W. Lowenthal Co., Inc.

In the Matter of W. LO«ENTILAL CO., INCORPORATED amd COHOES KNIT GOODS WORKERS UNION No. 21514, A. F. OF L. Case No. R-1015.Decided November 23, 1938 Fibre Reclaiming Industry-Investigation of Representatives: controversy concerning represeiital ion of employees : doubt as to representation of majority because of conflicting claims of rival unions-Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining: all employees, excluding clerical employees, watchmen, porters, millwrights, salesmen, and supervisory employees; stipulation as to-Election Ordered Mr. Will Maslow, for the Board. Mr. Sidney M. Rosenstock, of Cohoes, N. Y., for,the Company. Mr. John Van Vaernewyck, and Mr. James P. Corbett, of Cohoes, N. Y., for the Knit Goods Workers. Mr. Alfred Udoff, of New York City, for the T. W. O. C. Mr. George Rose, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE On June 13, 1938, Cohoes Knit Goods Workers Union, No. 21514, herein called the Knit Goods Workers, filed with the Regional Di- rector for the Second Region (New York City) a petition alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the repre- sentation of employees of W. Lowenthal Co., Incorporated," Cohoes, New York, herein called the Company, and requesting an investiga- tion and certification of representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On July 16, 1938, the National Labor Relations Board, herein called the Board, acting pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the Act and Article III, Section 3, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 1, as amended, ordered an investigation and authorized the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice. 1 Erroneously designated in the petition and notice of hearing as "W. Lowenthal Co , Inc" At the hearing a motion Has granted correcting the designation to read as above 9 N. L. R. B., No. 104. 1173 1174 NATIONAL LABOR ].ELATIONS BOARD On August 20, 1938, the Regional Director issued a notice of hear- ing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company, upon the Knit Goods Workers, and upon the Textile Workers Organizing Committee, Local No. 88, herein called the T. W. O. C., a labor or- ganization claiming to represent employees directly affected by the investigation. Pursuant to the notice, a hearing was held on Sep- tember 12, 1938, at Albany, New York, before Edward G. Smith, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Board. The Board, the ,Company, and the T. W. O. C. were represented by counsel, and the Knit Goods Workers by representatives. All parties participated 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 objections to the admission of evidence. The Board has reviewed the rulings of the Trial Examiner 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 W. Lowenthal Co., Incorporated, is a corporation organized under the laws of New York, having its principal office at Cohoes, New York. The Company is engaged in the business of garnetting 2 cot- ton, wool, rayon clips and rags, maintaining its factory and ware- house at Cohoes, New York. The principal raw materials used by the Company are cotton, wool, rayon clips, and yarn waste. Ap- proximately 25 per cent of such raw materials, amounting to about 50,000 pounds weekly, are purchased by the Company outside the State of New York and transported to its factory at Cohoes, New York. Approximately 80 per cent of the materials processed by the Company, amounting to approximately 50,000 pounds weekly, are shipped outside New York. The Company normally employs about 95 employees, divided into the following categories : 80 production workers, 5 maintenance em- ployees, 3 clerical workers, 6 supervisors, and 1 shipping employee. II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED Cohoes Knit Goods Workers Union, No. 21514, is a labor organiza- tion affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, apparently admitting to its membership all employees of the Company, excluding 2 The parties stipulated that garnetting is "the process of putting rags through a machine known as a garnett, which removes the fibre which is used by mills in the making of cheap grades of cloth." DECISIONS AND ORDERS 1175 clerical employees, watchmen, sorters, millwrights, salesmen, and supervisory employees. The Textile Workers Organizing Committee, Local No. 88, is a labor organization affiliated with the Committee for Industrial Organiza- tion, apparently admitting to its membership all employees of the Company, excluding clerical employees, watchmen, sorters, mill- wrights, salesmen, and supervisory employees. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION On June 19, 1937, the Company recognized the T. W. O. C. as the sole bargaining agency for all the workers employed by the Company, excepting foremen, office workers, executives, salesmen, shipper fore- man, millwright foreman, and watchman, and entered into a contract with the T. W. O. C. It was stipulated at the hearing that this contract was no longer in effect. At the hearing, it was also stipulated that a question affecting commerce concerning the representation of the employees of the Com- pany in the appropriate unit has arisen because of the conflicting claims of the Knit Goods Workers and the T. W. O. C. as to who is the representative of the employees in the unit within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act. We find that a question has arisen concerning representation of employees of the Company. IV. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION UPON COMMERCE We find that the question concerning representation which has arisen, occurring in connection with the operations of the Company described in Section I above, has a close, intimate, and substantial relation to trade, traffic, and commerce among the several States, and tends to lead to labor disputes burdening and obstructing commerce and the free flow of commerce. V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT At the hearing the parties stipulated that all the employees of the Company, excluding clerical employees, watchmen, sorters, mill- wrights, salesmen, and supervisory employees, constitute an appro- priate bargaining unit. We see no reason to alter the agreed unit. We find that all the employees of the Company, excluding clerical employees, watchmen, sorters, millwrights, salesmen, and supervisory employees, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collec- tive bargaining and that said unit will insure to employees of the Company the full benefit of their right to self-organization and col- lective bargaining and otherwise effectuate the policies of the Act. 1176 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES It was stipulated by all parties that the first pay-roll period im- mediately after June 19,-1938, should be used in the determination of representatives. There was introduced in evidence a pay roll of the Company, for June, 25, 1938, which the president of the Company testified was the pay roll for the pay-roll period immediately after June 19, 1938. This pay roll contained the names of approximately 70 employees within the unit which we have found appropriate. The T. W. O. C. submitted in evidence membership application cards of 63 persons whose names appear on the pay roll of June 25, 1938, and the Knit Goods Workers submitted in evidence authoriza- tion cards for collective bargaining of 48 persons whose names appear on such pay roll. The 48 persons who signed authorization cards of the Knit Goods Workers are included among the 63 persons who signed T. W. O. C. application cards. Under the circumstances, we find that the question which has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Company can best be resolved by an election by secret ballot. In view of the stipula- tion of the parties, the persons eligible to vote in the election shall be those in the appropriate unit whose names appear on the Com- pany's pay roll of June 25, 1938, excluding those employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause. 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. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre- sentation of employees of W. Lowenthal Co., Incorporated, Cohoes, New York, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act. 2. All the employees of the Company, excluding clerical em- ployees, watchmen, sorters, millwrights, salesmen, and supervisory employees, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining, within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act. 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 8, of National Labor Rela- tions Board Rules and Regulations-Series 1, as amended, it is hereby DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation ordered by the Board to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining DECISIONS AND ORDERS 1177 with W. Lowenthal Co., Incorporated, Cohoes, New York, an election 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 Second 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, among all the employees whose names appear on the Company's pay roll of June 25, 1938, ex- cluding clerical employees, watchmen, sorters, millwrights, salesmen, and supervisory employees, and all those employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether they desire to be represented by the Cohoes Knit Goods Workers Union No. 21514, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, or by Textile Workers Organizing Committee, Local No. 88, affiliated with the Com- mittee for Industrial Organization for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.