Smith Rice Mill, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

May 5, 1949

83 N.L.R.B. 380 (N.L.R.B. 1949)

In the Matter of SMITH RICE MILL, INC. AND DEWITT BONDED WARE-
HOUSE COMPANY,1 EMPLOYERS and FEDERAL LABOR UNION, No. 23416,
AFL, PETITIONER
Case No. 32-RC-106.-Decided May 5,1949
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before Richard C.
Keenan, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the
hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the National Labor
Relations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with
this case to a three-member panel [Members Reynolds, Murdock, and
Gray].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employers, Smith Rice Mill, Inc., and DeWitt Bonded
Warehouse Company, respectively, are engaged in the business of mill-
ing rice and storing rice. Prior to July 1948, Smith Rice Mill Com-
pany owned and operated the mill, elevator, and warehouses which
are presently being operated by the Employers. From September
1944 until September 1947, all the production and maintenance em-
ployees of Smith Rice Mill Company, including warehouse and mill
employees, were covered by a collective bargaining agreement between
the said company and the Petitioner. In 1948, Smith Rice Mill Com-
pany sold its physical properties to Smith Rice Mill, Inc. The latter
corporation thereafter leased the elevator and warehouses to DeWitt
Bonded Warehouse Company, who conducts all storage operations.
The operations of Smith Rice Mill, Inc., and DeWitt Bonded Ware-
house Company together are substantially the same as the operations
1 At the hearing, the hearing officer granted the Petitioner ' s motion to amend its
petition by adding DeWitt Bonded Warehouse Company as a party to this proceeding.
Smith Rice Mill, Inc, opposed the motion on the grounds that no notice of hearing was
served upon DeWitt Bonded Warehouse Company and that the amendment of the petition
prejudices the Employers . In view of the fact that we hereinafter find that DeWitt Bonded
Warehouse Company and Smith Rice Mill, Inc., together are a single employer within
the meaning of Section 2 (2) of the Act, we believe that the notice of hearing served upon
Smith Rice Mill , Inc., was sufficient notice to DeWitt Bonded Warehouse Company. Ac-
cordingly , we find that the -Employers were not prejudiced by the amendment of the
petition and we, therefore , affirm the hearing officer 's ruling. Cf. Matter of Texas Hard-
4bood Manufacturing Company, 73 N. L. R. B. 356; Matter of National Dress Manufacturers'
Association Inc., et al., 28 N. L. R. B. 386, 389.
83 N. L. R. B., No. 53.
380
.
"
S4='RICE MILL, INC. j 381
of their predecessor, Smith Rice' Mill Company. Rough rice is de-
livered initially to the rough rice warehouse or the elevator, where
it is stored. When the rice is required for milling, it is delivered
from the elevator to the mill through a pipe connecting the two
buildings. After the milling operation, the rice is sacked and de-
livered by mill employees- to the clean rice warehouses which are
physically attached to the mill. The rice is shipped out of the plant
from the warehouses. Smith Rice Mill, Inc. operates the mill and
DeWitt Bonded Warehouse Company operates the elevator and ware-
houses. There is a single paymaster, one personnel officer and a single
clerical staff 'for both corporations. All foremen in charge of opera-
tions of the elevator and the warehouses are employees of and paid
by Smith Rice Mill, Inc. Otto Leibrock, the president and manager
of Smith Rice Mill, Inc., also supervises operations of the elevator
and warehouses. Employees at the elevator and warehouses are hired
and discharged by their foremen who are employees of the Smith
Rice Mill, Inc. A single power plant furnishes power to the mill,
'elevator, and warehouses. Although DeWitt Bonded Warehouse
Company is required by law to accept rice for storage from the public
generally, the record shows that the great bulk of its operations are
for the account of Smith Rice Mill, Inc. In view of the interdepend-
ence of operations of the two companies and the exercise of effective
control by Smith Rice Mill, Inc. over the employees of DeWitt Bonded
Warehouse Company, we believe that Smith Rice Mill, Inc., and
DeWitt Bonded Warehouse Company together constitute a single
employer within the meaning of Section 2 (2) of the Act 2
The Employers are engaged in commerce within the meaning of the
National Labor Relations Act.
2. The Petitioner claims to represent employees of the Employers.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of employees of the Employers within the meaning of Section 9
(c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. We find that all production and maintenance employees of Smith
Rice Mill, Inc., and DeWitt Bonded Warehouse Company at their
plant in DeWitt, Arkansas, excluding technical, clerical, and office
employees, watchmen, guards, foremen, and other supervisors as de-
fined in the Act, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of
collective bargaining, within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
5. The Employers' operations are seasonal in nature. The peak
operations begin in September and continue until the following April
or June. We shall direct that the election be held at or about the peak
of the Employers' operations on a date to be determined by the Regional
2 Cf. Matter of Clarksburg Paper Company , 80 N. L. R. B. 1304 ; Matter of American
Relay and Controls, Inc ., 81 N. L R. B 178.
382 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Director among the employees in the appropriate unit who are em-
ployed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date
of issuance of the notice of election.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining with,the Employers,. an election by
secret ballot shall be conducted on a date to be selected by the Regional
Director in accordance with the instructions set forth in paragraph
numbered 5, above, under the direction and supervision 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 Relations Board Rules
and Regulations-Series 5, as amended, among the employees in the
unit found appropriate in paragraph numbered 4, above, who are em-
ployed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of
issuance of the notice of election, 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 rein-
stated priod to the date of the election, and also excluding employees
on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to determine whether or
not they wish to be represented, for purposes of collective bargaining,
by Federal Labor Union, No. 23415, AFL.