Fayette Hardwood Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 18, 1947

74 N.L.R.B. 566 (N.L.R.B. 1947)

In the Matter of C. M. GO OCH, D/B/A FAYETTE HARDWOOD COMPANY,
EMPLOYER and INTERNATIONAL WOODWORKERS OF AMERICA, CIO,
PETITIONER
Case No. 15-R-2137.-Decided July 18,1947
Mr. Robert L. McKnight, of Memphis, Tenn., Mr. R. S. Cockro f t,
of Fayette, Miss., for the Employer.
Messrs. D. W. Starnes and G. H. Biggs, Jr., both of Jackson, Miss.,
for the Petitioner.
Mr. Benjamin B. Lipton, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
Upon a petition duly filed, the National Labor Relations Board, on
March 27, 1947, conducted a prehearing election among employees of
the Employer in the alleged appropriate unit, to determine whether
or not they desired to be represented by the Petitioner for the purposes
of collective bargaining.
At the close of the election the parties were furnished a Tally of
Ballots . The Tally shows that there were 45 eligible voters, and that
44 of the eligible voters cast ballots, of which 35 were for and 9 against
the Petitioner.
Thereafter, a hearing was held at Jackson, Mississippi, on June 5,
1947, before Fred J. Cassibry, hearing officer. The hearing officer's
rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are
hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations
Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER
C. M. Gooch, doing business as Fayette Hardwood Company, oper-
ates a sawmill at Fayette, Mississippi, where it is engaged in the manu-
facture of hardwood lumber. During the past 6 months, the Employer
74 N. L. R. B., No. 109.
566
FAYETTE HARDWOOD COMPANY 567
used over 1 million feet of hardwood logs, all of which were obtained
in the State of Mississippi. During the same period, the Employer
sold over 1 million feet of lumber valued in excess of $60,000, of which
90 percent was shipped to 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 ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
The Petitioner is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress
of Industrial Organizations , claiming to represent employees of the
Employer.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERN ING REPRESENTATION
The Employer refuses to recognize the Petitioner as the exclu-
sive bargaining representative of employees of the Employer until the
Petitioner has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit.
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 UNIT
The parties stipulated that the bargaining unit stated in the notice
of the prehearing election is appropriate.' The Employer, however,
seeks to exclude from the appropriate unit certain allegedly super-
visory employees and certain other employees who will be hired as
apprentices in the near future and trained to assume supervisory
positions.2 Upon the present record, we are unable, nor is it neces-
sary, to determine the propriety of including the latter group.3 If,
after such employees are hired, a dispute arises as to their representa-
tion by the Petitioner, we will then entertain a motion to determine
whether these apprentices are to be included or excluded from the
appropriate unit.4
The Employer alleges that the lumber inspector and yard fore-
man, the saw filer, the sawyer, and the mill foreman are supervisory
and, therefore, should be excluded from the bargaining unit. The
record shows that these employees possess authority to hire and dis-
charge employees under their direction. Accordingly, we shall ex-
clude them from the appropriate unit.'
'All production and maintenance employees , including watchmen and firemen, but
excluding woods crew , office and clerical employees , and supervisors
2 Viz , lumber inspector and yard foreman , saw filer, sawyer , and mill foreman.
8 Matter of Firestone Tire a Rubber Company, 69 N. L. R. B. 634, 637 ; Matter of Curtiss-
Wright Corporation, 63 N L R. B. 207, 213.
Cf Matter of Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company, 71 N. L R. B 664.
568 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
We find that all production and maintenance employees at the Em-
ployer's Fayette, Mississippi, sawmill, including watchmen and fire-
men, but excluding office and clerical employees, woods crew, lumber
inspector and yard foreman, saw filer, sawyer, mill foreman, and all
other supervisory employees, 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
The results of the election show that the Petitioner has been se-
lected as the exclusive bargaining representative of the employees in
the appropriate unit. We shall, therefore, certify it as such.
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that International Woodworkers of .Amer-
ica, CIO, has been designated and selected by a majority of the em-
ployees of the Employer in the unit found appropriate in Section
IV, above, as their representative for the purposes of collective bar-
gaining, and that, pursuant to Section 9 (a) of the Act, the said or-
ganization is the exclusive representative of all such employees for the
purposes of collective bargaining with respect to rates of pay, wages,
hours of employment, and other conditions of employment.
CHAIRMAN HERZOG took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Certification of Representatives.