Smith Paper, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 7, 1948

76 N.L.R.B. 1222 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

In the Matter of SMITH PAPER, INCORPORATED , EMPLOYER and OFFICE
WORKERS ]EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION, A. F. OF L ., PETITIONER
Case No. 1-R-3860.Decided April 7, 1948
Mr. A. L. Prichard, of Louisville, Ky., for the Employer.
Mr. William Malone, of Holyoke, Mass., for the Petitioner.
Mr. Frederick J. RocAford, of Boston, Mass., for the Intervenor.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition dilly filed, hearing in this case was held at Pittsfield,
Massachusetts, on January 14, 1948, before Thomas H. Ramsey, hear-
ing officer? The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free
from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER
Smith Paper, Incorporated, is engaged in the manufacture of ciga-
rette paper and other thin paper specialties. The Employer's plants,
are located at Lenox and Lee, Massachusetts; in addition it has a fibre
division which is located at Red Lake Falls, Minnesota. The Em-
ployer's annual purchases of raw materials are valued in excess of
$200,000, all of which originate outside the Commonwealth of Massa-
chusetts. During the past 6 months the Employer's gross sales of
finished products exceeded $1,000,000 in value, of which more than 80
percent represented shipments to points outside the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts.
The Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce
within the meaning of the Act.
' Pursuant to Section 3 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act, the National Labor
Relations Board has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three -man panel
consisting of Board Members Houston , Reynolds , and Gray.
73 N. L R. B , No. 174.
1222
SMITH PAPER, INCORPORATED
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
1223
The Petitioner is'a labor organization affiliated With the American
Federation of Labor, claiming to represent employees of the Employer.
International Brotherhood of Paper Makers, herein called the Inter-
venor, is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation
,of Labor, claiming to represent employees of the Employer.
III. TILE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Employer refused to recognize the Petitioner as the exclusive
bargaining representative of certain of its employees until the Peti-
tioner has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit.
We find that a question affecting commerce exists concerning the
representation of employees of the Employer within the meaning of
.Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.2
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Employer's operations at Lee, Massachusetts, embrace four
plants known as the Eagle Mill, Columbia Mill, Niagara Mill, and
Valley Mill. The Columbia Mill is located approximately three-
-quarters of a mile from the Eagle Mill; the Niagara Mill is approxi-
mately 2 miles from the Eagle Mill; and the Valley Mill is approxi-
mately 31/2 miles from the Eagle Mill. The Intervenor presently
represents and has a collective bargaining contract covering all hourly
rated production and maintenance employees at the Employer's
operations.
The parties are generally agreed that all salaried office and clerical
employees at the Employer's main office located at its Eagle Mill plant,
'excluding executives, confidential employees,3 time-study observers,
chemist, salesmen, draftsmen, nurses, laboratory employees, guards,
professional employees,4 and all supervisors constitute an appropriate
unit. They disagree, however, concerning the confidential status of
switchboard operators and the chauffeur; and a question has also been
2 At the hearing the Employer moved to dismiss the petition allegedly on the ground that
the Petitioner ' s showing of interest is not adequate We find no merit in this contention.
The Board has frequently held that the matter of showing of representation is purely an
administrativ e expedient and is not subject to collateral attack Matter of D. C .7ennang8
ii Company, 68 N L R. B 516, 518, Matter of Falcon Manufactui inq Company, 73 N L.
R B 467 , 469 Moreover , we are administratively satisfied as to the adequacy of the
Petitioner 's showing
3 The record discloses and the parties agreed that the Employer employs three confiden-
tial secretaries , viz , secretary to the personnel manager , secretaiy to the secretary and
treasurer , and secretary to the vice piesident and general manager.
4 At the hearing the parties agreed that the tax accountant is a professional employee,
as defined in the Act.
1224 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
raised concerning the inclusion of two groups of hourly rated clerks,
hereinafter called Groups A and B.
The Employer employs two switchboard operators who perform
the usual duties incidental to this job classification and who, in the
course of their duties, occasionally send telegrams and teletype
messages relating to labor matters. The chauffeur drives an automo-
bile used in the transportation of office officials and visitors, carries
mail to and from the post office, and runs miscellaneous errands. The
Employer asserts as its reason for excluding these employees the fact
that in the performance of their duties they may overhear conversa-
tions relating to labor relations matters. However, inasmuch as these
employees clearly do not assist or act in a confidential capacity to
persons exercising managerial functions in the field of labor relations,
we shall include them in the unit.5
The Employer's main offices are located at its Eagle Mill; in addi-
tion, it maintains separate plant offices at its various plants wherein
the clerks in Groups A 6 and B 7 are employed. The Petitioner does
not seek to represent Group A and B clerks in its proposed unit and
agrees with the Intervenor that these employees should be included in
the production and maintenance unit which the Intervenor presently
represents. Although the Employer takes no specific position with
respect to these clerks, it introduced some evidence at the hearing
tending to show that Group B clerks perform substantially the same
functions in the Employer's respective plant offices as the salaried
clerical employees perform in its main office.
The record discloses that all clerks in Groups A and B are hourly
rated employees as distinguished from the Employer's main office em-
ployees who are salaried personnel. It also appears that main office
employees are carried on the so-called management pay roll whereas
the clerks here in question are carried on the mill pay roll; and that
main office employees are not, whereas Groups A and B are, covered by
the Intervenor's contract for the production and maintenance unit.
Group A clerks spend most of their time working in the various plants
checking supplies and performing other routine clerical work under
the supervision of production and maintenance supervisors. And
although Group B clerks may perform the same type of clerical work
as the main office employees, unlike the latter employees, Group B clerks
5 Matter of Sears Roebuck & Co., 76 N. L R B . 167; Matter of Phillips Petroleum Com-
pany, 73 N. L. R B 236, 237; Matter of Sheffield Farms Company , Inc, 73 N. L. R. B.
573, 575.
6 There are eight employees in this group , including three inventory clerks, two stock
clerks, one stock clerk -fire inspector , one reclaim inventory clerk, and one clerk 's helper.
' The 16 employees in this group are Clifford Broga, Grace Buck, Eada Dewkett, , Jennie
B. Fraval , T. Norton Barte, Margaret Killackey , Madeline Lorette, Evelyn Mitchell, Mary
Ordyna, May Powers, Walter Rathbun, Elizabeth Salice, Francis Sprozzi, Clara Streeter,
Mary Wheeler , and Edward White.
SMITH PAPER, INCORPORATED 1225
work under the supervision of production personnel, and, by reason of
their duties in the respective plant offices, are in close contact with the
Employer's production and maintenance employees.
Upon the basis of the foregoing facts and upon the entire record in
the case, we are of the opinion that the clerks in Groups A and B are,
essentially, plant clericals who have a closer community of interest
with the Employer's production and maintenance employees than with
the salaried office employees in the main offices We shall, therefore,
exclude them from the unit.
Accordingly, we find that all salaried office and clerical employees at
the Employer's main office located at its Eagle Mill plant, including
switchboard operators and the chauffeur, but excluding executives,
confidential employees, chemists, time-study observers, salesmen,
draftsmen, nurses, laboratory employees, professional employees (in-
cluding the tax accountant), all clerks in Groups A and B, guards,
and supervisors, as defined in the Act, constitute a unit appropriate for
the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section
9 (b) of the Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining with Smith Paper, Incorporated,
Lee, Massachusetts, an election 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 First Region, and subject to Sections 203.61 and
203.62 of National Labor Relations Rules and Regulations-Series 5,
among the employees in the unit 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, 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, election, and also excluding em-
ployees on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to determine
whether or not they desire to be represented by Office Workers Em-
ployees International Union, A. F. of L., for the purposes of collective
bargaining.
MEMBER REYNOLDS took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Direction of Election.
8 Matter of W. C. Norris Manufacturer, Inc., 73 N. L. R . B 838, 841 ; Matter of Grand
Central Airport Company, 70 N. L . R. B 1094 , 1096 ; Matter of Wilson Athletic Goods
Manufacturing Company, 66 N. L. R. B. 263, 265.