Western Tablet and Stationery Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

May 6, 1941

31 N.L.R.B. 597 (N.L.R.B. 1941)

In the Matter Of WESTERN TABLET AND STATIONERY COMPANY and
INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF BOOKBINDERS, LOCAL 179, AFL.
In the Matter Of WESTERN TABLET AND STATIONERY COMPANY and
INTERNATIONAL PRINTING PRESSMEN( AND ASSISTANTS UNION OF
NORTH,AMERICA, LOCAL No. 15, AFL.
In the Matter Of WESTERN TABLET AND STATIONERY COMPANY and
ST. JOSEPH TYPOGRAPIIICAL UNION, LOCAL No. 40.
Cases Nos. R-2458 to R-2460 inclusive.Decided May 6,1941
Jurisdiction : stationery equipment manufacturing industry.
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: dis-
pute as to appropriate unit ; elections necessary.
Units Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : separate craft units comprising
(1) employees in the composing room, including direct foremen but exclud-
ing all executives above that rank; (2) binding, production, maintenance;
warehousing, checking, and timekeeping employees with the exception of
executives above the rank of a direct foreman, salesmen, and general office
employees, but including those employees employed in the factory itself ; and
(3) employees working on printing, embossing, envelope printing, and multi-
lith presses, including direct foremen but excluding all executives above
that rank.
Direct foremen although having authority to recommend-the hiring and
discharging of employees included in units at the request of the unions
and over the Company's objection where it is customary for the unions
to include such foremen for the reason that they are skilled workers and
must be able to operate machines in order to give directions and orders
on the technical parts of the work.
Clerical employees employed in the factory included in one of the units
over Company's objection where a substantial number of these employees
have indicated their desire to be represented by the union which desires
their inclusion.
Grover cfe Watkins, by Mr. 0. W. Watkins, Sr., and Mr. 0. W.
Watkins, Jr., of St. Joseph, Mo., for.the Company.
Mr. D. T. Welch, of Kansas- City, Mo., and Mr. Warren S. Welsh,
of St. Joseph, Mo., for the Bookbinders Union.
Mr. Warren S. Welsh, of St. Joseph, Mo., and Mr. R. T. Brooke,
of Kansas City, Mo., for the Pressmen Union.
Mr. Warren S. Welsh, of St. Joseph, Mo., and Mr. John Edward
Hicks, of Kansas City, Mo., for the Typographical Union.
Mr. Frederick B. Parks, 2nd, of counsel to the Board.
31 N. L. R. B., No. 100. -
597
598 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On March 10, 1941, International Brotherhood of Bookbinders,
Local 179, A. F. L., herein called the Bookbinders Union, Interna-
tional Printing Pressmen and Assistants Union of North America,
Local No. 15, A. F. L., herein called the Pressmen Union, and St.
Joseph Typographical Union, Local No. 40, herein called the Typo-
graphical Union, filed with the Regional Director for the Seventeenth
Region (Kansas City, Missouri) separate petitions, each alleging that
a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representa-
tion of employees of Western Tablet and' Stationery Company, St.,
Joseph, Missouri, herein called the Company, and requesting an
investigation and certification of representatives pursuant to Section
9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called
the Act. On• March 26, 1941, the National Labor Relations Board,
herein called the Board, acting pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the Act,
and Article III, Section 3, of National Labor Relations Board Rules
and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, ordered an investigation and'
authorized the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide for an
appropriate hearing upon due notice; and pursuant to Article III,
Section 10 (c) (2) of said Rules and Regulations, ordered that the
three cases be consolidated for the purposes of the hearing. ,
On March 29, 1941, the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing,
copies of which were duly served upon-the Company, the Bpokbinders
Union, the Pressmen Union, and the Typographical Union. Pursu-
ant to notice a hearing was held on April 7 and 8, 1941, at St. Joseph,
Missouri, before Paul F. Nachtman, the Trial Examiner duly desig-
nated by the Chief Trial Examiner. The Company, the Bookbinders
Union, the Pressmen Union, and the Typographical Union were repre-
sented by counsel or, official representatives and participated in the
hearing. Full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine
witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues was afforded
all parties. During the course of the hearing the Trial Examiner
made several rulings on motions and, on objections to the admission of
evidence. The Board has reviewed the rulings of the Trial Examiner,
and finds that no prejudicial errors were committed. The rulings are
hereby affirmed. On April 26, 1941, the Company filed a brief which
the Board'has considered.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following:
WESTERN TABLET & STATIONERY COMPANY X599
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Western Tablet and Stationery Company, a Missouri corporation
with its office and plant at St. Joseph, Missouri, is engaged in the man-
ufacture, sale, and distribution of paper tablets, stationery, envelopes,
light paper boxes, and other similar products. Approximately 90 per
cent of the materials used in its business are shipped to it from places
outside the State of Missouri. Approximately, 80 per cent of the fin-
ished products manufactured at its plant are shipped to places outside
the State of Missouri. During the year 1940, the Company's gross
sales amounted to $3,500,000-$4,000,000. The Company employs ap-
proximately 700 employees.
H. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
International Brotherhood of Bookbinders, Local 179, affiliated with
the American Federation of Labor, is a labor organization admitting
employees of the Company to membership.
International Printing Pressmen and Assistants Union of North
America, Local No. 15, affiliated with the American Federation of La-
bor, is a labor organization admitting employees of the Company to
membership.
St. Joseph Typographical Union, Local No. 40, affiliated with Inter-
national Typographical Union of North America, is a labor organiza-
tion admitting employees of the Company to membership.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
At conferences between the unions and the Company on February
27, 28, and March 6, 1941, the union's requested the Company, to,
recognize them as representatives of the Company's employees for
purposes of collective bargaining in the three respective units claimed
to be appropriate. The Company, questioning the appropriateness of
the three units, refused to grant such recognition until the unions had
been certified by the Board as representatives for those employees.
Statements of the Trial Examiner, introduced in evidence at the
hearing, show that the unions represent a substantial' number of
employees in their respective units found below to be appropriate.'
The Pressmen Union filed 32 authorization cards, dated between February and March
1941, with the Trial Examiner who found the signatures of 29 to be genuine and to be the
names of persons on the Company's pay roll of March 29, 1941. There are about 33 or 35
employees in the unit found below to be appropriate.
The Typographical Union filed 5 authorization cards, dated between February and
March 1941, with the Trial Examiner , who found the signatures of all 5 to be genuine and
,s00 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
We find that questions have arisen concerning the representation
of employees of the Company.
IV. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTIONS CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
UPON COMMERCE
We find that the questions concerning representation which have
arisen, occurring in connection with the operations of the Company
described in Section I above, have a close, intimate, and substantial
relation to trade, traffic, and commerce among the several States and
tend to lead to' labor disputes burdening and obstructing commerce
and the free flow of commerce.
V. THE APPROPRIATE UNITS
The Pressmen Union contends that all employees of the Company
working on printing, embossing, envelope printing, and multilith
presses, excluding all executives above the rank of a direct foreman,
constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining.
The Typographical Union claims that a second draft unit is appro-
priate, embracing all employees working in, the composing room with
the exception of executives above the rank of a direct foreman. Such
a unit would include employees who, set type by hand and those who
Operate line-casting and type-setting machines, as well as proof-
readers, make-up men, and'lock-up men.
The Bookbinders Union claims that a third unit is also appropriate,
consisting of all binding, production, maintenance, warehousing,
checking, and timekeeping employees of the Company with .the
exception of executives above the rank of a direct foreman, salesmen,
general office employees, and those employees under the jurisdiction
of the Pressmen and Typographical Unions.
The Company contends that all the employees with the exception of
executives, foremen, salesmen, and office and clerical employees con-
stitute a single plant-wide unit appropriate for the purposes of collec-
tive bargaining.
`The Company's plant occupies three buildings, connected by
bridges, runways, and conveyors. The manufacturing process is
divided into the following principal departments: (1) Tablet, (2)
Loose Leaf, (3) Loose Leaf Bindery, (4) Envelope, ( 5) Box Sta-
tionery, (6) Plating, where linen or fancy finish to paper is applied,
(7) Printing, (8) Box, (9) Bordering, (10) Mechanical, (11) Clerical.
to be the names of persons on the Company 's pay roll of March 29 , 1941. There are 5
employees in the unit found below to be appropriate.
The Bookbinders Union filed'523 authorization cards , dated betNreen February and March
1941, with the Trial Examiner , who found the signatures of 512 to be genuine and to be
the names of persons on the Company 's pay roll of March 29, 1941 . There are approxi-
mately 600 employees in the unit found below to be appropriate. '
WESTERN TABLET & STATIONERY COMPANY 601
The Company contends that all departments are so closely integrated,
synchronized, and interdependent that a single plant-wide unit is
appropriate for collective bargaining purposes. '
However, it appears that the employees of the composing room,
pressroom, and bindery are highly skilled workers in their particular
crafts and cannot work interchangeably in other departments. Evi-
dence was introduced at the hearing indicating that the industry is
almost universally organized on craft lines.
The Unions are in agreement that there should be three units in
the plant and there is no dispute among them as to the representation
of employees. Although some of the employees claimed by the Book-
binders Union are eligible for membership in other, craft unions,
the Bookbinders Union seeks to represent them for the reason that
the -unions to whom such employees might belong have not claimed
jurisdiction and have made no attempt to organize them. Further-
more, the Bookbinders Union' has authority to admit such employees
to membership under these circumstances. Under the circumstances,
we conclude the craft units are appropriate'
The three Unions claim that direct foremen should be included in
the appropriate units and that all executives above that rank should
be excluded. The Company contends that the direct foremen, as well
as their superior executives, should be excluded, for the reasons that
they have the authority to recommend the hiring and discharging of
employees and that they are representatives of the Company. How-
ever, it appears that it is customary for the unions to include such
foremen for the reason that they skilled workers and must be able
to operate machines in order to give directions and orders on the
technical part of the work. We shall include them in the units.'
The Bookbinders Union would also include those clerical workers
who are employed in the factory itself in keeping stock records and
pay-roll charts., The Company seeks to exclude them, asserting that
their work is more closely akin to,that of the general office employees
and that they are' carried on the factory pay roll merely for the pay-
master's convenience. A substantial number of these clerical em-
ployees have indicated their desire to be represented by the Book-
2 See Matter of Gates Rubber Co. and Denver Printing Pressmen and Assistants Union,
No. 40 and Denver Typographical Union, No. 4.9, 8 N. L. R. B. 303 ; Matter of Lightner
Publishing Corporation of Illinois and Chicago Printing Pressmen 's Union, No. 3, Chicago
Typographical Union No. 16, 12 N. L. R. B. 1255; Matter of Aronsson Printing Co. and
Detroit Printing Pressmen's and Assistants ' Union No. 2 and Detroit Bindery Workers
Union No 20 and Detroit Typographical Union No. 18, 13 N. L R. B. 799; Matter of Citizen
News Co. and Los Angeles Typographical Union, 8 N. L. R. B 997, Matter of W. H. Kistler
Stationery Co and Denver Printing Pressmen and Assistants Union No. 40, 18 N. L. R. B.
948, Matter of Adams Bros. Manifold Printing Co. and Topeka Typographical Union No.
121, 17 N. L. R. B. 974; Matter of I. C. Morgan, et al and International Brotherhood of
Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Stablemen and Helpers , Local No. 694, 8 N. L. R. B 1139.
8 See Matter of Willys Overland Motors, Inc . and International Union, United Automo-
bile Workers of America, Local No. 12 , 9 N. L. R . B 924; Matter of W. H. Kistler Sta-
tionery Co . and Denver Printing Pressmen and Assistants Union No . 40, 18 N. L. R. B. 948.
602, DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
binders Union, and as indicated above, that union desires their
inclusion. We shall include them in the Unit .4
We find that all employees of the Company working on printing,
embossing, envelope printing, and multilith presses, including di-
rect foremen but excluding all executives above that rank, constitute
a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining.
We find that all employees of the Company working in the com-
posing room, including direct foremen but excluding all executives
above that rank, constitute a unit appropriate for the' purposes of
collective bargaining.
We find that all binding, production, maintenance, warehousing,
checking, and timekeeping employees of the Company, 'with the ex-
ception of executives above the rank of a direct foreman, salesmen, and
general office employees, but including those clerical employees em-
ployed in the' factory itself, constitute a unit appropriate for the
purposes of collective bargaining. '
We further find that these units will insure to employees of the
Company the full benefit of their right to self-organization and to
collective bargaining and otherwise effectuate the policies of the Act.
VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
The unions seek to be certified on the basis of the records We are
of the opinion, however, that the questions. concerning representation,
can best be resolved by means of elections by secret ballot.
The unions and the Company stipulated at the hearing that if elec-
tions should be ordered, the pay roll of March 29, 1941, introduced in
evidence, should be used to determine eligibility of employees to vote.
We find no reason to depart from the agreement of the parties and
.shall direct that those employees in the appropriate units whose names
appear on the Company's pay roll of March 29, 1941, subject to such
limitations and additions as are set forth in the Direction shall be
eligible to vote in the elections.
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and upon the entire
record in the case, the Board makes the following :
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. Questions affecting commerce have arisen concerning'the repre-
sentation of employees of Western Tablet and Stationery Company, St.
Joseph, Missouri, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section
2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act.
See Matter of Aluminum Co. of America and International Union, Aluminum Workers
of America, 8 N. L. R. B. 164; Matter of Willy8 Overland Motors Inc . and International
Union, United Automobile Workers of America, Local No. 12, 9 N. L. R. B. 924.
11 See footnote 1, supra.
WESTERN TABLET & STATIONERY COMPANY 603
2. The employees of the Company working on printing, emboss-
ing, envelope printing, and multilith presses, including direct fore-
men but excluding all executives above that rank, constitute a unit
appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the mean-
ing of Section 9 '(b) of the National Labor Relations Act. -,
3. The employees of the Company, working in the composing room,
including direct foremen but excluding all executives above that rank,
constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining
within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the National Labor Relations
Act.
4. All binding, production, maintenance, warehousing, checking, and
timekeeping employees of the Company, including clerical employees
working in the factory and direct foremen but excluding executives
above the rank of a direct foreman, salesmen, and general office em-
ployees, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of .collective
bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the National Labor
Relations Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
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 Rela-
tions Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is hereby
DIRECTED that,, as part of the investigation authorized by the Board
to determine representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining
with Western Tablet and Stationery Company, St. Joseph, Missouri,
elections by secret ballot shall be conducted as soon 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 Seventeenth
Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Rela-
tions Board, and subject to Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and
Regulations among employees in each of the following described groups
who were employed by the Company during the pay-roll period end-
ing March 29, 1941, including direct foremen and employees who did
not work during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vaca-
tion or in the active military service or training of the United States
or who were temporarily laid off, but excluding all executives above
the rank of direct foremen and any employees who have since quit
or been discharged for cause :
(1) Among all employees of the Company working on printing,
embossing, envelope printing, and multilith presses to determine
whether or not they desire to be represented by International Print-
ing Pressmen and Assistants Union of North America, Local No. 15,
604 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, for the purposes, of
collective bargaining;
(2) Among all employees of the Company working in the composing
room to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by
St. Joseph Typographical Union, Local No. 40, affiliated with Inter-
national Typographical Union of North America, for the purposes
of collective bargaining;
(3) Among all binding, production, maintenance, warehousing,
checking, and timekeeping employees of the Company, including cler-
ical employees working in the factory, but excluding salesmen and
general office employees, to determine whether or not they desire to be
represented by International Brotherhood of Bookbinders, Local No.
179, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, for the purpose
of collective bargaining.,