Diana Shop of Spokane, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 18, 1957

118 N.L.R.B. 743 (N.L.R.B. 1957)

DIANA SHOP OF ,SPOKANE, INC. 743
making ;maps, .calculating engineers ' notes, compiling: engineering
data, and performing routine manual work for engineers. Their
on-the-job training prepares them to qualify for engineering work.
They spend about half their time in the mines and the other half in
the central office. Though they are hourly paid and have the same
vacation benefits,as the production workers, we find, on the basis of
the record, that the engineers ' helpers are technical employees. Our
established policy is to exclude technical employees from a produc-
tion unit where one of the parties seeks to exclude them, and we
therefore exclude them.
Accordingly, we find that the following employees constitute an ap-
propriate unit for purposes of collective bargaining within the mean-
ing of Section 9 .(b) of the Act: All pit, plant, and shop production
and maintenance employees of the Employer's eastern and western
districts in Minnesota, excluding office and mine clerical employees,
engineers, engineers ' helpers, professional employees, guards, and all
supervisors as defined in the Act 5
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.]
5 Supervisors include foremen, superintendents , assistant superintendents , and managers..
Diana Shop of. Spokane , Inc. and Hughes Apparel , Inc. and Retail
Clerks International Association , AFL-CIO, Local Union No.
1439, Petitioner. Case No.19-RC 1988. July 18,195'
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act,.a hearing was held before Donald D. McFeely, hearing
officer. The hearing officer's. rulings made at the hearing are free
• from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed."
I In its petition , the Petitioner named Diana Stores Corporation ( doing business, as
Hughes Apparel , Inc., and 'Diana Shops ) as the Employer in Interest .', Diana Stores Corpo-
,ration and its subsidiaries moved at the hearing to amend the petition to substitute as
the Employers in interest Diana Shop of Spokane , Inc., and Hughes Apparel, Inc. The
hearing officer referred the motion to the Board. The parties stipulated that Diana Stores
of Spokane , Inc., 'and Hughes Apparel, Inc., are Washington corporations , and wholly owned
subsidiaries of Diana Stores Corporation , a New York corporation ; that the latter company
.and all of its subsidiary corporations operate a multistate chain of approximately 179 retail
stores in 28 States , selling principally women's and .children 's apparel ; and that the 2
Washington corporations are an integral part of the multistate chain. It also appears that
the parent concern and, apparently , both Washington subsidiaries , have common officers, and
,that.a certain amount of supervision over the activities of each subsidiary corporation is
exercised by personnel attached to the parent corporation . However, the record also
establishes that the manager of each of the subsidiaries exercises a large measure of
autonomy with respect to hiring and establishing of wages and other terms and conditions
of employment ; and that each manager has complete authority to enter into collective-
bargaining negotiations and *to negotiate agreements . Under such circumstances, we find
that Diana Stores Corporation , the parent concern, is not a necessary party to the proceed-
ing. Cf. Blnon Chocolates, Inc., 65 NLRB 591, 592. We shall , therefore , in accordance
with the Employer 's motion, amend the petition so as to designate Diana Shops of Spokane,
Inc., and Hughes Apparel, Inc., as the only Employers in interest.
118 NLRB No. 91.
744 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the Act, the Board
has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three-member
panel [Chairman Leedom and Members Murdock and Jenkins].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employers are engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
2. The labor organization involved claims to represent certain
employees of the Employers.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of employees of the Employers within the meaning of Section
9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The Petitioner seeks a single unit of all employees at the stores
operated by the Employers, with the customary exclusions. The Em-
ployers maintain that only separate units are appropriate. The
Employers operate in competition with each other's retail stores at
separate, but nearby, locations in the city of Spokane. Diana Shop is
engaged in the sale of children's and women's apparel, whereas
Hughes sells only women's apparel. Each store has its own manager
who is solely responsible for the daily operations of the store. Each
store prepares its own sales reports, requisitions its own materials,
maintains its own bank account, files its separate tax reports, and
handles its own advertising. Each store manager has exclusive au-
thority to hire and-discharge employees in her store, to lay off and
discipline them, and to establish their wages and working conditions.
To some extent there are different quota systems and methods of
compensation. Each store has its own stationery and credit facilities
and does its own billing. There are no common employee activities,
and there is no interchange of employees between the two stores.
Although transfers within the integrated enterprise can be arranged,
employees who seek such transfers must first be terminated from their
current job before assuming the next one. There is no history of
collective bargaining for the employees at either store. On the basis
of the record as a whole, and particularly in view of the lack of
employee interchange and the large measure of autonomy exercised by
each store, we find that a single unit of all employees of both stores
would not be appropriate and that only separate units are appropriate.
As the Petitioner has made adequate showings of interest among the
employees in each store and has indicated no unwillingness to proceed
to separate elections in separate units, we shall, accordingly, direct
such separate elections.
There remains for consideration the question of the appropriateness
of the inclusion or exclusion of certain management trainees employed
by Diana Shops only, and part-time employees and credit managers
employed in each store.
DIANA SHOP OF SPOKANE, INC . 745
Management trainees : From time to time, Diana Shop employs
certain management trainees for periods varying from 3 to 6 months
depending on the trainees' previous experience. Although, in the
process, the trainees may serve as cashiers, or sales personnel, or window
trimmers, their training is essentially for the purpose of preparing
them for store manager positions. In view of their supervisory train-
ing as well as the temporary nature of their employment at Diana
Shop we find that their interests are not sufficient to warrant inclusion
in a unit of selling and nonselling employees. Accordingly, we shall
exclude them from the unit of Diana Shop employees.2
Part-time employees Diana Shop employs 11 full-time and 10 part-
time employees. Hughes has 6 full- and 2 part-time employees. The
record shows that those currently employed as part-time employees
work for limited periods of time each week on it regular basis. As
these employees are regularly employed, although on a part-time basis,
we shall, in accordance with our usual practice, include them in the
respective units herein found appropriate 3
Credit managers : The principal function of the credit managers at
both stores is to pass on the acceptability of applicants for credit and,
if credit is approved, to issue the same. Most of their time is given over
to the performance of such function. In view of the fact that each
credit manager has the authority to extend credit for her employer, we
find that they are managerial employees. Accordingly, we shall
exclude them from the units.'
The following employees of the Employers constitute separate units
appropriate for. the purposes of collective bargaining within the
meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act :
Unit (a) : All employees at the Spokane, Washington, store of
Diana. Shop of Spokane, Inc., including regular part-time employees,
but excluding professional employees, guards, the credit manager,
management trainees, the store manager, and all other supervisors as
defined in the Act.
Unit (b) : All employees at the Spokane, Washington, store of
Hughes Apparel, Inc., including regular part-time employees, but
excluding professional employees, guards, the credit manager, the
store manager, and all other supervisors as defined in the Act.
[Text of Direction of Elections omitted from publication.]
2 Cherokee Textile Mills, Inc., 117 NLRB 350; Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
110 NLRB 1611.
3 Lykes Brothers , Inc. of Georgia, 112 NLRB 575, 577. As the record shows that
Reba Gentry and Lucille Sikert are not currently employed as regular part-time employees
and apparently have no reasonable expectancy of resuming such regular employment in the
foreseeable future we shall exclude them from the units.
Southern Minnesota Supply Company, 116 NLRB 968, 970.