Taylored Slacks of Hollywood

ROTHSCHILD-KAUFMAN CO., INC. 353 ROTHSCHILD-KAUFMAN CO., INC., D/B/A TAYLORED SLACKS OF HOLLY- WOOD and Los ANGELES JOINT BOARD-AMALGAMATED CLOTHING WORKERS OF AMERICA, CIO, PETITIONER. Case No . 21-RC-2114. February 27, 1952 Decision and Direction of Election Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before Jerome A. Reiner, 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 Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three-member panel [Chairman Herzog and Members Murdock and Styles]. Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds : 1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the 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 Employer manufactures garments, including ladies', men's, and boys' slacks, and ladies' waistcoats, at its plant in Los Angeles. The Petitioner desires to be certified as the bargaining representative of all cutters, spreaders, markers, ticketers, and any other employees in the cutting department at this plant. The Employer contends that only a plant-wide unit is appropriate. Among the employees in the cutting area 1 are cutters and a spreader. The cutters spread as well as cut, and also do some marking. The spreader has been employed with the Employer for 4 months, is train- ing to become a cutter, and has done a little end cutting. The cutters and spreaders work only in the cutting area, and there is no inter- change of employees between the cutting area and other areas of the Employer's plant. The average hourly pay of the cutters and the spreader is substantially higher than the average pay of other hourly paid production workers. The cutters and spreader work under the direction of the designer. We find that the cutters are highly skilled employees. ' There is no cutting department physically separated from the rest of the plant, but there is an area where only cutting is done. 98 NLRB No. 51. 354 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD The Employer contends that he prefers to hire men without ex- perience and have them become cutters within 6 weeks. The record does not indicate that this plan has actually been carried out. More- over, we note that the State of California and the Veterans Adminis- tration have an apprentice program in the Los Angeles area under which an employee at the end of 2 years is considered to be only a .beginner cutter. Accordingly, we reject the Employer's contention that the cutters and the spreader are not skilled employees. The Employer also argues that the Petitioner is estopped to'claim 'cutters as an appropriate unit because it is attempting to organize and is seeking to represent all production employees of the Employer. This is essentially an argument that if we allow the unit, the present ,extent of organization would be the controlling factor .2 We do not agree. Wholly apart from the extent of organization, we have re- ,cently held a unit of cutters appropriate on facts substantially similar to those present in this case.3 Upon the entire record, we find that the Employer's cutters consti- tute a homogeneous group of highly skilled employees, with interests separate and apart from those of the Employer's other employees. Accordingly, we conclude that the cutters and the spreader constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining.' There are other employees employed in the cutting area, among whom is a marker .5 The marker had prior marking experience before he was employed by the Employer, and has been with the Employer 7 years. The marker carries out the first step in the cutting operation. He determines the width of the fabric and lays out the cardboard pattern on paper the length of the lay. He traces the patterns on the paper marker according to sizes in such a manner as will ultimately utilize the least amount of cloth. The marker then passes the paper marker to the spreader for the second step in the cutting operation. Although he is not qualified to cut cloth, he works at the cutting table under the supervision of the designer, who also supervises the cutters, and is the highest paid employee in the cutting area. As noted above, occasionally the cutters mark. Under these circumstances, we find he has a close community of employment interest with the cutters, and we shall therefore include the marker in the unit. 2 Section 9 ( c) (5) of the Act reads : "In determining whether a unit is appropriate for the purposes specified in subsection (b) the extent to which the employees have organized shall not be controlling." 2 Sir James, Inc, 97 NLRB 1572. 4 Ibid. 5 A woolen boy, who carries bolts of cloth from shelves , brings them to the cutting table, and returns them to the shelves ; and a bundle girl, who bundles the cloth which has been cut, also work in the cutting area . However, we find these two employees are unskilled and have no community of employment interest with the cutters THE GREAT ATLANTIC & PACIFIC TEA COMPANY 355 We find that all cutters and spreaders at the Employer's Los Angeles, California, plant, including markers, but excluding the woolen boy, the bundle girl, 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.6 [Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication in this volume.] 6 In its petition , the Petitioner states that it desires to represent a "ticketer ." It is not clear from the record which employee is meant by this term. If he is a cutter , spreader, marker, or has a community of employment interest such as exists between these employees, he is included in the unit.. THE GREAT ATLANTIC & PACIFIC TEA COMPANY and TEAMSTERS UNION CLERICAL WORKERS, LOCAL 521,1 PETITIONER . Case No. 8-RC-1293. February 27, 1952 Decision and Direction of Election Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before Carroll L. Martin, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.2 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 Houston, Murdock, and Styles]. Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds : 1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act. 2. The parties agree that the Intervenor, Retail Clerks Interna- tional Association, Local 880, AFL,' is a labor organization within the meaning of the Act. The Intervenor, however, has refused to acknowledge that either Local 521, or the original petitioner, Retail and Wholesale Employer Union, Independent, herein called the In- dependent, is or was a labor organization within the meaning of the Act. The record shows that the Independent, organized in May 1951, was an organization in which employees participated and which ex- isted for the purpose of dealing with employers concerning wages, x The name of the Petitioner appears as amended at the hearing and will be referred to herein as Local 521. 2 F or reasons set forth in paragraph numbered 2, the action of , the hearing officer in permitting the amendment of the petition is hereby affirmed. 2 The Intervenor was permitted to intervene on the basis of its recently expired contract with the Employer , covering the unit sought by the Petitioner. 98 NLRB No. 55.