West Coast Fertilizer and Rendering Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 30, 1948

78 N.L.R.B. 787 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

In the Matter of WEST COAST FERTILIZER AND RENDERING COMPANY,
EMPLOYER and STEEL, PAPERHOUSE , CHEMICAL DRIVERS AND HELPERS,
LOCAL No. 578, INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS, CHAUF-
FEURS, WAREHOUSEMEN & HELPERS OF AMERICA, A. F. OF L., PETI-
TIONER
Case No. 21-RC-87.-Decided July 30,1948
Mr. Thomas L. Young, of Los Angeles , Calif.; for the Petitioner.
Mr. Irving S talmaster , of Los Angeles, Calif ., for the Employer.
DECISION
AND
ORDER
Upon a petition duly filed, hearing in this case was held at Los
Angeles, California , on June 9, 1948, before Eugene Matthew Purver,
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 -man panel consisting of The undersigned Board
Members.*
Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations
Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER
West Coast Fertilizer and Rendering Company is a California
corporation with its sole place of business located in Los Angeles, Cali-
fornia. The Employer is primarily engaged in the production and
sale of organic matter used as an ingredient in fertilizer. Approxi-
mately 95 to 98 percent of the space in the Employer's plant is devoted
to this purpose. Raw materials for the production of the organic
matter consist mainly of dead animals, poultry, rabbit offals, and
feathers, all of which is obtained within the State of California.
.Chairman Herzog and Members Reynolds and Murdock.
78 N. L. R. B., No. 90.
787
788 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
During the year prior to the hearing, the Employer sold finished
products amounting to approximately $170,000 in value, all of which
was sold to customers within the State. The organic matter sold by
the Employer is mixed with other ingredients by the customers. It
never constitutes more than 3 percent by volume of the ultimate ferti-
lizer mix. Fertilizer which contains organic matter produced by the
Employer's plant is suitable only for California soil and is, accord-
ingly, sold by the Employer's customers only to California farmers.
The Employer does not purchase any equipment or supplies from
outside the State.
As a side line, the Employer also renders fats and greases, which
it sells together with such fats and greases as it acquires by purchase.
Approximately 2 percent of the grease obtained by the Employer is
a byproduct resulting from the manufacture of organic matter; the
remaining 98 percent is purchased within the State from local peddlers
who, in turn, acquire it from restaurants within the State. This
grease is not processed, but simply stored. At the most, the acquiring,
storing, and sale of grease occupies only one employee for an average
of 2 hours per day. During the year prior to the hearing, the Em-
ployer sold grease amounting in value to approximately $150,000,
all of which was sold to customers within :the State.- No -grease is
delivered by the Employer, all of it being called for by the purchasers
at the Employer's plant.
The only customers to whom grease is sold are Procter & Gamble
Manufacturing Company and W. G. Hardesty Company. During
the 5 months prior to the hearing, the Employer sold only one truck-
load of fat to Hardesty and nothing to Procter & Gamble. Of the
grease sold by the Employer to Procter & Gamble over a period of 31/2
years, only grease amounting in value to between $27,000 and $30,000
was shipped by Procter & Gamble out of the State.
It is apparent from the record that the primary business of the
Employer is the manufacture and sale of organic matter. In con-
nection with this part of its business, the Employer has not purchased
any raw materials, equipment, or supplies from outside the State,
nor have its finished products been shipped across any State lines.
As to the Employer's side line of purchasing and selling grease, it
appears that the Employer purchases all of its grease within the
State, and that it does not ship any grease from its plant, all grease
being picked up at the Employer's plant by the Employer's customers.
i The Employer employs a total of six employees
2 Although the dollar volume of grease sold appears comparable with the dollar Volume
of oiganie matter sold, the Employer maintains that the profit made from the sale of grease
does not compare with the pmofit acquired from the manufacture and sale of organic matter
WEST COAST FERTILIZER AND RENDERING COMPANY 789
Thus, the Employer's operations are essentially local in character.
Under these circumstances, we do not believe that it would effectuate
the policies of the Act to assert jurisdiction in this case.' Accordingly,
we shall dismiss the petition.
ORDER
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petition for investigation and cer-
tification of representatives of employees of West Coast Fertilizer
and Rendering Company, Los Angeles, California, filed herein by
Steel, Paperhouse, Chemical Drivers and Helpers, Local No. 578, In-
ternational Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen
& Helpers of America, A. F. of L., be, and it hereby is, dismissed.
3 Matter of Duke Power Company, 77 N. L. R. B. 652; Matter of Hom -Ond Food
Stores, Inc., 77 N. L. R B. 647; Matter of Armour Creameries, 65 N. L . R. B. 353;
and Matter of Lacey Milling Company, 48 N. L. R. B. 914.
798767-49-vol. 78-51