J. O. Rhude and Gilbert Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 31, 1953

106 N.L.R.B. 536 (N.L.R.B. 1953)

536 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
of August 1953, it expects to have a representative complement
of about 4 employees in the Carpenters' proposed craft group
and about 19 employees in the maintenance department group.
The Carpenters submitted no showing of interest in support of
its motion to intervene. In these circumstances, we deny the
Carpenters' motion to intervene, without prejudice, however,
to its right to file a petition or petitions before the date of the
election herein directed, covering either or both of the above-
described groups of employees, supported by a proper showing
of interest. In such event, the employees so affected will be
permitted to vote subject to challenge pending processing of the
petitions by the Board.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.]
J. O. RHUDE AND GILBERT CORPORATION , a Joint Ven-
ture' and INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGI-
NEERS , LOCAL NO. 49, AFL, Petitioner
GILBERT CORPORATION and UNITED STEELWORKERS OF
AMERICA, CIO, Petitioner. Cases Nos. 18-RC-1940 and.
18-RC-1957. July 31, 1953
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
Upon separate petitions duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the
National Labor Relations Act, a consolidated hearing was held
before Clarence A. Meter, hearing officer. The hearing offi-
cer'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 these cases
to a three -member panel [Members Houston, Styles, and
Peterson].
Upon the entire record in these cases, the Board finds:
1. J. O. Rhude and Gilbert Corporation, a joint venture, and
Gilbert Corporation, which are hereinafter found to constitute
a single employer, are engaged in commerce within the mean-
ing of the Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent
certain employees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the
representation of employees of the Employer within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
1 The name of this Company appears in the caption as amended at the hearing
2 At the hearing, the Steelworkers, the Petitioner in 18-RC-1957, moved to dismiss the
petition of the Operating Engineers in 18-RC-1940, on the ground that the unit sought therein
was inappropriate . The hearing officer referred the motion to the Board For the reasons
stated in paragraph numbered 4, infra, the motion is denied
106 NLRB No. 100.
J. O. RHUDE AND GILBERT CORPORATION 537
4. The parties are in agreement that the appropriate unit
or units should include all production and maintenance em-
ployees. However they disagree as to the scope of the unit. In
18-RC-1940, the Operating Engineers seeks to represent the
employees at the Rhude and Gilbert operations in the Alworth
mine at Hibbing, Minnesota. In 18-RC-1957 the Steelworkers
seeks to represent in a single unit the employees at the
Alworth mine requested by the Operating Engineers, as well
as those at the Mary Ellen and Gilbert mines at Biwabik and
Gilbert, Minnesota, respectively, operated by Gilbert Corpora-
tion.' The companies are in agreement with the primary unit
sought by the Steelworkers. There is no history of bargaining
among the employees involved herein.
J. O. Rhude, an individual, and the Gilbert Corporation, are
joint lessees of the Alworth mine. J. O. Rhude furnishes the
necessary capital and the Gilbert Corporation supplies the
labor and equipment, manages and operates the mine. All
employees are generally hired by and are under the exclusive
control of the Gilbert Corporation. They are presently engaged
in stripping operations and expect actual mining operations to
start in the near future. The Gilbert Corporation operates
the Mary Ellen and Gilbert mines under separate contracts
with the leaseholders of the two properties. Operations at the
Mary Ellen mine consist mostly of stripping. At the Gilbert
mine the Employer is performing all the work, including the
stripping and shipping of ore.
The three mines are all under the common supervision and
control of the president of Gilbert Corporation. He has the
responsibility for establishing management functions, is prima-
rily responsible for operations, and establishes the laborpoli-
cies for all three mines. Under these circumstances, we find
that J. O. Rhude and Gilbert Corporation, a joint venture, and
Gilbert Corporation constitute a single employer within the
meaning of Section 2 (2) of the Act."
There are certain factors pre sent which indicate that a single
unit of employees at all three mines , as contended by the
Employer and the Steelworkers, might be appropriate for the
purposes of collective bargaining. For example, in addition
to the fact that all three are under the common supervision and
control of the president of Gilbert Corporation, the skills,
functions, job classifications, and conditions of employment
of the employees are substantially the same. Each mine has
the same hiring and discharging policy, uses the same wage-
rate structure, and provides the same reemployment rights for
employees inducted into the armed services. A single mine
safety program is applicable to all three and all use the same
type of equipment, which is exchanged between mines from
3Alternatively, the Steelworkers requests that "Globe" elections be conducted.
4See Coburn Catering Company, 100 NLRB 1133; Lloyd A. Fry Roofing Company and
Volney Felt Mills, Inc., 92 NLRB 1170; and South Georgia Pecan Shelling Company, 85
NLRB 591.
538 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
time to time as needed. The Gilbert Corporation maintains
some records pertaining to all three mines at its office in Gil-
bert where it has an employee who maintains social-security
and other tax records for all three mines. The Gilbert Corpora-
tion also maintains an electrician and a master mechanic at
Gilbert who perform all the necessary electrical and mechan-
ical work at all three mine s.5
On the other hand, the following factors, among others,
support the Operating Engineers' position that the employees
at the Alworth mine constitute a separate appropriate unit.
The Alworth mine is a jointventure and all checks for payments
are signed by Rhude-Gilbert agents. The three mines are
geographically separated.6 There is a separate supervisory
hierarchy headed by a mine superintendent at each mine who
has the authority to hire employees. Each mine maintains a
separate office with an office manager and mine clerk; keeps
its funds separate; maintains separate books, records, and bank
accounts; files separate tax returns; and separately orders
items of supply. In addition, temporary transfers of employees
between the three mines is infrequent, and the employees at
Alworth are not covered by the health and welfare plan shared
by the employees at the Mary Ellen and Gilbert mines. Finally,
there has been no bargaining history involving the Employer's
employees.?
Under these circumstances we shall make no final unit deter-
mination at this time, but shall be guided in part by the desires
of the employees as expressed in the elections hereinafter
directed. Accordingly, we shall direct that separate elections
be held among each of the following voting groups of the Em-
ployer's employees, excluding from each group office clerical
employees, guards, professional employees, and supervisors
as defined in the Act:
Group 1, all production and maintenance employees at the
Employer's Alworth mine at Hibbing, Minnesota; and group 2,
all production and maintenance employees at the Employer's
Mary Ellen and Gilbert mines at Biwabik and Gilbert, Minnesota,
respe ctively. 8
If a majority of the employees in voting group 1 select a
labor organization which is not selected by the employees in
voting group 2, the employees in voting group 1 will be deemed
to have indicated their desire to constitute a separate unit and
the Regional Director conducting the election is instructed to
issue a certification of representatives to the labor organization
selected by the employees in that group, which the Board, in
6These employees are transferred from one mine to another for 2 or 3 days at a time.
'The Mary Ellen and Gilbert mines are approximately 8 to 10 miles apart. The Alworth
mine is approximately 25 to 30 miles from the Gilbert mine.
?Contrary to the Steelworkers' contention, the bargaining pattern in the area on a division-
or company-wide basis , and the alleged benefits of such bargaining, do not preclude a sep-
arate unit at the Alworth mine.
6 The Operating Engineers has not indicated any desire to appear on the ballot in voting
group 2.
CALCOR CORPORATION 539
such circumstances, finds to be a separate unit appropriate
for collective-bargaining purposes. If a majority of the em-
ployees in voting group 2 also select a labor organization, the
Regional Director conducting the election is instructed to
issue a certification of representatives to the labor organiza-
tion selected by the employees in that group, which the Board
in such circumstances also finds to be a separate unit appro-
priate for collective bargaining purposes. However, if a
majority of the employees in both voting groups select the same
labor organization, they will be deemed to have indicated their
desire to constitute a single unit and the Regional Director
conducting the election is instructed to issue a certification
of representatives to the labor organization selected by the
employees in the two groups, which the Board in such circum-
stances finds to be a single unit y propriate for the purposes
of collective bargaining . If the employees ir, either or both
voting groups do not select a labor organization, the Regional
Director conducting the election is instructed to issue a cer-
tificate of results of election with respect to each such group
or groups.
[Text of Direction of Elections omitted from publication.]
CALCOR CORPORATION' and INTERNATIONAL UNION,
UNITED AUTOMOBILE, AIRCRAFT AND AGRICULTURAL
IMPLEMENT WORKERS OF AMERICA (UAW-CIO), Peti-
tioner. Case No. Zl-RC-2930. July 31, 1953
SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION AND
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
On May 27, 1953, pursuant to a Decision and Direction of
Election issued herein by the Board,2 an election by secret
ballot was conducted under the direction and supervision of
the Regional Director for the Twenty-first Region. Upon con-
clusion of the balloting a tally of ballots was issued and
served upon the parties hereto in accordance with the Rules
and Regulations of the Board.
The tally shows that of approximately 231 eligible voters,
211 voted. One hundred ten votes were cast for the Petitioner,
93 for the Intervenor, Local 548, Sheet Metal Workers Inter-
national Association, AFL, 7 for no union, and 1 was chal-
lenged. On May 28, 1953, the Intervenor filed detailed objections
to the conduct of the election, and moved that the election be set
aside. After-an investigation the Regional Director issued a
1Pursuant to advice of the Employer, the Board on May 19, 1953, ordered that the Em-
ployer's name be changed from "California Cornice Steel and Supply Corporation" to
"Calcor Corporation."
2 104 NLRB 787.
106 NLRB No. 92.