Mansfield Hardwood Lumber Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 6, 1947

73 N.L.R.B. 1512 (N.L.R.B. 1947)

In the Matter Of MANSFIELD HARDWOOD LUMBER COMPANY, EMPLOYER
and INTERNATIONAL WOODWORKERS OF AMERICA, CIO, PETITIONER
Case No. 15-R-1794.-Decided June 6, 1947
Mr. Brown McCullough, of Shreveport, La., and Mr. A. S. Johnson,
of Winnfield, La., for the Employer.
Mr. Fred C. Pieper, of New Orleans, La., for the Petitioner.
Mr. Samuel G. Hamilton, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
Upon a petition duly filed, the National Labor Relations Board, on
September 26, 1946, conducted a prehearing election among the em-
ployees of the Employer in the alleged appropriate unit, to determine
whether or not they desired to be represented by the Petitioner for
-the purposes of collective bargaining.
At the close of the election, a Tally of Ballots was furnished the
parties. The Tally reveals that there were approximately 143 eligible
voters, that 128 valid ballots were-cast, of which 76 were for the Pe-
titioner and 52 against, and that no ballots were challenged.
Thereafter, an appropriate hearing was held at Winnfield, Louisi-
ana, on December 13, 1946, before Jerome A. Reiner, hearing officer.
On March 6, 1947, the Board issued an Order reopening the hearing
for the purpose of adducing additional evidence.' The further hear-
ing was held at Winnfield, Louisiana, on April 8, 1947, before C. Paul
Barker, hearing officer. The hearing officers' rulings made at the
hearings are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations
Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER
Mansfield Hardwood Lumber Company is a Delaware corporation
with a plant involved in this proceeding located at Winnfield, Louisi-
IIn its brief filed after the original hearing the Employer contended that there was no
basis upon which to make a finding that the petitioning union received a majority vote.
In view of evidence adduced at the reopened hearing, and for the reasons stated in Section
V, infra, we find this contention to be without merit.
73 N. L. R. B, No 2:5O
1512
MANSFIELD HARDWOOD LUMBER COMPANY 1513
ana. It is there engaged in the manufacture, sale, and distribution of
hardwood and pine lumber. During the 6-month period ending
December 10, 1946, the Employer purchased in excess of $50,000 worth
of raw materials, consisting of logs and green lumber, all of which was
shipped from points within the State of Louisiana. During the same
period, the Employer sold in excess of $50,000 worth of finished
products, consisting of hardwood and pine lumber, more than 60
percent of which was shipped to points outside the State.
The Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce
within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
The, Petitioner is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress
of Industrial Organizations, claiming to represent employees of the
Employer.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Employer refuses to recognize the Petitioner as the exclusive
bargaining representative of employees of the Employer until the
Petitioner has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit.
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Employer, within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Petitioner seeks a unit of all production and maintenance
employees of the Employer, including watchmen and pine checkers,
but excluding office employees, log scalers, timber estimators, foresters,
the plant superintendent, the planer mill foreman, the head checker
and shipping clerk, hardwood lumber inspectors, and all other super-
visory employees. The Employer is in agreement with the Petitioner,
except that it would exclude pine checkers and watchmen.
Pine checkers: There are two pine checkers.2 They keep a tally of
the number of feet of limber in each load shipped. These tallies
are turned in at the Winnfield office, and thereafter sent to the Shreve-
port, Louisiana, office of the Employer. Pine checkers report to the
planer mill foreman or the shipping clerk, according to the subject
matter of their report. In the absence of the planer mill foreman or
the shipping clerk they act finally with respect to the particular matter
involved. They each supervise a crew, usually composed of three
laborers. They report to the shipping clerk the composition of their
crew, and the number of hours each member works. Pine checkers
may reprimand their subordinates, and in case of failure thereafter
2 O. 0. Nash, Sr ., and J R. Madden. Jr
1514 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
to improve , the pine checkers report such failure to the planer mill
foreman . They have authority to make recommendations concerning
the transfer or discharge of employees under their supervision. If
sufficient reason is given by them for such action , the employee is
transferred or discharged. A specific instance of the discharge of an
employee by the shipping clerk upon the recommendation of a pine
checker was given in the record. The employees under the supervision
of the pine checkers have knowledge of their supervisory status and
of their power to make effective recommendations regarding the em-
ployees' transfer or discharge. Since the pine checkers are super-
visory employees within the meaning of the Board's customary defini-
tion, we shall exclude them from the unit.
Watchmen: The Employer employs two watchmen,3 who are
armed and deputized. Their duties are to keep under surveillance
the Employer's plant when it is not in operation. In this connection,
they watch the steam gauge in the sawmill, and when steam is low, call
this fact to the attention of the firemen, and also advise the mill fore-
man if steam fails to pick up thereafter. They perform no monitorial
functions with respect to the production employees , none of whom
are on duty when the plant is not in operation. Since they merely
perform the usual custodial duties of watchmen, we shall include them
in the unit.4
We find that all production and maintenance employees, including
watchmen, but excluding office employees, log scalers, timber esti-
mators, foresters, the plant superintendent, the planer mill foreman,
the head checker and shipping clerk,5 hardwood lumber inspectors,
pine checkers, and all other supervisory employees with authority to-
hire, promote , discharge , discipline , or otherwise effect changes in the
status of employees , or effectively recommend such action , 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
The Employer contended in its brief filed after the original hearing
that there was no basis upon which to make a finding that the Peti-
tioner received a majority vote at the election , because there was no
evidence received at that hearing concerning the number of employees
who voted in the election in each of the categories of employees which
the parties agreed to exclude, and because the parties were in dispute
as to the inclusion of the two watchmen and two pine checkers, all four
of whom cast votes in the election. However, evidence adduced at the
reopened hearing reveals that there were only four employees, in the
s Charles Perow and Clair C Finlay
See Matter of John Deere Dubuque Tractor Company , 72 N L It B 656
Milton.
MANSFIELD HARDWOOD LUMBER COMPANY 1515
classifications the parties agree to exclude, who voted in the election.
These four votes and the votes of the two pine checkers, whom we have
excluded from the unit, are insufficient to affect the results of the elec-
tion,6 and we have therefore found the Employer's contention to be
without merit.
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that International Woodworkers of America,
CIO, has been designated and selected by a majority of all production
and maintenance employees of the Employer at its Winnfield, Louisi-
ana, plant, including watchmen, but excluding office employees, log
scalers, timber estimators, foresters, the plant superintendent, the
planer mill foreman, the head checker and shipping clerk, hardwood
lumber inspectors, pine checkers, and all other supervisory employees
with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise
effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend
such action, as their representative for the purposes of collective bar-
gaining, and that, pursuant to Section 9 (a) of the Act, the said or-
ganization is the exclusive representative of all such employees for
the purposes of collective, bargaining with respect to rates of pay,
wages, hours of employment, and other conditions of employment.
CHAIRMAN IIERZOG took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Certification of Representatives.
O Even if we had determined to exclude the two watchmen as well, the Petitioner's
majority vote would not be disturbed.