Potlatch Forests, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 13, 1943

51 N.L.R.B. 288 (N.L.R.B. 1943)

In the Matter of POTLATCH FORESTS, INC., and LOCALS 10-358 AND
10-361, INTERNATIONAL WOODWORKERS OF AMERICA, AFFILIATED WITH
TILE C. I. O.
In the Matter of POTLATCH FORESTS, INC. and LOCAL 10-364, INTERNA-
TIONAL WOODWORKERS OF AMERICA , AFFILIATED WITH THE C. I. 0.
Cases Nos. R-5373 and R-5374 respectively.Decided July 13, 1943
Mr. George Beardmore, of Lewiston, Idaho, for the Company.
Messrs. Harry George and George Brown, both of Portland, Oreg.,
for the C. 1. 0.
Mr. George E. Flood, of Seattle, Wash., for the A. F. L.
Mr. David V. Easton, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
ORDER
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon petitions duly filed by Locals 10-358, 10-361, and 10-364,
International Woodworkers of America, affiliated with the C. I. 0.,
herein collectively called the C. I. 0.,1 alleging that questions affecting
commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of
Potlatch Forests, Inc., Lewiston, Idaho, here called the Company, the
National Labor Relations Board consolidated the cases and provided
for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before John E. Hedrick,
Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Lewiston, Idaho, on May
14 and 15, 1943. The Company, the C. I. 0., and Locals 2679, 2664,
2923, 2766, and 2584, Lumber and Sawmill Workers' Union, chartered
by the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America,
affiliated with the A. F. of L., by the Northwestern Council Lumber and
Sawmill Workers, herein collectively called the A. F. L., appeared,
' The orginal petitions were filed by Locals 358 and 361, International Woodworkers of
America, affiliated with the C. I. O. and by International Woodworkers of America , C. I. 0.,
Local 364. At the hearing the C. I. O. made a motion to change its titles to Locals 10-358,
10-361, 10-364, International Woodworkers of America, affiliated with the C. I. 0., and to
amend the petitions with regard to the units sought and the business of the Company.
This motion was granted by-the Trial Examiner and the petitions were amended in accord-
ance therewith.
51 N. L. R. B., No. 59.
288
POTLATCH FORESTS, INC. 289
participated, and were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to
examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bear-
ing on the issues. The A. F. L. moved to dismiss the petitions herein
on the ground, among others, that the units sought by the C. I. O.
were not appropriate. The Trial Examiner reserved ruling upon this
motion. For reasons appearing hereinafter, the motion of the A. F. L.
is granted. The Trial Examiner's rulings made at the hearing are free
from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. The A. F. L. sub-
mitted a brief and a supplemental brief, which the Board has con-
sidered.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Potlatch Forests, Inc., a Maine corporation, is engaged in the general
logging, sawmill, mill, and. manufacturing business. It cuts timber
into logs, saws and mills logs into lumber and lumber products, and
sells such products throughout the United States. It owns and oper-
ates three subsidiary corporations known as the Forest Development
Company, the Washington-Idaho-Montana Railroad, a common car-
rier, and Wood Briquets, Inc. In addition thereto, it owns and con-
ducts five operations consisting of three mills known as the Potlatch
Unit Plant, located at Potlatch, Idaho, the Rutledge Unit Plant,
located at Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and the Clearwater Unit Plant, located
at Lewiston, Idaho, and two logging departments known as Clearwater
Logging Department, located at Headquarters, Idaho, and the Bovill
Logging Department, located at Bovill, Idaho. The Company owns
and operates several camps in connection with its two logging depart-
ments. In 1942, the Company disposed of 462,743,536 board feet of
lumber, of which 449,449,383 board feet were sold to customers. Dur-
ing the same period, 96 percent of the products of the Company was
shipped to points outside the State of Idaho. We find that the Com-
pany, in the conduct of its five operations and through its subsidiaries,
.is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor
Relations Act. ,
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
Locals 10-358, 10-361, and 10-364, International Woodworkers of
America are labor organizations affiliated with the Congress of Indus-
trial Organizations, admitting to membership employees of the
Company.
Locals 2679, 2664, 2923, 2766, and 2584; Lumber and Sawmill
Workers' Union, chartered by the United Brotherhood of Carpenters
,290 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELA4TIONIS BOARD
and Joiners of America, are labor organizations affiliated with the
Northwestern Council Lumber and Sawmill Workers, an affiliate of
the American Federation of Labor, admitting to membership em-
ployees of the Company.
III. THE ALLEGED APPROPRIATE UNIT
The principal issue involved herein is whether the units sought to
be established by the C. I. O. are appropriate.2 The C. I. O. contends
-that the employees of each of the three operations of the Company
which it desires to represent constitute separate and, distinct appro-
priate units.s The A. F. L. contends that all five operations constitute
an appropriate unit. The Company takes no position with respect
to this issue or to any of the issues involved herein; it appeared at.
the hearing merely for the purpose of assisting the Board in its
investigation.
- The Company conducts all of its operations in the northwestern
portion of the State of Idaho. It is approximately 90 miles from the
Clearwater Unit plant at Lewiston to the Clearwater Logging De-
partment at Headquarters, which is its. source of timber. The Bovill
Logging Department, which supplies the Potlatch and Rutledge
Mills with timber, is approximately 25 miles from Potlatch and
about 100 miles from Coeur d'Alene, where the Rutledge Unit plant
is located. Connected with each of the logging operations are the
various logging camps operated by the Company. At each of the
unit plants there are mills and facilities for making "Presto Logs,"
the product of Wood • Briquets, .Inc., a subsidiary of the Company.
Lewiston is about 65 miles from Potlatch and about 135 miles from
Coeur d'Alene. Bovill is approximately 60 miles from Headquar-
ters, but due to the terrain it is necessary to use an indirect route
traveling from one logging operation to another, and thus the distance
is approximately 100 miles.
On occasion, the Company has shifted timber from Clearwater
Logging Department to the mill at Potlach ; it has transferred lumber
carriers and lift equipment, together with their crews, from one mill
to another, and has even transferred an entire shift from one mill to
another. In addition there is some interchange of personnel between
the logging operations at Bovill and Headquarters. The record also
discloses one instance in which mill workers were transferred to a log-
ging department for a short time, and were later returned to the mill
2 In view of our finding hereinafter set forth, we deem it unnecessary to determine
whether the collective bargaining contracts of the A. F. L. and its locals with the Company
constitute a bar to a present determination of representatives.
3 The C. I. 0. seeks to represent the Clearwater Unit Plant, the Clearwater Logging
Department, and the Boville Logging Department as separate units.
POTLATCH FORESTS, INC. '291
without loss of seniority. In spite of this interchangeability of per-
sonnel, the distances between the operations of the Company make it
unfeasible for all of its employees.to gather at one place, and for this,
reason they had been represented upon a unit basis, which the A. F. L._
later consolidated, keeping, however, as hereinafter indicated, a local
organization at each of the operations of the Company.
The three unit plants, prior to their representation by the A. F. L.,.
were represented for the purposes of collective bargaining on a unit
basis by the Loyal Legion of Loggers and Lumbermen, which subse-
quently became the Independent Employee's Union, herein called the
I. E. U. On September 13,1937, the A. F. L. filed charges alleging that
the Company and the I. E. U. were engaging in unfair labor practices.'-
The Board, on January 25, 1940, ordered the I. E. U. disestablished
and ordered that the Company withdraw its recognition of the I. E. U.
and its local S.5 Subsequent to the filing of these charges, the A. F. L.
became the bargaining representative for the employees of each of the-
mills of the Company, either by cross-check or consent election con-
ducted by the Board,° or upon the basis of a consent election held under-
other auspices.7
The employees of the Logging Departments were first represented
by the I. W. W. in separate units. However, in 1939, the A. F. L. filed,
separate petitions,8 seeking to represent the employees of each of these
departments. Both proceedings resulted in cross-checks in which the
A. F. L. was chosen as the bargaining representative.
Thus, by 1941, the A. F. L. had successfully organized and been
selected as bargaining representative of the employees of each of the
five operations of the Company. On June 5, 1941, the Company and
the five locals of the A. F. L.9 executed a "Master Contract" effective
as of June 1 covering all five operations of the Company. This con-
tract was signed on behalf of the A. F. L. by representatives of the
five locals, as well as by the Inland Empire District Council, herein
called the Council.10 The contract provided for recognition of the
A. F. L. by the Company as the exclusive bargaining agency for all its
It Matter of Potlatch Forests , Inc., 19 N. L. R. B. 887.
19N L. R. B. 945.
° Case No. 19-C-634 (Potlatch Unit plant). In 1938, the C. I. 0. filed a petition seeking
to represent the employees of the Rutledge Unit plant (Case.No. 19-R -265) ; however, it
lost the election conducted as part of that proceeding . In February 1941, it again filed
a petition seeking to represent these employees (Case No. 19-R-662 ). As part of this
proceeding , a consent election was conducted in which both the C. I. 0. and the A. F. L.
were on the ballot . The election resulted in the selection of the A. F. L as the bargaining
representative of these employees.
' The Clearwater Unit plant.
s Cases Nos . 19-R-339, 19-R-340.
Q As hereinabove indicated, the A . F. L. organized each operation of the Company sepa-
rately, setting up a local at each.
10 The A. F. L. locals were members of the Council.
540612-44-vol. 51-20
292 DECISIONS OF NiATIONAL LABOR RE'LA(PIONiS BOARD
production and maintenance employees, as well as for uniform regu-
lations with regard to the adjustment of grievances, wages, hours, and
other conditions of employment. In addition thereto, it provided that
"supplemental and strictly local agreements shall be negotiated by the
local unions ... with the local managers ... covering strictly local
matters" and the following clause was appended :
It is understood and agreed that the Master Agreement of June
1, 1941, shall have no force and effect until the local unions and
the Company divisions have agreed upon and signed the local
agreements required by the Master Agreement.
Subsequent thereto, the managers of each of the operations signed
supplemental contracts with the locals, thus carrying out the provi-
sions of the Master Contract. These local contracts covered purely
local affairs, and took the form of a collection of amendments to cor-
responding sections in the Master Agreement. The Master Contract
was subsequently renewed on May 29, 1942.
From the facts set forth above, we are of the opinion that the col-
lective bargaining between the Company and the A. F. L. and its
various locals clearly indicates the. propriety of a unit consisting of the
logging and mill employees of the Company. The bargaining on mat-
ters of wages, hours, and general working conditions has been con-
ducted by the A. F. L. for all the production and maintenance em-
ployees of the Company. The local agreements have been on matters
of an essentially local character, and are not inconsistent with bar-
gaining upon a company-wide basis. They merely implement the
basic conditions and general principles established by the Master Con-
tract and adapt them to the conditions peculiar to each operation.
Manifestly, it would be unrealistic for the parties to make uniform
provisions on all subjects with no allowance for leaving purely local
matters to be adjusted on a local basis. Upon the entire record, we
are convinced that the primary matters of collective bargaining have
been negotiated on a company-wide basis for the production and main-
tenance employees of the Company and that the bargaining engaged
in by each of the locals has been of a limited and supplementary char-
acter. Accordingly, we find that units consisting solely of the em-
ployees of the three operations of the Company which the C. I. 0.
seeks to represent are inappropriate.
IV.' THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
Since the bargaining units sought to be established by the petitions
are inappropriate, as stated in Section III, above, we find that no ques-
POTLATCH FORESTS, INC. 293
tion has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Com-
pany in an appropriate bargaining unit.
ORDER
Upon the basis of the foregoing facts, the National Labor Relations
Board hereby orders that the petitions for investigation and certifica-
tion of representatives of employees of Potlatch Forests, Inc., Lewis-
ton, Idaho, filed by Locals 10-358,10-361,10-364, International Wood-
workers of America, C. I. 0., be, and they hereby are, dismissed.