Cayuga Linen & Cotton Mills, Inc.

DECISIONS AND ORDERS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD In the Matter Of CAYUGA LINEN & COTTON MILLS, INO. and TEXTILE WORKERS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE Case No. R-114-7.-Decided February 1, 1939 Twine and Cord Manufacturing Industry-Investigation of Representatives: controversy concerning representation of employees: controversy concerning appropriate unit; employer questions majority status of union-Unit Appro- priate for Collective Bargaining: production employees, excluding firemen, ma- chinists, watchmen, clerical, and supervisory employees-Representatives: proof of choice: comparison of pay rolls and list of union membership application cards-Certification of Representatives: upon proof of majority representation. Mr. Edward D. Flaherty, for the Board. Noble, Leary cf Leary, by Mr. Perry E. Leary, of Auburn, N. Y., for the Company. Mr. William P. Wysong, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES STATEMENT OF THE CASE On August 12, 1938, Textile Workers Organizing Committee, herein called the Union, filed with the Regional Director for the Third Region (Buffalo, New York) a petition alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Cayuga Linen & Cotton Mills, Inc., Auburn, New York, herein called the Company, and requesting an investigation and cer- tification of representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On October 29, 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. 11 N. L. R. B., No.1. 1 2 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD On November 21, 1938, the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing, a copy of which was duly served upon the Company and upon the Union. Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held on Decem- ber 8, 1938, at Auburn, New York, before E. G. Smith, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Board. The Board and the Com- pany were represented by counsel and the Union by its representa- tive. 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 1 Cayuga Linen & Cotton Mills, Inc., a New York corporation, oper- ates a plant at Auburn, New York, where it is engaged in the pro- duction of twine and cord. Between October 1, 1937, and September 30, 1938, the Company used raw materials consisting of cotton yarn valued at $152,685.13. Ap- proximately 100 per cent of such raw materials were delivered to the Auburn plant from points outside the State of New York. The approximate value of the finished products during the same period was $271,000, almost 100 per cent of which were shipped outside the State of New York. H. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED Textile Workers Organizing Committee, Local No. 241, is a labor organization affiliated with the Committee for Industrial Organiza- tion, admitting to membership all production and maintenance em- ployees of the Company, excluding clerical and supervisory employees and watchmen. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION On August 8, 1938, the Union requested a conference with the Company. A conference was held on August 11, 1938, at which the Union claimed to represent a majority of the Company's production employees and requested to be recognized as their bargaining repre- 1 The facts set forth in this section are taken from Board Exhibit No 2, a stipulation entered into between counsel for the Company and counsel for the Board. CAYUGA LINEN & COTTON MILLS, INC ., ET AL. 3 sentative. The Company disputed the Union's claim to majority representation and refused to recognize it. At the hearing, the Com- pany reaffirmed its position that the Union did not represent a ma- jority of the production employees. We find that a question has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Company at its Auburn, New York, plant. 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 com- merce and the free flow of commerce. V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT The Union claimed that all production employees, excluding fire- men, machinists, watchmen, clerical, and supervisory employees, should constitute an appropriate unit for the purposes of collective bargaining. The Company maintained that all employees should be included in the unit on the ground that every employee in the plant was engaged in production work either directly or indirectly. The latter contention is without merit, since on the record there are two distinct groups of employees, namely, production and maintenance. Since there is only one union in the plant which is seeking to bargain, and since that union has organized only the production employees, we will not include the maintenance group in the appropriate unit.2 We find that all production employees of the Company at its Auburn, New York, plant, excluding firemen, machinists, watchmen, clerical, and supervisory employees, constitute a unit appropriate for the purpose of collective bargaining and that said unit will insure to employees of the Company the full benefit of their right to self- organization and to collective bargaining and otherwise effectuate the policies of the Act. VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES The Union produced at the hearing 31 membership application cards. A list of these cards was prepared and introduced in evi- dence. At the hearing counsel for the Company made a comparison between the cards and the list and offered no objection. 2Matter of Marks Brothers Company and United Toy and Novelty Worbers Local Industrial Union No 538, affiliated with the C. I. 0., 7 N. L. R. B. 15a. 4 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD The Company introduced in evidence a pay roll for the week end- ing August 13, 1938, containing the names of 53 employees, and a pay roll for the week ending December 3, 1938, containing the names of 55 employees. There were 37 employees on the August 13, 1938, pay roll and 39 employees on the December 3, 1938, pay roll within the appropriate unit. At the hearing counsel for the Company requested the opportunity to examine the employees who had signed union application cards. He was granted this opportunity and, thereupon, called seven em- ployees, who testified that they no longer desired the Union to repre- sent them. No additional witnesses were called. Only one employee on the Union's list did not appear among the employees in the appropriate unit on the pay rolls of August 13, 1938, and December 3, 1938. While the probative value of testimony concerning preferences in union affiliation adduced in the presence and at the instance of the employer is dubious, even deducting the 7 employees who testified that they no longer wished to be represented by the Union, there remain 23 employees who signed union applica- tion cards. Since there were* 37 employees within the appropriate unit on the pay roll of August 13, 1938, and 39 employees on the pay roll of December 3, 1938, the Union had a clear majority on both dates. Since December 3, 1938, eight employees within the appropriate unit on the pay rolls of August 13, 1938, and December 3, 1938, have been permanently discharged, and three have been transferred to positions not within the appropriate unit. Of these 11, only 1 had signed a union application card. If we were to give effect to these discharges and transfers, the Union's majority would be increased. We find that the Union has been designated and selected by a majority of the employees in the appropriate unit as their represent- ative for the purposes of collective bargaining. It is, therefore, the exclusive representative of all the employees in such unit for the pur- poses of collective bargaining, and we will so certify. 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 Cayuga Linen & Cotton Mills, Inc., Auburn, New York, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act. 2. The production employees of the Company at its Auburn, New York, plant, excluding firemen, machinists, watchmen, clerical, and CAYUGA LINEN & COTTON MILLS, INC., ET AL. 5 supervisory employees, constitute a unit appropriate for the pur- poses of collective bargaining, within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act. 3. Textile Workers Organizing Committee is the exclusive repre- sentative of all the employees in such unit for the purposes of col- lective bargaining, within the meaning of Section 9 (a) of the National Labor Relations Act. CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES 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 CERTIFIED that Textile Workers Organizing Committee has been designated by a majority of the production employees of Cayuga Linen & Cotton Mills, Inc., Auburn, New York, excluding firemen , machinists, watchmen, clerical, and supervisory employees, as their representative for the purposes of collective bargaining and that, pursuant to the provisions of Section 9 (a) of the Act, Textile Workers Organizing Committee is the exclusive representative of all such employees for the purposes of collective bargaining in respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other conditions of employ- ment. 164275--39-vol. xi-2