International Union Of Operating Engineers Local No. 49

966 DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD International Union of Operating Engineers Local No. 49 and The Catholic Cemeteries . Case AO- 269 July 10, 1989 ADVISORY OPINION BY CHAIRMAN STEPHENS AND MEMBERS CRACRAFr, HIGGINS, AND DEVANEY On June 6 and 26, 1989, respectively, The Catholic Cemeteries (the Petitioner) filed a Petition for Advisory Opinion and a brief in support thereof with the Board . In pertinent part the petition al- leges as follows. 1. A petition for clarification or amendment of appropriate unit (Case 89-R-2281) is currently pending before the State of Minnesota Bureau of Mediation Services (BMS) in which International Union of Operating Engineers, Local No. 49 (the Union) is seeking the inclusion of certain individ- uals in the currently existing bargaining unit. 2. The Petitioner is a religious organization that operates six cemeteries in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. 3. In the past fiscal year the Petitioner had gross revenues equal to or exceeding $ 1.5 million and purchased in excess of $19,900 in materials or serv- ices directly from outside the State of Minnesota. 4. The Petitioner is unaware whether the Union admits or denies the aforesaid commerce data and the BMS has not made any findings with respect thereto. 5. There are no representation or unfair labor practice proceedings involving the matter currently pending before the Board. On June 22, 1989, the Union filed a brief in re- sponse to the Petition for Advisory Opinion. The Union asserts therein that it has no information by which to admit or deny the aforesaid commerce al- legations. However, the Union contends that the Board should decline to assert jurisdiction over the Petitioner inasmuch as the Union was certified by the BMS as representative of the subject unit in 1980, the parties have voluntarily resolved all their disputes through the BMS since that time , and the volume of the Petitioner's out-of-state purchases has "in all probability not changed significantly" during that period. Having duly considered the matter , the Board is of the opinion that it would assert jurisdiction over the Petitioner. The Board has traditionally asserted jurisdiction over the operators of cemeteries whose gross annual revenue exceeds $500,000 and whose annual out-of-state purchases are more than de min- imis.l As the Petitioner alleges that its gross reve- nues equaled or exceeded $ 1.5 million in the past fiscal year, and that its direct out-of-state purchases exceeded $19,900 in the same period , the Petitioner clearly satisfies these standards. Although the Peti- tioner may indeed have likewise satisfied these standards in 1980 when the BMS initially certified the Union in the subject unit, and has continued to do so since during which time the Petitioner volun- tarily submitted to the BMS's jurisdiction, this is not in itself a reason for the Board to decline to issue an advisory opinion or to exercise jurisdiction where appropriate. 2 Accordingly, the parties are advised that, based on the allegations in the petition, the Board would assert jurisdiction over the Petitioner.3 i See Sunset Memorial Park Management Corp., 284 NLRB 480 (1987) (citing Inglewood Park Cemetery Assn., 147 NLRB 803 (1964), enfd. 355 F.2d 448 (9th Cir.), cert. denied 384 U.S 951 (1966). 2 See Clifford W. Beers Guidance Clinic, 266 NLRB 89 (1983) We note in this regard that the Union does not contend or present any facts that would indicate that the Board would decline to entertain a unit -clarifica- tion petition similar to the one now before the BMS . Cf. Box Tree Res- taurant, 235 NLRB 926 (1978). a The Board's advisory opinion proceedings under Sec . 102.98(a) of the Board's Rules and Regulations are designed primarily to determine whether an employer's operations meet the Board's commerce standards for asserting jurisdiction. Accordingly, the instant Advisory Opinion is intended to address this issue only , and expresses no view as to whether there may be some other basis which might exempt the Petitioner from the Board's jurisdiction See, e.g., Christ the King Regional High School, 266 NLRB 738 (1983) 295 NLRB No. 103