Alexander Brothers Lumber Co., Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Aug 18, 1948

78 N.L.R.B. 1099 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

In the Matter of ALEXANDER BROTHERS LUMBER COMPANY, INC.,
EMPLOYER and INTERNATIONAL WOODWORKERS OF AMERICA, CIO,
PETITIONER
Case No. 10-RC-114.-Decided :August - 18, 1948
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before a hearing
officer of the National Labor Relations Board. The hearing officer's
rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are
hereby affirmed.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the National Labor
Relations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with
this case to a three-man panel consisting of the undersigned Board
Members.*
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the
National Labor Relations Act.
2. The labor organization named below claims to represent employ-
ees of the Employer.
3. A question of representation 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. The Petitioner contends that production and maintenance em-
ployees at the Employer's Columbus, Georgia, plant, including check,
ers, tally men, employees in the yard and dry ,kiln, and workers in
the sawmill and planing mill, but excluding the independent trucker
and his helper, subcontractors operating away from the plant, their
crews and employees, retail and wholesale office clerks , salesmen, office
clerical, guards, watchmen, professional employees, and supervisors,
*Houston, Reynolds , and Gray.
1 The Employer moved to dismiss the petition upon the grounds that there was (1) no
showing of interest by the Petitioner and (2 ) no proof that Petitioner is in compliance
with Section 9 (f), (g), and ( h) of the Act. Inasmuch as the showing of interest is an
administrative matter ( see Matter of Southern Advance Bag f Paper Co., Inc ., 75 N. L.
R B. 614 ), and according to our investigation , the Petitioner is in complete compliance
with the aforesaid section, we find no merit in the Employer 's motion.
78 N. L. R. B., No. 157.
1099
1100 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
constitute an appropriate unit. The Employer contends that workers
in the sawmill and planing mill are employees of independent contrac-
tors, and, therefore, should be excluded from the unit.
The Employer's production processes consist of three operations :
(1) the sawmill, (2) the yard or kiln drying, and (3) the planing mill.
'The Employer purchase's the majority of its lumber in the form of
boards. Approximately 5 percent of its lumber purchases, however,
are in the form of logs which go through the sawmill process to be made
into boards. All boards go through the planing mill operations.
The sawmill and planing mill are distinct operations on the Em-
ployer's premises, but they are not roped or marked off from the Em-
ployer's surrounding plant property. The workers in both mills pass
freely over the Employer's surrounding property. All the workers
in the plant, including sawmill and planing mill workers, use the same
facilities, are subject to the same protective regulations and are covered
by insurance carried by the Employer. All workers received similar
wage increases, and Christmas bonuses were given by the Employer to
all workers including those in the sawmill and the planing mill. As
labor shortage develops, employees are transferred temporarily from
one operation to another.
The Employer's sawmill is operated by Sam King and a crew of
six workers. The Employer pays King for his services on the basis
of a certain rate per thousand board feet of lumber sawed. King
hires and discharges the members of the sawmill crew. He keeps their
time records. He submits his records to the Employer, who gives him
a check for the amount covering wages for the crew. King cashes
the check and pays the crew in cash, retaining and paying the with-
holding and social security taxes. This amount is then deducted from
the amount due King for the lumber sawed. During the frequent
intervals when there is no lumber to be sawed, King and the sawmill
crew do other work for the Employer.
Boards dried in the yard or kiln are sent through the planing, mill
for dressing, an essential operation for the Employer's sale of boards.
The planing mill is operated by Bryant Ingram and the planing crew.
Before the war, Ingram operated the planing mill admittedly as an
employee of the Employer on a salary basis. Upon Ingram's return
after the war, the Employer alleges that Ingram became an independ-
ent contractor, paid on the basis of certain rates per thousand board
feet of lumber planed. The method of payment to Ingram was ap-
parently the only change made in the planing mill operations.
Ingram hires and discharges members of the planing crew. He
keeps their time records which he submits to the Employer. The Em-
ALEXANDER BROTHERS LUMBER COMPANY, INC. 1101
ployer then pays the planing crew their wages with the Employer's
check, deducting their withholding and social security taxes. " This
total amount is deducted from he sum due Ingram for the lumber
planed during the pay period. The Employer may instruct Ingram
as to the manner of operation and Ingram may consult the Employer
for advice or suggestions.
The Employer furnishes the property, equipment, and power for
the sawmill and planing mill operation without rent or lease. The
respective operators work exclusively for the Employer and they may
not make substantial changes in the equipment without the permission
of the Employer.
Upon the above facts, particularly the close integration of the three
operations necessary for the Employer's final production, the depend-
ence of King and Ingram upon the Employer's facilities and arrange-
ments for their operation, the Employer's control over their operations,
and the interchange of employees, we find that King and Ingram are
not independent contractors but supervisors of the Employer and that
the sawmill crew and planing mill crew are employees of the Em-
ployer and properly included in the unit.2
Therefore, we find that the following employees of the Employer
constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining
within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act: All production and
maintenance employees at the Employer's Columbus, Georgia, plant,
including checkers, tally men, employees in the yard and dry kiln, and
employees in the sawmill and planing mill operations, but excluding
the independent trucker and his helper, subcontractors operating
away from the plant, their crews and employees, retail and wholesale
office clerks, salesmen, office clerical, guards, watchmen, professional
employees, and supervisors as defined by the Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining with the Employer, an election by
secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than
30 days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and super-
vision of the Regional Director for the Region in which this case was
heard, and subject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 5, among the em-
ployees in the unit found appropriate in paragraph numbered 4, above,
'see Matter of Morris Steinberg and Julian Leslie Steinberg , a Louisiana Partnership,
d/b/a Steinberg & Company, 78 N. L R. B. 211.
1102 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding
the date of this Direction of Election, including employees who did
not work during said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vaca-
tion or temporarily laid off, but excluding those employees who have
since quit or been discharged for cause and have not been rehired or
reinstated prior to the date of the election, and also excluding em-
ployees on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to determine
whether or not they desire to be represented, for purposes of collective
bargaining, by International Woodworkers of America, CIO.