Collins Pine Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jan 18, 1944

54 N.L.R.B. 670 (N.L.R.B. 1944)

In the Matter of COLLINS PINE COMPANY, ALMANOR RAILROAD
COMPANY and LUMBER AND SAWMILL WORKERS, LOCAL No. 3074,
A. F. OF L.
Case No. 00-R-863.-Decided January 18, 1944
Messrs. P. W. Foote and J. R. McDonald, of Chester, Calif., and
Mr. C. L. Irving, of Klamath Falls, Oreg., for the Company.
Messrs. H. H. Williams, Charles Langdon, and L. A. Seahorn, all
of Sacramento, Calif., for the Sawmill Workers.
Mr. James F. IGalliano, of Oakland, Calif., and Mr. Mathew 0.
Tobriner, of San Francisco, Calif., for the Teamsters.
Messrs. Joe F. Clark and Owen S. Ellinger, of Chester, Calif., and
Mr. F. L. Ames, of Susanville, Calif., for the Woodworkers.
Mr. John D. LaGrange, of Reno, Nev., for the Operating Engineers.
Mr. A. Sumner Lawrence, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
AND
ORDER
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon an amended petition duly filed by Lumber and Sawmill Work-
ers, Local No. 3074, A. F. of L., herein called the Sawmill Workers,
alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning
the representation of employees of Collins Pine Company, and Al-
manor Railroad Company, Chester, California, herein called the Com-
pany and Railroad, respectively, the National Labor Relations Board
provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before John
Paul Jennings, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Chester,
California, on November 1 and 2, 1943. The Company, the Sawmill
Workers, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Ware-
housemen and Helpers of America, AFL, herein called the Teamsters,
International Woodworkers of America, C. I. 0., herein called the
Woodworkers, and Operating Engineers Local No. 3, of the Inter-
national Union of Operating' Engineers, AFL, herein called the Op-
erating Engineers, appeared, participated, and were afforded full
opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and
54 N. L . R. B., No. 99.
670
COLLINS PINE COMPANY 671
to introduce evidence bearing on the issues. The Trial Examiner's
rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are
hereby affirmed. All parties were afforded the opportunity to file
briefs with the Board.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY AND THE RAILROAD
Collins Pine Company, an Oregon corporation, is engaged in the
logging of timber and the operation of two sawmills for the manu-
facture of lumber and lumber products. Of the two sawmills operated
by the Company, one is located at Pondosa, Oregon, while the other-
the only one involved in the present proceeding is located at Chester,
California. In addition to the business of logging and lumber manu-
facturing, the Company also owns and operates a railroad, herein-
above referred to as the Almanor Railroad Company. The railroad
has no employees other than the employees of the Company, which
operates the railroad in question as auxiliary to and in furtherance
of its general sawmill business. In the course of this business and
during a 7-month period beginning in April 1943, when the Company
first commenced operations at its Chester, California, mill, and con-
tinuing to the date of the hearing, the Company produced at this
particular mill 16 million board feet of lumber, of which 65 percent
was shipped to points outside the State of California. The Company
admits that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the
National Labor Relations Act.
Inasmuch as it appears that the Railroad has no employees apart
from those of the Company, we find that the Railroad is not an em-
ployer within the meaning of the Act, of the employees herein
involved, and we shall dismiss the petition as to it.'
We find that the Collins Pine Company is the employer of the em-
ployees herein involved within the meaning of Section 2 (2) of the
Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
Lumber and Sawmill Workers Local No. 3074, is a labor organiza-
tion affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, admitting to
membership employees of the Company.
International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehouse-
men and Helpers of America, is a labor organization affiliated with
I See Matter of A. P. Steiner, Mrs Ruth Steiner Griggs, Joseph Steiner, Mrs . Katherine
Steiner Stevenson, Peter Steiner, Henry Steiner, Mrs. Alice R . Bushong, John Steiner, Mrs.
Aaoini B Steiner , individually, and as co-partners d/b/a Steiner Brothers and/or The
Lenox Furnace Company, 43 N. L. R B. 1384.
672 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
the American Federation of Labor, admitting to membership em-
ployees of the Company.
International Woodworkers of America, is a labor organization affili-
ated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to
membership employees of the Company.
Operating Engineers Local No. 3, of the International Union of
Operating Engineers, is a labor organization affiliated with the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor, admitting to membership employees of the
Company. -
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
Shortly before May 20, 1943, the Sawmill Workers requested that
the Company recognize it as exclusive ' bargaining representative of
-all employees of the Company, other than clerical and supervisory
employees, at its Chester, California, operations. The Company de-
clined to recognize the Sawmill Workers until certified by the Board.
A statement of the Field Examiner, together with other evidence
'introduced at the hearing, indicates that the Sawmill Workers, and
the Woodworkers each represents a substantial number of employees
in the unit hereinafter found appropriate.'
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the
representation of employees of the Company within the meaning of
Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Sawmill Workers, the Company, and the Woodworkers all
contend that the appropriate unit should be defined on an industrial
basis and include employees in both woods and mill operations, with-
out reference to craft distinctions. On the other hand, the Teamsters
9 From the report of the Field Examiner and that of the Trial Examiner concerning
claims of authorization submitted by t'ie several unions involved , it appears that the
Sawmill workers has presented a total of 150 application -for-membership cards dated be-
tween September 1942 and October 1943 ,, of which 68 bear the apparently genuine signa-
tures of persons whose names are on the Company pay roll for November 1 , 1943 , containing
167 names within the unit claimed appropriate by the SaNsmill workers; that the Wood-
workers has presented a total of 101 application -foi-membership cards dated between May
and October 1943, of which 44 bear the apparently genuine signatures of persons whose
names are on the pay roll of November 1, 1943 , containing approximately 155 names within
the unit claimed appropriate by the Woodworkers ; that with respect to the Operating
Engineers and the Teamsteis , who claim units separate from the industrial unit sought by
both the Sawmill Workers and Woodworkers, the Operating Engineers has submitted 11
application -for-membership cards dated May 20, 1943, while the Teamsters has submitted
8 applications for membership dated June 24, 1943 ; that of the cards submitted by 'the
Operating Engineers , 10 bear the apparently genuine signatures of persons whose names
are on the pay roll of November 1 , 1943 , containing 24 names within the unit claimed
appropriate by the Operating Engineers ; that of the cards submitted by the Teamsters, 5
bear the apparently genuine signatures of persons whose names are on the pay roll of
November 1, 1943, containing 13 names within the unit claimed appropriate by the
Teamsters.
COLLINS PINE COMPANY 673•
and the Operating Engineers urge the recognition of separate-units
for the members of their respective crafts. In the one case, the
Teamsters seeks an appropriate unit for the drivers of automotive
equipment and related employees, both in the woods and at the mill
yard.3 In the other, the Operating Engineers seeks an appropriate
unit for the operators of miscellaneous mechanical equipment both
in the woods and in and about the mill.'
The Company's operations include not only the cutting of timber
and the conversion thereof into lumber, but also a number of incidental
operations such as the building of roads in the woods, the trucking
of logs from the woods to the sawmill and the operation of a private
railroad in connection with the delivery of finished lumber from the
mill siding to the main line of the nearest public carrier. Iri all these
operations the Company maintains a highly integrated organization
in which the various groups of employees concerned carry on the,,
Company's primary function of the production and distribution of
lumber. In similar cases the Board generally has held that an in-
dustrial unit is the more appropriate unit for collective bargaining.5
The Teamsters and the Operating Engineers, however, maintain that
the present facts with regard to the employees whom they claim to
represent are such that separate units should be established, or at
least that such employees should be permitted to determine for them-
selves whether they should be represented in a separate unit or as part
of the larger industrial group.
With respect to the craft unit claimed by the Teamsters, it appears
that while the truck drivers and carrier operators for whom the
Teamsters seeks separate representation include to a large extent
general sawmill and woods employees who have been trained by the
Company to drive automotive equipment,° the operators of such
equipment generally perform their own type of work and are trans-
ferred to other sawmill operations only in the event of a breakdown
a The Teamsters claims a unit consisting of the logging truck drivers , the carrier opera-
tors in the sawmill, the clump truck drivers, the lift truck driver, carried on the pay roll
as a carrier driver, and the truck service man in the machine shop.
4 The Operating Engineers claims a unit consisting of the bulldozer operators , shovel
operator, motor patrol operator, cat drivers, the log loader operators and the cat greaser
and service man, all in the woods operation , together with the unloader winch operator at
the mill, the powerhouse operators and firemen , the railroad conductor , engineer , and fire-
man, two welders, a truck mechanic foreman, a truck mechanic, a cat mechanic, and a
utility man in the mill carried on the pay roll as "cat driver, yard maintenance "
5 See Matter of Weyerhaeuser Timber Company, Longview Branch, 29 N. L R B 571 ;
Matter of Long Bell Lumber Company, 29 N L. R. B. 586; Matter of Polson Logging Com-
pany, 31 N. L. It. B 328.
1The evidence discloses that of the six log truck drivers presently employed by the
Company, five were formerly employed in some other lower paid woods classification. As
a general rule, the majority of the employees driving motor equipment have been broken
in on other jobs prior to becoming truck or carrier operators, largely as the result of the
necessity of acquiring some knowledge of lumber in addition fo truck diiving ability
567900-44-vol 54-44
+674 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
in their equipment 7 or a closing of the logging operations due to
weather conditions." On the other hand, both truck and carrier
drivers work in close association with the logging and sawmill work-
ers, have no separate department or supervision, and are divided be-
tween the woods and plant operations.9
Similarly, with respect to the employees claimed as the basis of a
craft unit by the Operating Engineers, the record discloses that while
certain employees, particularly those in the powerhouse, are to a
certain extent segregated from the other production employees,10 the
several groups for whom the Operating Engineers seeks a separate
unit are as a general rule scattered throughout the plant and woods
operations under varied supervision," and are not easily distinguish-
able either from the ordinary lumber production employees or the
-drivers of the automotive equipment claimed by the Teamsters as a
separate craft unit.12 Moreover, it appears that in common with em-
ployees claimed by the Teamsters, the employees in the unit proposed
by the Operating Engineers have not been organized exclusively by a
craft organization but are in many instances members of either the
' The lift truck or carrier operators have been asked to do other work on about a dozen
-occasions in the past 6 months as the result of breakdowns in their equipment Of such
'breakdowns , the majority have been of a minor nature necessitating only a few hours to
- make the required repairs.
8 The transfer of logging truck drivers to other lower paid work during seasonal shut-
- downs has in the past been accepted by about half of the truck drivers employed by the
Company . The remainder have chosen to remain in the occupation of truck driving and
have sought transfer to other operations
° Of the employees claimed by the Teamsters , the dump truck drivers in the woods are
under the supervision of the road foreman and logging superintendent , while the dump
-truck drivei'at the mill works under the yard foreman and mill superintendent . The log
truck drivers work directly under the logging superintendent , while the truck service man
works under the truck mechanic foreman ( claimed by the Operating Engineers ) and the
-logging superintendent . The carrier operators at the mill are supervised by different
foremen.
10 Although the powerhouse employees as such are generally confined to the powerhouse,
-they have opportunity to associate with employees from other departments who come into
-the powerhouse for the purpose of making repairs
ii Of the employees claimed by the Operating Engineers , the railroad crew is subject to
-the supervision of the shipping superintendent ; the powerhouse operators and foremen are
-supervised by the chief engineer, and over him by the mill superintendent ; the combination
blacksmith and welder is supervised by the machine shop foreman , and over him, by the
mill superintendent ; the cat diiver in yard maintenance at the mill is under the supervision
-of the cat repair foreman , and through him, under the logging superintendent ; the truck
mechanic foreman and the truck mechanic whom he supervises , come under the general
-supervision of the logging superintendent ; the shovel operator , motor patrol operator, and
bulldozer operators cone under the supervision of the road foreman , and over him, under
-the logging superintendent ; the bulldozer operators when driving skidding cats come
under the supervision of the woods boss , and over him , the logging superintendent who also
has supervision over the loader operator at the landing in the woods , and over the unload-
ing winch operator who works at the pond near the mill
11 In addition to the similarity existing in many instances between the work of the various
employees claimed by the Teamsters and the Operating Engineers, it appears that a number
of employees claimed by the latter organization , particularly those engaged in railroad
operations , regularly spend a considerable portion of their time doing ordinary lumber
work, during which period they are indistinguishable from the regular lumber production
.employees.
COLLINS PINE COMPANY 675
Sawmill Workers or the Woodworkersl3 Finally, the record dis-
,closes that the history of collective bargaining in the industry
generally on the part of both the Teamsters and the Operating En-
gineers, does not support the-type of unit sought by either craft
organization."
Under the circumstances, we are of the opinion and find that the
units sought to be established by the Teamsters and the Operating
Engineers in the present instance are not appropriate for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining,15 and that an industrial unit, as sought
by the Woodworkers and the Sawmill Workers, is the appropriate
bargaining unit.
There remains for consideration the question of including or ex-
cluding from the industrial unit certain groups of employees or
individuals as to whom the parties are in disagreement. The disputed
categories consist of log scales and graders, and an individual re-
ferred to as a truck mechanic foreman. The several groups and per-
sons will be discussed in the order mentioned.
Log scalers and graders
The Company would exclude as confidential employees two log
scalers and graders who work on the log deck in the sawmill. The
record discloses that in addition to bringing the logs into the mill and
bucking them to proper length these men scale the logs in order to
determine their board feet and grade them according to standards of
logging grades. The log scaling operation is largely mechanical but
the grading operation requires skill and judgment . The individual
log scaler and grader is paid jointly , by the Company and another
18 The record discloses that with respect to the 13 employees in the unit claimed by the
Teamstets , the Sawmill Workers presented evidence of authorizations from 8 employees ;
the Woodworkers authorizations from 2 employees , and the Teamsters authorizations from
5 employees , respectively . Of this group , it appears that 3 employees classified as truck
drivers signed authorizations for both the Teamsters and the , Sawmill Workers Similarly,
in the unit of 24 employees claimed by the Operating Engineers , the Sawmill Workers
presented authorizations for 10 employees, the Woodworkers for 1 employee, and the
Engineers for 10 employees , respectively . Of this latter group , 1 employee signed cards for
both the Sawmill Workers and the Engineers , while 1 other employee signed cards for both
the Woodworkers and the Engineers. ,
14 While the Teamsters has been engaged for several years in the organization of truck
drivers in the lumber industry , its organizational activities to date have been mainly with
respect to log truck drivers in woods operations as distinguished from carrier operators
engaged in transporting lumber during the process of manufacture in and about the mill
premises . So far as the Operating Engineers is concerned , it appears that while it has
some members among the woods crews of several concerns , it has few , if any, contracts on
behalf of such members . Moreover, the only witness who appeared on behalf of the
Operating Engineers admitted that lie knew of no places within the lumber industry where
the Operating Engineers represented powerhouse employees or employees working at saw-
mills or railroads connected therewith.
15 See Matter of Long Bell Lumber Co ., 31 N. L . R. B. 322; Matter of Poison Logging
Company, 31 N. L. it. B. 328; Matter of Columbia River Packers Association, 52
N. L. It. B 68.
676 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
concern from which the Company purchases its logs. He is also super-
vised jointly by the chief forester of the other concern and the
Company's plant superintendent, and is paid jointly by the two com-
panies. However, he is carried only on the pay roll of the Company,
which is reimbursed by the other concern for half of his salary. The
log deck scaler and grader makes a record of the grade and the board
foot content of the logs, and on the basis of his grading and scaling
is determined the amount of the purchase price which the Company
pays for the logs. While the Company claims that this grading,
information obtained by the log deck scaler and grader is confidential,
it makes no effect to keep such information secret. There is, moreover,
no claim that the log scaler and grader, whose wage is considerably
less than that of the highest paid mill employee, has anything to do
with grievances or labor relations so far as the Company is concerned.
We find, accordingly, that the several log deck scalers and graders are
not confidential employees and shall include them within the appro-
priate unit."
The truck mechanic foreman
This individual whom the Woodworkers would exclude and the
Sawmill Workers include within the appropriate unit, is carried on the
pay roll as "truck mechanic foreman," but is in reality the senior truck
mechanic and leadman, responsible for the work of two employees, a
mechanic and a greaser. While the employee in question may not hire
or discharge employees, he may recommend hiring or discharging and
his recommendation has been given considerable weight. On the other
hand, he earns the same amount as a truck driver and considerably
less than many other non-supervisory employees of the Company.
Moreover, his power to recommend appears limited to the greaser only.
We are of the opinion and find, in view of his limited authority, hiss
comparatively moderate hourly wage, and the fact that he spends
all of his time working and not supervising, that the truck mechanic
foreman has no substantial supervisory duties but is merely a journey-
man machinist who at times directs and is assisted by helpers according
to a custom long prevailing in the machinist craft 17 We shall,
accordingly, include the truck mechanic foreman within the unit here-
inafter found appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining.
We find that all employees of the Company at its Chester, Cali-
fornia, operations, including log deck scalers and graders, the truck
mechanic foreman, watchmen,18 and cook house employees, but exclud-
ing officials, office and clerical employees, the chateau housekeeper
19 See Matter of Potlatch Forests Inc ., 52 N. L B. B 1377.
17 See Matter of The Arundel Corporation, 53 N. L. R. B 466
18 The watchmen concerned perform the duties of ordinary watchmen and are neither
armed nor militarized in any respect.
COLLINS PINE COMPANY 677
and helper,19 and all supervisory employees with authority to hire,
promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the,
status of employees, or effectively recommend suchaction,20 constitute
a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within
the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We find that the question concerning representation which has
arisen, can best be resolved by means of an election by secret ballot
among the employees in the appropriate unit who were employed
during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of the
Direction of Election herein, subject to the limitations and additions
set forth in the Direction.
The Sawmill Workers urges that certain carpenters employed by
the Company in construction work now nearing completion should be
found eligible to vote in the election. The Woodworkers objects-to
the extension of eligibility to such employees as are about to be laid
off by the Company, though it would agree to such extension with
respect to any carpenters who are to remain as permanent employees
of the Company. While the Company does not yet know which car-
penters will remain and which will leave, the plant superintendent
stated at the hearing that he had interviewed some of the carpenters
and that it was his intention to interview the balance of them in order
to ascertain whether or not they would accept other employment which
he intended to offer them. Since it appears that all the carpenters
remaining on the Company's pay roll at the time of the election will
have indicated their intention of accepting other employment or leav-
ing the Company's employ, we find eligible to vote all carpenters who,
by the date of the election, have accepted or indicated their intention
to accept otheremployment with the Company.
The Sawmill Workers and the Woodworkers request that they be
designated on the ballot as "Lumber and Sawmill Workers Local
Union No. 3074, A. F. of L." and "International Woodworkers of
America, C. I. 0.", respectively. These requests are hereby granted.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor
Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations
' All parties agreed at the hearing that the chateau housekeeper and helper who are
employed in the "chateau ," the private residence of the owner of the Company , should be
excluded from the appropriate unit.
20 The parties stipulated , and we find that the following persons should be excluded as
supervisory employees : the general manager, the plant logging and shipping superintendent,
two sawmill foremen, the chief engineer , the buyer ( classified on the pay roll as a ware-
houseman ), the yard foreman , the woods boss, the bull buck, the road foreman, the cat
repair foreman , and the stewardess in charge of the cook house.
I
678 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Rela-
tions Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, it is hereby
DIRCTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representatives
for the purposes of collective bargaining with Collins Pine Company,.
Chester, California , an election by secret ballot shall be conducted 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 Twentieth Region, acting in this matter as agent for
the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article III, Sec-
tions 10 and 11, of said Rules and Regulations , among the employees.
in the unit found appropriate in Section IV, above, who were em-
ployed 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 em-
ployees who have since quit or been discharged for cause and have,
not been rehired or reinstated prior to the date of the election, to de-
termine whether they desire to be represented by Lumber and
Sawmill Workers Local Union No. 3074, A. F. of L., or by Interna-
tional Woodworkers of America , C. 1. 0., for the purposes of collective
bargaining, or by neither.,
ORDER
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petition be, and it hereby is, dismissed,
insofar as it alleges that a question affecting commerce has arisen con-
cerning the representation of employees of Almanor Railroad
Company.