Piedmont Shirt Co.

674 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD respect to labor disputes cognizable by the Board under Sections 8, 9, and 10 of the Act Carolina Supplies and Cement Co ,122 NLRB 88. ME niiais Ron-Bas and JEN g1NS took no part in the consideration of the above Advisory Opinion Piedmont Shirt Company and Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, AFL-CIO, Case No A0-6 February 17, 1960 ADVISORY OPINION A petition and an amended petition have been filed by the Amal- gamated Clothing Workers of America, AFL-CIO, herein called the Union, pursuant to Section 10298 of the Board's Rules and Regulations praying for an advisory opinion by the Board as to whether it would assert jurisdiction over the operations of Piedmont Shirt Company (herein called the employer) It appears from the said petition and amended petition that 1 The employer is engaged in Greenville, South Carolina, in the business of manufacturing men's and boys' shirts From pits plant in Greenville the employer sells its products "to retailers all over the United States" The union alleges "upon information and belief" that (1) the employer "made direct sales in interstate commerce exceeding $50,000 in the year 1959," and (2) the employer "neither admits nor denies the commerce data relating to the opera- tion of its business other than alleging in its original Bill of Com- plaint [in the State court suit described in paragraph 2 herein] that it sells its products all over the United States " 2 The employer brought an action against the Union in the county court for the county of Greenville, South Carolina, on August 5, 1959, requesting injunctive relief against certain picketing and a boycott by the Union of Piedmont's "retailers " 3 On or about August 5, 1959, W B McGowan, judge of said Greenville county court, granted the motion of the Union to dismiss the State court action on the ground that the conduct therein, was preempted by the National Labor Relations Board, citing as his au- thority San Diego Building Trades Counci, et al v J S Garmon, et al., 359 U S 236 Among other things, Judge McGowan's opinion mentions that the employer alleged in part that its "shirts for men and boys . are distributed and sold throughout the United States " An appeal has been taken by Piedmont to the Supreme Court of the State of South Carolina from the order of Judge McGowan granting the Union's motion to dismiss the action brought by the Employer 4 On or about December 9, 1959, and subsequent to the taking of the appeal described in paragraph 3 hereof, the Employer filed an 126 NLRB No 81 PIEDMONT SHIRT COMPANY 675 unfair labor charge against the Union with the National Labor Rela- tions Board at its Regional Office in Atlanta, Georgia. Said charge, which is identified as 10-CC-443, alleged violations of Section 8 (b) (4) (ii) (A) and (B). On or about December 31, 1959, the Acting Regional Director at said Atlanta Office notified the parties that "be- cause there is insufficient evidence of violation further proceedings are not warranted at this time. . . . I am . . . refusing to issue com- plaint in this matter." On or about January 12, 1960, Piedmont appealed the action of said Acting Regional Director and by request- ing a review of the refusal to issue a complaint, said appeal is now pending before the General Counsel of the Board. 5. The Union alleges that the courts of the State of South Carolina have made no findings respecting the commerce data other than that alleged in the Employer's original bill of complaint, that is, that the Employer's shirts are sold throughout the United States. 6. A letter has been received from William M. Pate, counsel for the Employer, which appears to be submitted as a response. In said letter Mr. Pate states that he is "enclosing an affidavit executed by Martin L. Morrow [the Employer's] president, showing that the company meets the Board's jurisdictional standards relating to inflow and outflow." In said affidavit President Martin L. Morrow deposes that the Em- ployer, among other things, (1) "owns and operates a plant in Green- ville, South Carolina, where it manufactures garments, particularly men's shirts"; (2) "within a typical month's period of time the em- ployer purchases materials valued in excess of $100,000 from points outside the State of South Carolina"; and (3) "within such typical period of time" the employer ships products valued in excess of $100,000 to customers outside the State of South Carolina. On the basis of the above, the Board is of the opinion that : 1. Piedmont is engaged in the business of manufacturing men's and boys' shirts which are sold by it to retailers throughout the United States. 2. Piedmont is engaged in commerce within the meaning of Section 2(6) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, now known as the Labor-Management Relations Act, 1947, as amended. 3. The Board's standard for exercising jurisdiction over a manu- facturer which ships goods in interstate commerce is a minimum of $50,000 outflow or inflow, direct or indirect. Siemons Mailing Service, 122 NLRB 81. Accordingly, the parties are advised pursuant to Section 102.103 of the Board's Rules and Regulations that the Board would assert juris- diction over the operations of the employer with respect to labor dis- putes cognizant by the Board under Sections 8, 9, and 10 of the Act. Plains Cooperative Oil Mill, 123 NLRB 1032. See N.L.B.B. v. Habib Marcus, d/b/a Marcus Bros., 272 F. 2d 253 (C.A. 2).