Joint Employers at the Port of Abbeville, Louisiana

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 23, 1969

175 N.L.R.B. 502 (N.L.R.B. 1969)

502 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
(1) Joint Employers at the Port of Abbeville,
Louisiana , including , Sea Coast Products, Inc.,
Sea Coast I, Inc ., Sea Coast II, Inc ., Sea Coast
III, Inc ., Sea Coast IV, Inc ., Sea Coast V, Inc.,
Sea Coast VI, Inc.; (2) Joint Employers at the
Port of Cameron , Louisiana, including, Gulf
Menhaden Company, Dogfish , Inc., Dolphin
Fishing Corp ., Whitefish , Inc., Angelfish, Inc.,
Porpoise Fishing Corp., Sunfish , Inc., Mako
Fishing Corp ., Halibut , Inc.; (3 ) Joint Employers
at the Port of Morgan City, Louisiana , including
Fish Meal Company of Maryland , Inc., Southern
Seas Fishing Corp ., Cross Wind Fishing Corp.,
High Tide Fishing Corp ., Gulf Stream Fishing
Corp ., Seaside Fishing Corp., Wild Waves, Inc.,
Alewise , Inc., Ocean Spray Fishing Corp.; (4)
Joint Employers at the Port of Moss Point,
Mississippi , including , Fish Meal Company of
Moss Point , Mississippi , White Sand Fishing
Corp., Sandy Bottom, Inc., West Wind Fishing
Corp., Deep Water Fishing Corp., Northeastern
Fishing Corp ., North Wind Fishing Corp., South
Wind Fishing Corp ., East Wind Fishing Corp.; (5)
Joint Employers at the Port of Sabine Pass,
Texas, including , Texas Menhaden Company,
Bonita Fishing Corp ., Catfish , Inc., Grayling, Inc.,
Piranha, Inc., Marlin , Inc., Sculpin, Inc., Remora,
Inc., Turbot , Inc., Skate Fishing Corp ., Sea Coast
Fishing Corp. and Amalgamated Meat Cutters and
Butcher Workmen of North America , AFL-CIO,
Petitioner . Case 15-RC-3967
April 23, 1969
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF
ELECTIONS
BY CHAIRMAN MCCULLOCH AND MEMBERS
JENKINS AND ZAGORIA
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9(c) of
the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, a
hearing was held before James M. Pratt, a Hearing
Officer of the National Labor Relations Board.
Following the close of the hearing the Regional
Director for Region 15 issued an Order transferring
the case to the Board for decision. Thereafter, the
Employers' filed a brief with the Board.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the
National Labor Relations Board has delegated its
powers in connection with these cases to a three-
member panel.
The Board has reviewed the Hearing Officer's
rulings made at the hearing and finds that they are
free from prejudicial error. The rulings are hereby
affirmed.
Upon the entire record in this case, including the
brief filed by the Employers, the Board finds:
1. The Employers are engaged in commerce
within the meaning of the Act, and it will effectuate
the policies of the Act to assert jurisdiction herein.
2. The Petitioner is a labor organization claiming
to represent certain employees of the Employers.
3. Questions affecting commerce exist concerning
the representation of certain employees of the
Employers within the meaning of Section 9(c)(1)
and Section 2(6) and (7) of the Act.
4. Sea Coast Products, Inc.; Gulf Menhaden
Company; Fish Meal Company of Maryland, Inc.;
Fish Meal Company of Moss Point, Mississippi,
and Texas Menhaden Company are fish processing
companies located, respectively, at the Gulf Coast
ports of Abbeville, Cameron, and Morgan City,
Louisiana; Moss Point, Mississippi, and Sabine
Pass, Texas. At each of the named ports there are
also located a number of fishing companies, herein
called the Joint Employers, whose catch of
menhaden is sold to the processing companies for
the production of oil and high protein solids. The
Joint Employers, whose sea-going employees are the
object of the instant petition, operate owned or
leased fishing boats, usually of a size in excess of
300 tons, during a season which generally extends
from late April to late October of each year.' The
boats are directed to specific fishing grounds by
aerial spotters, and the actual fishing is
accomplished through the use of nets put out by two
purse boats dispatched from each fishing boat. In
addition to a number of fishermen and a cook, each
fishing boat is crewed by a captain, first mate, chief
engineer, and pilot. Most of the fishing boats also
have a second engineer, some have a second pilot,
and a limited number have a second mate. All
seagoing personnel are compensated on the basis of
shares of the catch.
The parties have stipulated, and we find, that 5
separate units composed of all seagoing employees
of the Joint Employers engaged in the menhaden
fishing industry operating out of the Gulf Coast
ports of Abbeville, Cameron, and Morgan City,
Louisiana; Moss Point, Mississippi, and Sabine
Pass, Texas, are units appropriate for the purposes
of collective bargaining. We further find, in accord
with the stipulation of the parties, that each unit
should exclude all other employees, captains, guards,
and supervisors, as defined in the Act.
The names of the Employers appearing in the caption herein appear as
amended at the hearing and in accordance with the stipulation of the
parties to the appropriateness of five separate bargaining units, each
composed of the employees of Joint Employers operating out of their
respective Gulf Coast ports The Employers were identified in the petition
and other formal papers by the single name of Smith Research and
Development Co , Inc
'The record reveals that not all of the fishing companies operate during
every season
`The Petitioner contends, and the Joint Employers concede, that second
mates, a classification seldom employed on the fishing boats, should be
incldded in the bargaining units in accordance with the past history of
bargaining In the absence of any evidence that individuals employed as
second mates possess or exercise supervisory authority, we shall , as agreed
by the parties, include them in the units
175 NLRB No. 84
JOINT EMPLOYERS AT THE PORT 503
5. Notwithstanding their stipulation to the units
found appropriate above, the parties are in dispute
concerning the unit placement and eligibility of first
mates, chief engineers, and pilots assigned to each
fishing boat, and the second engineers, and second
pilots. As to all the foregoing classifications, except
that of second engineer, the Joint Employers,
contrary to the Petitioner, contend that individuals
in these positions possess and exercise supervisory
authority, and that by reason of different levels of
compensation, employment benefits and working
conditions the first mates, chief and second
engineers, and pilots and second pilots enjoy little or
no community of interest with employees in the
bargaining units.
Bargaining history
The record reveals that beginning in 1964 consent
elections were conducted as a result of which Local
300 of the Petitioner was certified as the
collective-bargaining representative in single-boat
units at the ports of Morgan City and Cameron,
Louisiana; Moss Point, Mississippi, and Sabine
Pass, Texas. Collective-bargaining agreements were
negotiated in subsequent years, the last of which
expired in 1967. In addition, at the port of
Abbeville, Louisiana, certain single boat units were
represented by the Petitioner through the end of the
1968 season. In all instances the single-boat units
included fisherman, cooks, and such second mates
as were employed, but excluded captains, first
mates, pilots, and chief and second engineers.
The first mates
equipment. The chief engineers ' work in conjunction
with these responsibilities is carried out in areas
generally apart from those occupied by the rest of
the crew. The chief engineers have authority, which
they have exercised, to hire, responsibly direct, and
discharge the second engineers . The latter authority,
albeit limited to only one individual, is sufficient to
constitute the chief engineers as supervisors within
the meaning of the Act.' We shall, accordingly,
exclude the chief engineers from the bargaining
units.
The second engineers
The second engineers are also accorded status as
officers of the fishing boats, and they occupy
sleeping and eating quarters separate from other
members of the crew. The second engineers are
compensated at rates 1 1/2 to 2 times those
accorded the fisherman. Like their senior
counterparts . the second engineers are concerned
with the proper functioning of the fishing boats and
generally work in areas separate from those utilized
by other members of the crew. The second engineers
are hired and supervised directly by the chief
engineers, and in some instances they are licensed.
On the basis of foregoing, and all the pertinent
evidence in the record, we find, in accord with the
past history of bargaining, that the second engineers
should be excluded from the bargaining units on
grounds that their employment interests and
working conditions are more clearly aligned with the
chief engineers and other officers. The second
engineers are, therefore, excluded from the
bargaining units.
The parties stipulated during the course of the
hearing that all first mates have authority to hire
employees on the fishing boats to which they are
assigned. The evidence reveals that in some
instances the authority of the first mates includes
the right to hire the entire fishing boat crew. The
possession and exercise of authority to hire clearly
requires the finding that the first mates are
supervisors, and, accordingly, the first mates are
excluded from the units.
The chief engineers
The chief engineer , like the other classifications
the Joint Employers would exclude from the units, is
classed as an officer. On most fishing boats the chief
engineers and other officers eat and sleep in quarters
apart from other members of the crew, and they are
compensated at rates substantially in excess of those
accorded fishermen. The chief engineers are
responsible for the mechanical operations of the
fishing boats, including main engines , the engines of
the purse boats, and the refrigeration and pumping
The pilots
The pilots, who also have status as officers of the
fishing boats, are in complete control of the larger
vessel and those crew members who remain aboard
while the purse boats, under the direction of the
captain and the first mate, are actually engaged in
fishing operations. In the absence of the captain for
an entire trip, the pilot and first mate share
command of the vessel. On some fishing boats the
captains accord authority to their pilots to hire and
discharge second pilots.. The pilots share quarters on
most boats with other officers, they are usually
licensed by the Coast Guard, their compensation is
more than twice that received by employees in the
bargaining unit , and they are compensated by a
year-end bonus higher than that of the fishermen.
We find that in view of their duties and
responsibilities for the operation of the fishing boats
in the absence of the captains, and because their
interests are more clearly aligned with the other
officers excluded from the unit, all pilots should be
excluded from the bargaining units.
'No party to this proceeding has raised a contract bar issue . 'Midwest Towing Co., Inc., 151 NLRB 658.
504 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
The second pilots
With respect to the status of the second pilots, the
record is limited both as to their numbers and their
duties, functions, and responsibilities. While the
second pilots appear generally to possess no direct
supervisory authority over crew members, the record
is not clear as to when or under what conditions
they substitute for the pilot, or engage in fishing
operations. Similarly, the quarters and mess
facilities occupied by the second pilots appear to
vary from boat to boat. Although the second pilots
have been included in the single-boat bargaining
units previously represented by the Petitioner, we
find that the record herein is insufficient to allow
any finding to be made concerning their status.
Accordingly, we shall direct that the second pilots
be permitted to vote subject to challenge.
On the basis of the foregoing, we find that the
following 5 separate units constitute units
appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining
within the meaning of Section 9(b) of the Act:
All sea-going employees of the Joint Employers,
consisting of Sea Coast Products, Inc.; Sea Coast
I,Inc.; Sea Coast II, Inc.; Sea Coast III, Inc.; Sea
Coast IV, Inc.; Sea Coast V, Inc. and Sea Coast
VI, Inc. engaged in fishing operations out of the
Port of Abbeville, Louisiana, including second
mates; but excluding all employees engaged in
on-shore employment, captains, first mates, chief
and second engineers, pilots, guards and
supervisors as defined in the Act.
All sea-going employees of the Joint Employers,
consisting of Gulf Menhaden Company; Dogfish,
Inc.; Dolphin Fishing Corp.; Whitefish, Inc.;
Angelfish, Inc.; Porpoise Fishing Corp.; Sunfish,
Inc.; Mako Fishing Corp.; and Halibut, Inc.
engaged in fishing operations out of the Port of
Cameron, Louisiana, including second mates; but
excluding all. employees engaged in on-shore
employment, captains, first mates, chief and
second engineers, pilots, guards and supervisors as
defined in. the Act.
All sea-going employees of the Joint Employers,
consisting of Fish Meal Company of Maryland,
Inc.; Southern Seas Fishing Corp.; Cross Wind
Fishing Corp.; High Tide Fishing Corp:; Gulf
Stream Fishing Corp.; Seaside Fishing Corp.; Wild
Waves, Inc.; Alewise, Inc. and Ocean Spray
Fishing Corp.; engaged in fishing operations out of
the Port of Morgan City, Louisiana, including
second mates; but excluding all employees
engaged in on-shore employment, captains, first
mates, chief and second engineers, pilots, guards
and supervisors as defined in the Act.
All sea-going employees of the Joint Employers,
consisting of Fish Meal Company of Moss Point,
Mississippi; White Sand Fishing Corp.; Sandy
Bottom, Inc.; West Wind Fishing Corp; Deep
Water Fishing Corp.; Northeastern Fishing Corp.;
North Wind Fishing Corp.; South Wind Fishing
Corp. and East Wind Fishing Corp. engaged in
fishing operations out of the Port of Moss Point,
Mississippi, including second mates; but excluding
all employees engaged in on-shore employment,
captains, first mates, chief and second engineers,
pilots, guards and supervisors as defined in the
Act.
All sea-going employees of the Joint Employers,
consisting of Texas Menhaden Company; Bonita
Fishing Corp.; Catfish, Inc.; Grayling, Inc.;
Piranha, Inc; Marlin, Inc.; Sculpin, Inc.; Remora,
Inc.; Turbot, Inc.; Skate Fishing Corp. and Sea
Coast Fishing Corp. engaged in fishing operations
out of the Port of Sabine Pass, Texas, including
second mates, but excluding all employees
engaged in on-shore employment, captains first
mates, chief and second engineers , pilots, guards
and supervisors as defined in the Act.
[Direction of Elections omitted from
publication.]
The Employers employ employees , in the units found herein to be
appropriate , on a seasonal basis only. The season runs each year from late
April to late October, the peak of employment being first reached about
the Ist of May . In addition, these employees spend much of their time
during the season out at sea . Accordingly , we have left it to the Regional
Director to determine the dates on which the elections are to be held.
'Election eligibility lists, containing the names and addresses of all the
eligible voters, must be filed by the Employers with the Regional Director
for Region 15 within 7 days after the date of issuance of the Notice of
Elections by the Regional Director . The Regional Director shall make
these lists available to all the parties to the elections . No extension of time
to file these lists shall be granted by the Regional Director except in
extraordinary circumstances. Failure to comply with this requirement shall
be grounds for setting aside the elections whenever proper objections are
filed. Excelsior Underwear Inc.. 156 NLRB 1236.