Cayuga Linen & Cotton Mills, Inc.

In the Matter Of CAYIJOA LINEN & COTTON l^I1LLS, INC. and TEXTILE INTERNATIONAL JEWELRY WORKERS' UNION Case No. R-1678.-Decided Februarys 9, 1940 Clock and Tuning Instruments Industry-Investigation of Representatives: controversy concerning representation of employees : unsuccessful efforts to insti- tute collective bargaining-Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining: all production and maintenance employees, exclusive of foremen , model makers, clerical and office employees , departmental clerks, engineering-department em- ployees, and supervisors; stipulation as to-Election Ordered Mr. D. R. Dimick, for the Board. Mr. Thomas E. Kerwin, of New York City, for the Company. Mr. William Karlin and Mr. Samuel E. Beardsley, of New York City, for the Union. Miss Grace McEldo'wney, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE On November 7, 1939, International Jewelry Workers' Union,' herein called- the Union, filed with the Regional Director for the Second Region (New York City), a petition, and on December 5, 1939, an amended petition, alleging that a question affecting com- merce had arisen concerning the representation of employees , of General Time Instruments Corporation, Thomaston, Connecticut, 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 December 7, 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 Regulations-Series 2, ordered an investigation and authorized the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice. ' It appears from the record that the International Jewelry Workers' Union was acting in this matter on behalf of its local union , Amalgamated Clockmakers Union, No. 116. which was referred to at the hearing as "the immediate petitioner." 20 N. L. R. B., No. 28. 283 284 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Pursuant to notices, duly served upon the Company and the Union, a hearing was held on January 10, 1940, at Waterbury, Connecticut, before E. G. Smith, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Board. The Board, the Company, and the Union were represented by counsel and 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 to all parties. During the course of the hearing, the Trial Examiner made several rulings on motions. 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 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY General Time Instruments Corporation, a Delaware corporation having its executive office in New York City, and its plant, known as the Seth Thomas Clock plant, in Thomaston, Connecticut, is-en- gaged in the manufacture, sale, and distribution of clocks, timing instruments, and related products. The number of employees of the Company varied from 375 in the spring of 1939 to approximately 550, exclusive of office employees, at the end of the year. The principal raw materials used in its manufacturing process are brass, steel, lumber, and glass. During 1939 such materials cost.over $250,000, and approximately 60 per cent of them came from outside the State of Connecticut. Finished prod- ucts valued at over $500,000, constituting 95 per cent of the output of the plant, were shipped out of the State during the same period. The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act. II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED International Jewelry Workers' Union is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, having jurisdiction over employees in various branches of the jewelry industry, including watch and clock workers and repairers. On May 14, 1939, it issued a charter to Amalgamated Clockmakers Union, Local 116, Interna- tional Jewelry Workers' Union,2 which admits to membership em- ployees of the Company. 2 Also referred to in the record as "international Jewelry Workers ' Union, Local 116." GENERAL TIME INSTRUMENTS CORPORATION 285 III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION At various times from June 6 to October 27, 1939, the Union re- quested conferences with the Company to initiate collective bargain- ing. At the hearing the Company admitted that these efforts to institute bargaining had been unsuccessful, and both the Company and the Union expressed their desire for an election conducted under the auspices of the Board. We find that a question has arisen concerning representation of employees of the Company. 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 commerce and-the-.free flow of commerce. V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT At the hearing it was stipulated by the Company and the Union that all production and maintenance employees, exclusive of foremen, model makers,3 clerical and office employees, departmental clerks, engineering-department employees, and supervisors, who are em- ployed at the Company's plant at Thomaston, Connecticut, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining. The January 6 pay roll, exclusive of supervisory employees, engineering.- department employees, office and clerical workers, was introduced in evidence. Counsel for the Union and the Company agreed that after excluding from it four service employees, eight timekeepers, three-watchmen, four janitors, nine modelers, two errand boys, and three checkers and weighers, all of whom were regarded as outside the appropriate unit, the list contained the names of all employees con- stituting -the unit. We see no reason for departing from the unit agreed upon. We find that the production and maintenance employees of the Company who are employed at its plant at Thomaston, Connecticut, exclusive `of foremen, model makers, clerical and office employees, departmental clerks, engineering-department employees, and super- visors, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining with'the Company, and that such unit will insure to Also known - as modelers. 286 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 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 At the hearing the Union asserted that it represented a- majority of the employees in the appropriate unit, and produced membership applications of 219 employees. It acquiesced, however, in the request of the Company for an election. We find that the question concern- ing representation can best be resolved by means of an election by secret ballot, and we shall direct the holding of such an election. The Company and the Union stipulated that the pay roll of Jan- uary 6, 1940, including everyone in the appropriate unit who worked during the week beginning January 2, 1940, should be used to deter- mine eligibility to vote in such election. We see no reason to deviate from the wishes of the parties in this respect. On 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 General Time Instruments Corporation, Thomaston, Connecticut, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act. 2. All production and maintenance employees of the Company'who are employed at its plant at Thomaston, Connecticut, exclusive of foremen, model makers, clerical and office employees, departmental clerks, engineering-department employees, and supervisors; constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining, 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, 49 Stat. 449, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended , it is hereby DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation authorized by the Board to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with General Time Instruments Corporation, Thomaston , Connecti- cut, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible but not later than thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction of Election, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director GENERAL TIME INSTRUMENTS CORPORATION 287 for the Second Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board and subject to Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and Regulations, among all production and maintenance em- ployees of the Company at its plant, at Thomaston, Connecticut, whose names appear on the Company pay roll of January 6, 1940, but excluding foremen, model makers, clerical and office employees, departmental clerks, engineering-department employees, and super- visors, and all persons who have since quit or have been discharged for cause, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by International Jewelry Workers' Union, Local 116, A. F. of L., for the purposes of collective bargaining.