E. C. Olson Lumber Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Aug 24, 1953

106 N.L.R.B. 856 (N.L.R.B. 1953)

856 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
E. C. OLSON LUMBER COMPANY and INTERNATIONAL
UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS , LOCAL NO . 83, AFL,
Petitioner . Case No. 19-RC-1315. August 24, 1953
DECISION AND ORDER
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National
Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before E. R. Ormsbee,
hearing officer . The hearing officer ' s rulings made at the
hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby
affirmed.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the Act, the
Board has delegated its powers in connection with this case to
a three-member panel [Members Murdock , Styles, and Peter-
son].
Upon the entire record in this case , the Board finds:
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning
of the Act.
2. The labor organization involved claims to represent
employees of the Employer.
3. No question affecting commerce exists concerning the
representation of employees of the Employer within the mean-
ing of Section 9 ( c) (1) and Section 2 ( 6) and ( 7) of the Act, for
the following reasons:
The Petitioner seeks to sever a group of powerhouse em-
ployees, consisting of all engineers , firemen , and maintenance
employees at the boiler plant of the Employer . The Inter-
national Woodworkers of America , CIO, Local 10-100 and the
Employer contend that the only appropriate unit is the present
unit which includes all production and maintenance employees
of the entire plant.
The evidence shows that in 1941 the Employer ' s predecessor
recognized the Intervenor as the bargaining representative for
all production and maintenance employees , and that this
recognition has been continued by the present employer, since
it purchased the plant in 1946. The last contract was executed
in September 1952 and expired in April 1953 . Negotiations
for a new contract were in progress at the time of the hear-
ing.
The Employer is engaged in the manufacture of lumber. It is
well established in Board decisions that the only appropriate
unit in the lumber industry is a production and maintenance
unit; accordingly , the limited unit of powerhouse employees,
sought by the Petitioner , is not appropriate .' We shall therefore
dismiss the petition.
[The Board dismissed the petition.]
' Weyerhauser Timber Company , 87 NLRB 1076 , 1083; 88 NLRB 155; Simpson Logging
Company, 87 NLRB 375; Winton Lumber Company , et al., 79 NLRB 334; Nettleton Timber
Company , 87 NLRB 1319.
106 NLRB No. 139.
WAPO BROADCASTING, INCORPORATED 857
Member Peterson, concurring:
I concur in the dismissal of the petition herein, not because
of any possible agreement with my colleagues ' application of
the basic steel doctrines ' to the lumber industry , but for the
reasons fully set forth in my dissenting opinion in the Hamilton'
case. As the evidence shows there has been a substantial
bargaining history on a plantwide basis and in the absence of
other factors warranting severance from the established unit,
I agree that the powerhouse employees are not entitled to
separate representation.
2 See National Tube Company, 76 NLRB 1199.
3 W. C. Hamilton and Sons , 104 NLRB 627.
WAPO BROADCASTING, INCORPORATED and LOCAL UNION
NO. 662, INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRI-
CAL WORKERS , AFL, Petitioner . Case No. 10 -RC-2249.
August 24, 1953
SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION AND DIRECTION
Pursuant to the Decision and Direction of Election issued
herein on June 5, 1953 ,1 an election was conducted on July 2,
1953, under the direction and supervision of the Regional
Director for the Tenth Region , among the employees in the
unit heretofore found appropriate . At the close of the election,-
a tally of ballots was furnished each of the parties in accordance
with the Board ' s Rules and Regulations . The tally shows that 4
valid ballots were cast for the Petitioner , 2 valid ballots were
cast against the Petitioner , 3 ballots were challenged, and 1
ballot was void. No objections to the election were filed within
the time provided therefor.
As the challenged ballots were sufficient in number to affect
the results of the election , the Regional Director , acting pursu-
ant to the Board ' s Rules and Regulations , investigated the issues
raised by the challenges , and on July 10, 1953, issued his report
on election , challenged ballots, and recommendations to the
Board , recommending that the challenge to 1 ballot be sustained,
and that the challenges to 2 ballots be overruled and the ballots
opened and counted . On July 23, 1953, the.Employer filed ex-
ceptions to part of the Regional Director ' s report.
The Ballot of Thomas A. Brown
On or about March 1, 1953, Brown was discharged by the
Employer because he was involved in a salary garnishment pro -
ceeding. The Petitioner , however , secured Brown's reinstate-
ment by threat of a strike . On or ,about March 15, 1953, Brown
'Not reported in printed volumes of Board Decisions.
106 NLRB No. 137.