Clifton Manufactoring Co.

In the Matter of CLIFTON MANUFACTURING COMPANY and TEXTILE WORKERS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE Cases Nos. R-989 and R-990-Decided October 4, 1938 Textile Industry-Investigation of Representatives: controversy concerning representation of employees : employer's refusal to recognize union as exclusive bargaining agent-Units Appropriate for Collective Bargaining: all production and maintenance employees at each of two plants, including watchmen and employees who occupy position of section hand or under, and excluding clerical and supervisory employees and all employees who occupy position of second hand or higher ; plant units ; stipulation as to-Election Ordered Mr. Marion F. Prowell, for the Board. Mr. L. W. Perrin, and Mr. Horace L. Bomar, Jr., of Spartanburg, S. C., for the Company. Mr. C. L. Gibson, of Spartanburg, S. C., for the T. W..O. C. Mr. Allan Lind, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS STATEMENT OF THE CASE On April 22, 1938, Textile Workers Organizing Committee, herein called the T. W. O. C., filed with the Regional Director for the Tenth Region (Atlanta, Georgia) two separate petitions alleging that ques- tions affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Clifton Manufacturing Company, Clifton, South Caro- lina, herein called the Company, and requesting investigations and certifications of representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On July 12, 1938, the National Labor Relations Board, herein called the Board, acting pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the Act, and Article ill, Section 3, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regu- lations-Series 1, as amended, ordered investigations and authorized the Regional Director to conduct them and to provide for appro- priate hearings upon due notice; and, acting pursuant to Article III, 'Section 10 (c) (2), of said Rules and Regulations, further ordered 9 N. L. R. B., No. F. 13 14 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD that the proceedings be consolidated for purposes of hearing and that one record of the hearing be made. On August 1, 1938, the Regional Director issued a notice of hear- ing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company and the T. W. O. C. Pursuant to the notice, a hearing was held on August 11, 1938, at Spartanburg , South Carolina, before Walter Wilbur, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Board. The Board, the Company, and the T . W. O. C. were represented by counsel and par- ticipated in the hearing. Full opportunity to be heard , to examine and cross-examine witnesses , and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues was afforded all parties . During the course of the hearing the Trial Examiner made several rulings on motions and on objec- tions to the admission of evidence. The Board has reviewed these rulings and finds that no prejudicial errors were committed. The rulings are hereby affirmed. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Clifton Manufacturing Company is a South Carolina corporation engaged in the manufacture of cotton goods. It operates three separate plants within the vicinity of Clifton , South Carolina. Plant No. 1 is located at Clifton , South Carolina. Plant No. 2 is located about a mile from Plant No. 1. Plant No. 3 is located at Condor, in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, about a mile and a half from Plant No. 1. The present proceeding involves only the employees at Plant No. 1 and Plant No. 2. At Plant No. 1 the Company manufactures heavy drills and sheet- ing. The average volume of raw cotton used at this plant is 8,000 bales per year, valued at approximately $400,000. Seventy-five per cent of the cotton used is purchased from producers in South Caro- lina. Twenty-five per cent is purchased from cotton producers in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi , Oklahoma, and Arizona . The aver- age annual volume of finished products manufactured at Plant No. 1 is 4,844,288 pounds , valued at approximately $1,110,238. The prod- ucts of this plant are sold through the commission merchants , South- eastern Cottons , Inc., New York City. Goods are billed and shipped to customers under the direction of this selling agent. The market for the products of this plant includes practically all the States in the Union. The principal cities in the United States to which the goods manufactured in this plant are shipped are New York, Boston, St. Louis, Chicago , and San Francisco . It was estimated that 90 DECISIONS AND ORDERS - 15 per cent of the finished products ultimately pass to consumers in States other than South Carolina and that 5 per cent of the finished products are shipped to foreign countries. During the normal season the Company employs approximately 435 employees at Plant No. 1. At Plant No. 2 the Company manufactures print cloths ' and light sheeting. The sources of the raw material, cotton, are the same as for Plant No. 1. The volume of raw cotton used in this plant is approximately 6,600 bales per annum, of an estimated value of $330,- 000. The approximate volume of the manufactured products per annum is 2,884,317 pounds, valued at approximately $807,157. The market for the products of Plant No. 2 and the sales method used to dispose of the goods are the same as for Plant No. 1, except that no goods are shipped in foreign commerce. During the normal season the Company employs approximately 275 employees at Plant No. 2. II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED Textile Workers Organizing Committee is a labor organization affiliated with the Committee for Industrial Organization , admitting to its membership production and maintenance employees of the Company, exclusive of clerical and supervisory employees. III. THE QUESTIONS CONCERNING REPRESENTATION Since August 12, 1937, the T. W. O. C. has claimed to represent a majority of the Company's production employees in Plant No. 1 and Plant No. 2, respectively. At a conference with- the Company the T. W. O. C. requested the Company to recognize it as the exclu- sive bargaining- agency for the employees at each of these plants. The Company, while recognizing, the T. W. O. C. as .the bargaining agency for its members, refused, and continues to refuse, to recog- nize it as the exclusive bargaining agency for the employees in either plant. We find that questions have arisen concerning representation of the employees of the Company. IV. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTIONS CONCERNING REPRESENTATION UPON COMMERCE We find that the-questions concerning representation which have arisen, occurring in connection with the operations of the • Company described in Section I above, have a close, intimate, and substantial relation to trade, traffic, and commerce among the several States and tend to lead to labor disputes burdening and' obstructing commerce and the free flow of commerce. 16 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD V. THE APPROPRIATE UNITS At the hearing, the T. W. O. C. and the Company agreed (1) that all the production and maintenance employees at Plant No. 1, exclu- sive of clerical and'supervisory employees, constitute a unit appro- priate for the purposes of collective bargaining, and (2) that the same classes of employees at Plant No. 2 constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining. It was also agreed that all employees who occupy the position of second hand, or higher, are expressly excluded from the units ; and that all watchmen and employees who occupy the position of section hand, or under, are expressly included in the units. Employees occupying positions as second hands or higher are apparently considered supervisory em- ployees. We see no reason for departing from the units agreed upon by the T. W. 0. C. and the Company. We find that all production and maintenance employees of the Company at Plant No. 1, including watchmen and employees occu- pying the position of section hand or under, and excluding clerical and supervisory employees and employees who occupy the position of second hand or higher, constitute a unit appropriate for the pur- pose of collective bargaining and that said unit will insure to em- ployees of the Company the full benefit of their right to self- organization and to collective bargaining and otherwise effectuate the policies of the Act. ' " We find that all production and maintenance employees of the Company at Plant No. 2, including watchmen and employees occu- pying the position of section hand or under, and excluding clerical and supervisory employees and employees who occupy the position of second hand or higher, constitute a unit appropriate for the pur- pose of collective bargaining and that said unit will insure to employees of the Company the full benefit of their right to self- organization and to collective bargaining and otherwise effectuate the policies of the Act. W. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES At the hearing the T. W. 0. C. claimed to represent a majority of the Company's employees at Plant No. 1 and Plant No. 2, re- spectively. A representative of the T. W. 0. C. testified that approxi- mately 70 per cent of the employees at Plant No. 1, and approxi- mately 75 per cent of the employees at Plant No. 2, had signed application cards designating the T. W. 0. C. as their bargaining agent. No cards were introduced into evidence to substantiate this claim. Under these circumstances we find that the questions which have arisen concerning representation can best be resolved by the holding of an election by secret ballot. DECISIONS AND ORDERS 17 At the hearing it was agreed by the T. W. 0. C. and the Company that, in the event the Board directed elections among the employees at Plant No. 1 and Plant No. 2, the employees whose names appear on the Company's pay roll as of the week ending April 23, 1938, excluding those who have since quit or been discharged for cause shall be eligible to vote in the election. It was shown at the hear- ing that there has been no substantial labor turn-over at the Com- pany's plants between April 23, 1938, and the date of the hearing. Accordingly, we find that the employees in the appropriate unit, whose names appear on the Company's pay roll as of April 23, 1938, excluding those who have since quit or been discharged for cause, shall be eligible to vote in the elections. The T. W. 0. C. and the Company agreed if elections are directed by the Board that they be held on a working day between the hours of 11 a. in. and 5 p. m ; that the election among the employees at Plant No. 1 be conducted at the Community House situated across the road from Plant No. 1; and that the election among the employees at Plant No. 2 be conducted at old No. 4 store building situated; di- rectly in front of Plant No. 2. These are matters within the discre- tion of the Regional Director in the conduct of the elections, but we see no objections to the holding of the elections at the time and places agreed upon by the parties. Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. Questions affecting commerce have arisen concerning the repre- sentation of employees of Clifton Manufacturing Company, Clifton, South Carolina, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act. 2. All production and maintenance employees of the Company at its Plant No. 1, including watchmen and employees occupying the position of section hand or under, and excluding clerical and super- visory employees and employees who occupy the position of second hand or higher, constitute a unit for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act. 3. All production and maintenance employees of the Company at its Plant No. 2, including watchmen and employees occupying the position of section hand or under, and excluding clerical and super- visory employees and employees who occupy the position of second hand or higher, constitute a unit for the purposes of collective bar- gaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act. 18 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Rela, tions,Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National Labor, Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 1, as amended, it is hereby DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation authorized by the Board to ascertain representatives for collective bargaining with Clifton Manufacturing Company, Clifton, South Carolina, elections by secret.ballot shall be conducted within fifteen (15) days from the date, of this Direction, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Tenth Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board and subject to Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and Regulations. (1) Among all production and maintenance employees of Clifton Manufacturing Company, Clifton, South Carolina, at its Plant No. 1, including watchmen and employees occupying the position of sec tion hand or under, and excluding clerical and supervisory employees and employees who occupy the position of second hand or higher; whose names appear upon the Company's pay roll for the pay-roll period ending April 23, 1938, except those who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by Textile Workers Organizing Committee for the pur- poses of collective bargaining; and (2) Among all production and maintenance employees of Clifton Manufacturing Company, Clifton, South Carolina, at its Plant No. 2, including watchmen and employees occupying the position of sec- tion hand or under, and excluding clerical and supervisory employees and employees who occupy the position of second hand or higher, whose names appear upon the Company's pay roll for the pay-roll period ending April 23, 1938, except those who have since quit or' been discharged for cause, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by Textile Workers Organizing Committee for the pur- poses of collective bargaining. MR. DONALD WAKEFIELD SMITH took no part in the consideration of the above Decision and Direction of Elections.