Everlast Process Printing Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 28, 1952

98 N.L.R.B. 1313 (N.L.R.B. 1952)

EVERLAST PROCESS PRINTING CO . 1313
NAT LINZER AND SAUL LINZER, COPARTNERS DOING BUSINESS AS EVER-
LAST PROCESS PRINTING Co. and NEW YORK PRINTING PRESSMEN'S
UNION No. 51, AFFILIATED WITH INTERNATIONAL PRINTING PRESS-
MEN & ASSISTANTS' UNION OF NORTH AMERICA, A.F.L., PETITIONER
NAT LINZER AND SAUL LINZER, COPARTNERS DOING BUSINESS AS EVER-
LAST PROCESS PRINTING CO. AND AMALGAMATED UNION LOCAL 102,
AFFILIATED WITH UNITED AUTOMOBILE `VORK.ERS, A. F. OF L., PETI-
TIONER. Cases Nos. 2-RC-3084 and 2-RC-3359. April 28, 1952
Decision and Direction of Elections
Upon separate petitions 1 duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the
National Labor Relations Act, a consolidated hearing was held before
Samuel M. Kaynard, hearing officer.2 The hearing officer's rulings
made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby
affirmed 3
Pursuant to the.provisions of Section 3 (b) of the Act, the Board
has delegated its powers in connection with this proceeding to a
three-member panel [Chairman Herzog and Members Styles and
Peterson].
Upon the entire record in this proceeding, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
2. The labor organizations 4 involved claim to represent certain
employees 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.
4. New York Printing Pressmen's Union No. 51, affiliated with
International Printing Pressmen & Assistants' Union of North
America, A. F. L., the Petitioner in Case No. 2-RC-3084, and here-
inafter called the Pressmen, seeks a unit of printing pressmen, lino-
typists, and compositors at the Employer's plant at New York City.
I The petitions and other formal papers were amended at the hearing to show the correct
name of the Employer.
2 The Employer's representatives withdrew from the hearing room shortly after the
opening of the hearing.
8 At the hearing, District 65, Wholesale, Retail & Warehouse Workers Union of New York
and New Jersey, Distributive, Processing and Office Workers of America , hereinafter called
District 65, moved to intervene . The Employer opposed the motion , alleging that the
signatures on the cards submitted by District 65 were not genuine. The hearing officer
properly granted the motion. Facts relating to a showing of interest are matters for
administrative determination and are not litigable by the parties . Swift c6 Company,
94 NLRB 917.
After the close of the hearing, District 65 withdrew from. this consolidated proceeding.
4 The Petitioners herein represent employees for the purposes of collective bargaining
with employers with respect to hours, wages , and other . conditions of employment.
American Pipe and Construction Company , 97 NLRB No. 182.
98 NLRB No. 214.
1314 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Amalgamated Union Local 102, affiliated with United Automobile
Workers, A. F. of L., the Petitioner in Case No. 2-RC-3359, and here-
inafter called Local 102, contends that the only appropriate unit for
employees at the Employer's plant should include all production and
maintenance and office employees, and seeks to represent employees
in this larger unit. The parties further, disagree as to the group
placement of certain categories, discussed below.
The Employer is engaged in printing cards, envelopes, and similar
merchandise at its New York City plant. , Its plant consists of a
printing plant and a warehouse, located across the street from the
plant. On one floor of the printing plant, the Employer has a press-
room, a stockroom, and a combination stockroom and bookkeeper's
office; on another floor, a general office, a linotype and composing
room, a pressroom, and a combination press-composing-and-shipping
room. The employees sought by the Pressmen work in the press and
the linotype and composing rooms in the printing plant. The em-
ployees sought by' Local 102 work throughout the plant and the
warehouse.
The Employer's printing pressmen, linotypists, and compositors
perform the customary duties of their respective and usual classifi-
cations. The Pressmen seeks to combine the three categories in a
single unit. The Board has found that (1) printing pressmen and
(2) linotypists and compositors constitute separate skilled craft
groups and separate units respectively appropriate for bargaining
purposes .15 We deny the Pressmen's request for a single unit. We
find, however, that (1) printing pressmen and (2) linotypists and
compositors, respectively, may, if they so desire, constitute separate
appropriate units 6 The production and maintenance employees
sought by Local 102 constitute the conventional production and main-
tenance unit, and it may clearly be an appropriate unit for these
employees at this plant. Because Local 102 desires to represent office
employees also, and the Board customarily excludes office employees
from a production and maintenance unit, we shall set up a separate
unit for office employees.
We shall, however, make no determination as to the scope of the
unit or units appropriate for the Employer's production and main-
tenance employees, until we have first ascertained the desires of the
employees as expressed in the elections hereinafter directed.
5 George Grady Pre88, Inc., 74 NLRB 1372.
"We note that, about March 15, 1943, the Employer and New York Joint Council of the
Pressmen 's International entered into a contract covering employees engaged in "comma
position and press operations ." Their contract was in operation about a year and a half.
This short bargaining history, . not predicated on a Board certification , is not necessarily
controlling. J. C. Penney Company-Store # 1518, 86 NLRB 920.
EVERLAST PROCESS PRINTING CO. 1315
Disputed Categories
Pressmen's helpers and the operator of the envelope machine and
the multicolor press.-The Pressmen and Local 102 would include
these employees in their respective proposed units. The pressmen's
helpers, as two of the general helpers are called, normally spend more
than half their working time seeing that press jobs are running
properly during pressmen's lunch hours or long runs, although they
are not capable of "putting the job on." The record does not disclose
how they spend the remainder of their time. The operator of the
envelope machine and the multicolor press spends about 6 hours per
day at the envelope machine in one of the Employer's pressrooms,
straightening the envelopes as they come out and informing a press-
man whether the work is satisfactory. He spends the remainder of
his working time in another pressroom operating the multicolor
press. A witness testified, without contradiction, that the Employer
was training this operator to be a pressman. Under these circum-
stances, we shall include in the pressmen's voting group, the pressmen's
helpers and the operator of the envelope machine and the multicolor
press.'
General helpers in the linotype and composing room.8-The Press-
men would exclude these employees from its proposed unit. Local
102 submits the matter of their placement to the Board. One of these
employees takes, and lays out for pressmen, orders for business cards.
For an hour per day he may operate a trimming machine. The other
employee now under consideration takes type and orders to pressmen.
Both employees see that the linotype machines are loaded with lead,
and clean the room. We shall include them in the voting group of
linotypists and compositiors.
The foreman of the .general help9-Local 102 would include the
foreman of the general help in its proposed unit on the ground 'That
he is an office employee and not a supervisor. The Pressmen takes
no position as to his inclusion or exclusion.
For about an hour or two per day, the foreman of the general help
works in the Employer's general office, writing orders; for the re-
mainder of his working time, he works in the pressrooms, taking
care of, and laying out, supplies owned by customers, and directing
general help, such as errand boys and packers. For about 2 hours per
day, he may operate a power paper-cutting machine. He may assume
7 Cf. Kennecott Copper Corporation , 92 NLRB 1786 , and Mergenthaler Linotype
Company, 80 NLRB 132.
9 Robert Frankel and Solomon Demel.
9 Chester Minthorn.
1316 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
the duties of the pressmen's foreman, if the latter is absent for "any
length of time" during his lunch periods. The foreman of the general
help assumed the duties of this foreman when the latter was on vaca-
tion during the past year. There is, however, no evidence in the rec-
ord that the foreman of the general help regularly has or exercises any
of the powers of a supervisor, as set forth in Section 2 (11) of the Act.
He is not nor, so far as the record discloses, is he training to be a
craftsman. His clerical work is incidental to his regular duties. He
spends the greater part of his working time outside the Employer's
office. Because the status of the foreman of the general help is not
entirely clear, we shall permit him to vote in the production and
maintenance voting group established below, subject to challenge.
The part-time compositor10-The Pressmen would exclude this
employee from its proposed unit. Local 102 takes no position as to
his inclusion or exclusion. This employee substitutes for full-time
compositors during their vacations, and helps them during their busy
periods by distributing type and by straightening out leads, slugs, and
pied type. He spends approximately 40 percent of his working time
in the composing rooms, and the remainder elsewhere in general
work?1 Because he is primarily a production and maintenance
worker, we shall include him in the voting groups of such employees,
but the bargaining representative for linotypists and compositors, if
one is selected, may bargain for him with respect to such work.12
The paper buyer.13-The Pressmen would exclude the paper buyer
from its proposed unit on the ground that he is a supervisor. Local
102 would include him in the production and maintenance group.
Because the paper buyer hires and discharges employees working
under him, we find that he is a supervisor and shall exclude him from
the voting groups.
The foremen of the pressmen and the compositors:4-The Pressmen
would exclude these foremen from its proposed unit on the ground
that they are supervisors. Local 102 takes no position as to their
inclusion or exclusion. The foreman of the pressmen disciplines
employees, and each foreman is in'charge of his respective group. The
foremen stand in the same relative position to the employees working
under them. We find that the foremen are supervisors and exclude
them from the voting groups.
io Leon Turkeltaub.
"Our findings reflect the recent changes in the periods of time spent by this employee
in'tlie composing rooms and elsewhere. '
7"Holtville Alfalfa Mills, Inc., 98 NLRB 1183, and cases cited therein.
" Murray Mandell.
14 Edward Castagna and Sidney Alber, respectively.
EVERLAST PROCESS PRINTING CO . 1317
We find that all office employees at the Employer's New York City
printing plant, excluding supervisors as defined in the Act, constitute
a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within
the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
We shall direct separate elections by secret ballot among employees
in the office unit and among the following groups of employees at the
Employer's New York City printing plant, excluding from each
voting group, office and professional employees, watchmen, guards,
and other supervisors as defined in the Act :
Group 1: All printing pressmen, including the pressmen's' helpers
and the operator of the envelope machine and multicolor press, but
excluding the foreman of the pressmen.
Group 2: All linotypists and compositors, including general helpers
in the linotype and composing room, but excluding the foreman of the
compositors.
Group 3: All production and maintenance employees, including
the foreman of the general help and the part-time compositor, but ex-
cluding the paper buyer and employees in voting groups 1 and 2.
As indicated above, we shall make no final unit determination at this
time for employees in groups 1, 2, and 3, but shall first ascertain the
desires of the employees as expressed in the electiops hereinafter di-
rected. If a majority of employees in either voting groups 1 or 2
vote for the Pressmen, they will be taken to have indicated their desire
to constitute a separate appropriate unit, and the Regional Director
conducting the elections directed herein is instructed to issue a certifi-
cation of representatives to the Pressmen for such group, which the
Board, under such circumstances, finds to be a unit appropriate for
purposes of collective bargaining. If a majority of employees in
group 3 vote against Local 102, the petition in Case No. 2-RC-3359
will be dismissed. In that event and in the event that a majority of
employees in groups 1 or 2 vote for Local 102, employees in groups 1
or 2 so voting will be found to constitute an appropriate separate bar-
gaining unit, and Local 102 will be certified as their representative.
If a majority of employees in group 3 vote for Local 102 and a ma-
jority of employees in groups 1 or 2 also vote for Local 102, all em-
ployees in such voting groups will be taken to have indicated their
desire to constitute a single appropriate unit, and the Regional Di-
rector conducting the elections directed herein is instructed to issue a
certification of representatives to Local 102 for such groups, which the
Board, under such circumstances, finds to be a unit appropriate for
purposes of collective bargaining.
[Text of Direction of Elections omitted from publication in this
volume.]