Long-Bell Lumber Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 24, 1941

31 N.L.R.B. 322 (N.L.R.B. 1941)

In the Matter of LONG-BELL LUMBER COMPANY, RYDERWOOD BRANCH
and BROTHERHOOD OF LocoD1oTIVE FIREMEN & ENGINEMEN
In the Matter of LONG-BELL LUMBER COMPANY, RYDERWOOD BRANCH
and BROTHERHOOD OF RAILROAD TRAINMEN
Cases Nos. R-2231 and'R-2232.Decided April 24, 1941
Jurisdiction : lumber industry.
Practice and Procedure : petition dismissed where no appropriate units within
the scope of the petition.
Mr. David E. McLean, of Longview, Wash., for the Company.
Mr. C. W. Stevens, of Portland, Oreg., and Mr. S. C. Phillips, of
Oakland, Calif., for the Firemen and the Trainmen.
Mr. Wm. R. McDonald, of Ryderwood, Wash., for the I. W. -A.
Mr. Louis Cokin, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
ORDER
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On October 10, 1940, Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen & Engine-
men, herein called the Firemen, and Brotherhood of Railroad Train-
.men, herein called the Trainmen, filed with the Regional Director
for the Nineteenth Region (Seattle, Washington) separate petitions
alleging that questions affecting commerce had arisen concerning the
representation of employees of Long-Bell Lumber Company, Ryder-
wood Branch,' Ryderwood, Washington, herein called the Company,
and requesting investigations and certifications of representatives
pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49
Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On November 29, 1940, the National
Labor Relations Board, herein called the Board, acting pursuant to
Section 9 (c) of the Act, and Article III, Section 3, of National Labor
Relation's Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended,
ordered investigations in each of the cases,' and authorized the Re-
'Incorrectly designated in the formal papers as Long-Bell Lumber Company, Longview
Branch This was corrected by motion at the hearing.
2 Case No R-2231. initiated by the petition filed by the Firemen , and Case No . R-2232,
initiated by the petition filed by the Trainmen.
31 N. L. R. B., No. 51.
322
LONG-BELL LUMBER COMPANY 323
gional Director to conduct them and to provide for appropriate hear-
ings upon due notice. Oh November 30, 1940, the Board, acting
pursuant to Article III, Section 10 (c) (2), of National Labor Rela-
tions Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, ordered
that the two cases be consolidated.
On December 2, 1940, the Regional Director issued a notice of hear-
ing on the consolidated cases, copies of which were duly served upon
the Company, the Firemen, the Trainmen, International Woodwork-
ers of America, Local No. 3-34, herein called the I. W. A., a labor
organization claiming to represent employees directly affected by the
investigation, and Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union. On Decem-
ber 10, 1940, the Regional Director issued an order postponing hear-
ing. Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held on December 19, 1940,
at Ryderwood, Washington, before Patrick H. Walker, the Trial Ex-
aminer duly resignated by the Board. The Company, the Firemen,
the Trainmen, and the-1. W. A. were represented and participated in
the hearing. Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union did not appear at
the hearing. Full opportunity to be heard, to examine, and cross-
examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues
was afforded all parties. During the course of the hearing the Trial
Examiner made several rulings on motions and on objections to the
admission of evidence. The Board has reviewed the rulings of the
Trial Examiner and finds that no prejudicial errors were committed.
The rulings are hereby affirmed.
On January 10, 1941, the Company filed a brief and on January
28, 1941, the Firemen and the Trainmen filed a joint brief both of
which have been considered by the Board.
Pursuant to notice duly served upon all parties, a hearing for the
purpose of oral argument was held before the Board on January 28,
1941, at Washington, D. C. The Company, the Firemen, and the
Trainmen were represented by counsel and participated in the
argument.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
The Long-Bell Lumber Company, a Missouri corporation, with
principal offices at Kansas City, Missouri, manufactures, lumber,
lumber products and other commodities. It owns and operates prop-
erties in the States of Washington, California, Oregon, Texas, Ar-
kansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Missouri, and Oklahoma. This pro-
ceeding is concerned solely with its logging branch at Ryderwood,
Washington.
441843-42-vol. 31-22
324 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
- During 1939 the Company produced 135,551,928 feet of lumber a,,
its Ryderwood operations. For the most part, the trees or logs felled
by the logging employees at Ryderwood are transferred to Longview
by rail where they are manufactured by the Company into lumber at
the, sawmill. For the year 1939, the Longview sawmill turned out
372,533,002 feet of lumber. During the same period the Company
sold 355,477,292 feet of lumber from is Longview mill, 94 per cent
of which was shipped by it to points outside the State of Washington.
During 1939, the Ryderwood branch purchased $50,000 worth of fuel
oil from California, logging machinery valued at $84,000 from Wash-
ington and Oregon, and miscellaneous machinery and supplies valued
at $43,000 from Washington and Oregon. The record does not dis-
close the proportions of machinery and supplies purchased in Oregon.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen & Enginemen is a labor or-
ganization admitting to membership all engineers, firemen, hostlers,
and hostler helpers at the Ryderwood'Branch of the Company.
Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen is a labor organization admit-
ting' to membership all trainmen employed at the Ryderwood Branch
of the Company.
International Woodworkers of America, Local No. 3-34, is a labor
organization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations.
It admits to membership all employees at the Ryderwood Branch of
the Company, excluding office and supervisory employees.
III. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Company normally employs approximately 300 employees at
its Ryderwood Branch. 'The Firemen alleges,_that,all engineers, fire-
men, hostlers, and hostler helpers at the Ryderwood Branch of the
Company, totaling about 24 employees, constitute an appropriate
bargaining unit. The Trainmen alleges that all trainmen employed
at the Ryderwood Branch of the Company, about 17 in number, con-
stitute an appropriate bargaining unit. The I. W. A. and the Com
pany assert that all the employees at the Ryderwood Branch of the
Company, including engineers, firemen, hostlers, hostler helpers, and
trainmen, but excluding supervisory and clerical employees, consti-
tute an appropriate unit and urge the dismissal of the petitions
herein.
The Company is engaged in logging operations at Ryderwood,
Washington, and operates a sawmill at Longview, Washington. In
connection with its logging operations, the Company operates a rail-
road system for the transportation of the logs from the woods to
,its mills at Longview. Its trains run over approximately 60 miles
LONG-BELL LUMBER COMPANY 325
of railroad. The Company employs approximately 300 employees in
its logging operations at Ryderwood, approximately 42 of whom are
engaged in, the operation of the Company's railroad system. Many
of the railroad employees of the Company have been secured from the
Company's own employees who had been engaged in other work, such
transfers being in the nature of promotions ordinarily made at the,
request of the employees themselves. The record indicates that only
three or four of the railroad employees began their service with the
Company in that capacity. Interchangeability by reason of simi-
larity of work is possible in the case of locomotive firemen and em-
ployees, firing steam engines, on skidders, but does not appear to be
frequent. The work of these employees is essential to the other
logging operations of the Company and their tasks are part of a
highly integrated operation. The entire logging operation at Ryder-
wood is operated under a single centralized management and there is
a single committee which, formulates the Company's labor policies
for all employees with respect to wages, hours of labor, and other
working conditions. The Company employs a safety engineer, whose
duties include the formulation of safety rules for the railroad em-
ployees as well as for all other employees. There is evidence in the
record that in the course of their duties, the employees claimed by the
Firemen and by the Trainmen assist in the loading and unloading
of logs.
The history of organization and collective bargaining at the Ryder-
wood Branch of the Company, so far as the record discloses, dates
from, 1935. In that year a labor organization affiliated with the
American Federation of Labor was formed. It admitted to member-
ship employees throughout the Company's logging operations in-
cluding the railroad employees. In 1935 the Company concluded a
collective bargaining agreement with this organization, recognizing
it as the collective bargaining agency for its members of the Com-
pany's employ, and fixing wages, hours, and working conditions.
In 1937 employees in this labor organization voted to change their
affiliation to the Congress of Industrial Organizations, forming the
I. W. A. On October 17, 1938, the Company entered into a tentative
agreement with the I. W. A., continuing to recognize it for its mem-
bers only. This contract had specific provisions covering the work-
ing conditions of the employees urged by the Firemen and the Train-
men herein- to constitute separate, appropriate units. There is testi-
mony that some of these employees participated in the negotiations
leading up to this agreement. The evidence shows that a majority
of the employees in the units urged by the Firemen and the Trainmen
,to be appropriate were, in 1938, members, of the I. W. A. Although
the 1938 agreement recognized the I. W. A. for its members only during
this period the Company dealt with no other labor organization.
0
326 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL' LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
In December 1939, the Board, in a Supplemental Decision and Cer-
tification of Representatives,3 certified the I. W. A., after a directed
election, as exclusive representative of all employees at the Ryder-
wood Branch of the Company, excluding employees in- the machine
shop, supervisory employees, and employees excluded by stipulation
of the parties.' The trainmen, firemen, engineers, hostlers, and hostler
helpers were included in this unit. Thereafter, the Company and the
I. W. A. entered into an exclusive bargaining contract in September
1940, covering all of the employees at the Ryderwood Branch of the
Company, excluding machinists, supervisory employees, and clerical
employees, but including the employees claimed by the Firemen and
the Trainmen herein., This contract sets up machinery for the han-
dling of grievances and deals with hours of work and other conditions
of employment. The employees in the units alleged to be appro-
priate/by the Firemen and the Trainmen are specifically covered by
provisions of this contract and some of them,served on the I. W. A.'s,
negotiating committee. The 24 employees in the unit urged by the
Firemen- and the 17 employees in the unit urged by the Trainmen, are
but small portions of the appropriate unit consisting of approxi-
mately 300 employees established by collective bargaining through
duly designated and recognized representatives as provided by the
Act.
The Firemen and the Trainmen did not attempt to bargain on be-
half of the employees they claim until after the Board's Supple-
mental Decision and Certification of Representatives, described above.
The Company refused their requests, stating that it was bound to
abide by the Board's Certification of Representatives covering the
railroad employees.
In view, therefore, of the history of collective bargaining at the
Ryderwood Branch of the Company and the history of collective
bargaining in the logging industry," and in view of the nature and
organization of the operations performed at the Ryderwood Branch
of the Company, we find that the units sought to be established by
the Firemen and the Trainmen in the present case are not appro-
priate for the purposes of collective bargaining.6
°'18 N L R B. 40
The parties excluded 54 named employees by stipulation. See Matter of Long-Bell
Lumber Company and International Association of Machinists , Local No. 1350 , affiliated
with the American Federation of Labor; et al, 16 N L. R. B 892
' See Matter of Weyerhaeuser Timber Company, Longview Branch and International
Woodworkers of America, Local No 36 , affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organiza-
toons, at at, 29 N L R B 571, Matter of Long-Bell Lumber Company and Interna-
tional Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union $ 577, affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor, et, al, 29 N L R B 586
Cf Matter of Weyerhaeuser Timber Company and International Association of Machin-
ists, Lodge No. 11,73, affiliated with the Amei ican Federation of Labor, 30 N. L R. B. 872.'
LONG-BELL LUMBER COMPANY 327
IV. THE QUESTION. CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
Since, as pointed out in Section III above, the bargaining units
sought to .be established by the petitions are. inappropriate for the
purposes of collective bargaining at the Ryderwood Branch of the
Company, we find that no questioni has been raised concerning the
representation of employees in an appropriate bargaining unit.
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and upon the entire
record in the case, the Board makes the following:',
CONCLUSION OF LAW
No question concerning the representation of employees at the
Ryderwood Branch of Long-Bell Lumber Company, Ryderwood,
Washington, in a unit which is appropriate for the purposes of col-
lective bargaining has arisen, within the meaning of Section 9 (c)
of the National Labor Relations Act.
ORDER
Upon the 'basis of the above findings of fact and conclusion of
law, the National Labor Relations Board hereby orders that the
petitions for investigation and certification of representatives, filed by
Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen & Enginemen and by Brother-
hood of Railroad Trainmen be, and they hereby are, dismissed.