West Virginia Pulp & Paper Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Oct 23, 1942

45 N.L.R.B. 59 (N.L.R.B. 1942)

-In V the Matter' Of WEST' VIRGINIA PULP '& PAPER Co. and LOCAL UNION
No. -464; INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS
-Case No. R-4057.-Decided October 23, 1942
Jurisdiction : pulp and paper products manutacturing industry.
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: re-
fusal to accord petitioner recognition; expired contract held no bar; election
- necessary. -
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : hourly paid electrical employees
at one of Company's plants, excluding salaried supervisory employees; held
to constitute an appropriate unit notwithstanding Company's request for an
industrial unit or a.multiple-plant craft unit.
Mr:•Herbert•O:^Ebyi'for'the Board.
McLanahan, Merritt, Ingraham c Christy, by Mr. Henry Clifton,
Jr.,-of New York City, for the Company. -
Mr. Larry Daly and Mr. Lawson Wimberly, of Washington, D. C.,
for the I. B. E. W.
Mr. Roy M. Gumm, of Covington, Va., and Mr. S. A. Stephens, of
-Fort Edward, N. Y., for the Paper Mill Workers.
Mrs. Augusta Spaulding, of counsel to the Board.,
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon petition duly filed by Local Union No. 464, International
-BrotherhoodElectrical Workers, herein called the I. B. E. W., alleg-
ing that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the
representation of employees of West Virginia Pulp & Paper Company,
Covington, Virginia, herein called the Company, the National Labor
Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice
before Edward Grandison Smith, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was
held at Covington, Virginia, bn July 20 and 21, 1942. The Board,
the Company, the I. B. E. W., and Local 152, International Brother-
-hood of Pulp, Sulphite & Paper Mill Workers, herein called the
Paper Mill Workers, appeared and participated.,- All parties were
afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine
I District 50, United Mine Workeis of America, although served with notice, did not appear.
45 N. L. R. B., No. 12.
59
60 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
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. On August 7, 1942, the I. B. E. W.
and, on August 19, 1942,,the Company filed briefs which,the Board
has considered.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
West Virginia Pulp & Paper Company is engaged in ,the manu-
facture and distribution of pulp and paper products and chemical
byproducts. It has its principal office -at New York City and owns
and operates mills at Covington, Virginia; Mechitnicville, New York;
Williamsburg and Tyrone, Pennsylvania; Luke, Maryland; and
Charleston, South Carolina. The Company's plant 'at Covington,
Virginia, is directly involved in this proceeding.
During the year 1941, the. Company purchased for the Covington
plant raw materials valued at approximately $4,500,000, about, 50
percent of which was brought to the plant from points- outside
Virginia. Durinn the same period, products, manufactured at the
plant amounted in value to approximately $14,500,000, about 98 per-
cent of which was shipped from the plant to points outside Virginia.
The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. TILE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
Local Union No. 464 , International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers, and Local 152, International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sul-
phite & Paper Mill Workers , are labor organizations affiliated with
.the American Federation of Labor , admitting to membership em-
ployees of the Company. -
III. THIS QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On October 11, 1937, the Board certified the Paper Mill Workers
as exclusive` bargaining representative of all employees at the Com-
.pany's Covington plant, excluding salaried employees.' Between
-1937 and 1939 the Paper Mill Workers entered into oral agreements
with the Company covering such employees. During this period,
separate consent elections were held among employees-at the Com-
pany's Williamsburg and Luke plants. The Paper Mill Workers won
both elections. Thereafter on August 1, 1939, the Company and the
' Matter of 1Vest Vu giuua Pulp it Pape> Compai y and Local No 152, 1nteinateonal Brother-
l.ood of Pnlp, Sulphite ct Paper Mill lVoil,e,s, 3 N I. R B 675.
WEST-VIRGINIA PULP & PAPER :CO. 61'
Paper Mill Workers entered into a -written exclusive bargaining con-
tract covering employees at the Covington, Luke, and Williamsburg
plants. The contract was by its terms effective to August -1, 1940,
and thereafter renewable from year to year, subject to termination-
on 30 days' notice from each renewal date. On August 17, 1940, the
Company and the Paper Mill Workers executed a new contract, of--'
fective until August 1, 1941, with the same renewal clause.- On June
3, 1941, the Company and the Paper Mill Workers agreed to extend-
their contract of August 17, 1940, with certain changes, to August
1, 1942.
- In the summer of 1941 the I. B. E.'W. organized the Company's
electrical employees at the Covington plant. Some electrical em-
ployees who were members of the Paper Mill Workers signed au-
thorization cards in the I. B. E. W., although they did not withdraw
their membership in the Paper Mill Workers. On September 24,
1941, representatives of the I. B. E. W. asked the Company to recog-
nize the I. B. E. W. as bargaining agent of electrical employees at
the Covington plant. The Company refused, alleging that the
Board's•certificatioii of the Paper Mill Workers and the existing con-
tract between the Company and the-Paper Mill Workers precluded
the Company from bargaining with the I. B. E. W. On December
9, 1941, the I. B. E. W. filed the petition in this proceeding.
On January 26, 1942, representatives of the Company, the Paper
Mill Workers, and the I. B. E. W. conferred with the Regional Di-'
rector with respect to the contention of the I. B. E. W. that electrical
employees at the Covington plant constituted a separate bargaining
unit. On this occasion the Paper Mill Workers took the position that
its contract with the Company expiring August 1, 1942, constituted
a bar to the determination. of the issues at that time. The Company
agreed. Further consideration upon the petition of the I. B. E. W.
was therefore deferred until the close of the contract period. The
contract by its terms has now expired and therefore constitutes no
bar to a determination of the issues presented by the petition.
A statement prepared by the Regional Director and other evidence
submitted at the hearing indicate that the I. B. E. W. represents a
substantial number of employees in the appropriate u11it.3
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.
8 The I . B B. W. presented to the Regional Diiector 39 authorization cards, all dated
between September 30-and December 1, 1941; all of which appear to bear genuine signa-
tures of employees on' the company's December 16, 1941 , pay roll . At the hearing 34
authorization cards, dated in June or July 1942 , bearing apparently genuine signatures
of electrical employees on a current pay roll, were submitted in evidence .- There are about
50 electrical employees in the appropriate unit.
62 DECISIONS . OF NATIONAL LABOR . RELATIONS BOARD
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The L.B. E. W. contends that all hourly paid electrical employees
at the Covington plant, excluding salaried supervisory employees,
-constitute an appropriate unit. At the hearing the Paper Mill Work-
ers took the position that the electrical workers did not constitute a
separate bargaining unit apart from other production and Inainte-
nance workers at the plant, although- the Paper Mill Workers con-
ceded that the American Federation of Labor had granted craft juris-
diction to the I. B. E. W. to represent such employees. -Subsequent
to the hearing, on September.17, 1942, the Paper Mill Workers and
the I. B. E. W. entered into a stipulation that the unit-proposed by
the I. B. E. W. constituted an appropriate bargaining unit.4'
. The Company contends (1) that'all hourly paid employees at the
Covington, Luke, and Williamsburg plants constitute an appropriate
unit or (2) that such employees at each of these three plants constitute
separate bargaining units. The Company further contends that, if
the Board decides that electrical employees, as such, constitute a
separate unit apart from other production and maintenance em-
ployees, electrical employees at the three named plants would consti-
tute a more harmonious unit than would a unit of electrical employees
confined to the Covington plant only.
The Covington plant is an aggregate of several mills located on
about 100 acres of the Company's 400-acre property at Covington,
Virginia. About 60 acres and 25 buildings lie oil the--east •side,of the
Jackson River, and about 40 acres and 150 buildings lie on the west
side of the river. These buildings include pulp mills, paper mills,
a board mill, bleach and chalk plants, a boilerhouse, a chemical and
tall oil plant, garages, and yards. The approximately 2,000 hourly
paid employees at the plant include processing employees, mechanics,
millwrights, welders, blacksmiths, pipe fitters, machinists, painters,
foundry workers, and electricians. The Company generates electricity
for plant use and all equipment at the plant is electrically operated.
All electrical maintenance and- construction ^}ork,, is,, performed by
electrical employees, who normally number about 50.'".-E1e6trical.ein-
ployees are under the supervision of an electrical superintendent, who
reports to the general manager of the entire plant. The electrical
superintendent has 2 assistants, who are in charge of the electrical
shops, one on each side of the river. Employees work from one shop
throughout the Company's buildings and yards on the same side of
- * With the agreement of the parties, this stipulation is hereby made, and is , part of the
record in this proceeding. In connection with this stipulation and agreement, the Com-
pany reasserted -its position with respect to the appropriate unit,anore clearly set forth
hereafter ; and renewed a request for oral argument . The request is_hereby denied.
WEST VIRGINIA PULP &` PAPER CO. 63
the river. Employees assigned to work on one side of the river do
not cross the river to work on the other side, except in emergencies.
The Covington plant, the largest operated by the Company,5 is at
some distance from the Company's other mills .6 There is no transfer
of employees from one plant to another. Each plant is operated by a
plant manager. There is some difference in the products manufac-
tured at the several mills, but the chief products are paper or paper
board.7 The management of the Luke, Williamsburg, and Covington
plants follows similar lines.
In the former representation proceeding cited in footnote 2 above,
the Company, the Paper Workers, and an unaffiliated labor organi-
zation stipulated, and the Board found, that all employees at the
Covington plant, excluding salaried employees, constituted an -ap-
propriate bargaining unit. There has been no material change in the
operating conditions at the plant since the former decision was issued.
Employees at the plant, with production and maintenance employees
at the Williamsburg and Luke plants, have bargained, with the Com-
pany on a broad industrial basis. The Company contends that, under
these circumstances, an industrial unit is conclusively established as
the appropriate bargaining unit, that a craft unit of electrical em-
ployees, if appropriate, should cover such employees at all three plants
of the Company, and that a craft unit of electrical employees at the
Covington plant is not tenable. We do not agree. The circumstances
in each case must control the determination of the bargaining unit.,,-
Electrical employees constitute a recognized craft unit. Electrical
employees at the Covington plant are a coherent and well identified
group, of skilled workmen. We have frequently held that such em-
ployees may bargain separately upon a craft basis or as_ part of an
industrial unit with other skilled and non-skilled workmen. At the
present time, the Paper Mill Workers has conceded the right of the
I. B. E. W. to represent electrical employees at the Covington plant.
The I. B. E., W. does not claim to represent electrical employees at
the Luke or Williamsburg plant at this time. Neither the Paper Mill
Workers nor any other industrial labor organization seeks-to repre-
6 There are about 2,000 employees at Covington , 600 at Tyrone ; 450 at Williamsburg :
1.750 at Luke ( Piedmont ) ; 850 at Charleston ; and 1 , 250 at Mechamcville In the
plants , and in the order listed , these are , respectively , about 50 , 25, 17, 44 , and 20 electrical,
employees.
O From Covington to Charleston it is about 600 miles ; from Covington to Luke, 160
miles ; from Luke to Tyr one, 90 miles: from Tyrone to Williamsburg , 40 miles, and from.
Williamsburg to'Mechanmcville , about 400 miles.
7 At Covington paper pulp , board , and white papers are made . At Charleston wood pulp
is made and manufactured into board. At Luke white paper is the principal product and
at Tyrone , book paper . At Williamsburg specially fine white paper of the higher grade
is made and at-Mechanicville , lithograph, label , and specialty papers.
See Matter of Jones d Lattghhn,Stegl Corporation and National Organtzatxon , Masters,
Mates it Pilots of America, Local No 25 , affiliated with the American Federation of Labor,
et al . 37 N . L R B 366; and Matter of Pacific Gas it Electric Co. and International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers , 44 N L R. B 665 , and cases cited therein
64 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
sent the electrical employees at the Covington plant as part of an
industrial unit covering one or more plants of the Company." No labor
organization has filed a petition to represent electrical employees in
a three-plant unit."0 Under these circumstances, we find that electrical
employees at the Covington plant constitute a bargaining unit apart
from the production and maintenance employees with whom they
have bargained in the past.
We find that all hourly paid electrical employees of the Company at
its Covington, Virginia, plant, excluding salaried supervisory em-
ployees, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
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 employees
of the Company within the appropriate unit who were employed dur-
ing the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction
of Election, subject to the limitations and additions set forth therein.
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 8, of National Labor Relations
Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is hereby
- DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with West Virginia Pulp
& Paper Company, Covington, Virginia, an election by secret ballot
shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than thirty (30)
days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and super-
vision of the Regional Director for the Fifth Region, acting in this
matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject
to Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and Regulations, among all em-
ployees of the Company within 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
D The consent of the Paper Mill workers herein to the craft unit proposed by the
I B E W, and the absence of any competing oiganization seeking to represent the Com-
pany's electucal employees as part of an industrial unit, distinguishes the instant case
tiom Phoenix bfanufact+ninq Company, hereinafter cited In the latter case the Board
denied the petition of a craft union to set aside the die wwoikeis as a separate bargaining
unit since a competing industrial organization had represented such employees, with
their active participation and approval, as part of an industiial unit established by it
long history of collective bargaining. See Mattel of Phoenix Manufacturing Company
and Intinational Die Sinkers Conference, 44 N L R B 1288; and cases cited therein.
10Cf Matter of Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corp Engineering Div-Naval Ordnance Plant
and Local Union, 466, I. B T. IV, 34 N. L. R B. 40. -
WEST VIRGINIA PULP & PAPER CO. 65
work during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation
or in the active military service or training of the United States, or
temporarily laid off, but excluding employees who have since quit or
been discharged for cause, to determine whether or not they desire to
be represented by Local Union No. 464, International Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers, for the purposes of collective bargaining.
CIIATRMAN Mir is took no part in the consideration of the above De-
cision and Direction of Election.
493508-43-vol. 45-5