The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Co.

In the Matter of THE GREAT ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC TEA COMPANY, EMPLOYER and AMALGAMATED MEAT CUTTERS & BUTCHER WORKMEN OF NORTH AMERICA, A. F. OF L., PETITIONER Case No. 1-R-3759.-Decided December 10, 1947 Mr. B. A. Brickley, of Boston , Mass., for the Employer. Mr. Philip J. Guest, of Boston, Mass., Mr. Michael J. Mahon, of Manchester, N. H., and Mr. John M. Sullivan, of Somerville, Mass., for the Petitioner. Mr. Robert W. Reardon, of Salem, Mass., for the Intervenor. DECISION AND ORDER Upon a petition duly filed, hearing in this case was held at Boston, Massachusetts, on August 1, 1947, before Thomas H. Ramsey, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF TILE EMPLOYER The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, a New Jersey corpo- ration, operates retail food stores throughout the United States. For administrative purposes, the stores are grouped in 7 divisions. The divisions are subdivided into units and the units in turn are broken down into areas. This proceeding is concerned with some of the stores in the Shawsheen area of the Boston unit of the New England division. There are approximately 38 stores in the Shawsheen area, which in- cludes stores in 16 towns and cities of New England. The Employer's sales in the Shawsheen area annually amount to approximately $4,000,000. Of this sum, approximately 90 percent represents mer- chandise which originates outside the Commonwealth of Massa- chusetts. 75 N.L.R 13, No 57 465 466 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD The Employer admits, and we find , that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED The Petitioner is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, claiming to represent employees of the Employer. Associated Food Distributors of New England, Local 138, herein called the Intervenor, is an unaffiliated labor organization, claiming to represent employees of the Employer. III. THE ALLEGED QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION; THE ALLEGED APPROPRIATE UNIT The Petitioner seeks a unit composed of the employees in the three stores operated by the Employer in the city of Manchester, New Hamp- shire, which is included in the Shawsheen area. All parties agree as to the categories of employees to be included in, and excluded from, the proposed unit. However, the Intervenor and the Employer con- tend that the unit requested is too limited in scope and that an appro- priate unit should include-the employees in all the stores in the area. In 1937, the Intervenor, then known as Managers and Clerks Inde- pendent Union of Shawsheen and New Hampshire Division, and the Employer executed the first bargaining contract for employees in all the stores in the Shawsheen area. Similar contracts were made annu- ally thereafter, the last being dated July 6, 1946. Thus, there has been a 10-year collective bargaining history on a Shawsheen area unit basis. The record reveals no persuasive reason for separating the employees in the three Manchester stores from the unit in which they have been included under past bargaining contracts. Under these circumstances, we find that the unit requested by the Petitioner is inappropriate.' Inasmuch as we have held that the bargaining unit sought by the Petitioner is inappropriate for collective bargaining purposes, we find that no question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6)_ and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act. We shall, therefore, dismiss the petition. ORDER Upon the basis of the foregoing findings of fact, and upon the entire record in these proceedings, the National Labor Relations Board In Matter of Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, 53 N. L R. B. 360, the Board,,in accordance with a stipulation of the parties, found appropriate a unit of employees of all the Employer 's stores in its Lynn North Shore Area of the Boston Unit of the New England Division." THE GREAT ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC TEA COMPANY 467 hereby orders that the petition for investigation and certification of representatives of employees of The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, Boston , Massachusetts, filed herein by Amalgamated Meat Cutters R Butcher Workmen of North America, A. F. of L., be, and it hereby is, dismissed. I 766972-48-vol 75-31