Woodside Cotton Mills Co.

In the Matter Of WOODSIDE COTTON MILLS COMPANY and TEXTILE WORKERS UNION OF AMERICA Case No. R-J48,-Decided March 0, 1943 Jurisdiction :. textile manufacturing industry. Investigation and Certification of Representatives :, exlsjence of question : re` fusal to recognize the union until certified by the Board ; election necessary Unit Appropriate for Collective' Bargaining : one of two plants of the company found appropriate when, among other reasons, the plants were separated by a substantial distance, sole organization involved had confined its membership to the single plant, grid there was no evidende that the employees had evinced an awareness of identity in interest between the, two groups. Haynsworth & Haynsworth, by Messrs:, C. F. Haynsworth and F. D. Rainey, of Greenville, S. C., for the Company. , Mr. Edmund F. Ryan, Jr., of Greenville, S. C., for the Union. Mr. Wallace E. Royster, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon a petition duly filed by: Textile Worker`s Union of America, herein called the Union, alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Woodside Cotton Mills Company; Fountain Inn, South Carolina, herein called the Company,, the National Labor Relations Board- provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before Edwin' C. Catts, Jr., Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Greenville, South Caro- ' lina, on March 3, 1943. The Company and the Union appeared, par- ticipated, and 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 hearing are free from prejudicial,error'and are hereby affirmed. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Woodside Cotton Mills Company, a South Carolina corporation, is engaged in the manufacture of textiles, with plants in Greenville, 48 N. L. R B, No. 62. 518 ' WOODSIDE' COTTON MILLS,. COMPANY ' • 519 'Simpsonville, and Fountain Inn; South. Carolina. This proceeding concerns • the Company's employees at the Fountain Inn plant. The principal raw material used by the Company is raw cotton. Dur- ing 1942, the Company used raw cotton valued at approximately $500,000 at the Fountain Inn plant, of which a substantial percentage was shipped to the Company from • points outside South Carolina. During the same period, the Fountain Inn plant produced textiles having a value in excess of $500,000, of which more than 90 percent was shipped by the Company to points outside South Carolina. The Company concedes that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. i II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED Textile Workers Union of America is a labor organization, affili- ated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to -membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION It was stipulated at the hearing that the 'Union on January. 23, 1943, advised the Company that it represented a majority of the 'employees of the Company at the Fountain Inn plant, requested fec- ognition as the bargaining agent of those employees, and suggested either. a cross-check of its membership cards against the Company's pay roll, or a consent election. The Company refused to extend recog- nition unless and until the Union is certified as the exclusive bargaining agent by the Board. A'statement of the Field Examiner, introduced into evidence, indi- cates 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. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT The Union requests a unit confined to the production and, main- tenance employees, at the Company's Fountain Inn plant, excluding supervisory and clerical employees. The Company urges that the unit be extended-to encompass similar employees at its Simpsonville plant. ' The Field Examiner stated that the Union submitted 121 membership cards of which ]20 bore apparently genuine, original signatures . One card was undated and the remain- der were dated variously from September 1942 to January 1943 . One handred and two cards bore the names of persons whose names appear on the Company 's pay roll of Janu- ary 24 , 1943 , which listed 214 employees in the appropriate unit. 520 DECISIONS ' OF NATIONAL - LABOR' RELATIONS BOARD There are approximately 400-employees at, the Simpsonville plant, and 214 at the Fountain Inn plant. The two plants are 5 miles apart but are under common supervision and management . The product of both plants is substantially the same; the employees in both have similar skills and duties , and receive the same basic pay. Both plants receive raw cotton from a common warehouse . The Foundation Inn plant does not have machines for a complete process of manufacture and, in consequence , an intermediate , stage of production is. done at Simpsonville for both plants. There are, however, several factors which support the request of the Union to confine the unit to the Fountain Inn plant. It appears that seniority rights, if any, do not extend f-rom one plant to the other and that there is no substantial interchange of employees be- tween the plants . The plants are separated by a substantial distance and there is no evidence that the employees have evinced an aware- ness of identity of interest between the two groups . The Union has made no effort to organize the employees at the Simpsonville plant and has no membership there. Accordingly,,in view of the extent of employee organization , and the absence of substantial interchange of employees between the plants, we are of the opinion that the employees at the Fountain Inn plant alone , at the present ' time, constitute an The unit.' he parties are agreed, as to the categories of employees to be included in 'the unit, and in accordance with such agreement , we find that the production - and maintenance employees at the Company's Fountain Inn plant, including.watchmen ,3 but ex- cluding 'supervisory - employees 4 and clerical employees,, -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 the employees in' the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election- herein, subjedt '`to the limitations 'aiRT additions set "forth in the Di 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.Rela- tions Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor 2 See Matter of Starter Mills and United Textile Workers of America (A. F of L ), 44 N L. R. B 486 -' 9 Described in' the record as maintenance employees. - * This exclusion encompasses all employees of the rank of second =hand and above. WOODSIDE COTTON MILLS COMPANY 521 Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is hereby S DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa- tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Woodside Cotton Mills Company, Fountain Inn, South Carolina, 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 supervision of the Regional Director for the Tenth Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board and` subject to, Article III, Section 10,, of said Rules and Regulations, among the employees of the Company 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 temporarily laid off, and including employees in the armed forces of the United States who present themselve's in person at the polls, but excluding any who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by Textile Workers Union of America,. affiliated ,with ;the ; t, Congress of Industrial Organizations, for the purposes of collective bargaining. MR. JOHN M. HOUSTON took no -part in the consideration of the above Decision and-Direction of Election. -