Carson Pirie Scott & Co.

308 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Carson Pirie Scott & Company and Teamsters & Chauffeurs Union Local No. 627 , Affiliated with International Brotherhood of Teamsters , Chauf- feurs, Warehousemen & Helpers of America Pe- titioner. Case 38-RC-485 October 24, 1968 DECISION ON REVIEW AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION BY CHAIRMAN MCCULLOCH AND MEMBERS FANNING AND BROWN On May 21, 1968, the Regional Director for Region 13 issued his Decision and Order in the above-entitled proceeding, in which he found inap- propriate a requested unit of custodial employees at the Employer's Peoria, Illinois department store, and accordingly dismissed the petition. Thereafter, in accordance with National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations, the Petitioner filed a timely request for review, contending inter alia , that the Regional Director departed from Board precedent in failing to find appropriate the requested unit. By telegraphic order dated June 25, 1968, the National Labor Relations Board granted the request for review. The Employer filed a brief on review. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three-member panel. The Board has reviewed the entire record in this case, with respect to the issue under review, and makes the following findings. The Petitioner seeks to represent all employees in Department 35-01, Physical and Mechanical Main- tenance, at the Employer's Peoria, Illinois department store, including janitors, porters, maintenance and cleanup personnel.' The Employer contends that the smallest appropriate unit must comprise all the employees in the Operating Division, of which De- partment 35 - 01 is a part, and certain employees in the Store Planning department as well. The Employer's operations at the Peoria store are administratively divided into divisions and thereafter into departments. Department 35 - 01, sought by Petitioner, is headed by department supervisor Black- man,2 and is composed of 18 janitorial and minor maintenance employees who work only at the Peoria store. The bulk of these employees perform custodial work between the hours of 5 a.m. and 9 a.m., when the store is not open for business. Two employees, the day porter and the day maid, perform similar functions during regular store hours. Three of the employees in the requested unit handle minor main- tenance assignments, such as changing lightbulbs, greasing and oiling machinery, and changing filters on air conditioning equipment.' No other employees at the Peoria Store perform these custodial functions. There is little interchange or transfer between the custodial employees and others, and the custodial employees who work during the early morning obviously have little work contact with other em- ployees. There is no bargaining history for any of the employees in Department 35-01. The Employer, as noted above, seeks to include various other employees of the Operating Division, of which Department 35-01 is a part. The Operating Division, under manager Wade, employs about 110 nonselling employees, exclusive of those in Depart- ment 35-01. These 110 employees, however, per- form a variety of noncustodial functions at various locations in the store building. They include some 45 Food Service employees, who work under the direc- tion of the food service manager, 8 or 9 Wrapping, Packing, and Giftwrap department employees, who have their own manager, 30 employees in the Re- ceiving and Marking and Delivery departments, who work under a single supervisor,4 10 stockhandlers, who report directly to the operating manager and move merchandise throughout the store, and 15 Alterations department employees and 4 Drapery Workroom employees, who also have their own separate supervision. In addition, several departments of the Operating Division are composed of clerical employees and guards, whose exclusion the parties stipulated. As noted above, the Employer would likewise include certain employees in the Store Planning department. These employees, however, are located in a different building from the store in which the custodial employees work, and they perform various functions including light construction work, not only for the Peoria store, but for all the Employer's central I The Petitioner made several alternative unit requests, which our determination herein makes it unnecessary to consider. 2 The Petitioner contends that Blackman is a supervisor within the meaning of the Act, while the Employer takes no position . The record indicates that Blackman reports directly to operating manager Wade. Blackman arrives at work at 5 a.m. with the crew, and it does not appear that there are any other supervisors on the premises at that time. As the Regional Director found, Blackman supervises the custodial employees and gives them instructions and assignments. In addition, the record indicates that Blackman interviews employees before hire, is consulted with respect to possible discharges, and has authority to propose other disciplinary actions. In view of the foregoing, and the record as a whole, we find that Blackman responsibly directs the employees of the custodial force and is a supervisor within the meaning of the Act. See Lyon, Incorporated, 145 NLRB 54, 55, in. 2, 72-74. 3 One of these three employees works at least part of his time during regular store hours. Virtually all maintenance work, other than the minor tasks handled by these three employees, is performed by employees of independent contractors. 4 The Petitioner represents the four truckdrivers in the Delivery department. 173 NLRB No. 48 CARSON PIRIE Illinois stores. The Store Planning department at Peoria reports directly to the Employer's Chicago corporate headquarters. The employees of this depart- ment whom the Employer would include are carpen- ters, painters, and laborers. They make partitions, fixtures, and display backgrounds, and repair coun- ters There is also evidence of a bargaining history for these employees. Thus, the Employer has a collec- tive-bargaining agreement with the Carpenters Union covering the carpenters, and informal arrangements with the Painters and Laborers Unions under which they notify the Employer of their current wage scales and the Employer abides by them. Upon these facts the Regional Director found the requested unit of custodial employees inappropriate. We disagree. It is clear that the custodial employees perform a distinctive function under separate depart- mental supervision. And it further appears that the custodial employees do not appreciably interchange with, nor do they have regular contacts with, other store employees as the bulk of the custodial force works during hours when the store is not open for business. There is no bargaining history for the custodial employees, and no labor organization seeks 5 See White Front Sacramento, Inc., 166 NLRB No. 29 , The J L. Hudson Company, 155 NLRB 1345, Allied Stores of New York, Inc, d/b/a Sterns, Paramus, 150 NLRB 799 , 803, The Bailey Department Stores Company , 85 NLRB 312 , Thalheimer Brothers, Incorporated, 83 NLRB 664. 6 Fourteen of the custodial employees are considered "temporary" by the Employer for 2 reasons - ( 1) because they are part-time employees and the Employer classifies a portion of its part-time employees as "temporary " and (2 ) because the Employer considers its present method of performing custodial work with a largely part-time force to be a "temporary" expedient . As to the hours of the part-time employees , the record indicates that they regularly work 17'/2 to 24 hours a week pursuant to a prearranged schedule. As to the tenure of these employees, the record shows that the Employer , since August 1967 , has sought but failed to employ a crew of competent full-time custodial employees , and, due to this failure , has had to continue its SCOTT & CO 309 their inclusion in a broader unit. Under these circum- stances we find that the custodial employees are an identifiable and distinct group with a community of interest separate from that of other employees, and that they comprise a unit which the Board normally finds appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining.' Accordingly, we find that a question affecting commerce exists concerning the representation of certain employees of the Employer within the mean- mg of Section 9(c)(1) and Section 2(6) and (7) of the Act, and that the following employees of the Em- ployer constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9(b) of the Act: All full-time and regular part-time6 employees7 employed in the Physical and Mechanical Mainten- ance Department (Department 35-01) of the Em- ployer's store located at 124 Southwest Adams Street, Peoria, Illinois, but excluding office clerical employees, professional employees, all other em- ployees, watchmen, guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act. [Direction of Election8 omitted from publication.] present arrangement indefinitely . We find, accordingly , as did the Regional Director, that these custodial workers are regular part-time employees with a sufficient expectation of future employment to entitle them to representation. 7 The parties agreed upon the inclusion of four part -time employees who are Social Security annuitants They are accordingly included. 8 An election eligibility list, containing the names and addresses of all the eligible voters, must be filed by the Employer with the Regional Director for Region 13 within 7 days after the date of this Decision on Review and Direction of Election . The Regional Director shall make the list available to all parties to the election. No extension of time to file this list shall be granted by the Regional Director except in extra- ordinary circumstances. Failure to comply with this requirement shall be grounds for setting aside the election whenever proper objections are filed. Excelsior Underwear Inc., 156 NLRB 1236.