76 N.L.R.B. 1015 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

Kalamazoo Vegetable Parchment Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsMar 30, 1948

76 N.L.R.B. 1015 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

In the Matter of KALAMAZOO VEGETABLE PARCHMENT COMPANY, EM- PLOYER and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF FIREMEN AND OILERS, LOCAL 78, AFL, PETITIONER Case No. 7-R-2714.-Decided March 30, 1948 Mr. Robert A. Huston, of Kalamazoo, Mich., for the Employer. Messrs. Edward Ryan and John R. Harris, of Kalamazoo, Mich., for the Petitioner. Messrs. T. W. Bailey, Paul H. Storey, and Carl Winchell, of Kala- mazoo, Mich., for the Intervenor. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION Upon a petition duly filed, hearing in this case was held at Kala- mazoo, Michigan, on July 29, 1947, before Harold A. Cranefield, 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-man panel consisting of the undersigned Board Members.* Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER Kalamazoo Vegetable Parchment Company, a Michigan corporation with a plant in Parchment, Michigan, is engaged in the manufacture of paper and paper products. The Employer annually purchases more than $500,000 worth of raw materials from sources outside the State of Michigan. It annually ships more than $500,000 worth of finished products to out-of-State destinations. .Chairman Herzog and Members Reynolds and Murdock. 76 N. L . R. B., No. 148. 1015 1016 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD The Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED International Brotherhood of Firemen and Oilers, Local 78, herein called the Petitioner, is a labor organization affiliated with the Ameri- can Federation of Labor, claiming to represent employees of the Employer. International Brotherhood of Paper Makers, Local 323, herein called the Intervenor, is a labor organization affiliated with the Ameri- can Federation of Labor, claiming to represent employees of the Employer. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The Employer refuses to recognize the Petitioner as the exclusive bargaining representative of employees of the Employer until it has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit. We find that 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. IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT; THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES The Petitioner seeks a unit composed of the Employer's powerhouse employees. The Intervenor contends that the proposed unit is inap- propriate because the powerhouse employees in the past have been represented as a part of a production and maintenance unit. The Em- ployer takes no position on this issue. The powerhouse is physically separate from the Employer's manu- facturing operations and is under the separate supervision of a chief engineer. There are approximately 45 employees within the power- house, practically all of whom perform work of a skilled or semi- skilled nature. Their job classifications include turbine engineers, hoist engineers, powerhouse mechanics, first and second class, oilers, first, second, and third firemen, and helpers. Unlike the employees in the Employer's other departments, the powerhouse employees, with the exception of the mechanics, work on a rotating shift basis. There is no interchange of employees between the power plant and the other operations, although the employees in the maintenance and construc- tion department may, on occasion, assist the powerhouse employees when major repair work is necessary. It appears, therefore, that the powerhouse employees form a functionally coherent and homo- KALAMAZOO VEGETABLE PARCHMENT COMPANY 1017 ,geneous group, and that their establishment as a separate bargaining unit is feasible.' The record, however, shows that the powerhouse employees have been represented by the Intervenor since 1943, when it was designated as their bargaining representative as the result of a consent election 2 held among the Employer's production and maintenance employees.3 It does not appear, however, that the question of separate representa- tion for the powerhouse employees was raised in connection with the consent election. Nor, have these employees at any time been afforded an opportunity in a separate election to determine whether or not they desire representation apart from the production and maintenance em- ployees. The circumstance that, these employees have been repre- sented on a more comprehensive basis for several years, is not sufficient in itself to deny them the opportunity of deciding at the present time whether they desire to continue to be represented as part of the pro- duction and maintenance unit, or whether they desire to bargain as a separate unit." Under the circumstances, we shall make no unit determination pending the outcome of the election hereinafter directed. If, in this election, the employees select the Petitioner, they will be taken to have indicated their desire to constitute a separate bargaining unit. In accordance with the foregoing, we shall direct that an election be held among all employees working in the powerhouse of the Employ- er's Parchment, Michigan, plant, excluding supervisors, as defined in the amended Act. DIRECTION OF ELECTION 5 As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Kalamazoo Vegetable Parch- ment Company, Parchment, Michigan, 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 supervi- sion of the Regional Director for the Seventh Region, and subject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62, of National Labor Relations Board Rules 2 Matter of San Nap Pak Company , 73 N. L R. B . 719; Matter of The Standard Steel Spring Company, 75 N L. It, B. 471 (8-R-2603) Case No 7-R-1651 Since its selection as bargaining agent, the Intervenor has executed several bargaining contracts with the Employer , the last of which expired shortly before the petition herein was filed 4 Matter of E. I. duPont de Nemours if Company, Inc , 73 N L. It . B. 439 ; Matter of The American Fork if Hoe Company, 72 N. L. It. B 1025; Matter of E. W. Bliss Company, Toledo Works, 76 N L R B, 475. 5 Any participant in the election herein may, upon its prompt request to, and approval thereof by , the Regional Director , have its name removed from the ballot. 1018 DECISIONS, OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD ;and Regulations-Series 5, among'the employees in the voting group described in Section IV, above, who were employed during the pay- roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction, in- cluding employees who did not work during said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or temporarily laid off, but ex- cluding those employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause and have not been rehired or reinstated prior to the date of the election, and also excluding employees on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to determine whether they desire to be represented by International Brotherhood of Firemen and Oilers, Local 78, AFL, or by International Brotherhood of Paper Makers, Local 323, AFL, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.