Rayonier Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Oct 9, 1943

52 N.L.R.B. 1269 (N.L.R.B. 1943)

In the Matter of RAYONIER INCORPORATED, GRAYS HAR;3QR DIVISION and
INTERNATIONAL WOODWORKERS OF AMERICA, LOCAL 3-362, AFFILIATED
WITH THE C. I. 0.
Case No. R-5754.-Decided October 9,1943
Holman, Sprague cC Allen, by Messrs. DeForest Perkins and J. Paul
Coie, of Seattle, Wash., for the Company.'
McMicken, Rupp cO Schaveppe, by Mr. Alfred J. Schweppe, of
Seattle, Wash., for the Employer Association.
Bassett cO Geisness, by Mr. John Geisness, of Seattle, Wash., for
the A. F. of L.
Mr. Harry George, of Portland, Oreg., and Messrs. John Bayha and
H. I. Tucker, both of Aberdeen, Wash., for the C. I. 0.
Mlir. A. Summer Lawrence, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
ORDER
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon petition duly filed by International Woodworkers of America,
Local 3-362, affiliated With the C. I. 0., herein called the C. I. 0.,'
alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning
the representation of employees of Rayonier Incorporated, Grays
Harbor Division , Hoquiam, Washington, herein called the Company,
the National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate
hearing upon due notice before William A. Babcock, Jr., Trial Ex-
aminer. Said hearing was held at Hoquiam, Washington, on July
20-24, 1943. The Company, the C. I. 0., International Brotherhood
of Pulp, Sulphite and Paper Mill Workers and International Brother-
hood of Paper Makers, affiliated with the A. F. of L., herein collectively
called the A. F. of L., and Pacific Coast Association of Pulp & Paper
Manufacturers , herein called the Employer Association, appeared,,
participated, and were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to ex-
I Incorrectly described in the petition and other formal papers as International Wood-
workers of America, Local 362, affiliated with the C . I 0, and corrected , by motion at the
hearing.
52 N. L . R. B., No. 214.
1269
1270 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
amine 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. All parties were
afforded opportunity of filing briefs with the Board.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANIES
Pacific Coast Association of Pulp & Paper Manufacturers is an
employer association of a majority of the pulp and paper manufactur-
ing companies in the Pacific Coast Area comprising the States of
Washington, Oregon, and California.
Rayonier Incorporated, a Delaware corporation and member of the
association above referred to, is engaged in the manufacture and
sale of pulp, paper, and paper products, and operates in four divisions.
Of these, the Grays Harbor Division, which alone is directly involved
in the present proceeding, consists of two mills, pulp and paper, re-
spectively, located at Hoquiam, Washington. During the fiscal year
ending April 30, 1942, the Grays Harbor Division of Rayonier In-
corporated used raw materials of the value of approximately $3,000,000,
of which $800,000 represented the value of materials obtained from
points outside the State of Washington. , During the same period, the
Grays Harbor Division manufactured and sold finished products
valued at approximately $9,000,000, of which $8,700,000 represented
the value of products shipped to points outside the State of
Washington.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
International Woodworkers of America, Local 3-362, is a labor
organization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations,
admitting to membership employees of Rayonier Incorporated.
International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite and Paper Mill Work-
ers and International Brotherhood of Paper Makers are labor organi-
zations affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, admitting
to membership employees of Rayonier Incorporated.
III. THE ALLEGED APPROPRIATE UNIT
The C. I. O. contended at the hearing that the appropriate unit
should consist of all the employees of Rayonier Incorporated in its
Hoquiam mills, excluding those engaged in administration, super-
vision, sales research (not including control chemists, testers, etc.),
RAYONIER INCORPORATED 1271
accounting, clerical, stenographic, and other office work .2 The A. F.
of L., Rayonier Incorporated , and the Employer Association, do not
dispute the categories requested for inclusion or exclusion from the
claimed appropriate unit, but do contend that the appropriate unit
should extend to the employees of all members of the Employer As-
sociation upon a multiple employer basis.
The organization and history of the Employer Association
The Employer Association, which was originally composed of 14
member companies , was organized in 1934 in response to a request
from the A. F. of L. international unions for a joint conference with
employers for the purposes of collective bargaining . While there was
oral evidence at the hearing to the effect that the primary purpose of
the Employer Association was the negotiation of labor agreements
and the handling of labor problems , the Association 's Articles of
Organization make no mention of this or any other primary purpose,
but simply provide that "the purpose of this Association shall be to
confer on matters of mutual interest ." Notwithstanding the absence
in the Articles of Organization of any mention of collective bargain-
ing, the Employer Association has, nevertheless, met with a bargain-
ing committee from the International Unions for a period of years
beginning in 1934 and continuing with few interruptions up to the
present year. During this period, the Employer Association has
negotiated though not signed uniform labor agreements,' which have
been executed and generally adhered to by representatives of the In-
ternational Unions and the individual members of the Employer
Association.
While the Employer Association has not attempted to bind its
members under any previous delegation of authority , the employer
members have , at their pre -conference meetings , regularly voted
each year that they would be bound by the decisions of the majority
in their dealings with the A. F. of L . In addition to the negotia-
tion of uniform labor agreements , the employers have participated
in a joint arbitration agreement for the settlement of employee
2 The final position of the C. I. 0 agrees with the unit set forth in the uniform labor
agreeemnt which has been in effect in the operation of the Grays) Harbor Division The
C. I. 0 originally contended for the inclusion of plant clerical employees but subsequently
abandoned this contention and agreed that all office workers wherever located should be
excluded from the appropriate unit in conformity with the unit set forth in the uniform
labor agreement
' The last uniform labor agreement is that of the year 1941 as amended by a supplemental
agreement of 1942. No agreement has been negotiated for the year 1943, the negotiations
having, as of the date of the hearing , been recessed subject to call, pending the determina-
tion of the present issues.
1272
r
DECI'SION'S OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
grievances 4 and have also undertaken through their association,
an analysis of job classifications with the object of establishing
uniform rates of pay for the same types of work throughout the
mills owned and operated by members of the Employer A sso-
ciation.5
Organization and history of employee organizations
In 1933, various locals of_ the International Unions from the
northwest area comprising the States of Oregon and Washington
met and organized the Pacific Northwest Association of Pulp and
Paper Mill Employees.6 In 1934, the Association held a meeting
at which it was decided to attempt to engage in collective bargaining
with the employers jointly. The Employee Association thereafter
communicated with employers represented by the Employer Asso-
ciation and arranged for negotiations between representatives of
the, International Unions and an employer bargaining committee
in the formulation of the first of a series of uniform labor agreements.
While the Employee Association did not actually participate in
the negotiation of these agreements, it did, nevertheless, through
pre-wage conferences serve as a clearing house for the formulation
of employee demands to be presented to the employers' bargaining
committee by representatives of the International Unions. The re-
sulting uniform agreements with individual employers were signed
by the International Union representatives and, in most cases prior
to 1937, by representatives of the member locals directly concerned
therein.
In 1937, as the result of a question having arisen as to the binding
effect of the agreements upon locals whose representatives did not
participate in the signing thereof, the constitution and bylaws of
the Employee Association were amended to provide for a referen-
dum vote by all member locals on the agreements thus negotiated.
However, notwithstanding the amendment, the locals continued the
practice of joint negotiations with the representatives of the em-
The joint arbitration agreement dated August •",, 1934, was executed jointly by the
charter members of the Employer Association as of the date of the completed draft of the
first uniform labor agreement., The arbitration agreement provides for the creation of a
joint relations board to handle such matter as may be referred to it " in accordance with
agreements entered into by and between any employer party to this agreement and the
,union or unions in behalf of their respective members in the employ of such employer."
The program of job analysis was first undertaken in 1934 by the Employer Association
acting in conjunction with representatives of the International Unions . While a complete
program of job analysis and classification has never been carried out, the group study in
this direction has tended to produce uniformity in wage rates for comparable work in
various operations.
6 The name of the Employee Association was subsequently changed in 1937 to Pacific
Northwest Association of Pulp and Paper Mill Employees , upon expansion of the original
organization to include locals from California.
RAYONIEiR INCORPORATED 1273
ployers, acting through the Employer Association. In 1940, due to -
the-failure of a minority of the locals to attend or participate in
the meetings conducted by the Employee Association, it was voted
by the member locals to delegate to the International Unions who,
as stated above, had always conducted the actual negotiations with
employers, the additional function, previously exercised by the Em-
ployee Association, of calling and conducting the annual pre-wage
conference preparatory to the meeting with the employers. While
this period and the years subsequent thereto have been marked on
different occasions by the refusal on the part of a minority of locals
including those at Hoquiam, to participate in the pre-wage confer-
ences, or to execute the uniform labor agreements resulting from
the subsequent negotiations with the employers, the agreements as
signed by the representatives of the International Unions have been
generally considered operative by the dissident locals hereinabove
referred to.7
History of collective bargaining
Since the year 1934, the members of the Employer Association
have acted in unison in matters pertaining to wages, hours, and
other conditions of employment. Signed collective bargaining
agreements between the individual members and the International
Unions have been continuously in force since 1934. All of these
contracts were negotiated through the Employer Association and
have extended to all members of the Association.
This system of dealing which has become traditional in the Pacific
Coast pulp and paper industry, has proved conducive to the orderly
functioning of collective bargaining, and has contributed to uniformity
and stability of labor conditions, not only among the Association mills
but also among other Pacific Coast mills of a like class, which as a
general rule have followed the lead of the Association. The record
While the Board has , on occasion , excepted from the operation of an association-wide
unit , certain areas represented by locals which have always maintained an independent
course of action (see Matter of Shipowners Association of the Pacific Coast, 32 N . L. I2 B.
668), it appears that the locals in question have not pursued a definite course in their
attitude toward the uniform agreements , but have at times signed and at other times re-
fused to sign the agreements as negotiated Included in this group ale the Hoquiam locals
of the two International Unions Of these, it appears that the Pulp and Sulphite workers
local has disaffiliated from its International and become affiliated with the C I. 0 , as the
petitioner in the present proceeding . In addition , the Hoquiain local of Paper Makers,
though not disaffiliating from its International, has, under the influence of the Pulp and
Sulphite workers local , voted to suspend all meetings until the present controversy is
disposed of. Hoysever , while the record discloses that a large majority of the members
of both Hoquiam locals have transferred their allegiance to the C. I . 0., it appears that the
immediate cause for such action exists in the recent failure on the part of certain interna-
tional representatives to satisfy the local members with regard to the interpretation of a
Government wage regulation , rather than in any general dissatisfaction with collective bar-
gaining on a multiple -employer basis.'
1274 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATION IS BOARD
indicates that during the period covered by uniform labor agreements
and joint collective bargaining on the part of both unions and em-
ployers, the pulp and paper industry in the Pacific Coast area has
been singularly free from major industrial strife. The desirability
of this form of collective bargaining and the benefits which have
thereby accrued to both management and employees are not only
clearly supported by the evidence but are the subject of common
knowledge and extensive publications .8
CONCLUSIONS
On the basis of the facts above referred to and upon the entire
record in the case, we are of the opinion that, notwithstanding evi-
dence indicating the appropriateness, from a functional viewpoint,
of a bargaining unit confined to one plant of a single employer, the
course of collective bargaining, which since 1934 has been conducted
on a multiple-employer or association-wide basis, must govern the
scope of the appropriate unit in the present instance. In reaching
this conclusion, we are aware of decisions wherein we have held that,
under ordinary circumstances, a multiple-employer unit of competing
companies not otherwise related except through membership in an
Employer Association, will not be considered appropriate where the
employer association does not have the power to bind its members
in collective bargaining agreements .9 Such decisions are, however,
inapplicable where it appears as in the present case, that the em-
ployersin question have for many years established a practice of joint
action in regard to labor relations by negotiation with an effective
employee organization,10 and have by their customary adherence to
8 See Labor Relations in the Pulp and Paper Industry of the Pacific Northwest , by Roger
Randall , Northwest Regional Council, Portland , Oregon, ' 1942, and other publications
therein referred to
See Matter of Metro -Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, 7 N L. R . B 662 , 695; Matter of F E.
Booth d Company, 10 N L R. B. 1491 ; Matter of Trawler Maris Stella, Inc, 12 N L. R B
415; Matter of M. cf J. Tracy, Inc., 12 N. L. R B. 936; Matter- of Gulf Refining Co , Bulk
Sales Department, 21 N. L. R. P. 1033; Matter of Sagamore Manufacturing Company, 39
N L R B 909. -
10 The suggestion is advanced by the C. I. 0 that , inasmuch as the Employee Association
has abandoned to the International Unions the function of calling and conducting the pre-
wage conference of locals , that the bargaining machinery on the part of the locals has broken
down and become ineffective for the purposes of bargaining on an association -wide basis.
This suggestion is without merit since it appears that, notwithstanding the loss of func-
tions by the Employee Association , such functions have been assumed by the International
Unions without apparent decrease in operating efficiency ! Further evidence designed to
show an increasing dissatisfaction on the part of the locals with bargaining on an associa-
tion-wide basis, is of little consequence in view of the admitted fact that such locals as
have refused to participate in the negotiations or agreements have , nevertheless , abided
by the agreements which have been considered as operative by the locals in question
Under the circumstances , it is unnecessary to determine what effect , if any, a breakdown
of the bargaining machinery on the part of the unions involved would have upon the con-
tinuation of an otherwise appropriate bargaining unit . In this regard , see Matter of
United Fur Manufacturers Associa tion, Inc , 49 N. L- R B. 1405.
RAYONIE,R INCORPORATED 1275
the uniform labor agreements resulting therefrom, demonstrated their
desire to be bound by' group rather than by individual action.,-
Under the circumstances, it is unnecessary to determine whether
the particular employers' association has or has not received by dele-
gation from the members thereof, the essential employer functions
required for the successful maintenance of common bargaining rela-
tions . Nor is it material to the present issue that the uniform labor
agreements have been executed by the employers individually rather
than by the Employer Association.12 The fact that the members of the
Association have each year regularly participated in negotiations,13
with the understanding, pursuant to formal resolution at the pre-wage
conference , to abide by a majority decision of the members, clearly
shows the assumption of an obligation to adhere to the resultant uni-
form agreements. The customary observance of such obligation by
association members together with their established practice of other-
wise acting jointly in regard to labor relations,14 and the fact that the
employees as well as the companies have long considered collective
bargaining on an association-wide basis to be desirable, coupled with
the other related circumstances hereinabove referred to, impel the con-
clusion that a unit coextensive with employees in all association com-
panies is appropriate in the present instance.',' Accordingly, we find
that the single employer unit requested by the C. I. 0. is inappropri-
ate for the purposes of collective bargaining.
IV. THE ALLEGED QUESTION OONCERNING REPRESENTATION
Since the bargaining unit sought to be established by the petition
is inappropriate as stated in Section III, above, we find that no ques-
11 See Matter of Stevens Coal Company, 19 N. L R B 98 , 109, Matter of The Paterson
Leitch Company, 33 N. L It. B 485. The fact that no active member of the employer
association group has seen fit to bargain independently with the representatives of his on
employees demonstrates that the individual employers believe joint collective action by
both employers and employees to be the most effective method of bargaining See Matter
of Mobile Steamship Company, 8 N'L . R. B 1297
12 Matters of The Paterson Leitch Company, 33 N. L R . B. 485 The case of Drewrys
Limited U. S . A., Inc., 44 N. L R . B. 1119 , insofar as it contains any expression of opinion
inconsistent herewith , is hereby overruled.
13 The record shows that the delegates of the employers at the negotiation conferences
have exercised active control over the employers' negotiation committee in that , during
negotiations , the committee has regularly consulted the delegates for their approval of
any action of consequence to be undertaken with reference to the negotiations.
14 While the evidence shows that the employers in question have not jointly executed any
of the uniform labor agreements , in actual practice the members of the Employer Associa-
tion have , by their general acceptance of the fruits of negotiation, indicated that they
consider themselves bound by the agreements thus jointly negotiated , and regard the subse-
quent signing of the individual agreements as a mere formality in the expression of an
outstanding obligation.
15 See in addition to cases cited in footnote 11, Matter of Central Foundry Company, 46
N L R. B 676; Matter of New Bedford Cotton Manufacturers Association , 47 N. L. It. B.
174 ; Matter of F. L . Hartung Co ., 50 N. L It. B 1
1276 DECISIONS OF \IATIO?NAL LABOR RELAfrIONIS BOARD
tion has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the
Company in an appropriate bargaining unit.
ORDER
Upon the basis of the foregoing findings of fact, the National Labor
Relations Board hereby orders that the petition for investigation
and certification of representatives of employees of Rayonier Incorpo-
rated, Grays Harbor Division, Hoquiam, Washington, filed by Inter-
national Woodworkers of America, Local 3-362, affiliated with the
C. 1. 0., be, and it hereby is, dismissed.
0