Minnesota and Ontario Paper Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Dec 14, 1950

92 N.L.R.B. 711 (N.L.R.B. 1950)

In the Matter Of MINNESOTA AND ONTARIO PAPER CO., EMPLOYER and
OFFICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION, AFL, PETITIONER
Case No.18RC-8f4.Decided December 14, 1950
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National
Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before Clarence A. Meter,
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-mem-
ber panel [Chairman Herzog and Members Reynolds and Murdock].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
2. The labor organization involved claims to represent certain em-
ployees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9
(c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The Petitioner seeks to represent a unit of office and clerical
employees employed in the paper logging, insulite, and research divi-
sions of the Employer's plant in International Falls, Minnesota, ex-
cluding confidential secretaries to executives and supervisors as defined
in the Act." The Employer does not generally oppose the unit but
would exclude therefrom certain groups and individual employees as
supervisors or confidential or managerial employees 2 The Employer
also opposes the inclusion in the unit of two employees classified as
parts men. The disputed categories will be discussed in the order
referred to.
2 The unit appears as amended at the hearing.
2 The groups and individuals proposed for exclusion are : (a ) The 14 payroll department
employees . alleged to be confidential or managerial employees ; (b) 8 alleged confidential
employees : Lois Bolstad , Gladys Kirvin , Lillian Rizzo, Margaret Casey, Louise Fisher,
Beatrice Fry, Alice Severson , and Rosella Sutliffe Wolfe ; (c) 3 alleged supervisors : Virgil
Christensen , Owen Miggins , and M . J. Stone; and ( d) 1 alleged managerial employee,
Malcom Mattson.
92 NLRB No. 111.
711
712 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
The Payroll Department Employees
These 14 employees under the supervision of the payroll supervisor
Wheeler perform the usual functions of a payroll department in mak-
ing up the plant payroll. Twelve of the number involved work in
the basement of the main office in a room located close to the personnel
department. The other 2 work in the insulite plant office. There is
nothing in the record to indicate that, other than Wheeler, the payroll
department employees are supervisors or confidential or managerial
employees within the meaning of the Act .3
As the payroll department employees do not have access to informa-
tion pertaining directly to. the Employer's labor relations policy and
do not otherwise perform the functions of management, we reject the
Employer's contention that they are either confidential or managerial
employees. Accordingly, as they are office clerical employees, we
shall include the 14 payroll department employees in the office clerical
unit hereinafter found appropriate 4
The Alleged Confidential Employees
Lois Bolstad, listed as a steno-clerk junior, acts as secretary to
Amidon who is the forest management officer and head of the depart=
ment which is concerned with the Employer's reforestation program.
In furtherance of this program, Amidon has employees who work for
him in the woods. The Employer contends that as Amidon is an
executive on the staff of the vice president in charge of production, his
secretary is necessarily a confidential employee. However, inasmuch
as the record shows that Amidon does not formulate or effectuate
management policies within the definition adopted by the Board, we
find that Lois Bolstad is not a confidential employee, and we shall
include her in the unit of office clerical employees.s
Gladys Kirvin is the secretary to Pollard, the woods manager, who
negotiates with the Union representing the Employer's woods opera-
tions, participates in negotiations on. behalf of the Employer, and
handles grievances under the contract with the Union. The Ein,-
ployer contends that Gladys Kirvin should be excluded from the unit
because as Pollard's secretary, she has access to matters concerning
general labor relations and is therefore a confidential employee. Upon
.the basis of the foregoing facts, we find that Kirvin serves in a con-
fidential capacity to a management official charged with handling
3 The senior clerk, Harold Kimpton is found not to be a supervisor although in the
absence of Wheeler, the supervisor, he substitutes for Wheeler as a supervisor when the
latter is on vacation approximately 3 weeks of the year and during the time that he is absent
because of illness. Arthur J. Wiltse, d/b/a The Ann Arbor Press, 85 NLRB 946.
4 Sterling IAndner-Davis Co., 91 NLRB No. 91.
" Republic Steel Corporation,' Canton Plant, Central Alloy District, 91 NLRB 904.
MINNESOTA AND ONTARIO PAPER CO. 713
the Employer's general labor relations. We shall, therefore, exclude
her from the unit.'
Lillian Rizzo, classified as a steno-clerk senior, . is secretary to the
stores supervisor who supervises between 80 and 85 employees in the
stores department. Although as department head the stores super-
visor handles grievances and participates in the settlement of griev-
ances involving employees in the stores department, he does not
participate in matters concerning general labor relations, nor does he
assist in the formulation of the Employer's labor relations policies.
In view of the foregoing, we find that Lillian Rizzo is not a confiden-
tial employee, and we shall include her in the unit.7
Margaret Casey and Louise Fisher are classified respectively as
steno-clerk senior and typist-clerk senior in the personnel relations
department. They are concerned primarily with handling the details
of workmen's compensation claims, making reports on accidents to
the insurer, and the preparation of case histories concerning accidents.
They also perform secretarial duties for Croucher who is in charge of
the Employer's safety program. Although Croucher also handles
correspondence with insurance companies concerning accidents, em-
ployees' claims, and accrued benefits, he does not participate in mat-
ters concerning general labor relations. As neither Casey nor. Fisher
is a secretary to an official charged with the formulation or effectuation
of the Employer's labor relations policy, we find that they are not con-
fidential employees and we shall include them in the unit.8
The Alleged Supervisors and Managerial Employees
Virgil Christensen the storekeeper senior in charge of material han-
-dling division, assigns and supervises the work of 50 or 60 employees
in the stores department. In view of the fact that he responsibly
directs and effectively recommends changes in status for these em-
ployees, we find that he is a supervisor within the meaning of the Act.
We shall, therefore, exclude Virgil Christensen from the unit.
M. J. Stone the storekeeper senior in charge of the stores depart-
ment, normally supervises and responsibly directs the work of one
storekeeper junior and one or more warehouse laborers. He also has
authority effectively to recommend to the stores supervisor the trans-
fer of, or the taking of disciplinary action with respect to, these
employees. In view of the foregoing, we find that Stone is a super-
visor within the meaning of the Act, and we shall therefore exclude
him from the unit.
Owen Miggins regularly takes the place of the wood storage super-
visor, an admitted supervisory official, when he is absent from the
Two States Telephone Company, 90 NLRB 2008.
7 Republic Steel Corporation, Canton Plant, Central Alloy District, supra . (Superin-
tendents' clerks.)
8 See footnote 6, supra.
929979-51-vol. 92--Q 7
714 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
storage yard, a duty consuming approximately 20 percent of Miggins'
time. As Owen Miggins regularly substitutes for the wood storage
supervisor and thus acts in a supervisory capacity for a substantial
period of time, we find that Miggins is a supervisor within the mean-
ing of the Act. Accordingly, we shall exclude him from the unit.°
Malcom Mattson's duties consist of conducting safety and training
programs throughout the plant. He takes part in the education of
supervisors and employees in safety working practices. He observes
working practices of employees and personally corrects them with
regard to what he considers unsafe habits and attitudes. He gives
safety talks and instructions to new men and employees before they
go to work, has access to personnel files and medical histories, and
can effectively recommend disciplinary measures where employees
ignore the fire safety rule. In view of the foregoing, we find that his
interests are more closely allied with management than with the office
clerical employees, accordingly, we shall therefore exclude Mattson
from the unit.
Alice Severson is secretary to the research laboratory manager who
participates in the formulation and effectuation of the Employer's
labor relations policies with respect to the research department. In
view of the foregoing, we find that Alice Severson is a confidential
employee and we shall exclude her from the unit.
Beatrice Fry serves as a research laboratory receptionist, switch-
board operator, librarian, and stenographer for the research labora-
tory staff. The Employer, contending that she is a confidential em-
ployee, points to the fact that she takes dictation having to do with
highly technical matters which the Employer regards as confidential
business information, and that she serves as secretary to the research
manager in the absence of Alice Severson whom we have found to be
a confidential employee. However, the record does not disclose that
Fry regularly substitutes for Severson on occasions other than those
arising from vacation or illness. In the absence of such evidence, we
find that she is not a confidential employee,10 accordingly, we shall
include her in the unit.
Rosella Sutliffe Wolfe spends approximately 95 percent of her time
in laboratory work and conducting physical tests on insulation board.
The remaining 5 percent of her time is spent in the performance of
clerical duties. In view of the foregoing, we find that she is not a
o Stanislaus Implement and Hardware Company, Limited , 91 NLRB 618 ; Epp Furni-
ture Company, et at., 86 NLRB 120.
10 The Employer also contends that research department employees possess confidential
information regarding progress and research concerning the manufacture of paper and
Insulite and should therefore be excluded from the unit.
We find no merit in this contention . As the confidential information possessed by these
employees pertains to matters of a business nature, rather thin to the field of labor rela-
tions, we find that they are not confidential employees such as we exclude from an
appropriate unit. See Phillips Oil Company, 91 NLRB 534.
MINNESOTA AND ONTARIO PAPER CO. 715
clerical but a laboratory employee, and we shall exclude her from
the unit of office clerical employees.
There are two parts men in the garage department and the electric
shop respectively. These employees are not under the supervision
of the office manager, but instead are under the over-all direction and
supervision of the resident engineer. They both handle parts, main-
tain the inventory, and place orders for new parts for the storage
department. It would appear that their work is similar to that of
employees normally classified as plant clericals. The Employer con-
tends that their interests are different from those of office clerical
employees and they should, for that reason, be excluded from the
unit. While normally these employees have interests which are allied
with those of the production and maintenance employees, they are not
presently represented by any other labor organization."- Although
the Petitioner would include these plant clerical employees in the
single clerical unit, we have declined to establish single units com-
bining office and plant clerical employees. As these employees would
otherwise be unrepresented, we shall, under the circumstances, estab-
lish a separate unit for them. We shall direct separate elections in
the residual plant clerical unit and in the office clerical unit to deter-
mine in each case whether the employees therein wish to be represented
by the Petitioner.12
We find that the following groups of employees of the Employer
constitute separate units appropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act:
(1) All office clerical employees 13 employed in the paper-logging,
insulite, and research divisions of the Employer's plant in Interna-
tional Falls, Minnesota, including the payroll department employees,
but excluding confidential secretaries '14 employees allied to manage-
ment,1,1 laboratory employees,116 and all supervisors 17 as defined in the
Act.
(2) All parts men excluding supervisors and all other employees.
[Text of Direction of Elections omitted from publication in this
volume.]
"It appears that there are eight labor organizations presently representing various
groups of employees in the Employer 's operations . However, none of the unions intervened
or participated in the hearing.
12 See Minneapolis -Mo line Company, 85 NLRB 597.
12 Included in this category are : Lois Bolstad , Lillian Rizzo , Margaret Casey, Louise
Fisher , and Beatrice Fry.
14 Excluded In this category are : Gladys Rirvin and Alice Severson.
15 Excluded in this category are the following employees who are relatives of plant
officials : Harold Laison , brother of Clarence Laison , vice president in charge of production ;
Doris Caple ;. s1$ter-in-law of Joseph Kalar ,. industripl . relations officer ; and Marvin Bolstad,
brother-in-law of R. N: Douglas , personnel relations officer. -
11 Excluded in this category is Rosella Sutliffe Wolfe.
17 Excluded in this category are Virgil Christensen , M. J. Stone, Owen Higgins, and
Malcom Mattson.