalf of, Lumber and Sawmill
Workers Local Union No. 76, International Woodworkers of Amer-
ica, or any other labor organization of its employees.
2. Take the following affirmative action which the Board finds
will effectuate the policies of the Act :
(a) Offer the following employees immediate and full reinstate-
ment to their former, or substantially equivalent, positions, without
loss of seniority or other rights or privileges, or, if employment is
not immediately available for any of said employees, place such em-
ployees on a preferential list and offer them employment as it be-
comes available, according to seniority and qualifications for the
particular employment in question, before other persons,are hired
for such work, until each of the employees on said list has been rein-
stated to his former, or substantially equivalent, position, as afore-
said :
Echo Haines Perry Hawkins
Agnes Frood Jim Plumbe
Esther Atkinson Phil Backus
C. A. Lovelady
(b) Offer the following employees immediate and full reinstate-
ment to their former, or substantially equivalent, positions, without
loss of seniority or other rights or privileges, or, if employment is
not immediately available for any of said employees, place such em-
ployees on a preferential list and offer them employment as it be-
comes available, according to seniority and qualifications for the
particular employment in question, before other persons are hired
for such work, until each of the employees on said list has been rein-
stated to his former, or substantially equivalent, position, as afore-
said :
George Setlock
Claude Nickerson
114 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Provided, however, that the above two persons shall, within thirty
(30) days from the date that the respondent notifies them of their
reinstatement as provided in the above paragraph, notify the re-
spondent in writing of their acceptance of such reinstatement;
(c) Make whole the following employees, and each of them, for
any loss of pay they may have suffered by reason of their discharge,
by payments to each of them of the sums of money indicated opposite
their respective names :
Echo I3aines------------------------------------------- $150.00
Agnes Frood------------------------------------------- 150.00
Esther Atkinson---------------------------------------- 150.00
C. A. Lovelady------------------------------------------ 150.00
Perry Hawkins----------------------------------------- 150.00
Jim Plumbe-------------------------------------------- 150.00
Phil Backus-------------------------------------------- 150.00
Donald Buck------------------------------------------- 135.52
(d) Make whole A. C. Sears, Ray Hawkins, Bill Beckham, and each
of them, for any loss of pay they may have suffered by reason of their
discharge, by paying to each of them a sum of money equal to that
which each would have earned as wages from the date of discharge to
the date each obtained regular and substantially equivalent employ-
ment elsewhere than at respondent's plant at Willow Ranch;
(e) Post, keep visible, and maintain for thirty (30) consecutive
days from the date of posting, notices in two prominent places in the
box factory, that (1) the respondent will cease and desist in the manner
aforesaid; and (2) the respondent's employees are free to join or assist
Lumber and Sawmill Workers Local Union No. 76, International
Woodworkers of America;
(f) Notify the Regional Director for the Twentieth Region, at San
Francisco, California, in writing, within ten (10) days from the date
of this Order, what steps the respondent has taken to comply with this
Order; and in addition, place in the hands of the Regional Director
within ten (10) days from the date of this Order certified checks
drawn to the order of those employees to whom payment should be
made.
AND IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the complaint be, and it hereby is,
dismissed in so far as it alleges, with regard to Jerry Rose, Jack
Jenkins, Frank Cody, and H. Tuxhorn, that the respondent has en-
gaged in and is engaging in unfair labor practices, within the meaning
of Section 8 (3) of the Act.