Norris, Inc.

In the Matter of NORRIS, INCORPORATED and BAKERY AND CONFEC- TIONERY WORKERS INTERNATIONAL UNION OF AMERICA, LOCAL UNION No. 42 (A. F. L.) Case No. 10--R-1408.-Decided January 31, 1945 Smith, Kilpatrick, Clay cC Cody, by Mr. Ernest C. Rogers, of Atlanta, Ga., for the Company. Mr. Curtis R. Sims, of Chattanooga, Tenn., and Mr. Ralph Elliott, of Atlanta, Ga., for the Union. Mr. Herbert C. Kane, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon a petition duly filed by Bakery and Confectionery Workers International Union of America, Local Union No. 42, (A. F. L.), herein called the Union, alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Norris, In- corporated, Atlanta, Georgia, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before Arthur C. Joy, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Atlanta, Georgia, on January 17, 1945. The Company and the Union appeared and participated. All parties 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. All parties were afforded an opportunity to file briefs with the Board. At the time of filing its brief the Company made a motion for oral argument. This motion is hereby denied. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Norris, Incorporated, a Georgia corporation, is engaged in the manufacture of candy at its Atlanta, Georgia, plant. The Company 60 N. L. R. B., No. 61. 297 298 , DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD uses raw materials consisting of sugar, chocolate, nuts, fruits, and paper of an annual value in excess of $500,000, 75 percent of which is received at its Atlanta, Georgia, plant, from States other than the State of Georgia. The Company annually produces candy of a value in excess of $1,000,000, 75 percent of which is shipped to States other than the State of Georgia. The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. II. 7HE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED Bakery and Confectionery Workers International Union of Amer- ica, Local Union No. 42, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor`, is a labor organization admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION "CONCERNING 'REPRESENTATION The Company has refused to grant recognition to the Union as the exclusive bargaining representative of its employees until the Union has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit. A statement of a Board agent, introduced into evidence at the hearing, indicates 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 parties agree that the appropriate unit should include all inside workers of the Company and exclude office workers, sales department employees, and supervisory employees. However, the Unioh would also include assistant foreladies and the Company desires the ad- ditional inclusion of the truck driver, a clerical employee in the fac- tor? office, porters, mechanics and maintenance employees, cafeteria employees, box department employees, the elevator operator, and the printer. Porters, mechanics and maintenance employees, cafeteria employees, box department employees, elevator operator, and printer: The Union has not attempted to organize these employees, contending that they are not eligible for membership therein. In this regard, the Union fur- ther contends, in effect, that no employee who is not actually engaged in the handling of the raw materials or the finished product is eligible 1 The Field Attorney reported that the Union submitted 161 undated application cards ; that there are approximately 263 employees in the appropriate unit. NORRIS, INCORPORATED 299 to membership in the Union. We are of the opinion that the group of production employees requested by the Union is a well-defined and homogeneous group, having duties and interests substantially different from those of the other employees of the Company; as such, they may constitute an appropriate bargaining unit.2 Assistant foreladies: There are 4 employees in this category. These employees are in charge of from 26 to 52 girls. They start the belts in the morning and have general charge of the work. 'They do no production work of any kind with the possible exception of changing the belt from time to time on the order of the supervisor, to prepare for different weights to be packed.. Although admitting that she was in charge of the girls, provided for their relief and watched them to see that the work was done correctly, Sadie Timms, one of the assistant foreladies,3 claimed that she had no knowledge of her authority to recommend changes in status of those under her super- vision. She further testified that it was her duty to report to the supervisor carelessness and the inability of the girls to work fast enough to keep up with the belt, and that the supervisor then trans- ferred the girl in question to a position more in keeping with her ability, or discharged her. We find that the assistant foreladies are supervisory employees under our usual definition thereof; we shall exclude them. Truck driver: This employee spends approximately one-third of his time on the truck and two-thirds inside the plant doing the ordinary production work in the shipping and receiving departments. Since the greater portion of his work is that of an ordinary production em- ployee whom the Union wishes to include in the unit, we shall include him. Factory office employee: There is only one employee in the factory office who is not a salaried employee. She spends all her time in the office checking and selling candy to the employees, and on occasion acts as messenger to deliver information to the supervisory employees in the plant. We are of the opinion that her interests are materially different from those of the production employees comprising the unit, and we shall therefore exclude her from the unit. We find that all inside workers of the Company, including the truck driver, but excluding office workers, sales department employees, fac- tory office workers, mechanic and maintenance employees, porters, cafeteria employees, box department employees, elevator operator, printer, assistant foreladies, and all other supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend such ac- 2 See Matter of Marshall Field & Company , 57 N. L. R. B. 1244. S The parties stipulated that if Lois Glaze and Evelyn Tillison , assistant foreladies, were called to testify, their testimony would be the same as that of Sadie Timms. 300 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD tion, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bar- gaining within,the meaning of Section 9 \(b) of the Act. V. THE DETERMINATION OF -REPRESENTATIVES The parties requested that the pay roll for the week beginning November 13,1944, be used to determine eligibility. Since, on Novem- ber 16,1944,,the employees went on strike, which strike was still current at the time of the hearing, the request is hereby granted. 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 week of November 13, 1944, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in the Direction. 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 9, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, as amended, it is hereby DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa- tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Norris, Incor- porated, Atlanta, Georgia, an election by secret ballot shall be con- ducted 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, Sections 10 and 11, of said'IZiiles and Regulations, among the employees in the unit found appropriate in Section IV, above, who were on the pay roll during the week beginning November 13 , 1944, including em- ployees who did not work during the 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 themselves in person at the polls, but excluding those employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause and have not been rehired or reinstated prior to the date of the election , to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by Bakery and Confectionery Workers International Union of America , Local Union No. 42 , (A. F. L.), for the purposes of collective bargaining.