Farah Manufacturing Co., Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Sep 22, 1970

185 N.L.R.B. 699 (N.L.R.B. 1970)

FARAH MANUFACTURING COMPANY
Farah Manufacturing Company, Inc. and El Paso
Joint Board , Amalgamated Clothing Workers of
America and Amalgamated Clothing Workers of
America, AFL-CIO, Co-Petitioners . Case 28-RC-
2054
September 22, 1970
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION
BY CHAIRMAN MILLER AND MEMBERS FANNING
AND BROWN
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9(c) of
the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, a
hearing was held before Hearing Officer Robert E.
Harding. Following the hearing and pursuant to Sec-
tion 102.67 of the National Labor Relations Board
Rules and Regulations and Statements of Procedure,
Series 8, as amended, and by direction of the Regional
Director for Region 28, this case was transferred
to the National Labor Relations Board for decision.
Both the Employer and the Co-Petitioners have filed
briefs.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the
National Labor Relations Board has delegated its
powers in connection with this case to a three-member
panel.
The Board has reviewed the Hearing Officer's rul-
ings made at the hearing and finds that they are
free from prejudicial error. They are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in this case, including the
briefs filed herein, the Board finds:
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within
the meaning of the Act and it will effectuate the
policies of the Act to assert jurisdiction herein.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to repre-
sent certain employees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning
the representation of certain employees of the Employ-
er within the meaning of Section 9(c)(1) and Section
2(6) and (7) of the Act.
4 The Employer is a Texas corporation engaged
in the manufacture and distribution of men's and
boys' trousers. Its operations are conducted at three
locations in El Paso and one location in San Antonio,
Texas, which is approximately 600 miles from El
Paso. It employs over 6,000 persons excluding manage
ment and supervisors, professional employees, guards,
and office clerical employees at its El Paso locations.'
' These El Paso plants include the Third Street plant where 1,300
are employed , the Paisano plant, 2,000 employees, and its Gateway
699
Co-Petitioners seek a unit limited to all full-time
and regular part-time cutting department employees
of the Employer in Phase III of its 8889 Gateway
Boulevard West, El Paso, Texas, plant,2 including
markers, spreaders, cutters, and miscellaneous cutting
department employees, but excluding office clerical,
guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act.' The
Employer contends that the only appropriate unit
consists of all of its employees at its several plants
or, at least , all of its employees at the Gateway
plant.
At the Gateway facility, of approximately 3,000
employees, about 260 work in jobs which the Petitioner
seeks to include in its unit. The employees work
in Phase III of three phases in the main building.
The Employer's raw material (cloth) is received here,
marked, spread, and cut before being sewn at the
Employer's Third Street plant, Paisano Street plant,
San Antonio plant, or Gateway facility itself. The
sewn garments then reenter Gateway Main at the
shipping and receiving area in Phase III from which
they left and are transported to a floor storage area
in Phase II where they await the next operations,
oven-curing and pressing.
The employees sought by the Co-Petitioners work
under the supervision-of Eric Goldner, who supervises
all employees in Phase III of the Employer's Gateway
Main building. The employees sought include the
markers, spreaders, and cutters. The markers make
the patterns which the cutters use in cutting the
cloth into pant parts. This cloth is spread on the
cutting table by spreaders, and then the cutters move
from cutting table to cutting table cutting the material
with cutting knife machines. Included within the unit
sought are miscellaneous employees whom the record
indicates, "assist the markers, spreaders, and cutters."4
Phase III is geographically located at the eastern
end of the building, and is separated from Phase
II by a common wall with passageways allowing
for access between Phase III and II. There is virtually
no interchange or work contact between Phase III
facility, which consists of three buildings, northwest building, machine
shop, and Gateway-Main, in which buildings approximately 3,000 are
employed
The unit sought appears as amended at the hearing The Co-Petitioners
indicated that they would include plant clericals within the unit, if in
fact, plant clericals are employed in the cutting department In this
regard, the record does not disclose whether or not plant clericals are
employed in Phase iii
The Gateway Main building is approximately 200 feet long and
400 feet wide, and consists of three sections , Phase I which was an
existing structure into which the Employer moved part of its operations
in 1965, Phase II was an additional section built onto Phase I in 1966-
67, the two Phases are separated by a 20-foot comdor Phase III was
built in 1968 All three sections or Phases, as they are referred to
in the record , are under the same roof The employees sought in the
petition work in Phase III of Gateway Main
But see fn 7
185 NLRB No. 93
700 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
employees and other employees in the other two
phases. The record shows that cutters rarely go outside
the cutting area except on occasion to perform cutting
of sample garments in the sample room lacated in
Phase I. Although infrequently, on occasion some
employees are sent into Phase III for certain material
or supplies, and Phase III employees are sent to other
areas of the plant for similar purposes. Aside from
the above, the record shows that at various times
during the year employees are pooled for such
purposes as: inventory, sample work, label-changing
operations for irregulars and price changes, and
whenever major painting or maintenance work is
required.
However, within Phase III itself, the record does
indicate that there are certain miscellaneous employees
some of whom appear to perform duties in assisting
the markers, spreaders and cutters in the cutting
operation. The record does not indicate who these
employees are-their job functions, number, location,
or definite information as to their own who have
been identified as shipping and warehouse employees,
receiving employees, and return clerks. It is not clear
whether the Co-Petitioners are seeking to include
these employees under the general heading of "miscel-
laneous employees," or are in fact seeking to exclude
them from the unit sought.'
The Phase III shipping and warehouse employees
(under the same supervision as employees working
in the cutting operation) receive all the raw material
to be used in all of the Employer's operations both
at this plant and at the other plants of the Employer.
These rolls of cloth are then moved into a cloth
storage area or may go into floor storage depending
on the nature of the items. When a cutting order
is received, the particular material requested is then
removed from storage and moved to a work distribu-
tion area adjacent to the cutting tables. Subsequently,
upon the completion of the cutting, the cut materials
are shipped by shipping employees to the Employer's
other facilities or to Phase II for the sewing operations
Upon completion of this process the sewn goods
are then returned to Phase III where they are received
and subsequently moved into an area in Phase II
for further processing.6
Thus, the storage and movement of the materials
and the cutting of that material are two distinctly
different operations. As indicated above, the duties
of the shipping and warehousing employees do not
' It is pointed out that in Farah Manufacturing Co, Inc, Case 28-
RC-2023, the Petitioner sought to exclude employees who are permanently
assigned to Phase III who are performing shipping and warehousing
functions Also, the Petitioner sought to exclude receiving employees
east of the plant's main corridor (which separates Phase I from Phase
II)
, The processing includes oven -curing, pressing, and attachment of
buttons and labels.
relate solely to supplying and servicing the cutting
operation. Their combination with cutting operation
employees would therefore constitute a heterogeneous
grouping to which the Board does not extend separate
representation.
On the other hand, the record also shows that
employees engaged in the cutting operations, the mark-
ers, spreaders, and cutters, together with the related
workers (insofar as we have been able to ascertain
their classifications)' do not have the separateness-
physical or supervisory-which would warrant a
Board finding that they constitute an appropriate
departmental unit.
The record does show, however, that all material
for the Employer's entire operations in El Paso, where
it employs over 6,000 people, and San Antonio, is
initially prepared in Phase III. All markers, spreaders
and cutters for the Employer's entire operations work
within Phase III of the Gateway Main building and
solely perform their highly skilled functions. The
Employer, a manufacturer of clothing, must continual-
ly change its styles and fabrics as demanded by con-
sumers and constantly changing fashion trends. As
a result of this, a more complicated and skillful
cutting operation is essential as these spreaders, mark-
ers, and cutters are continually working with a wide
range of styles, fabrics, and sizes. Furthermore, as
it is pointed out by the parties in their briefs, the
Board has held that spreaders, markers, and cutters
constitute a homogeneous group of skilled employees
with separate interest entitling them to separate repre-
sentation.'
In view of the foregoing, we find that the Employer's
markers, spreaders, and cutters constitute a homogene-
ous group of highly skilled employees, with interest
separate and apart from those of the Employer's
other employees. Accordingly, we conclude that the
markers, spreaders, and cutters constitute a unit
appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining.'
We find that the following employees of the Employ-
er constitute a unit appropriate for purposes of collec-
tive bargaining within the meaning of Section 9(b)
of the Act:
' With respect to the receiving employees and the return -clerks, on
the state of the record , the Board is unable to determine whether their
duties are involved with or closely related to those of the employees
engaged in the cutting operation
Likewise , with respect to the "miscellaneous " employees sought,
although reference is made in the record to "checkers ", "clearers", "pattern
stapler", and "raw material handlers", the record also contains the state-
ment that the term "miscellaneous employees" is used as a catchall
phrase to include markers, spreaders, and cutters
Benjamin & Johnes, Inc, 133 NLRB 768, and the cases cited
therein
' Rothchild-Kaufman Co., Inc., d/b/a Taylored Slacks of Hollywood,
98 NLRB 353, and Newburgh Mfg Inc, 151 NLRB 763 Petitioner
is willing to represent a unit smaller than the entire cutting department
FARAH MANUFACTURING COMPANY
All markers, spreaders, and cutters employed
in the Employer's cutting operation located with-
in Phase III of the Gateway Main Building,
at 8889 Gateway Boulevard West, El Paso, Texas,
excluding all other employees, guards, watchmen
and supervisors as defined in the Act.
[Direction of Election'° omitted from publication.]
10 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
701
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, NLR B v Wyman-Gordon
Company, 394 U S 759 Accordingly, it is hereby directed that an
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 28 within 7 days of the date of this Decision and Direction
of Election 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