Southern Athletic Co., Inc.

In the Matter Of SOUTHERN ATHLETIC COMPANY, INC., EMPLOYER and AMALGAMATED CLOTHING WORKERS OF AMERICA (CIO), PETITIONER Case No. 10-RC-490.Decided October 26,1949 DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before James W. Mackle, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three-member panel [Members Reynolds, Murdock, and Gray]. Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds : 1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. 2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain employees of the Employer. 3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa- tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. 4. The Employer is engaged in the manufacture of various types of garments at Knoxville, Tennessee, the principal products being pants and football trousers. For operational purposes the plant is divided into several departments : pants, coats, cutting, pressing, athletic, shipping and receiving, and mail bags., All the parties agreed that the appropriate unit should be plant- wide including all production and maintenance employees, excluding clerical employees, guards, professional employees, and supervisors as defined in the Act. At the hearing the parties took no position with respect to the following : two clerks in the athletic department, the inspector and clerk in the pants department, the clerk in the cutting department, the receiving clerk, and the cleaner-watchman. 1 The coat department was not in operation after June 1 and the mail -bag department was to close permanently August 31, 1949. 86 N. L. R. B., No. 130. 008 SOUTHERN ATHLETIC COMPANY, INC. 909 The Employer stated in its brief that it would appear the two clerks (Rudder and Fair) in the athletic department are office cleri- cals. The Petitioner and the Intervenor took no position as to them. The evidence shows that these girls do not work in the main office with the. other clerical employees but in the athletic department, in a separate room there segregated from the production workers. Their main task is to make out bills of lading and packing slips for the athletic department. They are hourly paid, like the production em- ployees, and have virtually the same hours except that they some- times work overtime. They work under the direct supervision of the supervisor of the department. We find that these employees are plant clericals and we shall include them in the unit.2 Inspector and plant clerks in pants, cutting, and shipping departments The duties of the inspector in the pants department are to inspect the garments after they are finished and report to the supervisor of the department. His duties are the customary ones connected with the routine detection of defects and he has no authority over any other employees. We shall therefore include him in the unit. The clerk of the pants department (Buhl) works in the shipping room. She keeps records of shipping documents, makes out packing slips and bills of lading, and occasionally helps with the packing. The clerk in the cutting department (Donovan) works at a desk in the cutting room and reports to the supervisor of that room. Her duties are to keep account of all materials used in that department. She does not have access to personnel records. The receiving clerk (Mc- Carroll) checks incoming shipments from parcel post, motor freight, express, etc., and makes records of them. He also does some manual work. All these employees are hourly paid and are subject to the same benefits and working conditions as the other production em- ployees. On the basis of the foregoing, we find that these employees are plant clericals, and in accordance with our usual practice we shall also include them in the proposed unit. Cleaner-watchman The night watchman works from 6: 30 p. in. to 6: 30 a. in. His duties are to clean the premises and keep watch for fire and other hazards as well as unauthorized intruders in the plant. During the night he punches several time clocks as he makes his rounds. Since the evidence shows that he spends two-thirds of his time in cleaning and one-third of his time in the performance of his watchman's duties, we find that he is not a guard, within the meaning of the Act, and shall include hint in the unit. 2 Matter of Grand Central Airport Co., 70 N. L. R. B. 1094; Matter of Clayton Mark & Co., 76 N. L. R. B. 230; Matter of Ilarnischfeder Corp., 86 N. L. R. B. 325. 910 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Postponement of Election The Petitioner and the Intervenor request that the Board order an election but leave the date to the Regional Director until such time as he determines a more representative vote can be obtained, contending that recent lay-offs at the plant were only temporary and in a few months the number of employees will be materially increased. The Employer opposes this request on the ground that there is no im- mediate prospect for expansion and also requests that the election be limited to the permanent departments, such as, pants, cutting, ath- letic, and shipping and receiving departments. The evidence shows that at the time the petition was filed, there were 475 employees in the plant. At the time of the hearing, there were 285, which included some 80 employees of the mail-bag department. The latter were considered purely temporary employees and the mail- bag department was to be closed permanently on August 31. The busy season in the athletic department starts about June 1 each year, at which time the Company hires some 15 to 20 additional employees to handle the increased business. These extra employees are generally terminated about October 1. The suit department was not in opera- tion at the time of the hearing, and a company representative testified there was no immediate prospect for resuming suit making.3 It appears that the Employer does not anticipate any expansion of operations in the near future and in any event, the present number of employees in the plant constitutes a substantial and representative proportion of the contemplated working force.4 It is well established in our decisions that a contemplated expansion of the personnel is no bar to an immediate election, where the present force .is representative of the expanding one and has a reasonable expectation of being perma- nent.5 As to the Employer's request to limit the election to the perma- nent departments, it appears that the mail-bag department was perma- nently closed on August 31 and that the suit department has not been in operation since June 1. We shall therefore adhere to our usual practice in directing an election herein. We find that all production and maintenance 6 employees of the Employer at its plant in Knoxville, Tennessee, including the clerks in 8 However, this representative stated that the Company would resume this operation it and when it would obtain contracts for such garments. 4 Matter of Aluminum Company,of America, 83 N. L. R. B. 398. 5 Matter of American Enka Corporation , 82 N. L. R. B. 298; Matter of Ford Motor Co. Canton Forge Plant, 80 N. L. R. B. 1094 ; Matter of Poirier and McLane Corporation, 80 N. L. R. B. 849 ; Matter of Coast Pacific Lumber Co., 81 N. L. R. B. 1351. 0 We find that the truck driver should be included in the unit . The evidence shows that he does the work of a general handy man around the plant and reports to the maintenance foreman. He is hourly paid and is subject to the same benefits as the production and maintenance workers. . SOUTHERN ATHLETIC COMPANY, INC. 911 the athletic department, the inspector and clerk of the pants depart- ment, the clerks of the cutting and shipping departments and the cleaner-watchman but excluding office clerical employees, guards, pro- fessional employees, and supervisors as defined in the Act, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. DIRECTION OF ELECTION' As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with the Employer, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than 30 days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and super- vision of the Regional Director for the Region in which this case was heard, and subject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations, among the employees in the unit found appropriate in paragraph numbered 4, above, who were em- ployed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction of Election, including employees who did not work dur- ing said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or tempo- rarily laid off, 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, and also excluding employees on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to determine whether they desire to be represented, for purposes of collective bargaining, by the Amalga- mated Clothing Workers of America (CIO), or the United Garment Workers of America (AFL), or neither. ' Any participant in the election ordered herein may, upon its prompt request to and approval thereof by the Regional Director, have its name removed from the ballot.