Diana Shop of Spokane, Inc.

DIANA SHOP OF ,SPOKANE, INC. 743 making ;maps, .calculating engineers' notes, compiling: engineering data, and performing routine manual work for engineers. Their on-the-job training prepares them to qualify for engineering work. They spend about half their time in the mines and the other half in the central office. Though they are hourly paid and have the same vacation benefits,as the production workers, we find, on the basis of the record, that the engineers' helpers are technical employees. Our established policy is to exclude technical employees from a produc- tion unit where one of the parties seeks to exclude them, and we therefore exclude them. Accordingly, we find that the following employees constitute an ap- propriate unit for purposes of collective bargaining within the mean- ing of Section 9 .(b) of the Act: All pit, plant, and shop production and maintenance employees of the Employer's eastern and western districts in Minnesota, excluding office and mine clerical employees, engineers, engineers' helpers, professional employees, guards, and all supervisors as defined in the Act 5 [Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.] 5 Supervisors include foremen, superintendents , assistant superintendents , and managers.. Diana Shop of. Spokane, Inc. and Hughes Apparel , Inc. and Retail Clerks International Association, AFL-CIO, Local Union No. 1439, Petitioner. Case No.19-RC 1988. July 18,195' DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act,.a hearing was held before Donald D. McFeely, hearing officer. The hearing officer's. rulings made at the hearing are free • from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed." I In its petition, the Petitioner named Diana Stores Corporation (doing business, as Hughes Apparel , Inc., and 'Diana Shops) as the Employer in Interest.', Diana Stores Corpo- ,ration and its subsidiaries moved at the hearing to amend the petition to substitute as the Employers in interest Diana Shop of Spokane , Inc., and Hughes Apparel, Inc. The hearing officer referred the motion to the Board. The parties stipulated that Diana Stores of Spokane, Inc., 'and Hughes Apparel, Inc., are Washington corporations , and wholly owned subsidiaries of Diana Stores Corporation , a New York corporation ; that the latter company .and all of its subsidiary corporations operate a multistate chain of approximately 179 retail stores in 28 States, selling principally women's and .children's apparel ; and that the 2 Washington corporations are an integral part of the multistate chain. It also appears that the parent concern and, apparently, both Washington subsidiaries , have common officers, and ,that.a certain amount of supervision over the activities of each subsidiary corporation is exercised by personnel attached to the parent corporation . However, the record also establishes that the manager of each of the subsidiaries exercises a large measure of autonomy with respect to hiring and establishing of wages and other terms and conditions of employment ; and that each manager has complete authority to enter into collective- bargaining negotiations and *to negotiate agreements. Under such circumstances, we find that Diana Stores Corporation , the parent concern, is not a necessary party to the proceed- ing. Cf. Blnon Chocolates, Inc., 65 NLRB 591, 592. We shall , therefore, in accordance with the Employer's motion, amend the petition so as to designate Diana Shops of Spokane, Inc., and Hughes Apparel, Inc., as the only Employers in interest. 118 NLRB No. 91. 744 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 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 Leedom and Members Murdock and Jenkins]. Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds : 1. The Employers are engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act. 2. The labor organization involved claims to represent certain employees of the Employers. 3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa- tion of employees of the Employers within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. 4. The Petitioner seeks a single unit of all employees at the stores operated by the Employers, with the customary exclusions. The Em- ployers maintain that only separate units are appropriate. The Employers operate in competition with each other's retail stores at separate, but nearby, locations in the city of Spokane. Diana Shop is engaged in the sale of children's and women's apparel, whereas Hughes sells only women's apparel. Each store has its own manager who is solely responsible for the daily operations of the store. Each store prepares its own sales reports, requisitions its own materials, maintains its own bank account, files its separate tax reports, and handles its own advertising. Each store manager has exclusive au- thority to hire and-discharge employees in her store, to lay off and discipline them, and to establish their wages and working conditions. To some extent there are different quota systems and methods of compensation. Each store has its own stationery and credit facilities and does its own billing. There are no common employee activities, and there is no interchange of employees between the two stores. Although transfers within the integrated enterprise can be arranged, employees who seek such transfers must first be terminated from their current job before assuming the next one. There is no history of collective bargaining for the employees at either store. On the basis of the record as a whole, and particularly in view of the lack of employee interchange and the large measure of autonomy exercised by each store, we find that a single unit of all employees of both stores would not be appropriate and that only separate units are appropriate. As the Petitioner has made adequate showings of interest among the employees in each store and has indicated no unwillingness to proceed to separate elections in separate units, we shall, accordingly, direct such separate elections. There remains for consideration the question of the appropriateness of the inclusion or exclusion of certain management trainees employed by Diana Shops only, and part-time employees and credit managers employed in each store. DIANA SHOP OF SPOKANE, INC . 745 Management trainees : From time to time, Diana Shop employs certain management trainees for periods varying from 3 to 6 months depending on the trainees' previous experience. Although, in the process, the trainees may serve as cashiers, or sales personnel, or window trimmers, their training is essentially for the purpose of preparing them for store manager positions. In view of their supervisory train- ing as well as the temporary nature of their employment at Diana Shop we find that their interests are not sufficient to warrant inclusion in a unit of selling and nonselling employees. Accordingly, we shall exclude them from the unit of Diana Shop employees.2 Part-time employees Diana Shop employs 11 full-time and 10 part- time employees. Hughes has 6 full- and 2 part-time employees. The record shows that those currently employed as part-time employees work for limited periods of time each week on it regular basis. As these employees are regularly employed, although on a part-time basis, we shall, in accordance with our usual practice, include them in the respective units herein found appropriate 3 Credit managers : The principal function of the credit managers at both stores is to pass on the acceptability of applicants for credit and, if credit is approved, to issue the same. Most of their time is given over to the performance of such function. In view of the fact that each credit manager has the authority to extend credit for her employer, we find that they are managerial employees. Accordingly, we shall exclude them from the units.' The following employees of the Employers constitute separate units appropriate for. the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act : Unit (a) : All employees at the Spokane, Washington, store of Diana. Shop of Spokane, Inc., including regular part-time employees, but excluding professional employees, guards, the credit manager, management trainees, the store manager, and all other supervisors as defined in the Act. Unit (b) : All employees at the Spokane, Washington, store of Hughes Apparel, Inc., including regular part-time employees, but excluding professional employees, guards, the credit manager, the store manager, and all other supervisors as defined in the Act. [Text of Direction of Elections omitted from publication.] 2 Cherokee Textile Mills, Inc., 117 NLRB 350; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 110 NLRB 1611. 3 Lykes Brothers, Inc. of Georgia, 112 NLRB 575, 577. As the record shows that Reba Gentry and Lucille Sikert are not currently employed as regular part-time employees and apparently have no reasonable expectancy of resuming such regular employment in the foreseeable future we shall exclude them from the units. Southern Minnesota Supply Company, 116 NLRB 968, 970.