American Woolen Co.

In the Matter of AMERICAN WOOLEN COMPANY , SHAWSHEEN MILLS and INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS, LOCAL UNION No. 93, (A. F. of L. )' Case No. R-1774.-Decided April, 22, 1940 Woolen Textile Industry-Investigation of Representatives : controversy con- cerning representation of employees : employer refuses to grant recognition to labor organization until appropriate bargaining unit is determined by Board- Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining: to be determined by desires of em- ployees in powerhouse of woolen textile mill ; chief engineer excluded from employees eligible to vote-Election Ordered Mr. Edward Schneider, for the Board. Mr. Robert H. Montgomery, of Boston, Mass., for the Company. Mr. William F. Regan and Mr. John J. McGuiness, both of Pea- body, Mass., for the Operating Engineers. Mr. Louis J. Guilmet, of Lawrence, Mass., for the T. W. U. A. Mr. David Rein, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE On January 25, 1940, International Union of Operating Engineers, Local Union No. 93 (A. F. of L.), herein called the Operating Engi- neers, filed with the Regional Director for the First Region (Boston, Massachusetts) a petition alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of American Woolen Company, herein called the Company, at its Shawsheen Mills, at Andover, Massachusetts, 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. An amended petition was filed by the Operating Engineers on February 20, 1940,' and on February 28,1940, 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 1 The amendment corrected the name of the Operating Engineers to appear as in the caption above. 23 N. L. R. B., No. 5. 63 64 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, ordered an investigation and authorized the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice. On March 9, 1940, the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company, the Operating Engineers, and the Textile Workers Union of America, herein called the T. W. U. A. Pursuant to the notice, a hearing was held on March 18 and 19, 1940, at Andover, Massachusetts, and on March 21 and 22, 1940, at Boston, Massachusetts, before Edward Grandison Smith, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Board. The Board, the Company, and the Operating Engineers were represented by counsel, and the T. W. U. A. by a union official. All participated in the hear- ing and were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues. At the hearing, the Trial Examiner granted, without objec- tion, a motion of the Operating Engineers to amend its petition in order to define more clearly its claim concerning the appropriate unit. This ruling is hereby affirmed. During the course of the hearing the Trial Examiner made several other rulings on motions and 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 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY American Woolen Company, a Massachusetts corporation with its principal executive offices in New York City, is engaged in the manu- facture and sale of woolen fabrics, worsted fabrics, blankets, knitting yarns, and worsted yarns. The Company owns and operates 25 mills located in the States of Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, and Kentucky; and maintains sales offices in various cities of the United States, including New York City ; Boston, Massachusetts ; Chicago, Illinois ; and Phila- delphia, Pennsylvania. The average annual sales of the Company exceed $50,000,000. The present proceeding involves only the Shawsheen Mills of the Company located at Andover, Massachusetts. The Company manu- factures worsted fabrics at this mill, using as raw materials wool and other fabrics. Almost 100 per cent of the raw materials are shipped to the Shawsheen Mills from outside the State of Massachusetts, and at least 90 per cent of the finished products of the Shawsheen Mills are shipped to points outside the State of Massachusetts. The annual AMERICAN WOOLEN COMPANY 65 value of products manufactured at the Shawsheen Mills is over $1,000,000. As of the date of the hearing the Company employed 2,239 em- ployees at its Shawsheen Mills. IT. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED International Union of Operating Engineers, Local Union No. 93 (A. F. of L.) is a labor organization affiliated with the International Union of Operating Engineers, which is in turn affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. It admits to membership employees of the Company employed in the powerhouse at its Shawsheen Mills. Textile Workers Union of America is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to mem- bership employees of, the Company at its Shawsheen Mills. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION On January 18, 1940, the Operating Engineers sent a letter to the Company, requesting recognition as bargaining representative for the employees in the powerhouse at the Shawsheen Mills. The Company replied by letter dated January 23, 1940, that it could not recognize the Operating Engineers as bargaining agent until the question of the proper collective bargaining unit was determined by the Board. We find that a question has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Company at its Shawsheen Mills. 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 The Operating Engineers claims that the powerhouse employees, excluding the chief engineer, constitute an appropriate unit. The T. W. U. A. contends, or'r the other hand, that the powerhouse em- ployees should not be established as a separate bargaining unit, but should be grouped together with other employees for the purposes of collective bargaining. 66 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD The powerhouse is located about 200 yards from the Shawsheen production mills and furnishes these mills with light, heat, power, and water for production purposes. The powerhouse also services other buildings in the area which are owned and operated by the Company but not administered as part of the Shawsheen Mills. In addition, the powerhouse services about six other buildings not operated by the Company. The powerhouse employs approximately 25 persons, of whom the majority are licensed firemen or engineers, some are elec- tricians, and a small group are unskilled workmen. In November and December 1939, the powerhouse employees, bargaining as a sepa- rate group, succeeded in obtaining a wage adjustment for most of the employees in the powerhouse. The record shows that consent elections have been conducted by the Board at nine other plants of the Company. In each of these elections, the unit for the determination of the eligibility of em- ployees to vote in the election was agreed to by the Company and the T. W. U. A.2 and included all production and maintenance employees, including the employees in the powerhouses of the respective plants. The elections at six of these plants were won by the T. W. U. A., and thereafter at each of these six plants, the Company entered into a -contract with the T. W. U. A. as the exclusive bargaining represent- ative for all the production and maintenance employees, including the employees in the powerhouse. Witnesses for the T. W. U. A. testified at the hearing that several hundred employees of the Com- pany at its Shawsheen Mills had joined the T. W. U. A. or signed cards designating it as their bargaining agent. The T. W. U. A. has not, however, requested recognition as bargaining representative for employees of the Shawsheen Mills, nor does it claim to represent any employees in the powerhouse. Since it appears from the evidence that the,,powerhouse employees could function either as a separate unit or as part of a single industrial unit, we hold that the determining factor is the desire of the employees themselves.3 In Section VI below, we find that an election should be held among the powerhouse employees, excluding the chief engineer, to determine whether or not they wish to be represented by the Operating Engi- neers. If a majority of these employees cast their votes for the Operating Engineers, we shall hold that the powerhouse employees constitute a separate unit and we shall certify the Operating Engi- neers as the exclusive representative of the powerhouse employees. If a majority of these employees cast their votes against the Operat- ^ At the time, the T. W. U. A. was known as Textile Workers Organizing Committee. s Matter of The Globe Machine and Stamping Co. and Metal Polishers Union, Local No. 3, 3 N L. R . B. 294, and subsequent cases. AMERICAN WOOLEN COMPANY 67 ing Engineers, we shall dismiss the petition of the Operating Engi- neers for certification as the representative of a unit comprising the powerhouse employees. VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES The Operating Engineers claims a majority of the powerhouse em- ployees and at the hearing a statement was filed by the Regional Director to the effect that the Operating Engineers had presented cards signed by 12 of the powerhouse employees and designating the Engineers as collective bargaining representative. Under the cir- cumstances, we find that an election by secret ballot is necessary to resolve the question concerning representation of the powerhouse employees. Since the T. W. U. A. stated that it did not desire to be placed upon the ballot in an election among powerhouse employees alone, the name of the T. W. U. A. will not appear upon the ballot. We shall use as the date for determining eligibility of employees to vote the pay-roll date immediately preceding the date of this Direc- tion of Election. Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : CONCLUSION OF LAW A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the represen- tation of employees of American Woolen Company at its Shawsheen Mills within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) 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 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 American Woolen Company at its Shawsheen Mills in Andover, Massachusetts, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible but not later than 30 days from the date of this Direction of Election under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the First 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 the employees of the Com- pany employed in the powerhouse at its Shawsheen Mills whose names 68 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD appear upon the pay roll next preceding the date of this Direction of Election, including the employees whose names do not appear upon such pay roll because they were ill or on vacation or temporarily laid off, but excluding the chief engineer, and also all employees who between such pay-roll date and the date of the election have quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by International Union of Operating Engineers,, Local Union No. 93 (A. F. of L.) for the purposes of collective bargaining. [SAME TITLE] SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION AND ORDER May 22, 1940 On April 22, 1940, the National Labor Relations Board, hereilL called the Board, issued a Decision and Direction of Election, int the above-entitled case.' On May 2, 1940, pursuant to the Direction of Election, an election by secret ballot was conducted under the. direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the First Region (Boston, Massachusetts) among the employees in the power- house of the American Woolen Company at its Shawsheen Mills. On May 4, 1940, the Regional Director, acting pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Reg- ulations-Series 2, as amended, issued and duly served upon the parties an Election Report. No objections to the conduct of the. ballot or the Election Report have been filed by any of the parties. As to the balloting and its results, the Regional Director reported as follows : Total number eligible to vote_______________________________ 23 Total number of valid votes cast____________________________ 23 Total number of blank ballots______________________________ 0 Total number of void ballots________________________________ 0• Total number of challenged ballots__________________________ 0 Total number of ballots cast for International Union, of Oper- ating Engineers, Local Union No 93 (A. F of L.) ---------- 8 Total number of ballots cast against International Union of Operating Engineers, Local Union No. 93 (A. F. of L ) ------ 15 1 On April 23, 1940, the Board issued an order incorporating into the record certain, verbal corrections in the transcript of the hearing , none of which are material with respect to the issues covered either in our Decision and Direction of Election of April 22 , 1940, or this Supplemental Decision and Order. AMERICAN WOOLEN COMPANY 69 The results of the election show that no collective bargaining rep- resentative has been selected by a majority of the employees in the powerhouse of the American Woolen Company at its Shawsheen Mills. The petition for investigation and certification of repre- sentatives of these employees will therefore be dismissed. ORDER By virtue of Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, and pursuant to Article III, Sections 8 and 9, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petition for investigation and certifi- cation of representatives of the employees employed in the power- house of American Woolen Company at its Shawsheen Mills, filed by International, Union of Operating Engineers, Local Union No. 93 (A. F. of L.), be, and it hereby is, dismissed. 23 N. L. R. B., No. 5a. 283034-41-vol. 23-0