Merrimac Hat Corporation

In the Matter Of MERRIMAC HAT CORPORATION and UNITED HATTERS, CAP AND MILLINERY WORKERS INTERNATIONAL UNION, AFFILIATED WITH AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR Case No. R-1361.-Decided May 25, 1939 Hat Manufacturing Industrg-Investigation of Representatives : controversy concerning representation of employees : employer's refusal to recognize peti- tioning union as exclusive bargaining agent-Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : production employees of three plants, excluding maintenance , cleri- cal, and supervisory employees ; stipulation as to-Election Ordered Mr. Edward Schneider, for the Board. Ropes, Gray, Boyden d Perkins, by Mr. Charles E. Wyzanski, Jr., and Mr. Roland Gray, Jr., of Boston, Mass., for the Company. Roewer & Reel, by Mr. A. Frank Reel, of Boston, Mass. , for the American Federation of Labor. Mr. N. Barr Miller, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE On October 8, 1938, and February 18, 1939, the United Hatters, Cap and Millinery Workers International Union, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, herein called the Union, filed with the Regional Director for the First Region ( Boston, Massachusetts) a petition and amended petition, respectively, alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Merrimac Hat Corporation, Amesbury, Massachu- setts, herein called the Company, and requesting an investigation and certification of representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On March 24, 1939, 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. 12 N. L. R. B., No. 118. 1204 MERRIMAC HAT CORPORATION 1205 On April 6, 1939, the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing and on April 13, 1939, a notice of postponement of hearing, copies of both of which were served upon the Company and the Union. Pursuant to the notices, a hearing was held on April 24, 1939, at Amesbury, Massachusetts, before Charles E. Persons, the Trial Ex- aminer duly designated by the Board. The Board, the Company, and the Union were represented by counsel and participated in the hear- ing. 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 ruled on one objection to the admission of evidence. This ruling the Board has reviewed and finds in it no prejudicial error. The ruling is hereby affirmed. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following: FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Merrimac Hat Corporation is engaged in the manufacture of com- pleted hats and of hat bodies in an unfinished state at three plants at Amesbury, Massachusetts. The Company makes both fur and wool hat bodies. Raw materials consisting principally of wool, fur, trim- ming and dye to the value of $1,750,000 annually are used in the three Amesbury plants. Approximately 84 per cent, in value, of this material comes from outside Massachusetts. Hats valued at approx- imately $4,525,000 are produced annually, 94 per cent of which are shipped to destinations beyond the State of Massachusetts. The Company employs between 1,100 and 1,400 workers in its Amesbury plants. On February 25, 1939, there were in its employ a total of 1,377 persons, 1,238 production employees, 46 supervisory, 45 maintenance, 34 clerical, and 14 engaged in selling. H. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED United Hatters, Cap and Millinery Workers International Union, affiliated with American Federation of Labor, is a labor organization admitting to membership all workers in the Company's Amesbury plants except those engaged in supervisory, maintenance, and clerical duties. The parties have stipulated that the Union is a labor organi- zation within the meaning of Section 2 (5) of the Act. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION Prior to the filing of the petition and amended petition in this- case the Company was asked to recognize the Union as the exclusive, 1206 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD representative of all production employees in the Amesbury plants. The Company refused to grant such recognition until an election had determined that a majority of the employees desired the Union to be their exclusive representative. We find that a question has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Company. IV. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION UPON COMMERCE The Company concedes and 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 burden- ing and obstructing commerce and the free flow of commerce. V. TIIE APPROPRIATE UNIT It was stipulated that the appropriate unit for the purposes of collective bargaining should be composed of "all production em- ployees of the Merrimac Hat Corporation in its Amesbury plants. exclusive of clerical, supervisory and maintenance employees." Main- tenance men by agreement include machinists who repair production machines, carpenters, millwrights, electricians, janitors, elevator men, power-plant and heating-plant employees. Floormen whose principal duties are the handling of hats or raw materials or who have some- thing to do with the processing are included in the production unit; those whose principal duties are to keep machines in repair or keep floors clean are classified by the parties as maintenance men and ex- cluded from the unit. Factory clerks, including a style recorder, are excluded by stipulation, since their duties are clerical. Certain inspectors having duties of a supervisory character subordinate to the regular foremen in the plants have been classified by the parties as production workers because they have no disciplinary duties, nor do they keep efficiency records. There are 10 or 12 workers who are interchangeably supervisory or production employees. As to them the parties agreed that each employee's status for purposes of the election shall be determined by his duties at the time the election is held. All packing, shipping, and box-shop employees are agreed to be within the production unit, as well as hand-transfer men who impress labels in the hats, "sticker" men who paste labels, and "printing" men who print or stamp customers' names in hats or on hat bands. The unit above described is appropriate and we see no reason to depart from the wishes of the parties. We find that all production M RRIDTAC HAT CORPORATION 1207 employees of the Amesbury plants of the Company, exclusive of those designated as maintenance, supervisory, and clerical employees, con- stitute a unit appropriate for the purposes 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 bar- gaining and otherwise effectuate the policies of the Act. VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES The parties have stipulated that the Board may order an election. We find that the question which has arisen concerning the representa- tion of employees can best be decided by holding an election by secret ballot to determine whether or not the employees wish the Union to represent them. We find in accordance with the stipulation of the parties that those eligible to vote shall be (1) all persons in the appro- priate unit who were employed on the date of the amended petition, February 18, 1939, and who have been employed at any time since February 18, 1939, up to and including April 24, 1939, excluding any who have been discharged for cause or who have voluntarily quit, and (2) all in the appropriate unit who have worked a total of 80 working days during the year from February 18, 1938, until February 18, 1939, again excluding those who have been discharged for cause or who have voluntarily quit during that period. 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 the Merrimac Hat Corporation, Amesbury, Massachusetts, 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 in its Amesbury plants, exclusive of clerical, supervisory, and maintenance employees, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargain- ing, within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act. DIRECTION OF ELECTION 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 111, Section 8, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 1, as amended, it is hereby 1208 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation authorized by the Board to ascertain representatives for collective bargaining with the Merrimac Hat Corporation, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted within fifteen (15) days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the First Region, acting in this matter as the agent of the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article III, Section 9, of the said Rules and Regulations-Series 1, as amended, among the pro- duction employees of the Company in its Amesbury plants, exclusive of clerical, supervisory, and maintenance employees, (1) who were employed on the date of the amended petition, February 18, 1939, and who have been employed at any time since February 18, 1939, up to and including April 24, 1939, excluding any who have been discharged for cause or who have voluntarily quit, or (2) who have worked a total of 80 working days during the year from February 18, 1938, until February 18, 1939, excluding those who have been discharged for cause or who have voluntarily quit during that period, to deter- mine whether or not they desire to be represented by the United Hatters, Cap and Millinery Workers International Union, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, for the purposes of collec- tive bargaining.