Champion Paper & Fibre Company

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Dec 22, 1938

10 N.L.R.B. 774 (N.L.R.B. 1938)

In the Matter Of CHAMPION PAPER & FIBRE COMPANY and INTERNA-
TIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF PAPER MAKERS
Case No. C-975: Decided December 22, 1938
Paper Manufacturing Industry-Settlement: stipulation providing for cessation
of unfair labor practices, payment of specified sums of money to four discharged
employees, withdrawal of recognition from labor organization , and posting of
notices that labor organization is disestablished and that respondent will cease
and desist from unfair labor practices-Order: entered on stipulation. -
Mr. Philip G. Phillips, for the Board.
Mr. Clarke Marion, of Hamilton, Ohio, for the respondent:
Mr. Matthew J. Burns, of Albany, N. Y., for the Union.
Mr. Edward Everett Rice 'and Messrs. Rice and Byrd, of Hamilton,
Ohio, for James Deaton, Brant Parker, Clarence T. Smith and Walter
Rogers. - -
Mr. Bernard W. Freund, of counsel to the Board. -
',DECISION
AND
ORDER
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Charges and amended charges having been duly filed by Interna-
tional Brotherhood of Paper Makers, herein called the Union, the
National Labor Relations Board, herein called the Board, by the
Regional Director for the Ninth Region (Cincinnati, Ohio) issued
its complaint dated August 8, 1938, against Champion Paper & Fibre
Company, Hamilton, Ohio, herein called the respondent, alleging that
the respondent had engaged in and was engaging in unfair labor
practices affecting commerce within the meaning of Section 8 (1),
(2), (3), and (4) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor
Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. Copies of the
complaint and accompanying notice of hearing, and notice of ad-
journment and extension of time for answer were duly served upon
the respondent and the Union.
With respect to the unfair labor practices, the complaint alleged
in substance (1) that the respondent dominated and interfered with
Champion Employees' Association and contributed support thereto,
(2) that the respondent discharged James'Deaton, Brant Parker,
10 N. L R. B., No 64.
774
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 775
and Clarence T. Smith on September 20, 1935, and thereafter refused
to reinstate them, for the reason that they joined and assisted the
Union and engaged in concerted activities for the purposes of collec-
tive bargaining and other mutual aid and protection, thereby discour-
aging membership in the Union, (3) that the respondent discharged
Walter Rogers on June 20, 1931, and thereafter' refused to reinstate
him, for the reason that he assisted the Union and gave statements
to agents of the Board concerning the discharges of Deaton, Parker,
and Smith, thereby discouraging membership' in the Union, and (4)
that the respondent discouraged membership in the Union through
individual conversations with its employees; threatened its employees
with dismissal if they joined or assisted the Union, employed spies
to visit union meetings and report' thereon to the respondent, and
engaged in other acts for the purpose of coercing, restraining, and
interfering with the right of its employees guaranteed in Section
7 of the Act.
. 'On October 13, 1938, the respondent, the Union, and counsel for the
Board entered into a stipulation for the purpose of settling the case,
subject to the approval of the Board. The stipulation reads as
follows :
It is hereby stipulated and agreed by the Champion Paper &
Fibre Company, of Hamilton, Ohio, by Clarke Marion, one of its
Vice Presidents, and the International Brotherhood of Paper
Makers, by Matthew J. Burns, its President, and Philip G.
Phillips, Attorney for the National Labor Relations Board, as
follows :
I. Champion Paper & Fibre Company, hereinafter referred to
as the respondent, is a corporation organized under and existing
by virtue of the laws of the State of Ohio, having its principal
office and place of business in the City of Hamilton, County of
Butler, State of Ohio, and operating a plant in the City of
Hamilton, County of Butler, State of Ohio, hereinafter called
the Hamilton Plant.
II. At its Hamilton Plant the respondent is engaged in the
manufacture, sale and distribution of Coated," Uncoated and
-Board paper.
III. During the past year the respondent purchased approxi-
mately $5,000,000 worth of raw materials for use in its Hamilton
Plant. Approximately 90% of these raw materials was obtained
from without the State of Ohio.
IV. During the past year the sales and shipments of the re-
spondent, from its Hamilton Plant, amounted to approximately
$11,500,000. Approximately 80% of these sales was made to
customers without the State of Ohio.
776 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
V. The respondent is engaged in interstate commerce, within
the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
VI. The respondent has been duly served with the complaint
in the above-entitled matter, and waives the right to answer
thereto.
VII. On the basis of the pleadings and facts alleged therein,
and pursuant to Section 10, subdivision (c) of the National
Labor Relations Act, the National Labor Relations Board may
enter the following order, viz :
The Champion Paper & Fibre Company shall :
1. Cease and desist from :
(a) In any manner interfering with, restraining or coercing
its employees in the exercise of their rights to self-organiza-
tion, to form, join or assist labor organizations, to bargain
collectively with representatives of their own choosing, and to,
engage in concerted activities for the purpose of collective
bargaining or other mutual aid or protection, as guaranteed in
Section 7 of the Act;
(b) From discouraging membership in The International
Brotherhood of Paper Makers, or any other labor organization
of its employees, or encouraging membership in the Champion
Employees' Association, or any other organization of its em-
ployecs, by discriminating against its employees with regard
to hire, tenure of employment, or any term or condition
thereof;
(c) From dominating or interfering with the administra-
tion of the Champion Employees' Association, or with the
formation or administration of any other labor organization
of its employees, or from contributing financial or other sup-
port to the Champion Employees' Association as a labor
organization, or any other labor organization of its employees,
except that nothing in this paragraph shall prevent the re-
spondent from conferring with its employees during working
hours without loss of pay;
2. Take the following affirmative action which the Board finds
will effectuate the policies of the Act:
(a) Pay to James Deaton, the sum of $250.00.
(b) Pay to Clarence Smith, the sum of $250.00:
(c) Pay to Walter Rogers, the sum of $200.00.
(d) Pay to Brant Parker the sum of $520.00.
(e) Withdraw all recognition from the Champion Em-
ployees' Association as the representative of its employees for
the purposes of collective bargaining with the respondent con-
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 777
cerning grievances, wages, rates of pay, hours of employment,
and other conditions thereof.
(f) Post notices in conspicuous places throughout the re-
spondent's plant, stating :
(1) That the Champion Employees' Association was dis-
established as the representative of its employees for the
purposes of collective bargaining as afore-mentioned, and
that it will refrain from such recognition thereof ;
(2) That it will cease and desist in the matter aforesaid;
(3) That such notices will remain posted for at least thirty
(30) consecutive days from the date of posting;
(g) Notify the Regional Director of the National Labor
Relations Board for the Ninth Region, within a period of
fifteen (15) days after the entry of the Order, what steps have
been taken to comply therewith.
VIII. In the event that an Order of the Board is entered
hereon and it becomes necessary for the Board, in order to en-
force the terms and provisions of such Order, to file a petition
for enforcement of the Order in the appropriate United States
Circuit Court of Appeals, the respondent, Champion Paper &
Fibre Company, herein consents and agrees that an enforcement
order of the said court, embodying the terms and provisions of
the Board's Order, may be entered upon the Board's Order with-
out further notice of the application by the Board for such en-
forcement order.
IX. This stipulation is subject to the approval of the National
Labor,Relations Board after its submission to the Board in
Washington, D. C.
On August 25, 1938, prior to the execution of the above stipulation,
Deaton, Parker, Smith, and Rogers filed exceptions with the Board
in which they excepted to the terms of the proposed settlement,
disclaimed the Union's authority to act for them, and requested that
the Board disapprove the terms of the settlement and set the case
down for hearing on the merits. On October 19, 1938, the Board,
after due consideration of the case, issued an order approving the
stipulation of October 13, 1938, and making it a part of the record
in the case, and further ordered, in accordance with Article II, Sec-
tion 37, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-
Series 1, as amended, that the proceeding be transferred to and con-
tinued before the Board for the purpose of entry of a decision and
order by the Board pursuant to the provisions of the said stipulation.
Thereafter, on December 1, 1938, Deaton, Parker, Smith, and Rogers
filed exceptions to the stipulation of October 13, 1938, in which, in
778 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
substance, they restated their previous exceptions to the settlement.
The Board has considered these exceptions, and finds in them no
basis ' for withholding the entry of a decision and order pursuant
to the provisions of the stipulation. The charge, the amended charge,
the second amended charge, the complaint, the notice of hearing, the
notice of adjournment and extension of time for answer, together
with the proofs of service thereof, ^^d- the' exceptions filed by Deaton,
Parker, Smith, and Rogers on August 25 and December 1, 1938, are
hereby made a part of the record in the case.
On the basis of the above stipulation, and upon the entire record
in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE RESPONDENT
The respondent, Champion.Paper -& Fibre Company, an Ohio cor-
poration, with its principal office and place of business at Hamilton,
Ohio, is engaged, at its plant in Hamilton, Ohio, in the manufacture,
sale, and distribution of coated, uncoated, and board paper. During
the past year, the respondent purchased approximately $5,000,000
worth of raw materials for use in the said plant, of which approxi-
mately 90 per cent was obtained from without the State of Ohio.
During the same period, its sales -and shipments from the said plant
amounted to approximately $11,500,000. Approximately 80 per cent
of these sales were made to customers outside the State of Ohio.
The respondent has stipulated that it is engaged in interstate com-
merce within the meaning, of the Act. • We find that the above-de-
scribed operations of the respondent constitute a continuous flow of
trade, traffic, and commerce among-the several. States.
ORDER
On the basis of the above - stipulation and findings of fact, and
upon the entire record in the case, and pursuant to Section 10 (c)
of the National Labor Relations Act, the National Labor Relations
Board hereby orders that the respondent, Champion Paper & Fibre
Company, Hamilton, Ohio, shall :
1. Cease and desist from :
(a) In any manner interfering with, restraining, or coercing its
employees in the exercise of their rights to self-organization, to form,
join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through
representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in concerted
activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid
or protection, as guaranteed in Section 7 of the Act;
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 779
(b) Discouraging membership in The International Brotherhood
of Paper Makers, or any other labor organization of its employees,
or encouraging membership in the Champion Employees' Associa-
tion, or any other organization of its employees , by discriminating
against its employees with regard to hire, tenure of employment, or
any term or condition thereof;
(c) Dominating or interfering with the administration of the
Champion Employees ' Association , or with the formation or admin-
istration of any other labor organization of its employees , or from
contributing financial or other support to the Champion Employees'
Association as a labor organization , or any other labor organization
of its employees , except that nothing in this paragraph shall prevent
the respondent from conferring with its emlloyees during working
hours without loss of pay.
2. Take the following- affirmative action, which the Board finds
will effectuate the policies of the Act :
(a) Pay to James Deaton, the sum of $250 ; to Clarence Smith, the
sum of $250 ; to Walter Rogers, the sum of $200 ; and to Brant Parker,
the sum of $520;
(b) Withdraw all recognition from the Champion Employees'
Association as the representative of its employees for the purposes
of collective bargaining with the respondent concerning grievances,
wages, rates of pay, hours of employment , and other conditions
thereof;
(c) Post notices in conspicuous places throughout the, respondent's
plant, stating :
(1) That the Champion Employees ' Association is disestablished
as the representative - of its employees for the purposes of collective
bargaining as afore-mentioned , and that it will refrain from such
recognition thereof;
(2) That it will cease and desist in the manner aforesaid;
(3) That such notices will remain posted for at least thirty (30)
consecutive days from the date of posting;
(d) Notify the Regional Director' of the National Labor Relations
Board for the Ninth Region, within a period of fifteen ( 15) days
after the entry of this Order, what steps have been taken to comply
herewith.