Star Woolen Co.

In the Matter of STAR WOOLEN Co. and COHOES KNIT GOODS WORKERS UNION No. 21514, A. F. OF L. Case No. K-1019.-Decided November 23, 1938 Fibre Reclaiming Industry-Investigation of Representatives : controversy concerning representation of employees : doubt as to representation of ma- jority because of conflicting claims of rival unions-Unit Appropriate for Col- lective Bargaining : production workers, including fixers, excluding salesmen, millwrights, sorters, watchmen, female bag cleaners, clerical workers, fore- men, and executives ; stipulation as to-Election Ordered Mr. Will Maslow, for the Board. Aufsesser cC Skolsky, by Mr. Bertram M. Aufsesser, of Albany, 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, the Cohoes Knit Goods Workers Union, No. 21514, herein called the Knit Goods Workers, filed with the Regional Director for the Second Region (New York City) a petition alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the repre- sentation of employees of Star Woolen Company, Cohoes, New York, herein called the Company, and requesting an investigation and cer- tification of representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the Na- tional 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 Regula- tions-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. On August 20, 1938, the Regional Director issued a notice of hear- ing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company, upon 9 N. L. R . B., No. 105. 1178 DECISIONS AND ORDERS 1179 the Knit Goods Workers, and upon the Textile Workers Organizing • Committee, Local No. 238, herein called the T. W. O. C., a labor organization claiming to represent employees directly affected by the investigation. Pursuant to the notice, a hearing was held on Sep- tember 14, 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 Star Woolen Company is a New York corporation engaged in the reclaiming of silk, cotton, and wool fibres by garnetting 1 cotton, wool, and rayon clips and rags, maintaining its factory and ware- house at Cohoes, New York. The principal raw materials used by the Company are rags and waste, amounting to 2 or 3 million pounds annually and of the approximate value of $200,000 to $300,000. Ap- proximately 50 per cent of these raw materials are purchased and shipped by the Company to its factory in Cohoes, New York, from points outside the State of New York. Approximately 85 per cent of the fibres processed by the Company are shipped to points outside the State of New York. II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED The Cohoes Knit Goods Workers Union, No. 21514, is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, ap- parently admitting to its membership all production employees of the Company, excluding executives and foremen, clerical workers, millwrights, salesmen, sorters, female bag cleaners, and watchmen. The Textile Workers Organizing Committee, Local No. 238, is a labor organization, affiliated with the Committee for Industrial Or- ganization, apparently admitting to its membership all production "The parties stipulated that garnetting is "the process of placing rags through a machine called a garnett which combs out the fibre ; such fibres are used by mills in the making of cheap grades of cloth." 1180 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD employees of the Company, excluding executives and foremen, cler- ical workers, salesmen , sorters, female bag cleaners , and watchmen. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION On June 19, 1937, the Company recognized the T. W. O. C. as the exclusive bargaining representative for all workers employed by the Company, excepting foremen, office workers, executives, sales- men, shipper foremen, millwright foremen, female bag cleaners, and watchmen, 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 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 the production workers of the Company, including fixers, excluding salesmen, millwrights, sorters, watchmen, female bag cleaners, clerical workers, foremen, and executives constitute an appropriate bargaining unit. We see no reason to alter the agreed unit. We find that the production workers of the Company, including fixers, excluding salesmen, millwrights, sorters, watchmen, female bag cleaners, clerical workers, foremen, and executives, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining and that said unit will insure to employees of the Company the full benefit of their right to self-organization and collective bargaining and otherwise effectuate the policies of the Act. VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES It was stipulated by all the parties that the first pay-roll period immediately after June 19, 1938, should be used in the determination DECISIONS AND ORDERS 1181 of representatives. There was introduced in evidence a pay roll of the Company for June 25, 1938, which the representative of the Company testified was the pay roll for the pay-roll period imme- diately after June 19, 1938. This pay roll contained the names of 77 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 au- thorization cards for collective bargaining of 61 persons whose names appear on such pay roll. Fifty-seven of the persons who signed authorization cards for 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 stipulation of the parties, the persons eligible to vote in the election shall be those in the appropriate unit whose names appear on the Company's pay roll of June 25, 1938, excluding those employees who have since quit or have 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 Star Woolen Company, 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 production workers of the Star Woolen Company, Co- hoes, New York, including fixers, excluding salesmen, millwrights, sorters, watchmen, female bag cleaners, clerical workers, foremen, and executives, 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 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 ordered by the Board to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with the Star Woolen Company, Cohoes, New York, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted within fifteen (15) days from the 1182 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 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 pro- duction workers whose names appear on the Company's pay roll of June 25, 1938, including fixers, excluding salesmen, millwrights, sort- ers, watchmen, female bag cleaners, clerical workers, foremen, and executives, and' all those employees who have since quit or been dis- charged for cause, to determine whether or not 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 . 238, affiliated with the Committee for Industrial Organization for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.