Columbia Mills Co.

In the Matter Of COLUMBIA,_MILLS COMPANY and INDEPENDENT EM- PLOYEES ASSOCIATION OF COLUMBIA MILLS Case No. R-1931.Decided July 29, 1940 Jurisdiction : rope, -twine, and cotton duck manufacturing industry. Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: conflicting claims of rival representatives ; election necessary. Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : production and maintenance em- ployees including section men and excluding second hands, overseers, superin- tendents, and clerical employees Mr. D. MeK. Winter and Mr. Ben Adams, of Columbia, S. C., for the Independent. Mr. Douglas McKay, of Columbia, S. C., for the Company. Mr. R. H. Brazzell, of Atlanta, Ga., and Mr. David Jaffe, of New York City, for the T. W. U. A. Mr. Aaron Lewittes, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE ,On April 17 and June 19, 1940, Independent Employees Association ,of 'Columbia Mills, herein called the Independent, filed with the Re- gional Director for the, Tenth Region (Atlanta, Georgia), a petition and an amended petition alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Columbia Mills Company, Columbia, South Carolina, herein called the Com- pany, and requesting an investigation and certification of representa- tives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein referred to as the Act. On May 31, 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 and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, ordered an investigation and authorized the Regional Direc- tor to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due :notice. 25 N. L R. B , No. 107. 1065 1066 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD On June 20 and 24, 1940, the Regional Director issued notices of hearing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company, the Independent, and Textile Workers Union of America, Local No. 253, herein called the T. W. U. A. Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held on July 3, 1940, at Columbia, South Carolina, before Warren Woods,, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Board. Pursuant to mo- tion the T. W. U. A. intervened. The Independent, the Company, and the T. W. U. A. 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 all parties. The T. W. U. A. filed a motion to dismiss the petition. The motion is hereby denied. The Board has reviewed the rulings made by the Trial Examiner during the course of the hearing on motions and on objections to the admission of evidence- and finds that no prejudicial errors were committed. The rulings are- hereby affirmed. On July 18, 1940, the parties presented oral argument before the Board at Washington, D. C. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Columbia Mills Company, a South Carolina corporation, is engaged' at Columbia, South Carolina, in the manufacture of rope, twine, and cotton duck. In 1939 the Company purchased materials valued in excess of $700,000 and manufactured products valued at about $1,000,- 000. It obtained approximately 50 percent of its raw materials from and shipped approximately 99 percent of its finished products to- States other than South Carolina. The Company employs about 1,150, employees in the unit herein found to be appropriate. The Company admits that it is engaged in interstate commerce. H. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED Independent Employees Association of Columbia Mills is` an un- affiliated labor organization, admitting to membership employees of', the Company. Textile Workers Union of America, Local No. 253, is a labor organ- ization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations,. admitting to membership employees of the'Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION Pursuant-to a consent election agreement between the Company, the T. W. U. A., and an agent of the Board, an election was held on_ February 16, 1938. Of a total of 687 eligible voters, 630 voted, 471_ COLUMBIA MILLS COMPANY 1067 voting for the T. W. U. A. and 154 voting against the T. W. U. A. Thereafter the Company and the T. W. U. A. executed a contract which was renewed in 1939 and again in May 1940. The contract between the Company and the T. W. U. A. expired on July 12, 1940. On April 1, 1940, the Independent asked the Company for exclu- sive recognition. The Company refused the request pending Board determination of the conflicting claims of the Independent and the T. W. U. A. From a statement of the Regional Director introduced into evi- dence and from a supplemental statement of the Trial Examiner at the hearing, it appears that the Independent and the T. W. U. A. have substantial membership among the employees of the Company herein found to constitute an appropriate unit. 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 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 Independent, the T. W. U. A., and the Company are agreed, and we find, that all of the production and maintenance employees of the Company, including section men and excluding second hands, overseers, superintendents, and clerical employees, constitute 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 rights to self-organization and to collective bargaining and otherwise effectuate the policies of the Act. VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES We find that the question concerning representation which has arisen can best be resolved by an election by secret ballot. We find that eligibility to vote in the election shall be determined by the pay roll immediately preceding the date of our Direction of Election. Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : 1068 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre- sentation of employees of the Company, within the meaning of Sec- tion 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act. 2. All production and maintenance employees of the Company, in- cluding section men and excluding second hands, overseers, super- intendents, and clerical employees, 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 Columbia Mills Company, Columbia, South Carolina, an elec- tion by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible but not later than thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction of Elec- tion, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Tenth 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 of the production and maintenance employees of the Company, including section men and excluding second hands, overseers, superintendents, and clerical employees, who are employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction of Election, including employees who do not work during such pay-roll period because they may be ill, on vaca- tion, or temporarily laid off, but excluding those who will have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether they desire -to be represented by Independent Employees Association of Colum- bia Mills or by Textile Workers Union of America, Local No. 253, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither. MR. WILLIAM M. LEISERSON took no part in the consideration of the above Decision and Direction of Election.