C.D. Johnson Lumber Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Dec 4, 1941

37 N.L.R.B. 251 (N.L.R.B. 1941)

In the Matter of C. D. JOHNSON LUMBER CORPORATION and LOCAL No.
2720, LUMBER AND SAWMILL WORKERS UNION, CHARTERED BY THE
UNITED BROTHERHOOD OF CARPENTERS AND JOINERS OF AMERICA, AF-
FILIATED WITH THE A. F. OF L. and LOCAL 5-63 AND LOCAL 5-2803,
INTERNATIONAL WOODWORKERS OF AMERICA, AFFILIATED WITH THE
C. 1. 0.
C. D. JOHNSON LUMBER CORPORATION and LOCAL No. 2720, LUMBER AND
SAWMILL WORKERS UNION, CHARTERED BY THE UNITED BROTHERHOOD
OF CARPENTERS AND JOINERS OF AMERICA, 'AFFILIATED WITH THE
A. F. OF L.
C. D. JOHNSON LUMBER CORPORATION and LOCAL 5-63, INTERNATIONAL
WOODWORKERS OF AMERICA, AFFILIATED WITH THE C. I. O.
'Cases Nos . RE-34, R-3240, and R-3241-Decided December 4, 1941
Jurisdiction : lumber industry.
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: dis-
pute between labor unions; Company refused to recognize any of the three
unions because it believed that the units sought are inappropriate and because
it desired the Board to determine the question of the appropriate unit and the
proper bargaining representative; election necessary.
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : (1) all production and maintenance
employees at the Company's sawmill, excluding office, clerical, sales, managerial,
and supervisory employees; (2) all production,and maintenance employees and
construction workers at the logging operations of the Company, excluding office
clerical, sales, managerial, and supervisory employees ; notwithstanding Com-
pany's contention that they should constitute a single unit, held, that the em-
ployees of the sawmill and those of the logging camp should constitute separate
units where the sawmill operations are entirely different from the logging
operations, there is no evidence of interchange of employees between the two
operations, and they are geographically separated by several miles.
Mr. Grant T. Anderson, of Portland, Oreg., for the Company.
Mr. Homer L. Haney, of Eugene, Oreg., for the Sawmill Workers.
Mr. A. F. Hartung, of Portland, Oreg., for Local 5-63 and Local
5-2803.
Mr. William H. Bartley, of counsel to the Board.
37 N. L. R. B., No. 42.
251
252 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On June 10, August 6, and 15, 1941, respectively, C. D. Johnson
Lumber Corporation, herein called the Company, Local No. 2720,
Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union, chartered by the United
Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, affiliated with
the A. F. of L., herein called the Sawmill Workers, and Local 5-63,
International Woodworkers of America, affiliated with the C. I. 0.,
herein called Local 5-63, filed with the Regional Director for the
Nineteenth Region (Seattle, Washington) petitions alleging that a
question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation
of employees of C. D. Johnson Lumber Corporation, Toledo, Oregon,
and requesting an investigation and certification of representatives
pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49
Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On October 17, 1941, the National
Labor Relations Board, herein called the Board, acting pursuant to
Section 9 (c) of the Act and Article III, Sections 3 and 10 (C) (2),
of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations- Series 2,
as amended, consolidated the cases, ordered an investigation, and
authorized the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide for an
appropriate hearing upon due notice.
On October 21, 1941, the Regional Director issued a consolidated
notice of hearing, copies of which were duly served upon the parties.
Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held on October 31, 1941, at Toledo,
Oregon, before Harry George, the Trial Examiner duly designated
by the Chief Trial Examiner. The Company, the Sawmill Workers,
Local 5-63, and Local 5-2803 of International Woodworkers of
America, herein called Local 5-2803, a labor organization directly
affected by the investigation, were represented and participated 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 hearing, the Trial
Examiner made rulings on motions and on objections to the admission
of evidence. The Board has reviewed the rulings of the Trial Ex-
aminer and finds that no prejudicial errors were committed. The
rulings are hereby affirmed.
C. D. JOHNSON LUMBER CORPORATION 253
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
C. D. Johnson Lumber Corporation is a Nevada corporation with
its principal office in Portland, Oregon. The Company has a sawmill
at Toledo, Oregon, a logging camp near Siletz, Oregon, and sales
offices in Los Angeles and San 'Francisco, California, and Portland
and Toledo, Oregon. Substantially all of the logs used by the Com-
pany at its sawmill are produced in its own and neighboring logging
camps within the State of Oregon. At present the Company is pro'
ducing approximately 16,000,000 board feet of lumber per month,
90 per cent of which is shipped to points outside the State of Oregon.
At its sawmill in Toledo, the Company employs approximately 821
employees and at its logging camp near Siletz approximately 343
employees. The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce
within the meaning of the Act.
H. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
Local No. 2720, Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union, chartered by
the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, is a
labor organization affiliated with 'the American Federation of Labor,
admitting to membership employees of the Company. -
Local 5-63 and Local 5-2803, International Woodworkers of
America, are labor organizations affiliated with the Congress of In-
dustrial Organizations, admitting to membership employees. of the
Company's logging operations and the sawmill, respectively.
III. THIS QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Sawmill Workers, Local 5-63, and Local 5-2803 have each
requested recognition as the exclusive bargaining agent in the unit
which each alleges to be appropriate . The Company has refused to
recognize any of the three unions because it believes the units sought
are inappropriate and because it desires the Board to determine the
question of the appropriate unit and the proper bargaining repre-
sentative.
A statement by an attorney for the Board introduced in evidence
shows that the Sawmill Workers and Local 5-63 each represents a
substantial number of employees in the logging operations and that
the Sawmill Workers and Local 5-2803 each represents a substantial
number of employees in the sawmill.'
'Tile Board attorney 's statement shows that the Sawmill workers submitted 713 appli-
cation cards, 531 of which bore apparently genuine signatures of persons whose names
254 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
We find that a question has arisen concerning the representation
of employees of the Company.
IV. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION UPON
COMMERCE
We find that the question concerning representation which has
arisen, occurring in connection with the operations of the Company
described in Section I above, has a close, intimate, and substantial
relation to trade, traffic, and commerce among the several States and
tends to lead to labor disputes burdening and obstructing commerce
and the free flow of commerce.
V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The: Company contends that the appropriate unit should consist
of all production and maintenance employees at both the logging op-
erations and the sawmill, exclusive of office, clerical, sales, managerial,
and supervisory employees. The Sawmill Workers, Local 5-63, and
Local 5-2803 agree to the exclusions 2 but desire separate units for
the sawmill and the logging camp. At the logging camp, the trees
used in making lumber are felled and at the sawmill they are con-
verted into lumber. The sawmill operations are entirely different
from the logging operations and the employees in each are engaged
in different types of work. There is no evidence of any interchange
of employees between the sawmill and the logging camp. They are
geographically separated by several miles. In view of these facts, we
appeared on the sawmill pay roll of September 26, 1941, and 64 of which bore apparently
genuine signatures of persons whose names appeared on the logging operations' pay roll
of the same date. The statement further shows that Inteinational Woodworkers of
America presented 549 application cards, 120 of which bore apparently genuine signatures
of persons whose names appeared on the sawmill pay roll of September 26, and 124 of
which bore apparently genuine signatures of persons whose names appeared on the
logging operations' pay roll for the same date The parties stipulated at the hearing
that the cards of sawmill employees were from Local 5-2803 and those of logging oper-
ations employees were from Local 5-63 The Company's pay roll for September 26 con-
tains 821 names of employees in the sawmill and 343 names of employees in the logging
operations
2 The Company introduced in evidence its sawmill and logging operations' pay rolls
for October 28, 1941, on which it indicated those employees whom it believed to be
supervisory, managerial, office, clerical, and sales employees The parties agreed at the
hearing that Ed Nelson and Al Johnson were also supervisory employees and should have
been so identified on the pay roll It appears from the questions asked by the representa-
tive of Local 5-63 and Local 5-2803 at the hearing that these organizations object to
the Company's classification of Irving Balderree, Levy Leifur, and Dlilton Swayze as
supervisory employees The record does not indicate the position of the Sawmill workers
regarding these men . Balderree is boom foreman and spends the major portion of his
time supervising 15 men. He is paid by the month Leifur is listed on the pay roll
as lath foreman and works under a contract by which he is paid on a piece-work basis
He has six or seven men under him, all of whom are paid "from the proceeds of the contract;"
and whom he has the power to discharge . We find that Balderree and Leifur are super-
visory employees and should be excluded from the appropriate unit . Swayze is an hourly
paid employee who works among the men on the pond and supervises this work to some
extent. We are of the opinion that Swayze should be included in the appropriate unit.
C. D. JOHNSON LUMBER CORPORATION 255
find - that the employees of the sawmill and those of the logging camp
constitute separate units.3
Local 5-63 desires the inclusion of 30 construction workers engaged
in building a railroad spur line at the logging operations. These em-
ployees began work in June 1941, and will complete the road in the
spring of 1942. The Company did not object to their inclusion in the
unit, and the Sawmill Workers took no position concerning these
employees. We are of the opinion, and find, that the construction
workers should be included in the unit with the employees at the,
logging operations.
We find that all production and maintenance employees at the
sawmill iii Toledo, Oregon, excluding office, clerical, sales, managerial,
and supervisory employees constitute a unit appropriate for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining. We also find that all production and
maintenance employees and construction workers at the logging op-
erations near Siletz , Oregon, excluding office, clerical, sales, man-
agerial, and supervisory employees, constitute a unit appropriate for
the purposes of collective bargaining. We further find that such
units will insure to employees of the Company the full benefit of their
right to self-organization and to collective bargaining and otherwise
will effectuate the policies of the Act. -
VI. TILE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We find that the question concerning representation which has
arisen can best be resolved by elections by secret ballot. We shall
direct that those eligible to vote in the elections shall be the employees
in the appropriate units who were employed by the Company during
the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of
Elections herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in
the Direction.
Upon the basis. of the above findings of fact and upon the entire
record in the case, the Board makes the following :
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of employees of C. D. Johnson Lumber Corporation, Toledci,
Oregon, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and
(7) of the National Labor Relations Act.
2. All production and maintenance employees in the sawmill at
Toledo, Oregon, excluding office, clerical, sales, managerial, and super-
visory employees, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of
collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
3 Cf. Matter of Buckley Hemlock Mills , Inc., Buckley Logging Company and International
Woodworkers of America , Local No. 52, 15 N. L . It. B. 498.
256 'DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
3. All production, maintenance, and construction employees in the
logging operations near Siletz, Oregon, excluding office, clerical,
sales, managerial, and supervisory employees, constitute a unit appro-
priate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning
of Section 9 (b) of the 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, 49 Stat. 449, and' Article III, Section 8, of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is
hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation authorized by the Board
to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining
with C. D. Johnson Lumber Corporation, Toledo, Oregon, elections
by secret ballot 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 said
Rules and Regulations among : (1) all production and maintenance
employees in the sawmill at Toledo, Oregon, who were in the employ
of the Company during the pay-roll period immediately preceding
the date of this Direction, including employees who did not work
during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or in
the active military service or training of the United States, or tem-
porarily laid off, but excluding office, clerical, sales, managerial, and
supervisory employees, and employees who have since quit or been
discharged for cause to determine whether they desire to be represented
by Local No. 2720, Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union, chartered
by the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America,
affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, or by Local 5-2803,
International Woodworkers of America, affiliated with the Congress
of Industrial Organizations, for the purposes of collective bargain-
ing, or by neither; and (2) among all production, maintenance, and
construction employees in the logging operations near Siletz, Oregon,
who were in the employ of the Company during the pay-roll period
immediately preceding the date of this Direction, including employees
who did not work during such pay-roll period because they were ill
or on-vacation or in the active military service or training of the
United States, or temporarily laid off, but excluding office, clerical,
sales, managerial, and supervisory employees, and employees who have
since quit or been discharged for cause to determine whether or not
C. D. JOHNSON LUMBER CORPORATION 257
they desire to be represented by Local No. 2720, Lumber and Sawmill
Workers Union, chartered by the United Brotherhood of Carpenters
and Joiners of America , affiliated with the American Federation of
Labor, or- by Local 5-63, International Woodworkers of America,
affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining , or by neither.