Harms Hosiery Co., Inc.

In the Matter Of HARMS HOSIERY Co., INC., EMPLOYER alwI AMERICAN FEDERATION OF HOSIERY WORKERS, PETITIONER Case No. 4-RC-705.Decided September 19,1950 DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before Ramey Dono- van, 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 this case, the Board finds : 1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. 2. The labor organization involved claims 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 appropriate unit : The Petitioner seeks a unit of all full-fashioned knitters and helpers at the Bernville, Pennsylvania, plant of the Employer, excluding fixers, maintenance men, watchmen, firemen, truck drivers, office cler- ical employees, and supervisors. The Employer contends that all production and maintenance employees at both its Bernville and Fleet- wood, Pennsylvania, plants, including knitters and auxiliary em- ployees, constitute an appropriate unit. The Employer is engaged in the manufacture of full-fashioned hosiery at its Bernville and Fleetwood plants, located at a distance varyingly estimated as from 12 to 20 miles apart. Its'main office is in Reading, Pennsylvania, where some hose are sent for examination, all purchases and sales are made, and a single payroll for both plants is maintained. At the Bernville plant, the leg and foot of the stocking is knitted from the flat fabric. The stockings are then sent to the Fleetwood plant, where they are seamed, looped, and examined. On occasion, the stockings are taken back to the Bernville plant for further processing. The Employer performs no finishing operation but sells its product in the greige state. 91 NLRB No. 42. 330 HARMS HOSIERY CO., INC 331 The Bernville plant's production employees consist of 19 knitters and 3 part-time employees, 2 of whom are menders and 1 an examiner.' The Fleetwood operation involves 15 auxiliary employees classified .as loopers, seamers, and examiners. Each plant is under the imme- diate direction of a foreman and both plants operate under the close over-all supervision of the president of the Employer. Knitters acquire the necessary skills for their work in 6 months, other employees in from 3 to 6 months. Employees in both plants in the same job categories receive the same wages, and all employees work the same number of hours and under the same working conditions. While in the past, the Employer transferred employees other than knitters from one plant to the other, this practice has since been abandoned. There is no history of collective bargaining at either plant. The record in this proceeding does not support a finding that the knitters sought by the Petitioner are employees of the type to whom the Board has customarily accorded separate representation. As we have.previously held under like circumstances, it does not appear that the knitters constitute a craft, nor do they comprise a. separate depart- ment such as to warrant their establishment as a separate unit. We are of the opinion, therefore, that a unit confined to the knitters alone is inappropriate. However, as the Petitioner's unit request embraces almost all the employees at the Bernville plant, we shall consider the appropriateness of a plant-wide unit at this location. While we note that certain factors present herein militate in favor of a two-plant unit, they are not so compelling as to require our holding that no other unit is appropriate. Other factors here present justify a unit confined to the Bernville plant, including the part-time menders and examiner.' Thus, the Employer's entire knitting operation as well as the mending auxiliary thereto are performed at the Bernville plant. The employees at the Bernville plant work under separate im- mediate direction and enjoy substantially the same conditions of em- ployment. Further, the two plants are geographically separated and there is no transfer of personnel. In view of the foregoing factors, and in particular of the functional independence of the Bernville plant and the distinct community of interest possessed by the employees ' It appears that there are no fixers , maintenance men, watchmen , firemen, or truck drivers in the employ of the Employer at the Bernville plant. 2 Liberty, Hosiery Mills, Inc., 75 NLRB 340; Hudson Hosiery Company, 77 NLRB 566. Cf. Garden State Hosiery Co., 74 NLRB 318. ' The Petitioner argues that as part-time employees , the menders and examiner should not be included in the unit. As our unit finding is based upon functionally related job classifi- cations within the plant , all employees working at jobs within the unit are necessarily included and entitled to representation , irrespective of the number of hours of employment. The separate issue of the voting eligibility of such employees will be discussed hereafter. Cf. J. C. Penney Company-Store #1518, 86 NLRB 920. 332 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD engaged therein, we are persuaded that a unit of the employees at the Employer's Bernville plant is appropriate.4 We find that all employees at the Employer's Bernville, Pennsyl- vania, plant, including knitters,5 helpers, menders, and examiner, but excluding office clerical employees and supervisors as defined in the amended Act, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collec- tive bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.6 5. The determination of representatives : The Employer, as previously noted, employs two menders and an examiner on a part-time basis. As to the menders, the record shows that those employees, Hettinger and Bagentose, are regularly employed a part of their working time by the Employer, and that in a recent 10-week period, they worked an average of 15 and 8 hours per week, respectively. We are of the opinion that the menders are regular part- time employees, and therefore entitled to participate in the selection of a bargaining i epresentative.7 With respect to the examiner, Lar- sen, the record is insufficient upon which to predicate a determination as to her eligibility to vote. If she serves as a regular part-time em- ployee, she is to be included among those eligible to vote; otherwise she is to be excluded. [Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication in this volume.] CHAIRMAN HERZOG and MEMBER MURDOCK took no part in the con- sideration of the above Decision and Direction of Election. ' Cf. Chadbourn Hosiery Mills, Inc., 89 NLRB 1256; Waldensian Hosiery Mills, Inc., 83 NLRB 742. , Joseph Domagalski , a knitter , is also a stockholder and secretary of the Employer and attends meetings of the board of directors . In view of Domagalski 's position with respect to the formulation and execution of the Employer's policies , we shall exclude him from the unit found appropriate herein . A.lderwood Products Corporation, 81 NLRB 136. O While the unit found appropriate is more comprehensive than that requested by the Petitioner, the record shows that the Petitioner has an adequate showing of interest in this larger unit . If. however , the Petitioner does not desire to participate in an election at this time in the unit found appropriate , we shall permit it to withdraw its petition upon notice to the Regional Director within 5 days from issuance of this Direction , and shall thereupon vacate the Direction of Election. Raleigh Coca-Cola Bottling Works, 80 NLRB 768. 7 Cf. J. C. Penney Companly-Store #1518, supra.