Weyerhaeuser Timber Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Oct 30, 1939

16 N.L.R.B. 902 (N.L.R.B. 1939)

In the Matter Of WEYERHAEUSER TIMBER CODiPANY and INTERNA-
TIONAL WOODWORKERS OF AMERICA, LOCAL No. 107, BoolI rEN AND
RAFTERS
In the. Matter of LONGVIEW BRANCH, WEYERHAEUSER Tii rnrR CoTI-
PANY and BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE.FIREIEN, AND^ENGINEMEN,
In the Matter of LONGVIEW BRANCH, WEYERHAEUSER TIMBER COM-
PANY and BROTHERHOOD OF RAILROAD TRAINMEN
Cases Nos. R-1315, R-1316, and R-1317, respectively.-Decided.
October 30, 1,939
Lumber Industry-Investigation of Representatives : controversy concerning
representation of employees : rival organizations ; employer refuses to nego-
tiate with exponents of craft groups, asserting that it is bound by contract
with industrial union-Unit Appropriate-for Collective Bargaining: jurisdic-
tional dispute: units sought by affiliates of American Federation of Labor
involved in a dispute over jurisdiction not passed upon ; traimnen, firemen, aVd
boommen, rafters, and slipmen each given opportunity to select separate repre-
sentation ; determination of appropriate unit or units held dependent upon
outcome of elections-Elections Ordered: exponents of industrial units placed
upon ballots in elections among craft groups with provision that proceeding
would be dismissed if either industrial union won unless, within thirty (30)
days of the date of the elections,, winning industrial union notified Board that
it desired to be certified as the representative of a craft group.
Mr. Patrick H. Walker, for the Board.
Mr. W. E. Heidinger, of Tacoma, Wash., for the Company.
Mr. John C. Stevenson, of Seattle, Wash., for I. W. A. Local 107
and for I. W. A. Local 36.
Mr. C. W. Stevens, of Portland, Oreg., for the Firemen and for
the Trainmen.
Mr. L. Presley Gill, of Seattle, Wash., for L. and S., Local 2641
and Local 2642.
Mr. James A. Duncan, of Seattle, Wash., and Mr. David Kaplan,
of Washington,'D. C., for the I. A. M.
Mr. A. E. Martin, of Seattle, Wash., for the I. B. E. W.
Mr. John T. Gunn, of Longview, Wash., and Mr. J. N. Davis, of
Kansas City, Kans., for the Boilermakers.
Mr. Robert Burstein, of counsel to the Board.
16 N. L. R. B., No. 75.
902
WEYERHAEUSER TIMBER COMPANY
DECISION
AN D
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
STATEMENT OF THE CA SE
903
On Sepember 15, 1938, International Woodworkers of America,
Local No; 107, Boommen and Rafters, herein called I. W. A. Local..,.
107, and on December 14, 1938, Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen
and Enginemen, herein called the Firemen, and Brotherhood of
Railroad Trainmen, herein called the Trainmen, respectively, filed
with the Regional Director for the Nineteenth Region (Seattle,
Washington), three separate petitions, each alleging that a question
affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of em-
ployees of Weyerhaeuser Timber Company,' herein called the Com-
pany, who are employed at its Longview Branch, Longview, Wash-
ington, and requesting an investigation and certification of repre-
sentatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations
Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On February 20, 1939, the
National Labor Relations Board, herein called the Board, acting
pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the Act and Article III, Section 3, of
National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 1,
as amended, ordered an investigation and authorized the Regional
Director to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing
upon due notice; and, pursuant to Article III, Section 10 (c) (2),
of said Rules and Regulations, ordered that the three cases be con-
solidated for the purposes of the hearing.
On February. 25, 1939, the Regional Director issued separate
notices of hearing in the three cases, copies of which were duly
served upon the Company; upon I. W. A. Local 107, the Firemen,
and the Trainmen, the petitioners herein; and upon Lumber and
Sawmill Workers Union, Local 2641, herein called Local 2641,
Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union, Local 2642, herein called Lo-
cal 2642, International Association of Machinists, Local No. 1350,
herein called the I. A. M., International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers, Local Union No. B 77, herein called the I. B. E. W., Inter-
national Brotherhood. of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders and
Helpers of America, Lodge No. 611, herein called the Boilermakers.
and International Woodworkers of America, Local 36, herein called
I. W. A. Local 36, labor organizations claiming to represent em-
ployees directly affected by the investigation.
1 Erroneously referred to in one of the petitions and in the order directing investigation
as Weyerhauser Timber Company.
247383-40-vol. 16-58
904 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Pursuant to the notices , a hearing was held at Longview, Wash-
ington, commencing on March 9 , 1939, and concluding on March 18,
1939, before Henry W. Schmidt, the Trial Examiner duly designated
by the Board. In the course of the hearing, the Trial Examiner
granted leave to intervene to Local 2641, Local 2642, the I. A. M.,
the I . B. E. W., the Boilermakers , and I . W. A. Local 36. All
parties were represented by counsel or by union officers and par-
ticipated in the hearing. Full opportunity to be heard, to examine
and cross-examine witnesses , and to introduce evidence bearing on
the issues was afforded all parties . During the course of the hear-
ing the Trial Examiner made a number of rulings on motions and
'on objections to the admission of evidence. The Board has reviewed
the rulings of the Trial Examiner and finds that no prejudicial
errors were committed . The rulings are hereby affirmed.
Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held before'the Board on May
25, 1939, at Washington , D. C., for the purpose of oral argument.
The Company , the Firemen , the Trainmen , the I . A. M., and the
Boilermakers were represented and participated in the argument.
The Company , the Firemen and the Trainmen , and Local 2641 and
Local 2642 filed briefs which the Board has considered.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the 'following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS .OF THE, COMPANY
Weyerhaeuser Timber Company is a Washington corporation en-
gaged in the manufacture and sale of fir, cedar, and hemlock timber.
Its principal office and place of business is at Tacoma , Washington.
It operates manufacturing branches at Longview , Everett, Vail, and
Melbourne, Washington, and Klamath Falls, Oregon. This pro-
ceeding concerns representation of employees at the . Longview
Branch.
The operations of the Company at this branch are, briefly de-
scribed, as follows : The logging operations are normally conducted
in four camps , which were , at the time of the hearing , located at a
distance of 5 to 30 miles from each other and approximately 50 miles
from the mills at Longview. The camps are connected by the Com-
pany's logging railroad, consisting of about 123 miles and extending
to about 28 miles from the mills. For a distance of approximately
19 miles from that point , the Company operates its trains over the
railroad of the Cowlitz Development Company, an intrastate rail-
road owned jointly by the Company and by Ostrander Railway and
Timber Company and used exclusively by them for the transporta-
tion of logs; and, for the remaining 9 miles, over the railroad of the
WEYERHAEUSER TIMBER COMPANY 905
Columbia and Cowlitz Railway Company, a common carrier having
switching connections with transcontinental railroads.
In the- course of production the trees are felled by the fallers,
cut into log lengths by the buckers, brought to the railroad siding by
the loggers, and placed on the Company's trains by the loaders.
The logs are then transported by the Company' s train crews to Long-
view and dumped into the mill pond adjoining the sawmills. At
this point the logs are sorted by the boommen and directed by them
to the proper "pockets," or lanes, leading to the different mills. At
the lower ends of the pockets, or slips, they are placed by the slipmen
on moving chains, known as "log haul chains," which convey them
to the log deck and the mills. - In the mills the logs are cut into
lumber and then subjected to various processes , such as drying and
planing. In both the woods and the mills the Company, in addition
to the employees engaged in the logging and sawmill work proper,
maintains machine shops and maintenance and construction depart-
ments which are composed of engineers, machinists, electricians,
boilermakers, welders, millwrights,. and other mechanics.
The raw materials , other than logs, used by the Company in its
operation consist of fuel oil, cables , belting, and similar supplies.
Approximately 75 per cent of such materials are secured outside of
the State of Washington . During the year 1938 the Company pro-
duced and sold approximately 311,256,000 feet of lumber, aggregating
in value $8 ,336,435. Approximately 85 per cent of the entire output
was shipped to points outside the State of Washington.
All sales of the Company's products are made through the Weyer-
haeuser Sales Company , a. Washington corporation having its prin-
cipal office at St. Paul , Minnesota.
At the date of the hearing the Company, at its Longview Branch,
employed approximately 1,600 employees in the sawmills , herein called
the mills employees , and approximately 800 in the logging operation,
herein called the woods employees.
If. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
International Woodworkers of America, Local No. 107, Boommen
and Rafters, is a labor organization affiliated with the International
Woodworkers of America, herein called the I. W. A., which is in turn
affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations. It admits
to membership the boommen and rafters and slipmen of the Company.
I. W. A. Local 107 is also a member of the Northwest Council of
Boommen, an intermediate organization acting on behalf of various
boommen's local unions. The ' Council was organized in 1935 by a
number of such locals which had been chartered by United Brother-
906 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
hood of Carpenters and Joiners -of America, herein called the Car-
penters. At some time thereafter these locals changed their affiliation
to the I. W. A.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen and the
Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen are unaffiliated labor organizations
admitting to membership the Company's locomotive firemen and en=
gineers and train conductors and brakemen, respectively.
Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union, Local 2641 and Local 2642,
are labor organizations affiliated with the Carpenters which in turn
is affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, herein called the
A. F. of L. Local 2641 admits to membership all the production and
maintenance employees of the Company in the mills. Local 2642
admits to membership all of the production and maintenance, em-
ployees of the Company in the woods.
International Association of Machinists, Local No. 1350, is a labor
organization affiliated with the A. F. of L., admitting to membership
employees of the Company engaged in machine work, including ma-
chinists,.machini.sts' helpers, welders, and millwrights.
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union No.
B 77, is a labor organization affiliated with the A. F. of L., admitting
to membership electricians employed by the Company.
International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders and
Helpers of America, Lodge No. 611, is a labor organization affiliated
with the A. F. of L., admitting to membership boilermakers, welders;
and helpers employed by the Company.
International Woodworkers of America, Local 36, is a labor organ-
ization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, ad=
mitting to membership all the production and maintenance employees
of the Company. _
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
In 1933 the employees of the Company at its Longview Branch were
organized in Federal Union 18260, herein called the old Federal Union,
which was directly affiliated with the A. F. of L. and had jurisdiction
over the employees of the Company and of the Long-Bell Company.
In March 1934, an election was held under the National Industrial
Recovery Act between the old Federal Union and the Loyal Legion
of Loggers and Lumbermen, another labor organization, to determine
the bargaining representatives of the, employees of the Company. The
election was won by the old Federal Union. Early in 1935, the old
Federal Union, upon order of the Executive Council of the A. F. of L.
affiliated with the Carpenters and shortly thereafter became Local
2504. Local 2504 was dissolved in the latter part of July or early in
WEYERHAEUSER TIMBER COMPANY 907
August 1935, and was succeeded by Local 2641 and Local 2642 which
were granted jurisdiction over the woods employees and the mills
employees, respectively.
In May or June 1935, a committee of Local 2504 began to negotiate
a working agreement with the Company. A tentative agreement was
reached, but before it was submitted for approval to the membership
of Local 2504, the employees of the Company joined in the general
strike in the lumber industry which took place at that time and lasted
about 6 weeks. Thereafter, Local 2641 undertook to negotiate an
agreement for the mills employees. On October 30, 1935, the Company
executed an agreement with Local 2641 governing wages, hours, and
working conditions of the mills employees generally. Although in
the negotiations leading to this agreement Local 2641 had requested
bargaining rights for all the mills employees, exclusive recognition
was withheld. The agreement provided that the "Union shall be
dealt with by the Employer as the collective bargaining agency for all
its members employees of the Employer in its sawmills and manufac-
turing:departments at Longview; Washington, and for this purpose the
Union shall certify the names of its members to the Employer, which
the Employer may verify." On April 15, 1937, the Company renewed
its agreement with Local 2641. According to the testimony of
Clifford- Richter, a representative of the Carpenters, who attended
the negotiations leading to this .agreement, Local 2641 demanded a
closed-shop provision, although it was principally concerned with a
wage increase. The Company granted the wage increase but denied
the demand for a closed shop and again recognized Local 2641 as
the bargaining agent of its members only. On the same day the
Company also entered into a similar agreement with Local 2642 pro-
viding for recognition of Local 2642 as the bargaining agent for its
members and governing wages, hours, and working conditions of the
woods employees generally. Both of these agreements were renewed
with minor changes on October 31, 1938, subject to termination or
modification by either party upon 30 days' notice.
The conductors and the brakemen and the firemen and the
engineers employed by the Company on its logging trains, some of
whom had heretofore been members of Local 2642, began to affiliate
with the Trainmen and Firemen, respectively, in September or Octo-
ber 1938. Late in November 1938 a committee composed of members
of the Trainmen and the Firemen requested Local 2642 to relinquish
jurisdiction over the train crews. Local 2642 denied the request on
the ground that it had no authority under the constitution of the Car-
penters to take such action. It assured the committee, however, that
it would not interfere in any way with the activities of the Trainmen
and Firemen and would, moreover, lend them its "moral support." On
908 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
October 20, 1938, the Trainmen and the Firemen notified the Company
that the train crews had withdrawn from Local 2642 and requested a
conference for the purpose of negotiating an agreement. The Com-
pany refused to enter into such .negotiations on the ground that it
already had a binding agreement with. Local 2642 covering all the-
woods employees, including the train crews. The boommen and
rafters and slipmen employed at the mill pond began to organize
in I. W. A. Local 107 late in July 1938. - A month or two thereafter
they attempted to bargain with the Company, but were unsuccessful..
The Company stated that it was barred from doing so by its contract
with Local 2641 which covered all the mills employees, including the
boommen and rafters and slipmen. The Company, for the same
reason, refused to enter into negotiations with the I. A. M. and the
I. B. E. W. on behalf of the machinists and the electricians, respectively.
We find that questions have arisen concerning representation of
employees of the Company.
IV. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTIONS CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
UPON COMMERCE
We find that the questions concerning representation which have
arisen, occurring in connection with the operations of the Company,
described in Section I above, have a close, intimate, and substantial
relation to trade, traffic, and commerce among the several States, qnd
tend to lead to labor disputes burdening and obstructing commerce
and the free flow of commerce.
V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
I. W. A. Local 107 claims as an appropriate bargaining unit the
boommen, rafters, and slipmen employed at the mill pond. The I.
A. M., the I. B. E. W., and the Boilermakers, respectively, claim as
separate appropriate units the machinists, machinists' welders, and
their helpers employed at the machine shops in the mills and in
the woods; the electricians employed in the mills; and the boiler-
makers, welders, and helpers in the mills.2 Local 2641 and the Com-
pany contend that all the production and maintenance employees in
the mills, including those claimed by I. W. A. Local 107, the I. A. M.,
the I. B. E. W., and the Boilermakers, and excepting only supervi-
sory and office employees,'constitute a single appropriate unit.
The Trainmen and the Firemen claim that the conductors and the
• brakemen and the firemen and the engineers, employed on the Com-
2 Although the petition of intervention of the Boilermakers does not so state expressly,
it is clear from the record that the Boilermakers confines their claim to the boilermakers,
welders, and helpers in the mills.
\vEYERHAEUSER TIMBER COMPANY 909
parry's logging trains, respectively, constitute units appropriate for
the purposes of collective bargaining. Local 2642 and the Company
contend that all the production and maintenance employees in the
woods, including those claimed by the I. A. M., the Trainmen, and
the Firemen, and- excepting only supervisory employees having the
authority to hire or discharge; office employees. and civil engineers,
constitute a single appropriate unit.
In its petition of intervention, I. W. A. Local 36 alleges as an
appropriate unit the "logging woods and timber mill" employees.!,
All the unions involved, with the exception of I. W. A. Local
36,5 request affirmative findings that the units claimed by them are
appropriate and seek to be certified as the representatives of the em-
ployees in such units.
Locals 2641 and 2642 urge, in part, the following reasons in sup-
port of the appropriateness of the units claimed by them: (1) there
is interdependence between the various departments in the mills
operation and in the woods operation in the sense that a stoppage
of work in any one department would soon result in a shut-down
of the entire operation; (2) the Company follows, to some extent,
the policy of transferring employees from one department to another
within the mills operation and within the woods operation in the
event of curtailment of work; (3) although the agreements entered
into with the Company recognized Locals 2641 and 2642 as the
bargaining agents only for their members, they were applicable to
all the departments within the respective operations and to all the
employees, non-union as well as union; (4) Locals 2641 and 2642
did not as a matter of practice follow the restrictive phraseology in
the contract with respect to recognition, but took up grievances and
negotiated wages, hours, and working conditions, without objection
from the Company, on behalf of all the employees and all the crafts.
A. The jurisdictional. disputes
As stated previously, Local 2641, Local 2642, the I. A. M., the
I. B. E. W., and the Boilermakers are all affiliated wit4i the A. F.
of L. Local 2641 and Local 2642 assert that they have jurisdiction
over and seek to represent all the employees in the mills operation
and the woods operation, respectively, inclusive of the crafts claimed
by the other organizations.
E Local 2642 's petition of intervention refers to "supervisory employees of higher rank."
At the hearing it was stipulated that the supervisory employees to be excluded from the
appropriate unit are those listed in Board Exhibit No. 21, all of whom "have sole right to
hire and fire and are therefore considered supervisory."
' See infra, Part V, B.
See infra, Part V, B.
910 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Local 2641 and Local 2642 predicate their contentions in this
respect on the action of the Executive Council of the A. F. of L. taken
at the meeting of January-February 1935, at which "it was decided
that the request of the Carpenters be granted and the directly affili-
ated unions of the American Federation of Labor involved be directed
to ,transfer to the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and
the A. F. of L. label be withdrawn." This action was thereafter
approved by the A. F. of L. in convention assembled as follows :
Your committee approves the action of the Executive Council
in turning over to the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and
Joiners of America, Loggers, Lumbermen and Saw Mill Workers,
who are now turning out the finished product ready for instal-
lation and who properly come under the jurisdiction of that
organization.,'
Pursuant to this action, the Carpenters chartered Local 2641 and
Local 2642. The I. A. M., the I. B. E. W.. and the Boilermakers,
on the other hand, contend that the action of the Executive Council
of the A. F. of L. did not contemplate the granting of jurisdiction
to the Carpenters.over craft employees which fall within the jurisdic-
tion of other A. F. of L. international unions. In support of this
position, the I. B. E. W. introduced in evidence a letter from D. W.
Tracy, its international president, stating that "at no time and under
no condition were Carpenters granted jurisdiction over Electrical
Workers in either lumber or sawmills." The I. A. M. similarly in-
troduced in evidence a letter from H. W. Brown, its general vice
president, stating, in part, that when the Federal Labor Unions
were transferred to the Carpenters "it was definitely understood that
the Carpenters would not represent the machinists working in these
mills." The I. A. M. further introduced a copy of a purported let-
ter to A. O. Wharton, dated April 22, 1936, from William M. Hutche-
son, the general president of the Carpenters, stating as follows :
[I] would suggest that you advise your members to tell any
representative of any of our Local Unions of Lumber and Saw-
mill Workers that wants your members to become affiliated with
their Local Unions to politely go to H-, as we have no desire, in
the organizing and establishing conditions for the men employed
as Lumber and Sawmill Workers, to encroach on the jurisdiction
of any other craft organization.
At the hearing Homer L. Haney, a representative of the Carpenters
and president of the Oregon-Washington Council of Lumber and
Sawmill Workers, questioned the authenticity, of this letter, and
6Report of Proceedings of Fifty-Fifth Annual Convention of the American Federation of
Labor (1935), p. 366.
WEYERHAEUSER TIMBER COMPANY 911
stated that, to his knowledge, the letter did not represent the policy
of the Carpenters. Similarly, Clifford Richter, a direct representa-
tive of Hutcheson, asserted that Locals 2641 and 2642 are industrial
unions.
In conformity with our prior decisions 7 refusing to exercise
jurisdiction in cases where two or more unions, each affiliated with
the same parent body, seek to represent the same employees, we will
not exercise jurisdiction in the dispute between Local 2641 and Local
2642 and the L A. M., the I. B. E. W., and the Boilermakers, and we
will not make any determination with respect to their claims.
B. The position of I. W. A. Local 36
As already noted, I. W. A. Local 36, in its petition of inter-
vention, claims as an appropriate unit the "logging woods and timber
mill" and alleges that it has been designated by 1,000 employees in
such unit to be their representative for collective bargaining. At the
hearing it was stipulated between all parties that I. W. A. Local
36 "has jurisdiction in, both the woods and the mill and that Local
36 has present membership in both divisions." I. W. A. Local 36,
however, introduced no evidence as to the extent of its membership
or as to the appropriateness of the unit. claimed by it in, its petition
of intervention. Counsel for I. W. A. Local 36 stated its position
to be that it was not "suggesting the appropriate bargaining unit,"
but that it was "merely placing [its] position before the Board so
that, in the event the Board calls an election Local 36 . will become a
party thereto on the ballot." 8 We shall, therefore, consider I. W. A.
Local 36 only in so far as concerns placing it on the ballot in such
elections as we direct.
C. The boommen and rafters and siipmen
At the date of the hearing the Company employed 15 boommen
and rafters 9 and 12 slipmen.' The-boommen, and. rafters- are. con-
7 See Matter of Aluminum Company of America and Aluminum Workers Union No . 19101,
1 N. L. R . B. 530; Matter of Axton-Fisher Tobacco Company and International Association
of Machinists , Local No. 681, and Tobacco Workers ' International Union , Local No. 16,
1 N. L. It. B. 604 ; Matter of Curtis Bay Towing Company and Marine Engineers ' Beneficial
Association No. 5, 4 N. L. R . B. 360.
8 There is no dispute between I . W. A. Local 36 and I . W. A. Local 107 in regard to
jurisdiction over the Company 's boommen , rafters , and slipmen . In a letter to the Board's
Secretary , dated September 19, 1939, copies of which were served upon all parties , counsel
for both locals of the I . W. A. stated affirmatively that there was no conflict between the
positions of the two locals and that Local 36 concurred in the claim of Local 107 for a
separate unit and did not desire to be on the ballot in the event that an election Is held
among such employees . This letter Is hereby incorporated into and made part of the
record. -
U In the pay rolls submitted by the Company these employees arre classified as follows :
10 pondmen , 2 sorters , 2 head raftsmen , and 1 log unloader.
912 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
sidered by the Company as constituting a separate department and
work under the supervision of a separate foreman. The slipmen are
not considered by the Company to fall within this department but
are listed among the employees in the sawmill department proper.
However, the work of the slipmen and the boommen and the rafters is
interchangeable. I. W. A. Local' 107 admits the, ' slipmen to mem=
bership in accordance with the general policy of the boommen's
unions to admit them where their work is interchangeable with that
of the boommen and rafters. The record shows that a number of
companies have entered into and are operating under contracts with
boommen's unions. Although, for the most part, such contracts have
thus been entered into by commercial booming companies which boom
or raft logs to be towed over long distances and by logging companies
which boom or raft logs for sale rather than by companies operating
booms directly in connection with and as an incident to their sawmill
operations, the nature of the work itself is substantially the same.
The boommen and rafters perform most of their work upon the
water and require a certain degree of skill and experience. not . pos-
sessed by other employees of the Company. Their status as a well-
defined skilled group of employees is further evidenced by their
long history of self-organization and successful bargaining with other
companies. We are of the opinion that the boommen, rafters, and
slipmen might properly constitute a separate bargaining unit.10 We
will, therefore, follow our usual rule that the desire of the employees
themselves is the determining factor.
At the hearing I. W. A. Local 107 submitted evidence in the form
of applications cards that 24 employees of the group of 27 it claims
to be 'within an appropriate unit have designated and elected it as
their bargaining agency. It was stipulated between all parties that
the signatures appearing on the cards are authentic. Counsel for
Local 2641, however, limited the stipulation "to the authenticity as
of the date that the card bears date . . . without admitting that
such person would desire to continue stich bargaining agency choice."
Under all the circumstances, we shall order an election in order to
determine the desires of the boommen, rafters, and slipmen.
In this election the boommen, rafters, and slipmen shall be given
an opportunity to indicate whether they desire to be represented for
the purposes of collective bargaining by I. W. A. Local 107, by
Local 2641, or by neither. If, in this election, a majority of the
boommen, rafters, and slipmen cast their votes for I. W. A. Local
107, we shall find that they constitute an appropriate unit and certify
I. W. A. Local 107 as exclusive representative thereof. Should a
10 But cf. Matter of West Coast Wood Preserving Company and Boommen and Rafters
Union, Local 130 I. W. A., 15 N. L. W B. 1.
WEYERHAEUSER TIMBER COMPANY 913
majority vote for neither, we shall dismiss this proceeding. We shall
also dismiss this proceeding if a majority of the boommen, rafters,
and slipmen voted for Local 2641, unless, within thirty (30) days
from the date of the election, Local 2641, which is seeking a unit
composed of all the employees in the mills, shall notify us in writing
that it desires to be certified as the representative of a unit consisting
only of the boommen, rafters, and slipmen.
D. The conductors and brakemen; and the firemen and engineers
As indicated above, the Company operates an extensive railroad
system in the transportation of logs from the woods to the mills. Its
trains run over approximately 170 miles of railroad. In the operation
of such trains the Company, at the date of the hearing, employed
34 train conductors and brakemen and 25. locomotive firemen and
engineers . These employees are well-recognized craftsmen in the
railroad industry. The record shows that there are no great dif-
ferences in equipment and in the method of operating trains between
a main-line railroad and the Company's logging railroad. The Com-
pany employs the standard signal system employed on other rail-
roads. The same principle of dispatching trains is used except that
in the case of the Company the orders are oral rather than written.
Engineers or brakemen with experience on a main-line railroad are,
with little special training, qualified to operate the Company logging
trains. Similarly, experience on the logging railroad enables such
employees to operate main-line trains. Although many of the en-
gineers and conductors have been secured from the Company's own
employees who had been engaged in other work, such transfers
were not, for the most part, due to interchangeability of work, but
were in the nature of promotions made ordinarily at the request of
the employees themselves. However, employees without previous
train experience who are transferred to such positions are required
to undergo a training period before they become fully qualified.
Interchangeability by reason of similarity of work is possible in the
case of locomotive firemen and employees firing steam engines on
skidders, but does not appear to be frequent.
In view of the facts described above, we are of the opinion that
the conductors and the brakemen, and the firemen and the engineers
might properly constitute separate bargaining units.h1 In accord-
"See Matter of Sloss Sheffield Steel and Iron Company and Brotherhood of Railroad
Trainmen, et at., 14 N. L. R. B.. 186; and matter of Great Lakes Steel Corporation and
Brotherhood of Railroad. Trainmen., at al:, 14 N. L. R. B. 197. Cf. Matter of Wheeling Steel
Corporation, Steubenville, Ohio and Order of Railway Conductors of America , 8 N. L. R. B.
102. where the Board dismissed a petition of the Order of Railway Conductors of America,
claiming that the conductors and brakemen employed by Wheeling Steel Corporation at its
914 DECISIONS' OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
ance with our previous 'rulings in this type of case,, we hold that the-
determining factor is the desire of the employees themselves:
At the hearing it was stipulated between the parties that all the.
conductors and brakemen claimed by the Trainmen to constitute, an
appropriate unit were members of the Trainmen, and that 24 of the
25 firemen and engineers claimed as an appropriate unit by the
Firemen were members of the Firemen. Local 2642 submitted in
evidence typewritten lists purporting to show a membership of 906
employees in the group claimed by it to constitute an appropriate
bargaining unit. Counsel for Local 2642 admitted that he was not
relying on such lists as proof of membership. The Trainmen and
the Firemen, however, requested an election on the basis of their
respective showings rather than certification on the record. Under
all the circumstances, we conclude that elections should be held to
determine the desires of the conductors and brakemen, and of the
firemen and engineers.
We shall, therefore, direct elections (1) among the conductors and
brakemen employed by the Company on its logging trains to deter-
mine whether they desire to be represented for the purposes of col-
lective bargaining by the Trainmen, by Local 2642, by I. W. A. Local
36, or by none of them, and (2) among' the firemen and engineers
employed on the logging, trains to determine whether they desire to
be represented for the purposes of collective bargaining by the Fire-
men, by Local 2642, by I. W. A. Local 36, or by none of them. '
If the Trainmen should receive a majority of the votes cast by the
conductors and brakemen, we shall find that they constitute an
appropriate unit and certify the Trainmen as exclusive representa-
tive thereof. Similarly, if a majority of the firemen and engineers
should designate the Firemen as their representative, we shall find
that they constitute an appropriate unit and certify the Firemen as
exclusive representative thereof. Should a majority in either elec-
tion vote for none of the unions, we will dismiss this proceeding to
that extent. We shall also dismiss the proceeding if, in either
election, a majority cast their ballots for Local 2642 or I. W. A.
Local 36, unless, within thirty (30) days from the date of the elec-
tion, Local 2642 or I. W. A. Local 36, both of which are seeking a
unit broader than the units advocated by the Trainmen and Firemen,
Steubenville plant constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining.
The Board there stated :
"The railroad is used chiefly to transport materials from department to department
within the plant and the trains do not run outside of plant property , except for the cross-
ing of the Pennsylvania's tracks as stated above. . . . The work of the employees engaged
in operating trains on runs known as stock -house runs Is closely interrelated with the
work performed in the open -hearth furnace department . Their work is governed by the
schedule of the furnaces and the open -hearth foreman exercises virtually exclusive juris-
diction over them."
WEYERHAEUSER TIMBER COMPANY 915
notify us in writing that it desires to be certified as the representative
of a unit consisting of the conductors and brakemen, if it shall have
received a majority in the election among these employees, and/or
of a unit consisting of the firemen and engineers, if it shall have re-
ceived a majority of the votes cast by these employees.
E. The eligibility of voters
The parties stipulated at the hearing that the Company's pay
rolls as of February 28, 1939, which were admitted in evidence, be
used as a basis of eligibility of employees in the event of an election.
Due to the lapse of time since the hearing, we believe that the in-
terests of the parties will best be served by basing the eligibility of
employees to vote on a more current pay roll. Accordingly, for this
purpose we will use the Company's last regular pay roll immediately
preceding the date of this Decision and Direction of Elections, in-
•cluding employees who did not work during such pay-roll period
because they were ill or on vacation, and employees who were then
or have since-been temporarily laid-of£;but excluding those-employees
who have since quit or been discharged for cause.
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and the entire' record
in the case, the Board makes the following :
CONCLUSION OF LAW
Questions affecting ., commerce; 'have , arisen concerning. the' repre-
sentation of employees of Weyerhaeuser Timber Company, Longview
Branch, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6)
and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act.
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 8, of Nationa-1 Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Se'ries,2, it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part`of'the investigation authorized by the Board
to ascertain representatives for collective bargaining with Weyer-
haeuser Timber Company at its Longview Branch, Longview, Wash-
ington, separate electiolis shall be conducted as early as possible but
not later than' thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction of
Elections under the 'direction and- supervision of the Regional
Director for the Nineteenth 'Region; acting in this matter as agent
for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article III,
Section 9,' of .s