Burton-Dixie Corp.

In the Matter of BURTON -DIxIE CORPORATION and FURNITURE , BEDDING & ALLIED TRADES WORKERS UNION, LOCAL 92, CIO Case No. R-307.1.-Decided October ^21, 19411 Jurisdiction : bedding manufacturing industry. Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: re- fusal to accord recognition to union 'until certified by the Board ; election necessary. Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all employees in the Company's Newark plant, including working foremen and excluding office and clerical employees and all other supervisory employees; stipulation as to. Mr. Otto A. Jaburek, of Chicago, Ill., for the Company. Mr. Solomon Golat, of Newark, N. J., for the Union. Mr. Barr Miller, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE On "August 19, 1941, Furniture, Bedding & Allied Trades Workers Union, Local 92, CIO, herein called the Union, filed with the Regional Director for the Second Region (New York City) a petition alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the repre- sentation of employees of Burton-Dixie Corporation,' Newark, New Jersey, 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 September 19, 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 au- thorized the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice. 'The formal documents in this case name "Burton-Dixie Company." At the hearing all such documents were amended to give the name of the Company as Burton-Dixie Corporation. Likewise, at the hearing, the name of the Union was corrected to appear as stated herein. 36 N. L. R. B., No. 57. 322 BURTON-DIXIE CORPORATION 323 On September 29, 1941, the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing, copies of which were served upon the Company, the Union, and upon the American Federation of Labor, a labor organization claiming to have an interest in the investigation. Pursuant to a notice a hearing was held on October 6, 1941, at Newark, New Jersey, before Richard J. Hickey, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Chief Trial Examiner. The Company and the Union were represented and participated in the hearing. The American Feder- ation of Labor did not appear. Full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine-witnesses, and to introduce evidence bear- ing on the issues was afforded all `p'a'rties. During the course of the hearing the Trial Examiner made rulings on the admission of evi- dence. The Board has reviewed all 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 Burton-Dixie Corporation is a.Delaware corporation with its main office located in Chicago, Illinois. It maintains plants for the manufacture, sale, and distribution of bedding, mattresses, iron springs, studio couches, pillows, comforters, furniture-upholstery supplies, and related products, in Chicago, Illinois; New York City; Newark, New Jersey ; Kansas City, Missouri ; Memphis, Tennessee ; Detroit, Michigan; and Blackburg,. South Carolina. The present proceeding involves only the plant at Newark, New Jersey. The principal raw materials used at the Newark, New Jersey, plant consist of feathers, down, cotton 'cloth, rayon, and celanese cloth. During the period from January 1, 1941, to July 30, 1941, substan- tially all. such raw materials, amounting to approximately 450 tons, were shipped to the Newark plant from points outside the State of New Jersey; During the same.,period approximately 400 tons of finished "products, consisting principally of pillows, were manufac- tured at the Newark plant, approximately 90 per cent of which was shipped .to points outside the State of New Jersey. The Company has registered with the United States Patent Office the following trade-marks:: Vanity.. Fair, Slumberon, Izolin, and Ortho-Flex. The Coripilly'diilits that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act;. 324 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED Furniture, Bedding & Allied Trades Workers Union, Local 92, is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organ- izations. It admits to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION At the.hearing the Company and the Union stipulated that the Company had been requested by the Union to recognize it as the sole collective bargaining agency of the Company's employees, in the unit hereinafter found to be appropriate and that the Company had refused to accord the Union such recognition unless and until the Union should be certified as such, bargaining agency by the Board. A statement prepared by the Regional Director and introduced into evidence discloses that a substantial number of employees in.the unit hereinafter found to be appropriate have designated the Union as their collective bargaining representative.2 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 Company and the Union stipulated, and we find, that all em- ployees in the Company's Newark plant, including working foremen and excluding office and clerical employees and all "other supervisors,3 constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining. We further find that said unit will insure to employees of the Company the full benefit of their right to self-organization and to collective bargaining and otherwise will effectuate the policies of the Act. 2 There are approximately 125 employees within the unit hereinafter found to be appro- priate. The statement of the Regional Director discloses that the Union submitted to him 66 authorization cards, 64 of which bear' apparently genuine origihal -signatures. The Regional Director further reports that 49 of. the cards bear dates between April and July 1941 and" that 53 of the apparently genuine original signatures are the names of persons whose names appear on the pay roll of the Company for July 30, 1941. 3 The parties also stipulated , and we find , that the non -working supervisors of the Company are Mr. Gartz, plant manager ; Mr. M. Denardo , plant superintendent ; William McKenna, and Joseph Salvatore. BURTON-DIXIE CORPORATION VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES 325 We find that the question concerning representation which has arisen can best be resolved by an election by secret ballot. In accordance with our usual practice we shall direct that the employees of the Company eligible to vote in the election shall be those employees.in the appro- priate unit who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election herein, subject to such limitations and additions as are set forth in the Direction. 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 Burton-Dixie Corporation, Newark, New Jersey, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act. 2. All employees ,in the Companyts:,Newark-.plant, including working foremen and excluding office and clerical employees and all other 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 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 DmEcTm that, as part of the investigation authorized by the Board to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Burton-Dixie Corporation, Newark, New Jersey, 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, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director 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 employees in the Company's Newark plant who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction, including working foremen and employees who did not work during said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or in the active military service or training of the United States or temporarily laid off, but excluding office and clerical employees and -dl other supervisors, and employees who have since quit or been dis- 326 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD charged for cause, to determine .whether. or not they desire to be repre- sented by Furniture, Bedding & Allied Trades- Workers Union, Local 92, CIO, for the purposes of collective bargaining. MR. GERARD D. REILLy took no part in the consideration of the above Decision and Direction of Election.