Florsheim Retail Boot Shop

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Dec 16, 1948

80 N.L.R.B. 1312 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

In the Matter of FLoRsIIEIlr RETAIL BOOT SHOP, EMPLOYER and DE-
PARTMENT STORE EMPLOYEES UNION, LocAL 291, BUILDING SERVICE
EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION7 AFL, PETITIONER
In the Matter of THE FLORETTE SHOE COMPANY, EMPLOYER and DE-
PARTMENT STORE EMPLOYEES UNION, LocAL 291, BUILDING SERVICE
EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION, AFL, PETITIONER
Cases Nos. 13-RC-252 and 13-RC485, respectively.-Decided
December 16, 194.8
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon petitions duly filed, a consolidated hearing was held before a
hearing officer of the National Labor Relations Board. The hearing
officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error
and are hereby affirmed.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the National Labor
Relations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with
this case to a three-man panel consisting of the undersigned Members.*
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Florsheim Retail Boot Shop with 5 men's shoe stores' in
Chicago and the Florette Shoe Company with 1 women's shoe store in
the same city, are Illinois corporations, which are subsidiaries of the
Florsheim Shoe Company. The Florsheim Shoe Company and its
various affiliated corporations have 80 stores in approximately 30
States. The Chicago stores that are involved in this proceeding an-
nually purchase merchandise valued at over $100,000 from points out-
side the State of Illinois, and ship outside the States shoes of the value
of about $5,000.
The Employer admits and we find that the Employer is engaged in
commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
2. The labor organizations named below claim to represent em-
ployees of the Employer.
* Houston, Reynolds , and Murdock.
I One of these stores is the shoe department in Baskin 's, a department store.
80 N. L . R. B., No. 200.
1312
FLORSHEIM RETAIL BOOT SHOP 1313
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of employees of the Employer, within the meaning of Section 9
(c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The Petitioner seeks a unit covering the Employer's six Chicago
stores and composed of all salesmen, cashiers and assistant managers,
but excluding store managers, bookkeepers, and part-time employees
working less than 24 hours a week. The Employer desires to include
store managers in this unit. The Intervenor takes the position that
the unit should consist of all salesmen, assistant managers, cashiers,
bookkeepers, stockmen, and store managers, if they are not super-
visors, as defined in the Act; and should exclude porters and part-
time employees working less than 8 hours per week.
Store Managers and Assistant Managers: The five men's shoe stores
are run under the supervision of the general manager, H. E. Revkin,
who reports to one J. B. Stancliffe, an official in charge of the retail
operations of the parent Florsheim Shoe Company.
Each of these five stores has a store manager who opens and closes
the store ; has charge of the stock book and store records; writes stock
and factory production orders; makes bank deposits; and sees to it
that the store and window displays are in order. The store managers
have authority to sign checks, but to be valid the checks must be coun-
tersigned by a factory cashier. The store manager signs the pay-roll
sheet and while salary checks are made under his authority, they are
subject to the approval of the general manager. The daily, weekly,
and monthly sales reports bear the name of the store manager, but
only the monthly report requires his signature. The general man-
ager holds the bookkeeper responsible for the accuracy of these reports.
The store manager is paid a flat salary, plus a bonus at the end of
6 months, which is based on the volume of the business of the store,
whereas the regular salesmen, including assistant managers, are paid
a weekly rate and commissions, and PM's (a form of additional com-
mission) based on their individual sales. The store manager also sells,
but he is not paid a commission and gets no PM's on his individual
sales. The amount of time a store manager spends in the selling proc-
ess ranges from over 30 to 50 percent, depending on the circumstances.
The general manager alone has authority to hire, discharge, pro-
mote, and determine salaries. The general manager keeps in close
touch with the men's stores, visiting each two or three times daily in
the course of a normal operating week. The duration of his visits
varies from a half to an entire hour, 3 or 4 hours, or 2 to 3 days, de-
pending on the problems to be met.
The store manager handles the customer's complaints and watches
the selling floor to see that customers are properly treated. Although
1314 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
he criticizes salesmen whose work is unsatisfactory and informs the
general manager about the quality of their performance, it is the gen-
eral manager who makes the decisions as to the course of action to
be followed. Requests for time off, which are generally received by the
store manager, are referred to the general manager; at times a request
is made directly to the general manager.
At the women's store, the general manager, Neil Lambur, who is
responsible to J. B. Stancliffe, acts also in the capacity of store mana-
ger. His duties are the same as those of the general manager in charge
of the men's stores.
Full control over hiring and tenure of employment is vested in the
general manager, who also exercises close supervision by means of
frequent and sometimes long visits to the stores. In view of the limited
nature of their authority and responsibility, we are of the opinion that
the store managers of the men's stores are not supervisors as defined
in the Act.2 However, since the store manager of the woman's store
has the supervisory duties of general manager as well, we shall exclude
him from the unit.
There is no disagreement among the parties as to the inclusion of
assistant managers in the unit. The assistant manager waits on trade
and is, as above indicated, paid in the same manner as other salesmen.
He takes over for the store manager during the latter's lunch hour or
vacation, but he has little occasion to exercise the store manager's
responsibilities. As they are basically salesmen, we shall include
assistant managers in the unit.
Part-Time Salesmen: Salesmen who work less than the full time
period of 48 hours per week are designated by the Employer as Extras.
In this class of regular part-time workers are two employees who work
24 and 26 hours respectively, and five who put in 11 or 12 hours a week,
on Monday nights or Saturday and sometimes both. All such Extras
are college students. They perform the same general functions as
regular full-time salesmen, but are paid a daily rather than a weekly
rate and are entitled to fewer PM's than full-time salesmen..
The line of demarcation for inclusion in the unit as agreed upon
by Employer and Petitioner is 24 hours per week, the Intervenor
urging 8 hours as the standard. Inasmuch as all the Extras are regular
part-time employees averaging a substantial quota of hours per week,
and performing functions within the ambit of the unit, we believe
that they, along with the full-time salesmen, have a sufficient interest
in the terms and conditions of employment to warrant inclusion in
2 Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, 53 N. L. R. B. 360 ; Gulf Refining Company,
67 N. L R. B. 1299; Palace Dry Cleaning Corporation, 74 N. L. R B. 320 . Cf: Spencer
Shoe Corporation , 61 N. L. R. B. 1058. The facts pertaining to the comparable class
of employees in that case differ from those in the present case.
FLORSHEIM RETAIL BOOT SHOP 1315
the unit.' We also find that they are all entitled to participate in
the election.
Miscellaneous Employees: In recognition of the community of in-
terest of selling and non-selling employees,4 the employees listed below
should be included in the unit : cashiers who wrap packages, make
change, sell hose and accessories; bookkeepers who spend the greatest
part of their time at clerical duties, but who may also perform the
tasks of cashier and on occasion do a little selling; stock clerks who
handle stock, shipments, pricing of goods, packing of cases and stack-
ing of boxes; porters who keep the stores clean.
We find the following employees of Florsheim Retail Boot Shop and
The Florette Shoe Company constitute a unit appropriate for pur-
poses of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of
the Act :
All salesmen, store managers, assistant managers, cashiers, book-
keepers, stock clerks, porters, including all regular part-time em-
ployees, but excluding the store manager of the women's store and the
general manager of the men's stores and any other supervisors as
defined in the Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining with the Employer, an election by
secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than
30 days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and super-
vision of the Regional Director for the Region in which this case was
heard, and subject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 5, as amended, among
the employees in the unit found appropriate in paragraph numbered 4,
above, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately
preceding the date of this Direction of Election, including employees
who did not work during said pay-roll period because they were ill
or on vacation or temporarily laid off, but excluding those employees
who have since quit or been discharged for cause and have not been
rehired or reinstated prior to the date of the election, and also exclud-
ing employees on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to de-
termine whether they desire to be represented, for purposes of collec-
tive bargaining, by Department Store Employees Union, Local 291,
Building Service Employees International Union, AFL, or Retail
Clerks International Association, AFL, or by neither.
8 Spencer Shoe Corporation, 61 N. L. R. B. 1058; E. H. Sargent & Company, 72 N. L. R. B.
220; Deep Oil Development Company, 74 N. L. R. B. 941.
'Denver Dry Goods Company, 74 N. L. R. B. 1167: Phelps Dodge Mercantile Company,
78 N. L. R. B 179 ; J. M. High Company, 78 N. L . It. B. 876.
817319-49-vol. 80-84