Pacific Press, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Mar 8, 1946

66 N.L.R.B. 458 (N.L.R.B. 1946)

In the Matter of PACIFIC PRESS, INC. and INTERNATIONAL PRINTING
PRESSMEN AND ASSISTANTS UNION OF NORTH AMERICA, A. F. L.
In the Matter Of PACIFIC PRESS, INC. and INTERNATIONAL PHOTO-
ENGRAVERS UNION OF NORTH AMERICA, LOCAL 32, A. F. L.
In the Matter of PACIFIC PRESS, INC. and AMALGAMATED LITIIOGRA-
PHERS OF AMERICA, LOCAL 22
Cases Nos. 21-R-2823, 21-R-2826, and 21-R-2947, respectively.-
Decided March 8, 1946
O'Melveny & Myers, by Mr. Deane F. Johnson, of Los Angeles,
Calif., for the Company.
Messrs. Robert W. Gilbert and Sidney Zagri, of Los Angeles, Calif.,
for the Pressmen and the Engravers.
Mr. John S. McLellan, of Pressmen's Home, Tenn., for the Press-
men.
Mr. Arthur J. Levitas, of Los Angeles, Calif.; and Mr. Benja-
min M. Robinson, by Mr. Matthew Silverman, of New York City,
for the Amalgamated.
Mr. Matthew If. O'Brien, of New York City, for the Associations.
Miss Ruth E. Blie field, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
AND
ORDER
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon separate petitions duly filed by International Printing Press-
men and Assistants Union of North America, A. T. L., herein called
the Pressmen;' International Photo Engravers Union of North
America, Local No. 32, A. F. L., herein called the Engravers ;2 and
Amalgamated Lithographers of America, Local 22, herein called the
'Case No. 21-R-2823.
2 Case No. 21-R-2826.
66 N. L . R. B., No. 55.
4S8
PACIFIC PRESS, INC. 459
Amalgamated,-' alleging that questions affecting commerce had arisen
concerning the representation of employees of Pacific Press, Inc.,
Los Angeles, California, herein called the Company,4 the National
Labor Relations Board consolidated the cases 1, and provided for an
appropriate hearing upon due notice before Charles M. Ryan, Trial
Examiner. The hearing was held at Los Angeles, California, on July
6 and 7, 1945. The Company, the Pressmen, the Engravers, and the
Amalgamated appeared and participated, and were afforded full
opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and
to introduce evidence bearing on the issues. The Trial Examiner's
rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are
hereby affirmed. Subsequent to the hearing the Board granted a
motion of the Lithographers National Association, Inc., and National
Association of Photo Lithographers, herein collectively called the
Associations, to intervene for the purposes of presenting oral argu-
ment and filing briefs. On request of the Pressmen, the Engravers,
and the Associations, all parties were permitted to, and did, appear
and participate in oral argument before the Board in Washington,
D. C., on December 11, 1945, and January 17, 1946. All filed briefs,
which have been given careful consideration.
The Almgamated and the Associations filed a motion after the
hearing asking the Board either to reopen the record to take addi-
tional testimony on certain matters relating to the unit issue, or to
incorporate into the record those portions of the record in the Foote
ct Davies case 6 relevant to that issue. We hereby grant the motion
by incorporating into the present record all material in the Foote &
Davies record germane to the issue of the appropriate unit.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. TIIE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Pacific Press, Inc., was incorporated in California in December
1944, and has been engaged in Los Angeles, California, since January
' Case No. 21-R-2947. The International of the Amalgamated was permitted to inter-
vene after the hearing and appeared at the oral argument . The parent organization
and the local are collectively referred to herein as the Amalgamated.
At the time it filed its petition herein the Amalgamated was affiliated with the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor. We take judicial notice that it has since withdrawn from
that organization.
t Formerly known as Adcraft , Inc. The name of the Company appears herein as it
was amended by stipulation of the parties.
5 The above cases were consolidated with Cases Nos . 21-R-2824 and 21-R-2825 for
purposes of hearing . Subsequently , Cases Nos . 21-R-2824 and 21-R-2825 were severed
and elections directed therein ( see Matter of Pacific Press, Inc., 64 N. L. R. B. 270).
8 Matter of Albert Love Enterprises , a partnership consisting of Albert I. Love; Sol
1. Golden; Julia S. Love; Albert I. Love, Isadore Bogoslaw, Julia S. Love and Sol I.
Golden as Trustees for Judith Love and Diana Love; Alfred E. Garber, Sykes H. Young
and Earle Sanders , co-partners d/b/a Foote c6 Davies, 66 N. L. R. B. 416. On January
17, 1946, oral argument in both cases was simultaneously heard.
460 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
1945, in commercial printing, lithography, photoengraving, and dis-
tribution. It also prints maps, manuals, and other documents for the
United States Army and Navy, as well as the Pacific Coast edition
of "Time" magazine. During January and February 1945, the Com-
pany purchased approximately $120,000 worth of paper and ink for
use at its plant, about 50 percent of which was obtained from sources
outside the State of California. During the same period the Com-
pany's sales amounted to more than $300,000, of which amount $21,000
represents sales of products shipped by it to points outside the State
of California.
The Company admits, and we find, that it is engaged in commerce
within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.t
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
International Printing Pressmen and Assistants Union of North
America is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federa-
tion of Labor, admitting to membership employees of the Company.
International Photo Engravers Union of North America, Local 32,
is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of
Labor, admitting to membership employees of the Company.
,,Amalgamated Lithographers of America, Local 22, and Amal-
gamated Lithographers of America, are labor organizations admitting
to membership employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTIONS CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Company has declined to recognize as a bargaining represen-
tative for its employees any of the petitioning labor organizations
unless and until certified by the Board.
A statement of a Field Examiner for the Board, introduced into
evidence at the hearing, indicates that each petitioner represents a
substantial number of employees in the unit it alleges to be appro-
priate.7
' The Field Examiner reported : ( 1) That the Pressmen submitted 31 authorization
cards bearing the names of 25 employees listed on the Company 's pay roll of May 24.
1945; that the cards are dated February and April 1945; and that there are approxi-
mately 47 employees in the unit claimed by the Pressmen to be appropriate.
(2) That the Engravers submitted 10 authorization cards bearing the names of 8
employees listed on the Company's pay roll of May 24, 1945; that the cards are dated
January and February 1945; and that there are approximately 23 employees in the
unit claimed by the Engravers to be appropriate.
(3) That the Amalgamated submitted 18 membership books and application cards
bearing the names of 17 employees listed on the Company 's pay roll of May 24, 1945;
that the cards are dated between December 1944, and May 1945; and that there are
approximately 17 employees in the unit claimed by the Amalgamated to be appropriate.
PACIFIC PRESS, INC. 461
We find that questions affecting commerce have arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Company, within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. TIIE APPROPRIATE UNITS
The Pressmen contends for a unit of all press feeders, assistants,
helpers, and apprentices working on all types of printing presses,
including offset presses, but excluding all supervisory employees above
the rank of foreman. The Engravers urges as appropriate a unit of
all photoengravers, camera operators, platemakers, lay-out men,
artists, and employees of the planograph department not already men-
tioned, excluding all pressmen, and all supervisory employees above
the rank of foreman. The Company is in agreement with the Press-
men and Engravers.
The Amalgamated and the Associations, on the other hand, contend
for a unit consisting of all lithographic workers, including offset
pressmen , camera men, artists, platemakers, plate preparers, and all
lithographic operators, apprentices, and any other lithographic
workers, but excluding all supervisory employees above the rank of
foreman. This unit would be comprised of employees who are in the
units sought by the other two unions, consisting, as it does, of offset
pressmen embraced by the unit sought by the Pressmen, and plate-
makers and related lithographic workers, who are part of the unit
sought by the Engravers.
The Company operates what is known as a "combination plant,"
i.e., it does both letterpress and lithographic printing .8 The Com-
pany's plant consists of 3 floors. On the first floor are the rotary web
press activities, including the newspaper web presses and 2 offset web
presses; on the second floor are located the bindery, composing room,
and the pressroom in which are located 10 letterpresses and 2 sheet
fed offset presses; and on the third floor are the photoengraving de-
partment and the litho-platemaking activities. Although the litho-
platemaking department is separated from the photoengraving de-
partment insofar as platemaking activities, as such, are concerned, the
lithographers or platemakers, and the photoengravers use a common
gallery or camera room.
8 The difference in the two types of printing is based on the different methods of
reproduction used. Letterpress printing is a mechanical process of reproduction from
a raised surface , that is from type or engraving The reproduction results from pressing
the type or raised surface , which has been inked , against the paper In this process the
printing plate or type is brought in direct contact with the paper-the pressure going
direct from plate or type to paper.
Lithography is a chemical reproduction process in which the image to be reproduced
is transferred from a flat surface metal plate to an intermediate rubber blanket. The
rubber blanket , after picking up the impression , "offsets" it on the paper.
462 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
In the Company's supervisory hierarchy the manager of the print-
ing department is in charge of all the plant's activities. On the first
floor there is a superintendent who has general supervision over all
presses on the floor, and immediate supervision over the newspaper
web presses; the lithographic press foreman has immediate super-
vision over the two offset web presses on the first floor, and the two
sheet fed offset presses in the pressroom on the second floor. On the
second floor there is a superintendent who has charge of all activities
on the floor; under him are the individual foremen for the three de-
partments on that floor. On the third floor there is a foreman for the
photoengraving department and another foreman in charge of the
litho-platemaking activities and the litho-cameraman.
Contrary to the facts in the Foote di Davies case, there has been no
history of collective bargaining at the Company's plant based upon a
separate unit of lithographic employees. With this persuasive factor
absent, we must nevertheless determine whether all other circum-
stances in the two cases are so alike as to preclude the establishment
of the units sought by the Pressmen and the Engravers. For we in-
dicated in the Foote ci Davies case that, apart from the collective bar-
gaining history, the facts there present were similar to those in other
cases in which we took the position, in substance, that lithographic
workers constitute an indivisible grouping.s
There can be no question of the history of organization and collec-
tive bargaining by the Amalgamated throughout the industry predi-
cated upon units of lithographic workers. But inasmuch as there has
been no collective bargaining among this Company's employees, this
element loses much of its force where, as here, there is no affirmative
evidence that the pattern of organization and collective bargaining
generally present in the industry has included the particular locale
in which the workers concerned are employed. Los Angeles, appar-
ently, has been largely unaffected by conditions in other sections of
the country.
In striking contrast to the Foote cff Davies case, moreover, there is
substantial interchange of employees between the offset presses and
other presses. It appears that the Company employs a crew of
approximately 12 persons, supervised by a working foreman, who are
engaged on both newspaper (or letterpress) presses and offset presses.
Depending upon business exigencies, these employees work on each
type of press for varying periods of time during the course of a week.
They may work the major portion of 1 week on newspaper presses,
and the next week the reverse might be true.
9 See Matter of The W. H. K,, tier Stationery Company, 51 N. L. R. B. 978 ; Matter of
Con P Curran Printing Company , 57 N. L. It. B. 185; Matter of Midwest Printing Co,
58 N. L. R. B. 673; Matter of George Banta Publishrong Company, 59 N. L. R. B. 669.
PACIFIC PRESS, INC. 463
Nor are the Company's lithographic employees as markedly segre-
gated or centralized as were those in the Foote d Davies case. From
the description of the plant already given, we note that all presses are
located near one another, and that the offset presses are not situated
in one place. At the Company's plant, furthermore, photoengravings
are made,10 and the employees engaged in this work are in close
proximity to those employed in platemaking. In fact, a common
gallery or camera room is used by both these groups. In addition,
the offset pressmen and the platemakers are located on separate
floors.
In view of all the foregoing facts, particularly the interchange of
workers between offset and other presses, we are persuaded that the
position of the Company, the Pressmen, and the Engravers, that the
operations of the Company's plant are unique in the industry, is
generally well founded. These facts, unlike those in the Foote cfc
Davies case, tend to emphasize the relation between offset pressmen
and letter pressmen, and the connection between platemakers and
photoengravers, rather than the tie between offset pressmen and
platemakers. That all pressmen, as pressmen, have common interests,
cannot be denied. And it cannot be gainsaid that there is a mutual
bond between platemakers and photoengravers, inasmuch as both
prepare plates for presses. Accordingly, we are convinced that the
units sought by the Pressmen and the Engravers are appropriate, and
that the unit desired by the Amalgamated is inappropriate so far as
Pacific Press, Inc., is concerned.
Upon the entire record in this particular case, we find that the
following units are appropriate for the purposes of collective bar-
gaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
1. All the Company's employees classified as pressmen, assistant
pressmen, press feeders, assistants, helpers, and apprentices working
on all types of printing presses, including offset pressmen, but exclud-
ing all supervisory employees above the rank of foreman;
2. All the Company's photoengravers, camera operators, plate-
makers, lay-out men, artists and employees of the planograph depart-
ment not already mentioned, excluding all pressmen and all super-
visory employees above the rank of foreman.
Since the unit sought by the Amalgamated has been found to be
inappropriate, we shall dismiss its petition.
V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We shall direct that the questions concerning representation which
have arisen be resolved by elections by secret ballot among employees
10 This is not the fact in the Foote & Davies case.
4:64 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
in the appropriate units who were employed during the pay-roll
period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Elections
herein, siAbject to the limitations and additions set forth in the
Direction.
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National
Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Rela-
tions Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, as amended, it is
hereby
DmECTEn that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa-
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Pacific Press, Inc.,
Los Angeles, California, separate elections 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 supervision
of the Regional Director for the Twenty-first Region, acting in this
matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject
to Article III, Sections 10 and 11, of said Rules and Regulations,
among the employees in the units found appropriate in Section IV,
above, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately
preceding the date of this Direction, including employees who did not
work during said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation
or temporarily laid, off, and including employees in the armed forces
of the United States who present themselves in person at the polls,
but excluding those employees who have since quit or been discharged
for cause and have not been rehired or reinstated prior to the date of
the elections, to determine :
1. Whether the employees in unit 1, described in Section IV, above,
desire to be represented by International Printing Pressmen and
Assistants Union of North America, A. F. L., or by Amalgamated
Lithographers of America, Local 22, for the purposes of collective
bargaining, or by neither.
2. Whether the employees in unit 2, described in Section IV, above,
desire to be represented by International Photo Engravers Union of
North America, Local 32, A. F. L., or by Amalgamated Lithographers
of America, Local 22, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by
neither.
ORDER
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petition for investigation and cer-
tification of representatives of employees of Pacific Press, Inc., Los
Angeles, California, filed herein by Amalgamated Lithographers of
America, Local 22, be, and it hereby is, dismissed.