Marshall Field & Company

In the Matter Of MARSHALL FIELD & COMPANY and TEXTILE WORKERS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE Case No. C-1015.-Decided April 20,1939 Wool and Cotton Textile and Rug Manufacturing Industries-Settlement: stipulation providing for compliance with the Act-Order: entered on stipula- tion-Complaint : dismissed as to four persons. Mr. Henry Shore, for the Board. Mr. B. C. Trotter, of Spray, N. C., and Mr. J. C. B. Ehringhaus, of Raleigh, N. C., for the respondent. Mr. John A. Peel, of Roanoke, Va., for the Union. Mr. A. J. Toth, of counsel to the Board.. DECISION AND ORDER STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon charges and amended charges duly filed by Textile Workers Organizing Committee, herein called the Union, the National Labor Relations Board, herein called the Board, by the Regional Director for the Fifth Region (Baltimore, Maryland), issued its complaint dated February 20, 1939, against Marshall Field & Company, Spray, North Carolina, herein called the respondent, alleging that the re- spondent had engaged in and was engaging in unfair labor practices affecting commerce within the meaning of Section 8 (1), (3), and (5) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. A copy of the complaint and notice of hearing thereon were duly served upon the respondent and the Union. Concerning the unfair labor practices, the complaint alleged, in substance, that the respondent discharged and refused to reinstate four named employees because of their membership and activity in the Union; that the respondent has refused and continues to refuse to bargain collectively with the Union as the exclusive representative of its employees in an appropriate unit for the purpose of collective bargaining, although the Union was certified as such representative by the Board on March 22, 1938; that the respondent demonstrated 12 N. L. R. B., No. 44. 345 346 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD to its employees its hostility to the Union by various methods; made statements to discourage activity of its employees in the Union; attempted to influence its employees to vote against the Union in elections conducted by the Board; attempted to form, sponsor, and support labor organizations among its employees, and by the afore- said and other acts, interfered with, restrained, and coerced its em- ployees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in Section 7 of the Act. On February 27, 1939, the respondent filed its answer containing a motion to strike the allegations of interference in paragraph 4 of the complaint on the ground that they lacked the definiteness and particularity required by the Board's Rules and Regulations. The ruling on the motion was reserved for the Trial Examiner. In its answer to the complaint, the respondent admitted the allegations concerning the nature and scope of its business but denied the allega- tions of unfair labor practices. Pursuant to notice, a fiearing was held at Spray, North Carolina, on March 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8, 1939, before William R. Ringer, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Board, at which the Board and the respondent were represented by counsel, and the Union by its Regional Director. Full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing upon the issues was afforded all parties. At the commencement of the hear- ing, the respondent renewed its motion to strike paragraph 4 of the complaint; this motion was denied by the Trial Examiner. His ruling is hereby affirmed. On March 8, 1939, the Trial Examiner, on motion of the respondent, adjourned the hearing without objec- tion. Thereafter, the respondent, the Union, and counsel for the Board entered into a stipulation in settlement of the case, subject to the approval of the Board. This stipulation provides as follows : It is hereby stipulated and agreed by and among Marshall Field & Company, Textile Workers Organizing Committee and Henry Shore, attorney for the National Labor Relations Board, as follows : 1. Marshall Field and Company (hereinafter referred to as the Company) is a corporation of the State of Illinois and was incorporated in the year 1901. The Company is engaged in manufacturing and retail selling. As part of its manufacturing operations, the Company operates 12 plants. Nine of these are located in North Carolina, and among these are the following, namely, a Woolen Mill plant at Spray, North Carolina, which is engaged in the manufacture of men's suitings, ladies' dress goods, coating and blankets; a Rug Mill plant at Leaksville, North Carolina, which is engaged in the manufacture of rugs; a MARSHALL FIELD & COMPANY 347 Blanket Mill plant at Draper, North Carolina, which is engaged in the manufacture of blankets; a Sheeting Mill plant at Draper, North Carolina, which is engaged in the manufacture of sheet- ing, casing and pillow tubing; and a Bedspread kill plant at Leaksville, North Carolina, which is engaged in the manufacture of bedspreads and yarns. During normal employ- ment periods, there are approximately 450 employees in the Woolen mill plant; approximately 550 employees in the Rug Mill plant; approximately 1,000 employees in the Blanket Mill plant; approximately 570 employees in the Sheeting Mill plant: and approximately 385 employees in the Bedspread Mill plant. The total payroll covering these five plants, including both part- time and full-time employees, for the year 1938 was approxi- mately $2,100,000.00. More than 85 percent of the raw mate- rials used in the manufacture of the products at the Woolen Mill plant, the Rug Mill plant, the Blanket Mill plant, the Sheeting Mill plant, and the Bedspread Mill plant respectively come from a number of states of the United States other than the State of North Carolina. The Company also receives its manufactured parts and other supplies from a number of other states of the United States other than the State of North Carolina. These raw materials, manufactured parts and supplies are shipped to the said five plants by rail and trucks. For the years 1938, 1937 and for sometime prior thereto, approximately 90% of the products manufactured by the Company at each of its five plants in North Carolina, namely, the Woolen Mill plant, the Rug Mill plant, the Blanket Mill plant, the Sheeting Mill plant, and the Bedspread Mill plant, are shipped to and sold in a large number of states of the United States other than the State of North Carolina. In marketing its products manufactured in each of the said five North Carolina plants, the Company uses salesmen, sells to jobbers, retailers and through department stores. The Company also advertises its products manufactured in each of the five plants in newspapers, trade journals and in market centers. The Company also sells some of its products manufactured in some of the said five plants to the United States government. In delivering the products which the Company manufactures at each of its said five plants, the Company uses the facilities of rail, express, water, freight and contracted trucks. 2. The Textile Workers Organizing Committee is a labor or- ganization as defined in Section 2 (5) of the National Labor Relations Act. 348 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 3. On March 22, 1938 the National Labor Relations Board certified that the Textile Workers Organizing Committee had been designated and selected by a majority of all the employees of Marshall Field & Company, excluding clerical, sales and supervisory employees at each of its following five plants, namely, the Woolen Mill, the Rug Mill, the Bedspread Mill, the Blanket Mill and the Sheeting Mill, as their representative for the purposes of collective bargaining, and pursuant to provisions of Section 9 (a) of the National Labor Relations Act, Textile Workers Organizing Committee has been certified as the ex- clusive 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 employment. 4. On the basis of the pleadings in this case, on the basis of the facts stipulated in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 above, and on the basis of this stipulation generally, and with the consent of the parties hereto, which is hereby given, waiving any and all fur- ther rights to a hearing and the making of findings of fact and conclusions by the National Labor Relations Board, the National Labor Relations Board may enter an Order in this case as herein below set forth. 5. The said Order shall provide as follows : (1) Marshall Field & Company, its officers, agents, successors and assigns shall not interfere with, restrain or coerce its em- ployees in the exercise of their right to self-organization, to form, join or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing and to engage in concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection. (2) On the basis of paragraph 6 of the stipulation of which this Order is a part, the cases of J. A. Lovick, C. W. Saul, Everett Nelson and Cooper Richardson are hereby dismissed. (3) Marshall Field & Company, its officers, agents, successors and assigns shall not refuse to bargain collectively with the Textile Workers Organizing Committee as the exclusive repre- sentative, as provided in Section 9 (a) of the National Labor Relations Act, of all its employees excluding clerical, sales and supervisory employees, at each of its five plants, namely, the Woolen Mill, the Rug Mill, the Bedspread Mill, the Blanket Mill and the Sheeting Mill in respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment and other conditions of employment. (4) Marshall Field & Company, its officers, agents, successors and assigns, shall refrain from insisting on the presence of persons other than those designated by either Marshall Field & MARSHALL FIELD & COMPANY 349 Company or the Textile Workers Organizing Committee as their respective representatives, as a condition of bargaining collec- tively with the Textile Workers Organizing Committee, as the exclusive representative, as provided for in Section 9 (a) of the National Labor Relations Act, of all of its employees, excluding clerical, sales and supervisory employees at each of its five plants, namely, the Woolen Mill, the Rug Mill, the Bedspread Mill, the Blanket Mill and the Sheeting Mill, in respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment and other conditions of employ- ment. (5) Marshall Field & Company, its officers, agents, successors and assigns, shall take the following affirmative action in order to effectuate the policies of the National Labor Relations Act : a. Bargain collectively in good faith with the Textile Workers Organizing Committee as the exclusive representative, as pro- vided for in Section 9 (a) of the National Labor Relations Act, of all of its employees, excluding clerical, sales, and supervisory employees at each of its following plants, namely, the Woolen Mill, the Rug Mill, the Bedspread Mill, the Blanket Mill and the Sheeting Mill, in respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of em- ployment and other conditions of employment; with the under- standing that all those present at the bargaining negotiations shall have been designated by either Marshall Field & Company or Textile Workers Organizing Committee as their respective representatives. b. Post notices immediately in conspicuous places at each of its following five plants, namely, the Woolen Mill, the Rug Mill, the Bedspread Mill, the Blanket Mill and the Sheeting Mill, stat- ing (1) Marshall Field & Company, its officers, agents, succes- cessors and assigns, will not interfere with, restrain or coerce its employees in the exercise of their rights to self-organization, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choos- ing and to engage in other mutual aid or protection; (2) Mar- shall Field & Company, its successors, officers, agents and assigns will bargain collectively in good faith with the Textile Work- ers Organizing Committee as exclusive representative of all of its employees, excluding clerical, sales and supervisory employees in each of its five plants, namely, the Woolen Mill, the Rug Mill, the Bedspread Mill, the Blanket Mill and the Sheeting Mill, in respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment and other conditions of employment, a majority of all said employees in each of the said five plants having designated and selected the Textile Workers Organizing Committee as such exclusive repre- sentative in an election ordered by the National Labor Rela- 350 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD tions Board; with the understanding that all those present at the bargaining negotiations shall have been designated by either Marshall Field & Company or Textile Workers Organizing Committee as their respective representatives ; (3) such notices shall remain posted for a period of at least 60 days. c. Notify the Regional Director for the Fifth Region within twenty days from the service of this Order by a report in writ- ing setting forth further in detail the manner and form in which it has complied with the said Order. 6. Textile Workers Organizing Committee agrees that as to the cases of J. A. Lovick, C. W. Saul, Cooper Richardson and Everett Nelson, the National Labor Relations Board is hereby requested to enter an order dismissing each of said cases, the said cases having been satisfactorily adjusted by negotiations between Marshall Field & Company and Textile Workers Or- ganizing Committee. 7. Marshall Field & Company consents to the entry of a decree by the appropriate United States Circuit Court of Appeals en- forcing the Order of the National Labor Relations Board in the form set out in paragraph 5 above. 8. This stipulation and the Order pursuant thereto shall be a final and conclusive adjudication of all the facts and issues in- volved in the pleadings of this case. 9. It is expressly understood and agreed that this stipulation is subject to the approval of the National Labor Relations Board. On March 15, 1939, the Board issued its order approving the above stipulation, making it part of the record, and transferring the pro- ceeding to the Board for the purpose of entry of a decision and order by the Board. Upon the stipulation and the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE RESPONDENT The respondent, an Illinois corporation, is engaged in manufac- turing and retail selling. As part of its manufacturing operations, the respondent operates 12 plants, 9 of which are located in the State of North Carolina. This case is concerned with the operations of the respondent at five of its plants in North Carolina, namely, its Woolen Mill plant at Spray, North Carolina, engaged in the man- ufacture of men's suiting, ladies' dress goods, coating, and blankets; its Rug Mill plant at Leaksville, North Carolina, engaged in the manufacture of rugs; its Blanket Mill plant at Draper, North Caro- MARSHALL FIELD & COMPANY 351 lina, engaged in the manufacture of blankets; its Sheeting Mill plant at Draper, North Carolina, engaged in the manufacture of sheeting, casing, and pillow tubing; and its Bedspread Mill plant at Leaks- Ville, North Carolina, engaged in the manufacture of bedspreads and yarns. More than 85 per cent of the raw materials used in the man- ufacture of the products at the said five plants come from States other than the State of North Carolina. For the years 1937 and 1938, approximately 90 per cent of the products manufactured by the respondent at each of the said five plants were shipped to and sold in States other than the State of North Carolina. We find that the above-described operations of the respondent constitute a continuous flow of trade, traffic, and commerce among the several States. II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED Textile Workers Organizing Committee is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to membership employees of the respondent. III. REPRESENTATION OF A MAJORITY WITHIN AN APPROPRIATE BARGAINING UNIT On March 22, 1938, the Board certified that the Textile Workers Organizing Committee had been designated and selected by a ma- jority of all the employees of the respondent, excluding clerical, sales, and supervisory employees, at each of its following five plants, namely, the Woolen Mill, the Rug Mill, the Bedspread Mill, the Blanket Mill, and the Sheeting Mill, as'their representative for the purpose of collective bargaining, and pursuant to provisions of Sec- tion 9 (a) of the Act, Textile Workers Organizing Committee has been certified as 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 employment. ORDER Upon the basis of the above stipulation, findings of fact, and the entire record in the case, and pursuant to Section 10 (c) of the Na- tional Labor Relations Act, the National Labor Relations Board hereby orders that the respondent, Marshall Field & Company, Spray, North Carolina, its officers, agents, successors, and assigns : 1. Shall not : (a) Interfere with, restrain, or coerce its employees in the exercise of their right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor or- ganizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their 352 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD own choosing, and to engage in concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection; (b) Refuse to bargain collectively with the Textile Workers Or- ganizing Committee as the exclusive representative, as provided in Section 9 (a) of the National Labor Relations Act, of all of its employees, excluding clerical, sales, and supervisory employees, at each of its five plants, namely, the Woolen Mill, the Rug Mill, the Bedspread Mill, the Blanket Mill, and the Sheeting Mill in respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other conditions of employment. 2. Shall refrain from insisting on the presence of persons other than those designated by either Marshall Field & Company or the Textile Workers Organizing Committee as their respective repre- sentatives, as a condition of bargaining collectively with the Textile Workers Organizing Committee, as the exclusive representative, as provided for in Section 9 (a) of the National Labor Relations Act, of all of its employees, excluding clerical, sales, and supervisory em- ployees, at each of its five plants, namely, the Woolen Mill, the Rug Mill, the Bedspread Mill, the Blanket Mill, and the Sheeting Mill, in respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other condi- tions of employment. 3. Take the following affirmative action which the Board finds will effectuate the policies of the Act : (a) Bargain collectively in good faith with the Textile Workers Organizing Committee as the exclusive representative, as provided for in Section 9 (a) of the National Labor Relations Act, of all of its employees, excluding clerical, sales, and supervisory employees at each of the following plants, namely, the Woolen Mill, the Rug Mill, the Bedspread Mill, the Blanket Mill, and the Sheeting Mill, in respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other conditions of employment; with the understanding that all those present at the bargaining negotiations shall have been designated by either Marshall Field & Company or Textile Workers Organizing Committee as their respective representatives; (b) Post notices immediately in conspicuous places at each of its following five plants, namely, the Woolen Mill, the Rug Mill, the Bedspread Mill, the Blanket Mill, and the Sheeting Mill, stating : (1) Marshall Field & Company, its officers, agents, successors, and assigns, will not interfere with, restrain, or coerce its employees in the exercise of their rights to self-organization, to bargain collec- tively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other mutual aid or protection; (2) Marshall Field & Company, its successors, officers, agents, and assigns, will bargain collectively in good faith with the Textile Workers Organizing Committee as ex- MARSHALL FIELD & COMPANY 353 elusive representative of all of its employees, excluding clerical, sales, and supervisory employees, in each of its five plants, namely, the Woolen Mill, the Rug Mill, the Bedspread Mill, the Blanket Mill, and the Sheeting Mill, in respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other conditions of employment, a majority of all said employees in each of the said five plants having designated and selected the Textile Workers Organizing Committee as such exclusive representative in an election ordered by the National Labor Rela- tions Board; with the understanding that all those present at the bargaining negotiations shall have been designated by either Mar- shall Field & Company or Textile Workers Organizing Committee as their respective representatives; (3) Such notices shall remain posted for a period of at least sixty (60) days; (c) Notify the Regional Director for the Fifth Region within twenty (20) days from the service of this Order by a report in writ- ing setting forth further in detail the manner and form in which it has complied with this Order. AND IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the complaint, in so far as it pertains to the cases of J. A. Lovick, C. W. Saul, Cooper Richard- son, and Everett Nelson, be, and it hereby is, dismissed.