American Can Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Oct 9, 1969

179 N.L.R.B. 18 (N.L.R.B. 1969)

18 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
American Can Company and International
Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite & Paper Mill
Workers , AFL-CIO, Petitioner , and International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union
No. 280, AFL-CIO, Petitioner, Association of
Western Pulp and Paper Workers, Independent
and Cannery , Warehousemen and Helpers Local
Union No. 670, International Brotherhood of
Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and
Helpers of America , Independent, Intervenors.'
Cases 36-RC-2496 and 36-RC-2499
October 9, 1969
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF
,ELECTIONS
By CHAIRMAN MCCULLOCH AND MEMBERS
FANNING AND JENKINS
Upon separate petitions duly filed under Section
9(c) of the National Labor Relations Act, as
amended, a consolidated hearing was held before
Hearing Officer E. G. Strumpf of the National
Labor Relations Board. The Hearing Officer's
rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial
error, and are hereby affirmed.' Following the
hearing and pursuant to Section 102.67 of the
National Labor Relations Board Rules and
Regulations and Statements of Procedure, Series 8,
as amended, these cases were transferred to the
National Labor Relations Board for decision.
Thereafter, the Employer, the Petitioners, and the
Intervenor AWPPW filed briefs which have been
considered by the Board.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the
Act, the Board has delegated its powers in
connection with these cases to a three-member
panel.
Upon the entire record in these cases, the Board
finds:
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within
the meaning of the Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to
represent certain employees of the Employer.
3. Questions affecting commerce exist concerning
the representation of certain employees of the
Employer within the meaning of Section 9(c)(1) and
Section 2(6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The Employer opened a pulp and paper mill at
Halsey, Oregon, in October 1968. There is no
history of representation and bargaining at the
plant. In Case 36-RC-2496, the Petitioner,
At the hearing, Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers,
Independent (herein called AWTPW), and Cannery, Warehousemen and
Helpers Local Union No 670, International Brotherhood of Teamsters,
Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, Independent (herein
called Teamsters), were permitted to intervene on the basis of their
showings of interest.
'At the hearing, the Petitioner in Case 36-RC-2499, International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union No. 280, AFL-CIO
(herein called IBEW), was granted leave to intervene in Case 36-RC-2496
International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite and
Paper Mill Workers (herein called Pulp Workers),
seeks to represent all production and maintenance
employees employed at the Employer's Halsey pulp
and paper plant. As amended at the hearing,
IBEW's petition, in Case 36-RC-2499, seeks
self-determination elections for employees in two
units: Unit A to include all recovery steam power
employees, including those in the powerhouse and
recovery area; and Unit B to include all
maintenance department employees. As alternatives
to its Unit B request, IBEW proposes either a unit
of all maintenance electricians and instrument men,
or a unit of all maintenance electricians. All
proposed units provide for the usual exclusions of
office clerical employees, guards, professional
employees, and supervisors as defined in the Act.
The Employer and the Intervenors, AWPPW and
Teamsters, agree with the Pulp Workers' position
that, because of the highly integrated nature of the
operation, the only appropriate unit here is
composed of all production and maintenance
employees. Pulp Workers, AWPPW, and
Teamsters, however, wish to appear on the ballot in
any election directed; IBEW, on the other hand,
does not wish to participate in an election if ordered
only among the production and maintenance
employees.
The Employer is engaged in the manufacture of
tissue products at its newly constructed pulp and
paper mill in Halsey. The entire production
operation, from raw materials (wood chips, fibers,
and sawdust) to finished product (tissues, napkins,
and towels), involves three basic and integral
manufacturing operations which are performed in
separate manufacturing areas of the Halsey Mill:
the Pulping and Utilities operation, which is
responsible for the production of a uniform grade of
bleached pulp from the raw materials; the Paper
Mill, which produces various grades of tissue paper
(parent rolls) from the bleached pulp; and, the
Converting Plant, which produces the finished tissue
products from the parent rolls.3 When fully
operational, the Halsey Mill will be operating on a
continuous basis, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.
Unit A
The recovery steam power employees perform the
utilities function for the entire Mill and are part of
the Pulping and Utilities operation . When fully
operational , this group will have 16 employees,
'At the time of the hearing, the Halsey Mill was still partially under
construction and not yet fully operational. The mill was engaged in the
process of converting paper to tissue but neither the pulping process nor
paper machines were in operation About 148 employees of an expected
total complement of 384 employees were at work, in 33 of 50 expected job
classifications Plant completion was expected by the end of the year.
Although the plant was not fully operational, no party contended that
the record did not adequately describe the functions and work task of all
who will be employed. Indeed, all agreed that an immediate election would
best serve everyone's interests
179 NLRB No. 12
AMERICAN CAN COMPANY 19
consisting of one power and recovery operator and a
first, second, and third helper on each of the four
shifts. The power and recovery employees perform
90 percent of their work at the powerhouse, which is
a separate building, and in the recovery area. The
rest of their time is spent in other parts of the plant
- checking on the water plant, running various
chemical tests, reading meters, checking water
pumps to the river.
The power and recovery operator on each shift is
responsible for the utilities operation, including the
supplying of water from the Willamette River, and
the treatment and distribution of it throughout the
mill. He is responsible for the operation of the
steam generating facilities, and the distribution of
steam throughout the mill; the generation of
compressed air and its distribution throughout the
mill; the distribution of electricity and electrical
power throughout the mill;4 and, the evaporation
and burning and chemical recovery as performed by
the evaporators and the chemical recovery boiler.
The first helper will generally operate the chemical
recovery unit and the steam generating power boiler
and the facilities within the power house itself. He
may also be involved in the water intake, the water
effluent treatment system, and distribution of the
utilities throughout the mill, as directed by the
power and recovery operator. The second helper will
generally be engaged in the operation of the
evaporators and the external facilities at the power
house. As the needs require, he may also be
assigned to other facets of the utilities operation.
The third helper will generally be engaged in
assisting the first helper on the chemical recovery
boiler and operations relating thereto.
These employees do not interchange with
employees in other departments, nor do they
interchange with employees engaged in the pulping
operation. There is separate job progression through
the four classifications of employees in this group -
from third helper to power and recovery operator.
The recovery steampower employees on each shift
are supervised by a pulp and utilities shift supervisor
who is, in turn, responsible to the pulp and utilities
superintendent. There is presently also a utilities
supervisor, Leo Hamilton, who acts as a general
troubleshooter in the utilities operation. He
participates in interviewing job applicants, and
trains new employees in the steampower and
recovery operations. Hamilton, however, works only
one shift and is being groomed to become assistant
pulp and utilities superintendent.
It is apparent, from the foregoing and the entire
record, that the recovery steampower employees
who work in the powerhouse and in the recovery
area comprise a functionally distinct group to whom
the Board customarily grants separate
representation.5 Their function, performed
'Halsey Mill does not generate its own electrical power but purchases all
electricity from Pacific Power and Light Company.
essentially in the powerhouse and recovery area, is
distinct from that performed by employees in other
departments; they have a separate line of job
progression; they do not interchange with employees
in other departments. And, although the recovery
steampower employees are supervised by pulp and
utilities shift supervisors, this fact alone does not, in
our opinion, militate against finding that these
employees comprise a functionally distinct group.
Accordingly, under all the circumstances, we find
that all recovery steampower employees, including
those in the powerhouse and recovery area,
constitute a functionally distinct powerhouse
department, appropriate for representation in a unit
by themselves, if they so desire.
Unit B
The maintenance department employees whom
IBEW seeks to represent are responsible for
maintaining and repairing plant equipment within
the pulp and utilities area, the paper mill, and the
yard and shop area.' Included in this group are
employees with primary skills as machinist,
millwright, pipefitter, welder, electrician, instrument
man, oiler, and yard man. When fully operational,
the Employer will have approximately 69
maintenance employees.
Except for the oilers and yard men, all
maintenance employees are experienced and are
classified by the Employer as "Journeyman
Maintenance Mechanic" with an identified "primary
skill" such as electrician, instrument man, welder,
pipefitter, etc. Although they work throughout the
plant on a daily assignment basis, the maintenance
employees' "home base" is the machine shop, an
area located within the converting building. And,
while it appears that only the machinists perform
any substantial work in the shop, all maintenance
employees have their tool lockers there.
All maintenance employees, except the electricians
and instrument men, are supervised by a mechanical
maintenance foreman in the area to which they are
assigned to do a particular job. Thus, there is a
mechanical maintenance supervisor in the pulp and
utilities area, in the paper mill, and in the shop and
yard area. These foremen are responsible to the
maintenance superintendent, who is responsible to
the superintendent of engineering. The latter reports
to Mill Manager Thomas Orr. The maintenance
electricians and the instrument men, on the other
hand, are supervised by the electrical and instrument
foreman (Don James). There is also an electrical
and instrument engineer , Larry Woolums, who,
'Georgia-Pacific Corporation , et al., 156 NLRB 946, 948; International
Paper Company, 171 NLRB No. 89.
'It is noted that IBEW's Unit B does not include the converting
mechanics who perform maintenance work in , and are permanently
assigned to, the converting operation . These employees report directly to a
supervisor of converting maintenance who is responsible to the converting
superintendent . The converting mechanics were described as "a kind of
blend of millwrights and machinists."
20 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
together with Don James reports directly to the
superintendent of engineering, thereby bypassing the
maintenance superintendent. Mill Manager Orr
testified, however, that Woolums will, in time, also
report to the maintenance superintendent.
The work of the maintenance employees will be
scheduled on a' daily basis by the maintenance
planning section, which is not yet operational, and
which will be headed by a maintenance planning
superintendent. Actual assignment of particular
maintenance employees to a specific job will be done
by their supervisors. Such assignments were made,
at the time of the hearing, by the maintenance
superintendent.
In performing their functions throughout the mill,
the maintenance employees work closely with the
production workers because of the operators'
familiarity with their machines and, at times, may
even be directed in their work on machines by
production supervisors. Production employees are
also responsible for keeping their equipment in
working order and, to that extent, are required to
make minor adjustments. In addition, the
production employees frequently assist the
maintenance people by preparing their machines for
service, but the function of the former is incidental
to that of the maintenance people. Production
workers do not, however, assist in preparing or
servicing machines not assigned to their use.
Maintenance employees do not perform
production work and, except as noted, production
employees do not perform maintenance work. There
is, however, interchange within the maintenance
department itself under the Employer's flexible
concept of maintenance. Thus, the Employer
recognizes an' employee's primary skill and will
normally assign him work in that skill area. In
addition, however, the employee is expected to learn
and perform work in a "secondary skill." For
example, a machinist might, do the work of a
welder; a welder the work of a pipefitter,,and so on.
The maintenance department employees are
among the highest paid hourly employees at the
Mill with a starting rate of $4.32, compared to the
starting rate of $2.99 1/2 - earned by other
employees. The Employer maintains separate
records of the labor costs of the maintenance
department alone . On the other hand, the Employer
has a single labor policy for all hourly- rated
employees which is administered by the Employee
Relations Department. All hourly employees
participate in the same insurance programs, and
have the same vacations and holiday; all hiring and
firing is done by the Employee Relations
Department, although special skill interviews, when
necessary, may also be conducted by the
superintendent of the department to which the
applicant is to be assigned. All hourly rated
employees share a common parking lot, time clock,
lockerroom, and lunchroom facility.
In view of the foregoing and the entire record
herein, we find that, despite the integrated nature of
the Employer's operation, the employees performing
the maintenance function are an identifiable group
with separate interests. In accord with long standing
Board policy concerning initial organization, and
based on the record here made concerning the
separate function of the maintenance department
employees, we find that they may constitute a
separate unit if they so desire.7 This will include the
maintenance electricians and instrument men who,
although currently under separate immediate
supervision, are an integral part of the maintenance
operation.
In view of our determination that certain
departmental employees may constitute separate
units if they so desire, and as a production and
maintenance unit is a normal unit appropriate for
purposes of collective bargaining, we shall make no
final unit determination at this time, but shall direct
separate elections by secret ballot among the
employees at the Employer's Halsey, Oregon, pulp
and paper mill in the following voting groups,
excluding from groups A and B all otheremployees
and supervisors as defined in the Act.
Voting Group A: All recovery steampower
employees, including those in the powerhouse and
recovery area.
Voting Group B: All 'maintenance department
employees.
Voting Group C: All production and maintenance
employees, excluding the employees in Voting
Groups A - and B, and office clerical employees,
guards; professional employees, and supervisors as
defined in the Act.
If the majority of the employees in Voting Group
A selects the IBEW, or if the majority of the
employees in Voting Group B selects the IBEW, the
employees in that group will be taken to have
indicated their desire to constitute a separate
bargaining unit, and the ' Officer-in-Charge
conducting the elections is hereby instructed to issue
a certification of representatives to the IBEW for
such , unit or units, which the Board under the
circumstances finds to be appropriate for the
purposes of collective bargaining. However, if a
majority of the employees in either voting group
does not vote for separate' representation, that group
will appropriately be included in the production and
maintenance unit and their ballots shall be pooled
with those of Voting Group C.8 If a majority in
Voting Group C, including any pooled group, vote
'Crown Simpson Pulp Company, 163 NLRB 796.
'If the votes are pooled, they are to be tallied in the following manner
The votes for International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local
Union No. 280, AFL-CIO, seeking separate units in Voting Groups A and
B shall be counted as valid votes but neither for nor against the labor
organizations seeking to represent the production and maintenance unit.
All other votes are to be accorded their face value.
AMERICAN CAN COMPANY
election shall be held between the two choices
having polled the most votes to determine which
organization shall be certified as the representative
of employees in Voting Group C, pursuant to
Section 102.70 of the Board ' s Rules and
Regulations.
[Direction of Elections' ommitted from
publication.]
'In order to assure that all eligible voters may have the opportunity to
be informed of the issues in the exercise of their statutory right to vote, all
parties to the election should have access to a list of voters and their
addresses which may be used to communicate with them . Excelsior
Underwear Inc.. 156 NLRB 1236; N. L.R.B. v. Wyman-Gordon Company.
394 U.S. 759. Accordingly, it is hereby directed that an election eligibility
list, containing the names and addresses of all the eligible voters, must be
21
for the Pulp Workers; the AWPPW, or the
Teamsters, said labor organization shall be certified
as the representative of employees in such group,
which, under the circumstances, the Board finds to
be an appropriate unit for purposes of collective
bargaining. If none of these labor organizations
receives a majority of the votes cast, a run-off
filed by the Employer with the Officer -in-Charge for Subregion 36 within 7
days of the date of this Decision and Direction of Elections. The
Officer-in-Charge shall make the list available to all parties to the election.
No extension of time to file this list shall be granted by the
Officer-in-Charge except in extraordinary circumstances . Failure to comply
with this requirement shall be grounds for setting aside the election
whenever proper objections are filed.