The Champion Paper and Fibre Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Aug 21, 1945

63 N.L.R.B. 445 (N.L.R.B. 1945)

In the Matter of THE CHAMPION PAPER AND FIBRE COMPANY
(HAMILTON DIVISION) and PAPER WORKERS ORGANIZING COMMIT-
TEE, C. 1. 0.
Case No. 9-R-1807.-Decided August 21,1945
Frost and Jacobs, by Mr. Cornelius J. Petzhold, of Cincinnati, Ohio,
for the Company.
Mr. I. E. Mitchell, of Hamilton, Ohio, for the Union.
Miss Virginia A. Miller, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon a petition duly filed by Paper Workers Organizing Com-
mittee, C. I. 0., herein called the Union, alleging that a question
affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of em-
ployees of The Champion Paper and Fibre Company (Hamilton Divi-
sion), Hamilton, Ohio, herein called the Company, the National Labor
Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice
before James A. Shaw, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at
Hamilton, Ohio, on June 8, 1945. The Company and the Union ap-
peared and participated. All parties 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.
All parties were afforded an opportunity to file briefs with the Board.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following:
D
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
The Champion Paper and Fibre Company, an Ohio corporation,
with its office and principal place of business in Hamilton, Ohio, is
engaged in the manufacture, sale, and distribution of pulp, cardboard,
and paper products. During the past 12-month period the Company
63 N. L. R. 13., No. 68.
445
446 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
purchased raw materials valued in excess of $250,000, all of which was
shipped to it from points outside the State of Ohio. During the same
period the Company sold finished products valued in excess of
$1,000,000, a substantial portion of which was shipped to points outside
the State of Ohio.
The Company concedes that for the purposes of this proceeding it
is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor
Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
Paper Workers Organizing Committee, affiliated with the Congress
of Industrial Organizations, is a labor organization admitting to mem-
bership employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On or about April 10, 1945, the Union, by letter, notified the Com-
pany of its claim to represent a majority of the Company's production
and maintenance employees of its Hamilton Division plant and re-
quested recognition as their exclusive bargaining representative. In
reply, the Company advised the Union by letter that it would not
accord such recognition in the absence of certification by the Board.
A statement of a Board agent, introduced into evidence at the hear-
ing, indicates that the Union represents a substantial number of
employees in the unit hereinafter found appropriate.'
We find that a question affecting commerce has 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. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Union seeks a unit composed of production and maintenance
employees engaged in the Company's Hamilton Division plant, exclu-
sive of certain employee classifications. The parties are in substantial
accord as to the general composition of the unit. They are in dispute,
however, as to the status of certain employees discussed below.
For organizational purposes, the Company has divided its plant into
departments, which in turn have been subdivided into smaller units,
each of which has been assigned a serial number for identification
purposes. The parties are agreed that, in general, the unit should
cover specified departments 2 as well as some portions of other depart-
' The Field Examiner reported that the Union submitted 793 membership application
cards ; that there were approximately 2,060 employees in the appropriate unit ; and that
the cards were dated during the months of January through April 1945.
2 1. Mechanical ; 2. Major Service ; 3. Fibrous Preparation ; 4. Coating Mill Preparation ;
5. Chemical Preparation ; 6 Chlorine Plant ; 7. Cardboard Manufacture ; 8. Coating Mill
Miscellaneous ; and 9. No. 2 Mill Finishing.
THE CHAMPION PAPER AND FIBRE COMPANY 447
ments.3 The following categories, however, are job classifications
which the Company would include and the Union would exclude.
Clerks: In the various production and maintenance departments
there are employees classified as "clerks." The Union seeks to exclude
these employees on the ground that they are office and clerical em-
ployees. The Company contends that these employees are erroneously
designated as "clerks," their duties being an integral part of produc-
tion and maintenance operations. The location and duties of these
employees are as follows :
Mechanical Dept. No. 442: One clerk who collects the recording
graphs from the various paper-making machines in the electrical shop.
Mechanical Dept. No. 447: Two "millwrights" clerks who deliver
materials, tools, and supplies to the millwrights and keep account of
hours spent on machine repair.
Major Service Dept. No. 460: One "steam" clerk who checks gauges,
and recording devices in the boiler room.
Minor Service Dept. No. 480,- Seven "mill supply store" clerks who
issue tools and supplies on requisition.
No. 2 Mill Finishing Dept. No. 919: One clerk whose duties are pre-
dominantly clerical.
All of the clerks referred to, supra, are hourly paid; they are car-
ried on the same pay roll as the other production and maintenance
employees and are not considered office personnel by the Company;
their -duties are performed side by side with production and mainte-
nance. workers, and they are under the same supervision as are the
other production employees in each of their respective departments.
The evidence indicates that the majority of these employees are en-
gaged in work which, in normal times, had been handled by the indi-
vidual machine operator but that, due to increased volume of business
during the last 5 years with the resultant necessity for facilitating
operations, these positions were developed in a specialization effort to
save production time. Under these circumstances, we shall, in ac-
cord with our established policy, include these employees in the unit
hereinafter found appropriate.4
General Dept. No. 405: One of the units in the plant is known as
the Sample Shop and is concerned with procuring, processing, and
mailing paper samples to company customers. All employees in
this shop are on a salary basis except one who is on an hourly basis.
The parties are agreed that the salaried employees be excluded but are
110. No . 481-Motor Trucks ; 11. No. 490-Salvage and Reclaim ; 12. No. 499-Box
Shop ; 13, Trainers ; and 14, Regular Part-time Employees.
4 Matter of Kearney & Trecker Corporation, 60 N. L. R. B. 148; Matter of Goodman
Manufacturing Co., 58 N. L. R. B 531.
448 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
in dispute as to the single hourly employee. This employee gathers,
trims, and packs samples. While he is supervised by the foreman of
the Sample Shop, in the performance of his duties he works in the
plant proper as well as in the Sample Shop. We are of the opinion
that the duties and interests of this employee are closely aligned with
those of the production employees; we shall therefore include him in
the unit.'
General Dept. No. 413: In the sanitation unit there are several em-
ployees classified as janitors. Their responsibilities are limited to
the care of general facilities such as fountains, restrooms, and locker
rooms throughout the plant. They do not service the offices. They
are paid on an hourly basis and are subject to the same rules and regu-
lations as those governing the production and maintenance employees.
We shall include the janitors in the production unit .6
Paper cutting and Fundamental Research Dept. No. 473: One de-
partment of the plant is concerned with research. Approximately 12
employees in this department are engaged in working on possible im-
provements for old machinery. They are paid on an hourly basis
and their duties consist primarily of operating machines to test the
development of new processes. Normally such employees are trans-
ferred to the research department from production department and
frequently return to production departments. No special qualifica-
tions, either educational or technical, are required for-these positions.
Although they are under the supervision of the Research Department,
much of the time they work side by side with production machine
operators. In view of their interchangeability and the fact that their
work is essentially an integral part of the production process, we are
of the opinion that the interests of these employees are sufficiently
identified with those of the production and maintenance employees to
warrant their inclusion. Accordingly, we shall include them in the
unit.
Minor Service Dept. No. 485: The Company maintains cafeteria
facilities for the benefit of its employees. The work entails the prep-
aration and serving of foods in the cafeteria. Because their duties
differ substantially from those of the production and maintenance
employees, we shall exclude them.'
Minor Service Dept. No. 488: A number of employees are classified
as watchmen. They are stationed at the various department en-
trances and it is their duty to guard the property as well as the
safety of the employees against fire, theft, etc. They are paid on an
5 See footnote 4, supra.
9 Matter of Morden Frog & Crossing Works, 62 N. L R. B. 1270 ; Matter of Columbus
and Southern Ohio Electric Company, 59 N. L. R. B. 1429.
2 Matter of General Aircraft Equipment, Inc., 58 N. L. R. B. 1525; Matter of Servel, Inc.,
58 N. L. R. B. 5.
THE CHAMPION PAPER AND FIBRE COMPANY 449
hourly basis. Since they are neither deputized nor militarized, and
do not perform monitorial duties, we shall include them in the unit.s
Minor Services Dept. No. 492: A group of employees operate the
Company's Print Shop. The work is concerned with printing adver-
tising literature, forms, and related matter. These employees are
not engaged in the production activities carried on in the plant proper.
We are of the opinion that the duties and interests are substantially
different from those of the production and maintenance employees.
Accordingly, we shall exclude them .9
Paper Mill No. 1 Dept. No. 819; Coating Mill Finishing Dept. No.
849; Paper Mill No. 2 Dept. No. 2: In these departments there are
a large number of employees classified as inspectors, whose duty it is
to examine the Company's products in its various stages of production.
Although they are under separate supervision of a chief inspector,
over 50 percent of their time is spent in close proximity with the
production employees. They are compensated on a poundage basis,
but their wage is comparable to that of production workers. Their
work is an integral part of the manufacturing process and we find
that their interests are identified closely with those of the production
and maintenance employees. We shall include the inspectors in the
unit 10
We find that all production and maintenance employees in the Com-
pany's Hamilton Division plant, including employees in the depart-
ments designated Mechanical, Major Service, Fibrous Preparation,
Coating Mill Preparation, Chemical Preparation, Chlorine Plant,
Cardboard Manufacturing, Coating Mill Miscellaneous, No. 2 Mill
Finishing, No. 481-Motor Trucks, No. 819 (Inspection), No. 849
(Inspection), No. 909 (Inspection), Salvage and Reclaim, Box Shop,
Trainers,11 and also including hourly paid clerks in departments num-
bers 442, 447, 460, 480, and 919, the hourly paid employee in No. 405
(Sample Shop), the janitors in No. 413 (Sanitation), the hourly paid
employees in No: 472 (Paper Cutting, and Fundamental Research),
the watchmen in No. 488, and inspectors in Numbers 819, 849, and 909,
but excluding employees in No. 485 (Cafeteria) and employees in
No. 492 (Print Shop) and all or any other supervisory employees with
authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect
changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend such
action, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
8 Matter of Sylvania Industrial Corporation, 61 N. L R B. 1585.
9 Matter of Norris, Incorporated , 60 N. L R. B. 297
10 Matter of Armstrong Tire & Rubber Company, 61 N. L. R. B. 1503, Matter of Scott
d Williams, Incorporated, 58 N. L. R. B 249.
n The parties are in agreement as to the inclusion of those employees classified as
"Trainers."
450 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We shall direct that the question concerning representation which
has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot among the em-
ployees in the appropriate unit, including regular part-time em-
ployees,12 who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately
preceding the date of the Direction of Election herein, subject to the
limitations and additions set forth in the Direction.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor
Relations Board by Section 9 .(c) of the National Labor Relations
Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Re-
lations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, as amended, it is
hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa-
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with The Champion
Paper and Fibre Company (Hamilton Division), Hamilton, Ohio, an
election by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not
later than thirty (30) clays from the date of this Direction, under the
direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Ninth
Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Rela-
tions Board, and subject to Article III, Sections 10 and 11, of said
Rules and Regulations, among the employees in the unit found ap-
propriate in Section IV, above, who were employed during the pay-
roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction, includ-
ing regular part-time employees and employees who did not work dur-
ing the 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 any who have since quit or been discharged for cause and
have not been rehired or reinstated prior to the date of the election,
to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by Paper
Workers Organizing Committee, C.I.O., for the purposes of collective
bargaining.
12 The parties are in agreement that the Company's regular part-time employees shall be
deemed eligible to vote.