Casa Cavanagh, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

May 17, 1972

196 N.L.R.B. 1118 (N.L.R.B. 1972)

1118 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Casa Cavanagh , Inc. and Union de Tronquistas de
Puerto Rico, Local 901, Afiliada a la International
Brotherhood of Teamsters , Chauffeurs, Warehouse-
men, and Helpers of America, Petitioner. Case 24-
RC-4499
May 17, 1972
DECISION ON REVIEW
BY CHAIRMAN MILLER AND MEMBERS FANNING AND
JENKINS
On December 30, 1971, the Regional Director for
Region 24 issued a Decision and Direction of Election
in the above-entitled proceeding in which he found
appropriate the Petitioner's requested unit of all
service and maintenance employees employed by the
Employer at its stores in Puerto Rico, excluding there-
from sales employees on the grounds that their skills,
duties, interests, and conditions of employment suffi-
ciently differed from those of the nonselling employ-
ees to warrant their exclusion from the unit.
Thereafter, the Employer filed a timely request for
review of the Regional Director's decision on the
grounds that he made findings of fact which are clear-
ly erroneous and departed from established policy.
On January 24, 1971, by telegraphic order, the re-
quest for review was granted and the election stayed
pending decision on review. Thereafter, the Employer
filed a brief on review.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the Na-
tional Labor Relations Board has delegated its au-
thority in this proceeding to a three-member'panel.
The Board has considered the entire record in this
case with respect to the issues under review, including
the brief on review, and makes the following findings:
In its petition, the Petitioner requested a unit of all
service and maintenance employees at the Employer's
Puerta de Tierra store. However, at the hearing it
amended its unit request to service and maintenance
employees at all five of the Employer's stores in Puer-
to Rico. As indicated, the Regional Director found
the employerwide unit of such employees to be appro-
priate, rejecting the Employer's contention that the
unit should include sales employees. In its request for
review, the Employer argues that the appropriate unit
herein should be either one of all employees at the
three locations on the island of Old San Juan, or, as
a minimum, a unit of all employees at the Puerta de
Tierra store.
The Employer operates a chain of retail clothing,
furniture, and gift stores on the island of Puerto Rico.
There are 5 sales employees and 17 service and main-
tenance employees employed at the Puerta de Tierra
store on the island of Old San Juan. Also on the island
of Old San Juan, within a mile of the Puerta de Tierra
store, are the Cristo Street store (five sales employees,
two service and maintenance employees) and the Car-
ibe Hilton store (three sales employees, no service and
maintenance employees). The Plaza Las Americas
store, located in Metropolitan San Juan but 7 miles
from the Puerta de Tierra store, employs 5 sales em-
ployees and 1 service and maintenance employee, and
the Conquistador store, a distance of 30 miles from
the Puerta de Tierra store, has 11 sales employees and
no service and maintenance employees.
The Puerta de Tierra store consists of one building
which is part warehouse and part store. Customers are
allowed to go into any part of the building to look at
goods that might be on display or stacked in the ware-
house for sale. Salesmen accompany customers
throughout both sections and warehousemen are in-
structed to help customers looking for particular mer-
chandise. As in all the stores, salesmen may move
merchandise, do light cleaning, or help mark goods.
The record indicates that there is frequent communi-
cation among the sales personnel, warehouse clerk,
display clerks, and warehousemen. The general man-
ager directly supervises all service and maintenance
employees and sales personnel. All employees have
identical hours and fringe benefits. At the Puerta de
Tierra store are - employed six warehousemen, two
drivers, two painters, one cleaning man, one carpen-
ter/maintenance man, one warehouse clerk, one
warehouse traffic clerk, one display clerk, two mark-
ers, one working foreman, one decorator, and five
sales employees. The sales employees are paid an
hourly wage plus a commission. The service and
maintenance employees are paid on an hourly basis.
Upon the foregoing facts, we conclude that the inte-
gration of operations and close interrelationship be-
tween sales personnel and service and maintenance
employees at the Puerta de Tierra store and ware-
house preclude the establishment of an employerwide
unit of service and maintenance employees. As above
indicated, the Employer takes the position that the
geographic scope of the unit herein should be limited
to the employees at the three stores in Old San Juan
or, as a minimum, to those at the Puerta de Tierra
store and warehouse where most of the requested
service and maintenance employees are located.
While the evidence supports a finding that the three-
store unit suggested by the Employer may be appro-
priate, the record facts do not rebut the presumption
favoring a single-location unit. Inasmuch as the Peti-
tioner originally sought a unit confined to the Puerta
de Tierra location and has taken no position with
respect to a unit encompassing the three Old San Juan
stores, we find the following unit of employees to be
appropriate herein:
196 NLRB No. 176
CASA CAVANAGH, INC. 1119
All service and maintenance employees, in-
cluding sales employees, at the Employer's Puer-
ta de Tierra store and warehouse in San Juan,
Puerto Rico, excluding all office clerical employ-
ees, guards, and supervisors as defined in the
Act.'
Accordingly, the case is hereby remanded to the
Regional Director for the purpose of conducting an
election pursuant to his Decision and Direction of
As the record facts are insufficient to enable us at this time to determine
the issue raised as to the supervisory status of the working foreman , we shall
permit him to cast a challenged ballot.
Election, as modified herein, except that the eligibility
payroll period shall be that immediately preceding the
date of issuance.'
2 In order to assure that all eligible voters may have the opportunity to be
informed of the issues in the exercise of their statutory right to vote , all parties
to the election should have access to a list of voters and their addresses which
may be used to communicate with them . Excelsior Underwear Inc., 156
NLRB 1236; N.L.R.B. v. Wyman-Gordon Co., 394 U.S. 759. Accordingly, it
is hereby directed that an amended election eligibility list, containing the
names and addresses of all the eligible voters, must be filed by the Employer
with the Regional Director for Region 24 within 7 days of the date of this
Decision on Review . The Regional Director shall make the list available to
all parties to the election . No extension of time to file this list shall be granted
by the Regional Director except in extraordinary circumstances . Failure to
comply with this requirement shall be grounds for setting aside the election
whenever proper objections are filed.