United States Lime Products Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Nov 1, 1950

91 N.L.R.B. 1415 (N.L.R.B. 1950)

In the Matter of UNITED STATES LIME PRODUCTS CORPORATION,1 EM-
PLOYER and UNITED CEMENT, LIME
,& GYPSUM WORKERS, LOCAL
UNION No.. 131, AFL, PETITIONER and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD
OF TEAMSTERS, CHAUFFEURS, WAREHOUSEMEN AND HELPERS OF
AMERICA, LOCAL No. 631, AFL, PETITIONER
Cases Nos. 00-RC-1057 and 2o-RC-1135.-Decided November 1, 1950
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National
Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before Nathan R. Berke,
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 Act, the Board
has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three-
member panel [Members Houston, Reynolds, and Styles].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain em-
ployees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section
9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act?
4. United Cement, Lime and Gypsum Workers, Local Union No.
131, AFL, herein called the Gypsum Workers, the petitioner in Case
No. 20-RC-1057, contends that an over-all unit of all production and
maintenance employees, employed at the Employer's Sloan and Apex,
Nevada, operations, excluding employees engaged in the transpor-
tation of finished products upon public highways, clerical employees,
' The name of the Employer appears as amended at the hearing.
z We find no merit to the contention of International Association of Machinists, Local
Lodge No. 845 , that its contract with the Employer bars any election among the machinists
involved herein . The contract in question contains an illegal union-security clause.
Although the record indicates that the parties agreed orally to suspend enforcement of the
clause, such an oral agreement is insufficient to remove the effect of the illegal provision.
Nor does the fact that the oral agreement was reflected in a letter by the Employer ad-
dressed to the union compel a different result in this case. See Evans Milling Company,
85 NLRB 391.
91 NLRB No. 210.
1415
1416 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
technicians, purchasing agents, watchmen, guards, and supervisors,.
constitute a single appropriate bargaining unit. The International,
Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers.
of America, Local No. 631, AFL, herein called the Teamsters, the pe-
titioner in Case No. 20-RC-1135, seeks a separate unit of truck drivers
employed at the Sloan and Apex operations. The International As-
sociation of Machinists, Local Lodge No. 845, herein called the Ma-
chinists, an intervenor, contends that the machinists it currently
represents constitutes a separate appropriate unit, as do the truck
drivers sought by the Teamsters. The International Union of Opera-
ting Engineers, Local No. 12, herein called the Operating Engineers,.
another intervenor, seeks a separate unit consisting of the shovel and
caterpillar operators at both Sloan and Apex operations.
The Employer is engaged in the business of quarrying lime and in
the production of lime products. Only the Employer's operations at
Apex and Sloan, which are 38 miles apart, are involved in this'pro-
ceeding. At the Apex installation the Employer is engaged in quarry-
ing lime, using the open pit method. There the limestone is blasted,
picked up with power shovels, and placed in trucks which haul it to
the crusher, where it is crushed and screened to various sizes. Part
of the product is then loaded in railroad cars for shipment to either
Sloan or Henderson, a third installation located in the vicinity. At
Sloan the Company engages in both quarrying and calcining. There
the lime is hydrated and pulverized. Material received from Apex is
transferred to rotary kilns where it is calcined. It is then either
stored or shipped directly to customers. At Henderson the Employer
does no quarrying; the operation is confined to calcining and produc-
ing pressure-hydrated lime.
All three installations are under the general supervision of a resi-
dent manager who resides at Sloan. However, there are separate
quarry superintendents at both Sloan and Apex who are directly
responsible to the resident manager at Sloan. Employee benefits, in-
cluding vacations and insurance provisions, are equally applicable
to employees at all three installations. However, employees are not
interchanged and there have been virtually no transfers of employees
among the three operations.
The Apex operation was opened in 1945. Prior to that time, and
beginning in 1941, the Employer entered into collective bargaining
agreements with the Gypsum Workers and Machinists covering em-
ployees at its Sloan installation. In 1942 the Employer entered into
an agreement with the Teamsters covering a unit of all truck drivers,
with the Machinists for a unit of all machinists, welders, and power-
UNITED STATES LIME. PRODUCTS CORPORATION 1417
house employees, with the Operating Engineers for power shovel
operators, and with the Gypsum Workers for a residual unit of all
production employees. In 1943 new contracts were negotiated with
the same unions as in the previous year, covering the same units.
However, since 1943, when the Operating Engineers were taken over
by another local, there have been no further negotiations with the
Operating Engineers.
The contract with the Machinists, which contained an automatic
renewal clause, was renewed each year until 1947. By that time, as
noted above, the Apex operation was opened. In 1947 the Employer
entered into a new contract with the Machinists covering a unit of
its Apex operation only, consisting of machinists, welder, and power-
house man. This contract was automatically renewed in 1948 and
1949. The record indicates that although the contract speaks only
of Apex employees it did in practice include the one mechanic em-
ployed at Sloan, and was so interpreted by the respective parties.
Meanwhile, in 1944, the Employer entered into another contract
with the Teamsters covering truck drivers and truck maintenance
man. This contract was automatically renewed until 1947, when a
new contract excluding the maintenance man, but covering truck driv-
ers at both the Sloan and Apex operations was negotiated. This con-
tract was renewed in 1948. In December 1949 the Teamsters
requested that its contract be reopened and negotiations which com-
menced were .suspended pending Board determination of the appro-
priate unit.
Similarly in 1944 and 1945, the Employer entered into new contracts
with the Gypsum Workers covering the same unit as it had in pre-
vious contracts. The 1945 contract was automatically renewed until
1947 when a new contract with the Gypsum Workers was negotiated
covering a unit of "all Employees of the Employer- connected with
the Employers Sloan and Apex plants over whom the Union has juris-
diction." In 1948 a new contract was negotiated covering the same
unit. This contract was renewed in 1949 and has since expired.
The Over-all Scope of the Units
All parties agree that a unit embracing Apex and Sloan employees
but excluding the Henderson employees is appropriate. While it is
clear that the inclusion of Henderson would also be appropriate, in
the circumstances of this case we need not conclude that only such a
unit is appropriate. In particular we note that each operation is to
a large degree autonomous, that there is no interchange of employees,
and that in the history of bargaining since 1947 Apex and Sloan
1418 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
employees have been treated together in a single unit.3 In these
circumstances we find, in agreement with the parties, that the unit
or units found appropriate may embrace the Apex and Sloan
installations.
The Internal Composition of the Unit
It is clear that the over-all unit of production and maintenance em-
ployees proposed by the Gypsum Workers is appropriate. There
remains for consideration, however, the question of whether any or
all of the smaller groups urged as units by the Teamsters, Machinists,
and Operating Engineers may also be appropriate for bargaining
purposes.
1. The Machinists group: The employees sought by the Machinists
include the three mechanics 4 and two powerhouse men employed at
the Company's Apex operations and the mechanic employed at the
Sloan operation. All of these, as noted above, have been included
in the separate unit which has been bargained for by Machinists since
1941. The mechanics repair all of the welding equipment, stationary
Diesel engines, and do general maintenance work throughout the
plant. Although the powerhouse men also operate and maintain
stationary Diesel generating units they spend a considerable portion
of their time working with the machinists in the repair of this and
other equipment. The record indicates that these employees possess
,the usual craft skills required of maintenance machinists and that
their tasks require the use of these skills.
On these facts, including the bargaining history in which these
employees have been separately represented, we conclude that these
employees sought by the Machinists constitute a homogeneous craft
group who may, if they so desire , constitute a separate bargaining
unit.,
2. The Teamsters group: The Teamsters seeks the truck drivers at
both the Sloan and Apex operations of the Employer. There are
seven truck drivers at Apex and four truck drivers at Sloan who
perform similar duties. They haul the limestone from the quarry
crusher. All drivers are required to possess and exercise the skills
normally associated with their tasks. All of their time is spent in
the operation of the trucks and there is no interchange between the
truck drivers and any other employees.
a We note that the Boulder Canyon Project Metal Trades Council, AFL, not a party of
the instant proceedings, has been certified as the exclusive bargaining agent for the Hen-
derson employees and is currently their bargaining representative.
4 The Employer uses this term as being synonymous with machinists , welder, or power-
house man.
5 United States Potash Company , 77 NLRB 947.
UNITED STATES LIME PRODUCTS CORPORATION 1419
• We find on these facts, including the separate bargaining history of
the truck drivers, that they comprise a distinct group such as we
have held may, if they so desire, constitute a separate bargaining unit.,,
The Operating Engineers group: The employees sought by the
Operating Engineers include the two shovel and two caterpillar
operators employed at the Apex installation and the one power shovel
operator employed at the Sloan installation. The shovel operators
operate Diesel shovels which pick up the blasted rock and deposit it in
the trucks. The caterpillar operators operate a caterpillar bulldozer
used in cleaning up the quarry floor and in addition piles rock which
is crushed by the primary crusher. Both of these operations are part
of the closely integrated production process. The record does not
indicate that any special training is required for the job, and all em-
ployees are given the opportunity, if a vacancy occurs, to apply for
these positions. These operators have identical working conditions
and benefits as other quarry employees. As noted above, although
these employees were at one time separately represented, this occurred
only from 1942 to 1943. From these facts we conclude that the em-
ployees sought by the Operating Engineers cannot be considered
skilled, and do not constitute a well-defined craft or functionally co-
hesive group.7 Accordingly we shall include them in the general pro-
duction unit sought by the Gypsum Workers.8
We shall at this time make no final determination with respect to
the unit or units appropriate for employees at these plants, deferring
such conclusions until separate elections shall have been held among
the following voting groups :
1. All employees at the Apex and Sloan operations of the Employer
classified as mechanics or powerhouse employees, excluding
supervisors.
2. All employees at the Apex and Sloan operations of the Employer
classified as truck drivers.
3. All production and maintenance employees at the Employer's
Apex and Sloan operations but excluding employees in groups 1 and
2, clerical employees, technicians, purchasing agents, guards 9 and all
supervisors.
° See Inspiration Consolidated Copper Company, 81 NLRB 1377.
7 See International Harvester Company, Louisville Works, 85 NLRB 1310 and cases cited
therein.
8 Contrary to the contention of the Operating Engineers, we find that the fact that the
Gypsum Workers agreed to exclude these employees from the unit in a consent union-
security authorization election is not controlling in our determination of the appropriate
unit.
The Employer employs one watchman at Apex who devotes 75 percent of his time to
protecting the Employer's property and equipment. We shall exclude him as a guard.
Accordingly it is unnecessary to pass upon the contention of the Teamsters that his
nonmonitorial duties warrant including him in the truck drivers unit.
1420 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
The Machinists and Teamsters each desire to participate only in the
election among employees in its proposed unit. The Gypsum Work-
ers desire to participate in all elections. If a majority of employees
in voting groups 1 and 2 cast ballots for the labor organization seeking
to represent such employees in a separate bargaining unit, they will
be taken to have indicated their desire to constitute a separate unit
for bargaining purposes.
[Text of Direction of Elections omitted from publication in this
volume.]