Castle Dome Copper Co., Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Dec 26, 1946

71 N.L.R.B. 1253 (N.L.R.B. 1946)

In the Matter of CASTLE DOME COPPER COMPANY, INC., EMPLOYER
and INTERNATIONAL UNION OF MINE, MILL AND SMELTER WORKERS,
C. I. 0., PETITIONER
In the Matter of CASTLE DOME COPPER COMPANY, INC., EMPLOYER
and INTERNATIONAL UNION OF MINE, MILL AND SMELTER WORKERS,
C. I. 0., PETITIONER
Cases Nos. 21-R-3424 and 21-R3511, respectively .Decided
December 26, 1946
Mr. James R. Malott, of Globe, Ariz., for the Employer.
Mr. Arthur Ashby, of Miami, Ariz., for the Smelter Workers.
Mr. W. D. Taylor, of Tucson, Ariz., for the Miners.
Messrs. R. L. Clark and Cotton Murray, both of Phoenix, Ariz., for
the Engineers.
Mr. Lewis H. Ulman, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
Upon petitions duly filed, hearing in this case was held at Globe,
Arizona, on August 2, 1946, before William T. Whitsett, hearing
officer.'
At the hearing the Intervenors, International Union of Operating
Engineers, Local 428, herein called the Engineers, and the Globe-
Miami Miners Union, No. 22914, herein called the Miners, both
moved to dismiss the petition on the grounds that their continual
contractual relationship with the Employer either directly or through
membership in the Globe-Miami Trade Council, herein called
the Council, bars an election at this time.2 Rulings on these motions
were reserved for the Board. For reasons stated in Section III,
I The proceedings herein were consolidated by an order of the Board dated July 31, 1946.
2 The Council has served as the principal bargaining agent for its constituent unions
which have been certified in the several units at the Employer ' s mine and smelter, and has
been a party to all three contracts mentioned below. Although the Miners has not been
certified and are not directly a party to any of the contracts , one of the certified unions,
Construction, Production and Maintenance Local Union 383 of the International Hod-
carriers , Building and Common Laborers Union of America , A. F. of L., herein called the
Laborers , assigned their interest to the Miners subsequent to the hearing, by serving a
notice to that effect upon the Board and upon all of the parties to this proceeding.
71 N. L. R. B., No. 201.
1253
1254 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
infra, the motions are denied.3 The hearing officer's rulings made at
the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
The Intervenor's request for a new hearing and oral argument is also
denied inasmuch as the record , in our opinion , adequately presents the
issues and positions of the parties.
Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations
Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER
Castle Dome Copper Company, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary
of the Miami Copper Company, is a Delaware corporation, and is
engaged in the mining and reduction of copper ore in the State of
Arizona. During 1945 the Employer produced approximately 4,000,-
000 tons of copper-bearing ore, of which the copper concentrates were
shipped,to a smelter at Miami, Arizona, for reduction. to blister
copper which in turn was shipped to points outside the State of Ari-
zona for refining and processing. In the operation of its mine and
mill, the Employer anually purchases supplies valued at more than
$500,000, a substantial portion of which is shipped in from 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 ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
The Petitioner is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress
of Industrial Organizations, claiming to represent employees of the
Employer.
The Intervenors, Globe- Miami Miners Union No. 22914, and Inter-
national Union of Operating Engineers, Local 428, are both labor
organizations affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, claim-
ing to represent employees of the Employer.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On May 24, 1946, the Petitioner requested recognition from the Em-
ployer as exclusive bargaining representative of all its employees ex-
cluding technical, clerical, confidential, and supervisory employees and
3 As an additional ground for seeking dismissal the Intervenois asserted that the Peti-
tioner does not represent a substantial number of the employees in the units sought in this
proceeding, the Petitioner moved to deny the, intervention of the Diners for the same
season Inasmuch as we are satisfied administratively that both the Petitioner and the
Mind s have a substantial interest in this proceeding, we shall, for the seasons stated in
Matter of 0 D Jennings J Company, 68 N L. R B 516, 1 eject these contentions
CASTLE DOME COPPER COMPANY, INC. 1255
watchmen.' The Employer, by letter dated May 27, 1946, refused to
grant such recognition, contending that these employees were repre-
sented by other labor organizations in accordance with outstanding
Board certifications. The Petitioner filed its original petition herein
for a plant-wide production and maintenance unit on May 27, 1946.1
On September 29, 1943, pursuant to the Decision and Direction of
Election mentioned above, the Engineers was certified by the Board
as the exclusive bargaining agent for all employees in the engineers'
unit sought herein, and the Laborers was certified for the laborers unit
sought herein. Following these certifications, the Engineers, the
Laborers, and the other certified constitutent unions of the Council
entered into a maintenance of membership contract for an initial pe-
riod of 1 year covering their respective units. This agreement was
renewable automatically from year to year after November 24, 1944,
in the absence of notice within thirty (30) days of any anniversary
date of desired changes.
In October 1944, the Laborers gave seasonable notice of termination,
in accordance with the contract terms, and has not since signed any
contract with Employer. A second contract between the Council and
its other certified unions was executed covering the period from Novem-
ber 24, 1944, to November 23, 1945, and although it was not signed by a
representative of the Laborers, it contained provisions concerning the
pay, hours, and other conditions of employment of employees thereto-
fore represented by the Laborers e About October 20, 1945, the auto-
matic renewal provision of the foregoing contract was stayed by ex-
change of notices to modify tendered by the contracting parties.
After prolonged contract negotiations between the certified unions of
the Council, except the Laborers, and the Employer, complete agree-
ment was reached among the parties, and between June 7, 1946, and
August 2, 1946, the present contract was signed. During these nego-
tiations the parties operated under the 1944-45 contract.
The 1944-45 contract provided that in the event of notice to modify
it would continue in effect as written until the execution of a new agree-
ment. The Council and the Intervenors contend that this provision
4 On October 23, 1945, the Petitioner had filed a petition with the Board for a plant-wide
unit However, this petition was subsequently dismissed for lack of sufficient showing of
interest
On June 28, 1946, the Petitioner filed its First Amended Petition, requesting units sub-
stantially the same as those established in a previous Board decision (Matter of Castle
Dome Copper Co , Inc, 52 N L R B. 135), and on July 25 1946, it filed a Second Amended
Petition restricted to the unit for which the Enginecis is presently certified On the same
day, it also filed a new petition seeking representation of the unit for which the Laboreis
is presently certified
After terminating its contractual relationship with the Employer, the Laborers informed
the Employer that the Engineers would represent its members in the matter of grievances
Up to, the time of the hearing, the Engineers, in accordance with this agreement, handled
grievances for the employees in the Laborers' unit As noted above, the Laborers, subse-
quent to the hearing herein, assigned its interest to the Miners
1256 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
prevented a lapse in the contractual relations and that the 1946 contract
is a bar to a determination of representatives at this time. We cannot
agree with this contention. The 1944-45 contract, after the exchange
of notices to modify, became one of indefinite duration after its anni-
versary date, November 24, 1945, and the 1946 contract was executed
after the Petitioner had both demanded recognition and filed its
original petition. Consequently, neither the extension of the 1944-45
contract,7 nor the existing 1946 contract 8 is a bar to this proceeding.
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 UNITS
We find, insubstantial agreement with the parties, that the follow-
ing groups of employees at the Employer's mine and mill in the vi-
cinity of Miami, Arizona, constitute units appropriate for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b)
of the Act :
1. All shovel, churn drill, bulldozer, and patrol grader oper-
ators, shovel oilers, churn drill helpers, pump men, filter pump
men, filter plant, lead crusher, grader, compressor, and screen
operators, operators in the mill, oilers, and apprentices employed
at the Employer's mine and mill, excluding foremen and all
supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge,
discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees,
or effectively recommend such action.
2. All laborers (including road men), magazine keepers,
powder loaders, air drill machine men, wagon drill helpers,
pump men, pit men, screen test men, samplers, experimental
helpers, carpenter helpers, janitors, but excluding watchmen,
foremen, air, drill bosses, timekeepers, clerical, administrative,
executive, professional, and supervisory employees with au-
thority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect
changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend such
action.
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining with Castle Dome Copper Company,
Inc., Miami, Arizona, elections by secret ballot shall be conducted
Q See Matter of The Potomac Edison Company , 65 N. L R . B 912 ; Matter of American
Cyanamid d Chemical Corporation, 62 N. L. R B. 925, and cases cited therein.
8 See Matter of American Nortt Company , Inc, 66 N L R . B 1305 ; Matter of The Mead
Corporation, Heald Division, 63 N. L. R. B. 1129.
CASTLE DOME COPPER COMPANY, INC. 1257
as early as possible, but not later than thirty (30) days from the date
of this Direction, under the direction and supervision of the Regional
Director for the Twenty-first Region, acting in this matter as agent
for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Sections 203.55
and 203.56, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regula-
tions-Series 4, among the employees in the units found appropriate
in Section IV, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period
immediately preceding the date of this Direction, including employees
who did not work during said pay-roll period because they were ill
or on vacation or temporarily laid off, and including employees in the
armed forces of the United States who present themselves in person
at the polls, 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 elections, to determine :
(a) Whether the employees described in Group 1 of Section IV
desire to be represented by International Union of Mine, Mill and
Smelter Workers, C. I. 0., or by International Union of Operating
Engineers Local 428, A. F. of L., for the purposes of collective bar-
gaining, or by neither; and
(b) Whether the employees described in Group 2 of Section IV
desire to be represented by International Union of Mine, Mill and
Smelter Workers, C. I. 0., or by Globe-Miami Miners Union, No.
22914, A. F. of L., for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by
neither.