Williamsburg Stay Co.

In the M atter of BEN GINSBERG AND Soy. LANZ, D/B/A WILLIAMSBURG STAY COMPANY and HANDBAG & LEATHER NOVI,'LTY WORKERS UNION, LOCAL # 1, AFFILIATED WITH INTERNATIONAL LADIES' HANDBAG LUG- GAGE, BELT & NOVELTY WORKERS' UNION, A. F. OF L. Case No. 2-R-5257.-Decided June 21, 1945 Mr. Irving Kaufax, of New York City, for the Company. Messrs. Max H. Frankle and George Weisbrod, of New York City, for the A. F. L. Messrs. Witt and Can uner, by Mr. Abraham Levin, of New York City, for the C. I. O. Mr. David V. Easton, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon an amended petition duly filed by Handbag & Leather Workers' Union, Local #1, affiliated with International Ladies' Handbag, Luggage, Belt & Novelty Workers Union, A. F. of L., herein called the A. F. L., alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the rep- resentation of employees of Ben Ginsberg and Sol Lanz, d/b/a Williams- burg Stay Company, New York City, herein called the Company, the Na- tional Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before R. N. Denham, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at New York City, on April 13, 1945. The Company, the A. F. L., and In- ternational Fur Merchants Employees' Union Local 64, C. I. 0., herein called the C. I. O., appeared, participated, and were afforded full oppor- tunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to intro- duce 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. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following: 62 N L. R. B., No. 88. 665 C 666 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Ben Ginsberg and Sol Lanz are copartners d/b/a Williamsburg Stay Company under an agreement filed in New York County, New York. The Company's only office and plant is located in New York City where it- is engaged in the manufacture of leather bindings, stripping, and die cutting leather for the manufacture of gloves and belts. During the past year, the, Company purchased raw materials, consisting principally of leather, amounting in value to more than $250,000, of which approximately 50 'percent was obtained from points outside the State of New York. During this period, approximately 75 percent of the Company's finished products was shipped to points outside the State of New York. The Company concedes that it is engaged in commerce within the mean- ing of the National Labor Relations Act. II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED - Handbag & Leather Novelty Workers' Union, Local #1, affiliated with International Ladies' Handbag, Luggage, Belt & Novelty Workers' Union, in turn, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, is a labor or- ganization admitting to membership employees of the Company. Fur Merchants Employees Union, Local 64, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, is a labor organization admitting to member- ship employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The Company refuses to bargain collectively with either the A. F. L. or the C. I. O. in the absence of certification by the Board. The C. I. O. contends that no question concerning representation has arisen, asserting that it is the certified agent of the Company's cutters, having been designated as such in February 1944 by the New York State Labor Relations Board, herein .called the State Board, and has not had, through delays arising-out of recourse to governmental agencies estab- lished for the purpose of settling industrial disputes, an opportunity to bargain collectively -on their behalf . As hereinafter found, however , we' are of the opinion that the appropriate unit is plant wide, and is not restricted solely to cutters. Thus, at present,' there is no certified representative of the Company's employees in an appropriate unit , and consequently no bar exists to this proceeding' A statement ' of a Field Examiner for the Board , introduced into evi- i Cf. Matter of Mills Industries, Inc., 57 N. L. R. B. 467 , and Matter of Dolese & Shepard Com- pany, 56 N. L. R.' B. 532 , wherein contracts covering units found not to be appropriate were held not to preclude present determinations of representatives. WILLIAMSBURG STAY COMPANY 667 dence at the hearing, indicates that the A. F. L. 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 Sec- tion 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT The A. F. L. seeks a unit comprised of ,all production employees of the Company, excluding clerical and supervisory employees. In its motion to intervene, the C. I. O. claims as appropriate a unit consisting of all cutters of the Company, a unit identical to that for which it had previously been certified by the State Board. The Company takes no position with respect to the propriety of either unit. It appears that the C. I. 0. Was certified by the State Board as the bar- gaining representative of the Company's cutters after a consent election held under that agency's auspices. This unit was established by agreement of the Company and the C. I. 0., and the A. F. L. was not a party to that proceeding. The Company's production employees are divided between its cutting and stripping departments. Those engaged in the cutting department are known as cutters. These employees place dies on hides and cut them to requisite shapes. The stripping department consists of a cutter who cuts the hides into strips, and a number of employees who bevel the ends and prepare the strips for rolls. Most of the operations in each department can be learned in 1 to 2 months' time, and, in the course of 3 or 4 months, employees can' become highly proficient. The Company customarily hires inexperienced personnel who are assigned indiscriminately to either de- partment. Working conditions and pay are similar in both departments. Normally, interchange of employees between the two departments is fre-` quent, and this condition exists at present, although to a more limited ex -tent. In view of these circumstances, we are of the opinion that employes in both departments comprise a single appropriate unit. Accordingly, we find that all production employees of the Company, excluding clerical employees, and all supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend such action, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective -bargaining within the mean- ing of Section'9 (b) of the Act. 11 2 The Field Examiner reported that the A. F. L. submitted 16 designations , and that the unit which it urges as appropriate consists of 17 employees . He further reported that the C. I. O. claims an interest in this proceeding by virtue of its certification'by the State Boprd as the representative ' pf the Company's cutters, 668 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 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 im- mediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election herein, 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 representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Ben Ginsberg and Sol Lanz, d/b/a Williamsburg Stay Company, New York City, 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 Second Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article III, Sections 10 and 11, of said Rules and Regulations, among the employees 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 themselves in person at the polls, but excluding any who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether they desire to be represented by Handbag & Leather Novelty Workers' Union, Local #1, affiliated with International Ladies' Handbag, Luggage, Belt & Novelty Workers' Union, A. F. of L., or by Fur Merchants Employees Union, Local 64, C. I. 0., for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither. _