Burlington Mills Corp.

In the Matter of LEXINGTON SILK. MILLS DIVISION OF BURLINGTON MILLS CORPORATION, LEXINGTON, N. C. and UNITED TEXTILE WORK- ERS OF AMERICA LOCAL UNION, #2610, A. F. or L., LEXINGTON, N. C. Case No. R2445.-Decided April 28, 1941 Jurisdiction : textile manufacturing industry. Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question': re- fusal to accord union recognition ; election necessary. Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : production and maintenance em- ployees, excluding office and supervisory employees ; agreement as to. Brooks, McLendon and Holderness, by Mr. Norman Block, of Greensboro, N. C., for the Company. Mr. Alfred B. Jones, of Washington, D. C., for the U. T. W. A. Mr. Harold Weston, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE On February 7, 1941, United Textile Workers of America, herein called the U. T.W., A., 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 Lexington Silk Mills Division of Burlington Mills Corporation, Lexington, North Carolina, herein called the Company, and, requesting an investigation and certification of repre- sentatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On March 21, 1941, 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 Director to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice. On March 27, 1941, the Regional Director issued a notice of hear- ing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company and the 31 N.L.R B, No 65 420 LEXINGTON SILK MILLS' DIVISION 421 U. T. W. A. Pursuant to the notice, a hearing was held on' April 3, 1941, at Lexington, North Carolina, before Herbert Eby, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Chief Trial Examiner. The Com- pany and the U. T. W. A. were represented by counsel and partici- pated 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. During the course of the hearing the Trial Examiner made several rulings on motions and on objec- tions 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 . I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Lexington Silk Mills Division of Burlington Mills' Corporation, one of approximately 26 subsidiaries of Burlington Mills Corpora- tion, is engaged in the conversion of continuous filament yarns into woven cloth at Lexington, North Carolina. The Company's raw materials, except for a small percentage, are obtained from within `the State of North Carolina. During the year preceding the hear- ing, the Company's volume of sales amounted to over $500,000, about 90 per cent of which represented shipments to points outside of North Carolina. The, Company employs about 202 production employees. II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED United Textile Workers- of America Local Union #2610 is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, admit- ting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION Although' the U. T. W. A. requested the Company to engage in bargaining conferences with its representatives, the Company has refused to do so. At the hearing there was introduced in evidence a statement by the Regional Director showing that the U. T. W.' A. represented a substantial number of employees in the desired unit.' We find that a question has arisen concerning representation of employees of the Company. _ I The U. T. W. A. submitted to the Regional Director authorization cards, dated January and'February 1941, and signed by 100 employees whose names appear on the Company's pay roll of February 22, 1941. 422 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD IV. THE EFFECT OF TAE 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 U. T. W. A. and the Company agreed, and we find, that all production employees should be included in, and that office and super- visory forces should be excluded from, the appropriate unit. The U. T. W. A. petitioned for, and the Company did not object to, the inclusion of maintenance employees within the unit. We shall also include such employees in the appropriate unit. We find that all production and- maintenance employees, excluding office and supervisory 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 right to self- organization and collective bargaining and otherwise effectuate the policies of the Act.' VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES We find that the question which has arisen concerning representa- tion can best be resolved by the holding of an election by secret ballot and we shall so direct. Although the' Company and the U. T. W. A. agreed that eligibility to participate in the election should be determined as of February 22, 1941, they offered no reason for their choice of eligibility date. We believe that the purposes of the Act will best be effectuated by directing, and we shall therefore direct, pursuant to our usual prac- tice, that all employees in the appropriate unit whose names appear on the Company's pay roll for the period immediately preceding the date of this Direction of Election, subject to such limitations and additions as are set forth in the Direction, shall be eligible to vote. 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 Lexington Silk Mills Division of Burling- ton Mills Corporation, Lexington, North Carolina, within the mean- LEXINGTON SILK MILLS DIVISION 423 ing of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act. 2. All' production and maintenance employees, excluding office and supervisory 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 Lexington Silk Mills Division of Burlington Mills Corporation, Lexington, North Carolina, an election by secret ballot shall be con- ducted as early as possible but not later than thirty (30) days after the date of this Direction 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 all production and maintenance employees of Lexington Silk Mills Division of Burlington Mills Corporation, Lexington, North Carolina, excluding office and supervisory employees, who were employed during the pay- roll period next preceding the date ^ of this Direction, including employees who did not work during such pay=roll period because they were ill or on vacation or in the active military service or train- ing, of the United States, or temporarily laid off, but excluding em- ployees who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to deter- mine whether or not they desire to be represented for the purposes of collective bargaining, by United Textile Workers of America Local #2610, A. F. of L.