Blue Bell-Globe Manufacturing Co.

In the Matter of BLUE BELL-GLOBE M,^xNUR CT1JRING COMPANY and AMALGAMATED CLOTHING Woi u ul l OF AMERICA Case No. R-1755.-Decided _4orib 13, 1940 Overall Manufacturing Industry-Investigation of Representatives : contro- versy concerning representation of employees : rival organizations ; stipulated that question concerning representation has arisen-Unit Appropriate for Col- lective Bargaining: all production and maintenance employees of the company, excluding executives, supervisory and office employees-Election Ordered: ballot, intervening union granted place on, under circumstances. Mr. Samuel Spencer, for the Board. Mr. Norman A. Boren, of Greensboro, N. C., for the Company. Mr. Bernard Borah, of Atlanta, Ga., for the Amalgamated. Mr. Herbert S. Thatcher, of Washington, D. C., for the United. Mr. Bonnell Phillips, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE On September 18, 1939, Amalgamated Clothing Workers of Amer- ica, herein called the Amalgamated, filed with the Regional Director for the Fifth Region (Baltimore, Maryland) a petition alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representa- tion of employees of Blue Bell-Globe Manufacturing Company, Greensboro, North Carolina, herein called the Company, and request- ing an investigation and certification of representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, here- in called the Act. On December 18, 1939, the National Labor Rela- tions 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. On December 27, 1939, the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company and the Amalgamated. On January 4, 1940, an agreement for a consent 22 N. L. R. B, No 69 961 962 DECISIONS OF NATION AL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD election, in lieu of tha previouu;ly scheduled hearing, was entered into by the Company and the Amalgamated. Notice of hearing was there- after canceled. On January 18, 1940, United Garment Workers of America, herein callel the United, filed a motion to intervene in the above-entitled matter and bE; made a party to the proceedings: On February 29, 1940, flit Regi^ onal Director issued a second notice of hearing, copies of which, we,;re, duly served upon the Company, the Amalgamated, and the United. Pursuant to the seco 1 notice, a hearing was held on March 11, 1940, at Greensboro, North Carolina, before Charles E. Persons, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Board. The Board, the Com- pany, the Amalgamated, and the United were represented by counsel and participated in the hearing. Full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bear- ing on the issues was afforded all parties. During the course of the hearing the Trial Examiner made several rulings on motions and ob- jections to the admission of evidence. The Board has reviewed the rulings of the Trial Examiner and finds that no prejudical errors were committed. The rulings are hereby affirmed. On March 22, 1940, pursuant to notice, a hearing for the purpose of oral argument was held before the Board at Washington, D. C. Only the United appeared. It was represented by counsel and pre- sented argument. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following: FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Blue Bell-Globe Manufacturing Company, a North Carolina cor- poration, owns and operates. plants in Greensboro, North Carolina ; Commerce, Georgia; Middlesboro, Kentucky; Columbia City, In- diana; and Abingdon, Illinois. At the Greensboro plant, with which this proceeding is concerned, the Company engages in the manufac- ture of overalls and jackets, using, as principal raw materials, cotton cloth and hardware. During 1939 the Company expended approxi- mately $1,500,000 in the purchase of these materials, of which approximately 10 per cent in value was sold and shipped to the Company from points outside North Carolina. During 1939 the Company's sales of products manufactured at its Greensboro plant amounted to approximately $2,200,000, of which approximately 90 per cent was sold and shipped to points outside the State of North Carolina. The Company employs over 1,000 employees. The Company stipulated that for the purposes of this proceeding it is subject to the jurisdiction of the Board. BLUE BELL-GLOBE MANUFACTURING COMPANY II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED 963 Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America is a labor organiza- tion affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations. It admits to membership production and maintenance employees of the Company. United Garment Workers of America is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. It admits to membership production and maintenance employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION All parties stipulated that "a question has arisen affecting commerce, in that the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America are de- manding the right to bargain collectively for all of the Company's employees in the Greensboro plant, and the Company is refusing to recognize the Amalgamated or any other labor organization until an election is held to determine whether or not the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America or some other labor organization represents a majority in the unit determined appropriate by the Board." We find that a question has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Company. TV. 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 All the parties agree that an appropriate unit for the purposes of collective bargaining among the employees of the Greensboro plant consists of all production and maintenance employees of the Com- pany, excluding executives , supervisors , foremen, foreladies, and office employees. We find that all production and maintenance employees of the Company, excluding executives , supervisors , foremen, foreladies, and office employees , constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining and that said unit will insure to employees of 964 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD the Company the full benefit of their right to self-organization and to collective bargaining and otherwise effectuate the policies of the Act. There was some question at the hearing regarding the inclusion of certain employees in the above unit. The Company and the United contend that two employees at the thread desk, whose duties are to pass out thread and needles to production workers, are in the unit. One of these employees also transmits messages to foremen and em- ployees who are called by telephone. The Amalgamated is opposed to their inclusion on the ground that other employees regard them not merely as messengers, but as supervisory officials. In view of unde- nied testimony, however, that no authority is actually vested in or exercised by these employees, we find that thread-desk employees are in the unit. The Company and the United urged that two watchmen be included in the unit and, in the absence of any stated objection to their inclusion by the Amalgamated, we find that watchmen should be in the unit. We further find that three cooks employed in the plant cafeteria operated by the Company, whose exclusion is desired by the Company and the United,' should not be included in the unit. VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES There are between 1,000 and 1,100 employees in the appropriate unit. The Amalgamated, in its petition of September 18, 1939, alleged that approximately 700 of these employees had selected it as their representative for the purposes of collective bargaining. At the hearing both the Amalgamated and the United submitted to the Trial Examiner membership or authorization cards claimed by them to bear the signatures of employees in the appropriate unit. Of the 612 cards submitted by the Amalgamated, 335 were found by the Examiner to bear signatures of persons appearing on the Com- pany's pay roll for March 9, 1940. In making a report of these find- ings, the Trial Examiner also stated that the Company employs a very large number of married women. It is therefore probable, in the Examiner's opinion, "that some part of the discrepancy between the names appearing on the cards and those appearing on the pay roll is due either to marriages which have occurred since the date the cards were signed or to varying practices on the part of these married women in signing their names." We find that an election by secret ballot is necessary to resolve the question which has arisen concerning representation. The United made no claim in its motion to intervene that it had obtained formal authorization as bargaining representative from a 1 The Amalgamated did not indicate its position in regard to these employees. i BLUE BELL-GLOBE MANUFACTURING COMPANY 965 majority of the employees in the appropriate unit. Of the 46 mem- bership cards submitted to the Trial Examiner by the United, 23 were found by him to bear signatures of company employees on March 9, 1940.2 At the hearing however, the United also showed that it had made occasional preliminary attempts to educate the Company's employees in the benefits of collective bargaining during the years 1936, 1937, and 1938; and that it had maintained an organizer in Greensboro from March until September, 1939, assigned exclusively to do organizational work among company employees. Although this organizer was not available at the hearing, it was established by the testimony of an assistant that he had interviewed some 500 to 600 employees of the company, and that 300 to 400 of them, while re- luctant to sign membership or authorization cards, had given verbal promises that they would, in the event of a secret election, designate the United as their choice for collective bargaining representative. Following the departure of this organizer from Greensboro in Sep- tember 1939, another representative of the United continued organ- izational activities on its behalf, obtaining similar promises from 50 or more employees, but encountering the same reluctance to sign authorization cards, allegedly because employees feared possible com- pany discrimination against them if it learned of their union affiliation. We have found that an election is necessary to resolve the question concerning representation. In view of the circumstances set forth above, we are of the opinion that the United should be accorded a place on the ballot, and we shall so direct. The employees in the appropriate unit whose names appear on the Company's pay roll immediately preceding this Decision and Direction of Election, in- cluding those who did not work during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation, and those who were then or have since been temporarily laid off, but excluding those who have since quit or been discharged for cause, shall be eligible to vote in the election. 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 Blue Bell-Globe Manufacturing Company, Greensboro, North Carolina, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. 2 For a probable explanation of this discrepancy , at least in part, see the statement of .the Trial Examiner quoted above with reference to the Amalgamated 's membership list. 283033-41-vol 22-62 966 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 2. All production and maintenance employees of the Greensboro, North Carolina, plant of the Company, excluding executives , super- visors, foremen , foreladies, and office 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 Relations 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 bargain- ing with Blue Bell-Globe Manufacturing Company, Greensboro, North Carolina, 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 for the Fifth 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 production and maintenance employees of the Blue Bell-Globe Manufacturing Company at its Greensboro, North Carolina, plant, employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction of Election, including those employees who did not work during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vactation, and em- ployees who were then or have since been temporarily laid off, but excluding executives, supervisors, foremen, foreladies, office employees, and employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether they desire to be represented by Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, affiliated with the Congress of In- dustrial Organizations, or by United Garment Workers of America, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither.