Northern Redwood Lumber Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jan 23, 1950

88 N.L.R.B. 272 (N.L.R.B. 1950)

In the Matter of NORTHERN REDWOOD LUMBER COMPANY, EMPLOYER
and LOCAL UNION No. 3, INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING
ENGINEERS, AFL,1 PETITIONER
In the Matter of NORTHERN REDWOOD LUMBER COMPANY, EMPLOYER
and LOCAL No. 3046, LUMBER AND SAWMILL `YORKERS OF THE UNITED
BROTHERHOOD OF CARPENTERS AND JOINERS, AFL, PETITIONER
Cases Nos. 20-RC-568 and 20-RC-585.-Decided January 08,1950
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon separate petitions duly filed, a consolidated hearing was held
before Harry Bamford, hearing officer . The hearing officer's rulings
made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby
affirmed.2
' The names of both Petitioners appear as amended at the hearing.
2 The Petitioner in Case No. 20-RC-585, Local No. 3046, Lumber and Sawmill Workers
of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, AFL, herein called Sawmill Workers,
moved that the Petitioner in Case No. 20-RC-568, Local Union No. 3, International Union
of Operating Engineers, AFL, herein called Engineers, be excluded from participation in the
hearing, on the ground that the Regional Director in a letter dated June 24, 1949, had
dismissed the Engineers' petition. As the dismissal letter was sent in error and the
Employer was so advised, the hearing officer correctly denied the motion of the Sawmill
Workers.
The Sawmill Workers questions the sufficiency of the Engineers' showing, and the
Employer maintains in its brief that the Sawmill Workers' showing is inadequate because
it is in part based on authorization cards dated prior to the Sawmill Workers' strike of
more than 2 years duration which started in January 1946. We have held on numerous
occasions that the showing of interest is an administrative matter not subject to collateral
attack. Miller and Rhoads, Incorporated, 86 NLRB 625; Stokely Foods, Inc., 78 NLRB 842.
The Employer's offer of proof to the effect that the unit proposal of the Engineers was
based solely on the limited extent of its organization was properly rejected by the hearing
officer. Historically, the Board only considers the extent of organization as a factor where
there is no union willing or able to represent the employees in a more extensive unit.
That is not the situation here, where the Sawmill Workers is asking for an over-all unit.
United States Pipe & Foundry Company, 87 NLRB 115; Garden State Hosiery Co., 74
NLRB 318.
The hearing officer properly refused to allow the Employer to develop testimony regarding
the type of employees eligible to membership in the Engineers. We have frequently held
that the willingness of a Petitioner to represent the employees involved is controlling
under the Act, and not the eligibility of employees to membership. Iowa Packing Com-
pany, A Division of Swift and Company, 85 NLRB 1080; Modern Upholstered Chair Com-
pany, Inc., 84 NLRB 95.
88 NLRB No. 32.
272
NORTHERN REDWOOD. LUMBER COMPANY 273
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds:
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the
National Labor Relations Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent employees
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 Engineers desires a unit ,restricted to logging employees,
while the Sawmill Workers seeks a unit composed of both logging and
mill employees. The Employer favors the unit proposed by the Saw-
mill Workers.
The Employer is engaged in the year-round logging of timber and
the manufacturing of lumber. It possesses its own forests which are
about 101/2 miles from the town of Korbel, California, where the saw-
mill, planing mill, lath mill, machine shop, power plant, dry kiln,
green chain, and yards are located 4
The trees are felled, peeled,5 bucked, and loaded on the Employer's
logging railroad and transported to the mill site where they are either
brought directly to the mill, dumped into the pond, or stockpiled on
the cold deck approximately one-quarter mile from the ponds The
logs are moved to the sawmill, cut into lumber, and processed for ship-
ment on the Arcata and Mad River Railway, a common carrier wholly
owned by the Company, which runs from Korbel to the Great North-
ern Railway some 81/2 miles away.
The mill crew consists of about 250 employees, and the woods crew
of about 100 employees. Although the functions and skills of mill
and woods employees differ, there is some interchange of employees
between the 2 operations, as many men have prior experience in both
types of work. Most of the interchange is temporary ; permanent
transfers are infrequent. In addition to the employees, most of them
skilled, who are moved from their regular position to meet a tem-
porary need, a number of employees, such as construction men, survey
helpers, and mechanics, work in both areas. And in the case of me-
8 The Sawmill workers contends that the Employer's notice, given sometime between
April and July 1946, terminating its contract-executed on November 12, 1943, and auto-
matically renewed past its termination date of April 1, 1944, for a year in the absence
of 30 days' notice-was untimely and therefore the contract is still outstanding and a bar
to an election. As there has been no bargaining between the parties since February 1947,
it is clear that this Union has ceased actively to represent the employees involved for
the past 2 years. Accordingly, we find, apart from other considerations, that the contract
is not a bar to this proceeding.
4 The employees at the mill site are hereinafter referred to as mill employees.
° In some cases the logs are peeled of bark at a later stage.
° At the time of the hearing , logs were being temporarily decked in the pond itself rather
than in the regular cold deck area because of the oversupply.
274 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
chanics, part of their time in the machine shop itself is devoted to
repair and maintenance of railroad and logging machinery equipment.
Wage rates within the groups vary and although the average hourly
rate appears to be a little higher for the logging employees , the top
men in both operations are paid like amounts; employees on those
jobs which are similar receive the same compensation ; there is a uni-
form minimum wage; all wage increases since 1942 have been across
the board rather than on a job by job basis ; and overtime provisions
apply equally to all employees . There are separate payrolls and
timekeepers for each operation , but all employees are paid at the
Employer's office in Korbel where the employment records are kept.
Hiring, which is initially done by foremen or the superintendents,
is not final until approved by the personnel and timekeeping depart-
ments.
All employees are subject to the same labor policy , grievance pro-
cedure, and hours,7 and participate in the same seniority , sick leave,
insurance , recreation , and vacation program . The two groups are
supervised by a mill superintendent and a logging superintendent, who
along with the town superintendent and the office manager, are under
the direction of the Employer's two highest officials, the president and
general manager and the assistant to the president.
Most of the employees have their homes in Korbel, a company-owned
and operated town. With the exception of a watchman and a me-
chanic, no logging employees live in the woods area. Those employees
who come from other towns are provided with bus transportation by
the Employer. There is no segregation or inequality of accommoda-
tions among employees on the basis of their work as mill or logging
employees.
The Sawmill Workers represented an Employer -wide unit of
logging and mill employees for more than 3 years following a consent
election held in January 1943. Although this Union has had no col-
lective bargaining relations with the Employer since February 1947
as a result of their differences over economic issues, -there is no indi-
cation that disagreement as to the scope of the unit was a cause of the
abandonment of the bargaining . Indeed, the Employer now agrees
with the petitioning Sawmill Workers, the bargaining agent during
the 3-year period, that an over=all unit is the appropriate one.
We have frequently held that where, as here, the Employer's activi-
ties form one continuous operation from the felling of the trees to the
shipment and sale of lumber, the employees engaged in logging and
' However , the logging employees spend a total of 80 to 100 minutes more riding on the
logging railroad to and from the woods area.
NORTHERN REDWOOD LUMBER . COMPANY . 275
mill work may together constitute a single appropriate units There-
fore, in view of the collective bargaining history on an over-all basis; s
the integration of the Employer's operations; the interchange of em-
ployees; the common labor policy and employee benefits; and the
residence of most employees in the same community; we find that the
woods crew and mill employees together comprise a single appropriate
unit.
There remains for consideration the specific composition of the unit.
The parties agree to or do not oppose having the following comprise
the unit in the event of an over-all unit finding;
All logging, cold deck, pond, sawmill, planing mill, lath mill, ma-
chine shop, power plant, yard and green chain, dry kiln, mill mainte-
nance, and construction employees, but excluding the deputy sheriff,
timekeepers, office, hotel, cookhouse, sweet shop, and general store
employees; professional employees-chief engineer and logging engi-
neer-the purchasing agent of the supply store, and certain super-
visors, namely, the town, logging, and mill superintendents; the
woods, sawmill, planing mill, machine shop, construction department,
road construction, and section (track and maintenance) foremen, the
yard foreman and shipping clerk, the chief electrician, and the bull
buck. However, the parties disagree or refuse to stipulate with
respect to the inclusion of the following employees :
Lath leader: Lath leader, John Hard, divides his time about equally
between working and directing the eight employees in the lath mill.
Although he does not have the power to hire or discharge employees,
he can recommend such action to the foreman who has jurisdiction
over both the lath mill and sawmill. However, it is not clear whether
the recommendations made are effective. As the lath leader also has
the authority to adjust grievances, we find that the lath leader is a
supervisor within the meaning of the Act.
Millwright: As millwright H. Honeywell directs seven men and
has substantially the same powers as those of the lath leader, we find
that he is a supervisor within the meaning of the Act.
Head fireman: The head fireman, A. French, is in charge of the 12
men in the boiler room and has substantially the same authority as the
lath leader. Accordingly, we find that he is a supervisor within the
meaning of the Act.
8 Quincy Lumber Company, 67 NLRB 1119 ; Louisiana Cypress Lumber Company, Inc.,
73' NLRB 909; Farmville Manufacturing Company, 76 NLRB 237; The J. N. Bray Co., 83
NLRB 388; Weyerhaeuser Timber Company ( Springfield Lumber Division), 87 NLRB
1076.
Cf. Matheny Creek Lumber Co., 85 NLRB 515, Willamette National Lumber Company,
74 NLRB 569.
9 Quincy Lumber Company, supra ; Dierks Lumber & Coal Company, 52 NLRB 531;
California Door Company , 52 NLRB 68.
882191-51-19
276 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Dry kiln foreman: At the time of the hearing, the Employer had
begun to operate kilns which had just been built. The dry kiln fore-
man, whose staff will increase from three to at least eight employees
when the kilns are in full operation, will at that time have the power
to hire and discharge employees. Therefore, we find that he is a
supervisor within the meaning of the Act.
Tally man (green chain foreman) : John Salladay divides his time
between directing the 13 men in the green chain and tallying the
loads of lumber to determine their compensation. It appears that he
has the authority effectively to recommend the hiring and discharge
of employees. We find that he is a supervisor within the meaning of
the Act.
Straw boss: John Lafferty spends most of his time directing the
work of 14 carrier drivers and graders in the yard crew. He also
makes out tickets to determine the compensation for the contract lum-
ber peelers whom he does not direct. After receiving orders from the
yard foreman and shipping clerk as to the disposition of the lumber,
the straw boss decides which order should take priority and also the
exact tasks of the various workers. Prior to the recent advent of the
new yard foreman and shipping clerk, the straw boss had authority to
recommend the hire and discharge of employees. It is not clear
whether the straw boss has been permitted to retain this authority.
However, as in the earlier period, the straw boss has continued to take
full charge and assume the duties of the present yard foreman and
shipping clerk whenever the latter is absent. We find that John
Lafferty is a supervisor within the meaning of the Act.
Cold deck foreman: As already indicated, the Employer, which or-
der him and possesses the same authority as the lath leader. We find
that he is a supervisor within the meaning of the Act.
Cold deck foreman: As already indicated, the Employer, which or-
dinarily carries on its cold decking in an area about one-quarter of
a mile from the pond, is temporarily decking its logs in the pond itself
because of the surplus. At the hearing it was stated that the Em-
ployer intends to return to its regular system of cold decking. At that
time the temporary cold deck foreman, one Harrison, will return to
his duties as head loader. Under normal operations, the cold deck
foreman directs seven employees and has the power to adjust griev-
ances and to hire and discharge employees. We find that the regular
cold deck foreman is a supervisor within the meaning of the Act.
Accordingly, if at the time of the election, there has been a resumption
of the regular cold decking operations and the foreman thereof pos-
sesses his usual authority, he should be excluded from the unit.
NORTHERN REDWOOD LUMBER COMPANY 277
Filer: Clarence Main as head filer is responsible for all saws and
divides his time between working and directing two other filers. He
has the authority effectively to recommend the transfer, hiring, and
discharge of these employees. We find that he is a supervisor within
the meaning of the Act 10
Scalers: The scaler acts as an estimator and makes a record of the
volume of timber felled, decked, and peeled. This record, which is
sent to the office, is used to determine the wages of certain woods
employees. He also inspects the logs and points out any shortcom-
ings in their performance to the employees involved. Any failure to
correct defective work results in the employees being sent to the
bull buck. The scaler has neither the power to hire or discharge em-
ployees nor the authority to recommend such action. The Employer
contends that the work of the scaler is in the "nature of timekeeping"
and that he should be excluded from the unit because of his close con-
nection with management. We find that the scaler is not a confi-
dential employee and that despite the clerical aspect of some of his
work, his interests and duties are sufficiently allied to those of the
other employees in the unit to warrant inclusion within that unit Y,
We shall include scalers in the unit.
Hook tenders : Each hook tender has a crew numbering from 10 to
14 employees. In connection with directing their work of rigging
trees, yarding logs to loading points, and loading logs on trucks, the
hook tender devotes 30 to 40 percent of his time to doing manual
work. The hook tender has the right to fire employees and he also
has the authority to recommend the hiring of employees. We find
that he is a supervisor within the meaning of the Act 12
Rigging slingers (head riggers) : Under the supervision of a hook
tender, the rigging slinger spends about 70 percent of his time working
as part of a rigging crew and the remainder giving routine orders to
the other members of the crew, usually three choker setters and one
whistle punk. Although the Employer contends that the rigging
slinger 's recommendations as to transfer, hiring, and discharge are
given weight, the hook tender is familiar with the work of the rigging
crew and on the basis of his own observation is able to make decisions
by exercising his independent judgment. We find that rigging sling-
ers are not supervisors within the meaning of the Act, and we shall
therefore include them in the unit.
10 Atlas Tag Company , 84 NLRB 685 ; General Electric Company , 80 NLRB 174.
"Veneer Products, Inc., 81 NLRB 492; Potlatch Forests, Inc., 80 NLRB 613 ; Potlatch
Forests, Inc., et at ., 52 NLRB 1377 ; Smith Wood Products, Inc., 62 NLRB 920.
12 Willamette National Lumber Company, supra; Smith Wood Products, Inc., supra;
Caspar Lumber Company , 55 NLRB 819.
278 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Watchmen: Two regular watchmen patrol the mill at night; they
make hourly tours and punch time clocks. Their principal function
is that of fire watchers, and although they are neither armed nor depu-
tized, they are authorized to guard against trespassers on the Em-
ployer's property and to report such incidents to the management.
Two other watchmen carry on substantially the same duties at the
cold deck area and in the woods. As these four employees spend all
their time protecting-the Employer's premises, we find that they are
guards within the meaning of the Act. We shall, therefore, exclude
them from the unit 13
A janitor acts as a watchman for one 8-hour shift each week. The
rest of the week is devoted to clean-up duties in the Employer's office
and general store. As the janitor spends the greater part of his time
doing maintenance work, we find that he is not a guard within the
meaning of the Act 14 However, we are hereinafter excluding both
the office and general store employees in accordance with the desires
of all the parties. As the janitor's interests are allied mainly with
these groups, we shall exclude him from the unit.
Survey helpers : Working under the two professional employees
whom we are hereinafter excluding from the unit in accordance with
the agreement of the parties are two survey helpers, namely, a transit
man and a staff man. They assist the chief engineer and logging
engineer. The transit man runs a transit line and is required to de-
termine grades and slopes. The staff man has among his duties the
cutting of brush. The Employer 'contends that as part of a separate
professional group not directly concerned with production and main-
tenance functions the survey helpers should be excluded from the unit.
As we find that they are not themselves professional employees and
have a sufficient community of interest with the mill and woods em-
ployees, we shall include them in the unit.'5
Supply store: The supply store is in a separate building where
supplies for the entire operation except the retail store are kept.
In charge is the purchasing agent who divides his time about equally
between such tasks as ordering supplies and receiving and issuing
them. The parties agree that he should be excluded but they dis-
agree as to his helper who runs the supply store in his absence. It
appears that to a considerable extent the supply store services the
13 Namm's, Inc., 81 NLRB 1019; Bentwood Products, Inc., 81 NLRB 635; St. Paul and
'Tacoma Lumber Company, 81 NLRB 434.
14 Sampsel Time Control, Inc., 80 NLRB 1250; Carolina Metal Products , Inc., 76 NLRB
-644.
15 The Glidden Company, Southern Pine Chemical Division, and Nelio Resin Processing
Corporation, 61 NLRB 297.
NORTHERN REDWOOD LUMBER COMPANY 279
mill and wood employees. We shall therefore include the supply
store helper in the unit.
Bunkhouse: Three employees maintain the bunkhouse: the bull
cook who is in charge, a full-time worker who assists him with the
cleaning, and a part-time clean-up helper. Their duties are less
closely allied with the mill and woods employees than with the hotel
and cookhouse employees whom we are excluding from the unit in
accordance with the agreement of the parties. Therefore, we shall
also exclude the bunkhouse employees from the unit.
Town maintenance crew: This crew consists of carpenters, painters,
plasterer-paperers, and a plumber. They repair and maintain the
Company's service facilities, namely, the houses, hotel, bunkhouse,
and cookhouse. Only in an emergency do they perform any work
in the mill or the woods. Their duties and interests are not closely
connected with the production and processing of lumber. Therefore,
we shall exclude them from the unit.
Railroad employees: As already indicated, the Company owns and
operates two railroads, a private logging railroad and the Arcata
and Mad River Railroad, a common carrier. Each has a four-man
crew consisting of a conductor, brakeman, engineer, and fireman.
We shall exclude the employees of the common carrier in accordance
with Section 2 (3) of the Acts and the agreement of the parties.
However, the brakeman on the Arcata Railroad is carried on the pay-
roll of the Northern Redwood Lumber Company and the engineer
on the logging railroad is on the Arcata payroll so that he may pre-
serve his retirement rights under the Railroad Retirement Act. The
railroad on which these employees perform all or most of their tasks
is reimbursed for such services. The Arcata brakeman, who works
mainly on that railroad, is essentially an employee of the common
carrier and is therefore not subject to our jurisdiction. But the
engineer on the logging railroad, where he spends most of his time,
is an employee within the meaning of the Act and as such is subject
to our jurisdiction.
As the logging railroad forms an important link in the Employer's
operations and the duties and interests of its crew are sufficiently
related to those of the mill and woods employees included in the unit,
we shall include in the unit all of its crew except the conductor.
The conductor, who is in charge of the train, has the authority effec-
tively to recommend the hiring, transfer, and discharge of employees.
We shall therefore exclude him as a supervisor.
16 This section provides in part as follows :
The term "employee" . .. shall not include . . . any individual employed by
an employer subject to the Railway Labor Act.
280 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Both railroads are maintained by a section gang which spends
about 60 percent of its time on the logging railroad and 40 percent
on the Arcata railroad. These employees are carried on the payroll
of the Northern Redwood Lumber Company which is reimbursed for
work done on the Arcata railroad. As more than half of their time
is devoted to the logging railroad and their interests and duties are
sufficiently close to those of that train crew and other woods and mill
employees, we shall include the section gang in the unit.
We find that the following employees of the Employer at Korbel,
California, constitute a single over-all unit appropriate for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of
the Act :
All mill, woods, and railroad employees including cold deck, pond,
sawmill, planing mill, lath mill, machine shop, power plant, yard and
green chain, dry kiln, mill maintenance, construction department, and
road construction employees, scalers, rigging slingers, survey helpers,
supply store helper, section gang, logging railroad engineer, brake-
man, and fireman; but excluding the deputy sheriff, watchmen, janitor,
timekeepers, office, hotel, cookhouse, bunkhouse, sweet shop, general
store, Arcata and Mad River Railroad employees; town maintenance
crew; chief engineer, logging engineer; purchasing agent of the supply
store; the town, logging, and mill superintendents; the woods, saw-
mill, planing mill, machine shop, construction department, road con-
struction, pond, cold deck '1_7 and section (track and maintenance)
foremen; yard foreman and shipping clerk, chief electrician; bull
buck, logging railroad conductor, lath leader,"' millwright,19 head
fireman,20 dry kiln foreman, tally man (green chain foreman)," straw
boss,22 filer '23 hook tenders, and any other supervisors as defined in
the Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining with the Employer, an election by
secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than
30 days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and super-
vision of the Regional Director for the Region in which this case
was heard, and subject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of National Labor
"See discussion supra regarding conditions for excluding the cold deck foreman from
the unit.
11 John Hard.
19 H. Honeywell.
20 A. French.
21 John Salladay.
22 John Lafferty.
23 Clarence Main.
NORTHERN REDWOOD LUMBER COMPANY 281
Relations Board Rules and Regulations, among the employees in the
unit found appropriate in paragraph numbered 4, above, who were
employed during the payroll period immediately preceding the date
of this Direction of Election, including employees who did not work
during said payroll period because- they were ill or on vacation or
temporarily laid off, but excluding those employees who have since
quit or been discharged for cause and have not been rehired or rein-
stated 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, for purposes of collective bargaining
by Local No. 3, International Union of Operating Engineers, AFL,24
or by Local No: 3046, Lumber and Sawmill Workers of the United
Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, AFL, or by neither.
CHAIRMAN HERZOG took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Direction of Election.
24 The Engineers expressed its willingness to appear on the ballot in the event of an
over -all unit finding.