U. S. Gypsum Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Aug 10, 1944

57 N.L.R.B. 1240 (N.L.R.B. 1944)

In the Matter of U. S. GYPSUM COMPANY and UNITED STONE AND ALLIED
PRODUCTS WORKERS OF AMERIOA,' BRANCH #73, C. I. O.
Case 8-R-1546.Deicided August 10, 1944
Mr. Ben R. Welty, of Port Clinton, Ohio, for the Company.
Mr. Sam Sponseller, of Cleveland, Ohio, for the Union.
Mr. Bernard Goldberg, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND,
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon a petition duly filed by United Stone and Allied Products
Workers of "America, Branch 473, C. I. 0., herein called the Union,
alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning' the
representation of employees of U. S. Gypsum Company, Gypsum;
Ohio, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board
provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before Thomas E.
Shroyer; Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Port Clinton,
Ohio, on June 30, 1944. The Company and the Union appeared 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-
hear-ing 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 :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
U. S. Gypsum Company, an Illinois corporation, operates plants
and mines in various states of the United States including the plant at
'Notice of Hearing was served on United Brotherhood of Gypsum Worker§," herein
called the Brotherhood, whose contract with the Company expired on July 20, 1944. The
said Union did not appear. Thereafter, the Brotherhood advised the Trial Examiner that
it would not participate in the proceeding.
57 N L. R. B., No. 187.
1240
U. S. GYPSUM COMPANY 1241
Gypsum, Ohio, with. which this proceeding is concerned. This plant,
called herein the Gypsum plant, is engaged in the manufacture of
gypsum, wallboard, paints, paper, and acoustical products. The
annual volume of business at the Gypsum plant exceeds $1,000,000, of,
which more than 10 percent represents finished products -shipped to
points outside the State of Ohio.
The Company admits that -it is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. ° %
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
United Stone and Allied Products Workers of America,' Branch
-#73, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, is a
labor organization admitting to membership employees of the
Company. -
III. THE QUESTION CONOERNINO REPRESENTATION
On March 29, 1944, the Union addressed a letter to the Company
stating that it represented a majority of the Company's employees and
requesting recognition as the exclusive bargaining representative.
The Company refused, stating that the contract which it had with
the Brotherhood would not expire until July 20, 1944. The Union
filed the petition in the instant case on June'13, 1944. Since the con-
tract between the Company and the Brotherhood has expired and
has not been renewed or extended, it, does not constitute a bar to the
present proceeding.
A statement of a Board agent, introduced into evidence at the
hearing, 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. TIIE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Union seeks a unit comprising all, production and maintenance
employees including "keymen" but excluding clerical employees, tech-
nicians, watchmen, guards, gatemen, and all supervisory employees.
This is the same unit covered by the contract between the Company
2 The Field Examiner reported that the Union submitted 187 membership cards ; that
the names of 165 persons appearing on the cards were listed on the Company 's pay roll of
May 21, 1944 and May 22 , 1944 , which contained the names of approximately 350 em-
ployees in the appropriate unit , and that the cards were dated between January 1944 and
June 1944 . The Field Examiner further reported that the membership cards submitted
showed that the Union had substantial representation In each of the units claimed by the
Company as appropriate
1242 DECISIONS OF, NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
and the Brotherhood. The: Company contends that this plant-wide
unit is unsuitable and urges ,5 separate units. corresponding to' the
departmental setup of the Company.' The Company has been bar-
gaining with the Brotherhood on a plant-wide basis; the Union has
organized the employees of the Company on such basis; and it has
substantial representation among the, employees of all the depart-
ments which the Company contends should be constituted as separate
units; no other union, so•far'as appears from the record, is attempting
to organize any of the employees on a less than plant-wide basis ; 3 and
no evidence was adduced, other than the testimony of the works man-
ager, that.a unit of all the production and maintenance employees
cannot be effectively represented. Under these circumstances, we are
of the opinion that a plant-wide unit- is appropiiate.
We find that all production alid maintenance employees of the
Company's Gypsum plant, including "keymen," 4 but excluding cleri-
cal employees, technicians, watchmen, guards, gatemen, and all super-
visory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, disci-
pline; or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effec-
tively ' `recommend" such action, constitute a unit appropriate for the
purposes of collective bargaining within the nl'eiining of Section'9 '(b)
of the Act.5 '
V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
The Company has in its employ at the present time about 20 high
school boys who have been hired for the summer. There is no' evi-
dence that any of these boys will remain in the Company's employ
after school resumes in the fall of the, year. The Union contends that
the school boys in the Company's employ on the date of the hearing
should be permitted-to vote. However, it is willing to deny voting
privileges to any school boys hired after that date. The Company is
opposed to all school boys voting. Since the school boys have been
hired for a short, period of time, and evidence is lacking to. show, that
any of them will remain in the Company's employ when the sum-
mer ends, we find that they do not have sufficient interest in common
with the regular employees to be entitled to participate in the elec-
tion. Accordingly, we shall exclude school boys from the balloting.6
' In August 1943, the International Union of Operating Engineers , wrote a letter to the
Company stating that some of the boiler room employees had designated it as their bar-
gaining agent. However , the Engineers did not press its claim and although it 'received a
Notice of Hearing in the instant case, did not appear.
4 The parties are agreed , and we find that "keymen" are not supervisors within the
customary definition. '
6 This is substantially the same unit covered by the recently expired contract between
the Company and the Brotherhood. There is no dispute between , the parties as to the
inclusion or exclusion of any of these categories of employees. -
9 Matter of Johnsoin-Handley-Johnson Company, 51 N. L R B: 1282; Matter of Hunt-
ingburg Furniture Company, 52 N. L. R. B . 602. , '
U. S. GYPSUM COMPANY 1243
Inasmuch as the Brotherhood was the bargaining representative of
the Company's employees until July 20, 1944, we shall accord it a
place on the ballot, provided that, it files a request to that effect with
the Regional Director within five (5) days from the date of this
Decision and Direction of Election.--
`Ve, 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 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 Relations
Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, as amended, it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part' of the investigation to ascertain repre-
sentatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with U. S. Gypsum
Company, Gypsum, Ohio, an election by secret ballot shall be con-
ducted 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 Eighth Region, acting in, this matter as
agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article
III, Sections 10 and 11, of said Rules and Regulations, 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 tempo= '
rarily laid off and including employees ,ii the armed forces of the
United States who present themselves in person at the polls, but ex-
cluding 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, 'to determine whether they-desire to be represented by United
Stone and Allied Products Workers of America, Branch #73, affil-
iated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, or by United
Brotherhood of Gypsum Workers, unaffiliated, for the purposes of
collective bargaining, or by neither.
CHAIRMAN MILLIS took no part,in the consideration of the above
Decision and Direction of Election.
I