Gas Consumers Association

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Sep 19, 1949

85 N.L.R.B. 1497 (N.L.R.B. 1949)

In the Matter of GAS CONSUMERS ASSOCIATION, EMPLOYER and UNITED
ASSOCIATION OF JOURNEYMEN AND APPRENTICES OF THE PLUMBING
AND PIPE FITTING INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA,
LOCAL 38, AFL, PETITIONER
Case No. 20-RC-610.-Decided September 19, 1949
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before Nathan R.
Berke, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hear-
ing 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-member panel [Members Houston, Reynolds, and
Murdock].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is a California corporation organized in 1926,
with its principal office in San Francisco, California, and an executive
office in New York City, New York. In addition to its San Francisco
branch and principal office, it has branches in Boston, Massachusetts;
Chicago, Illinois; Cleveland, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan; Los Angeles,
California; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Long Island City, New York;
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Wash-
ington, D. C. It also owns in South Norwalk, Connecticut, facilities
for what had once been a factory, but which at the present time is not
in operation. The instant proceeding concerns only the employees of
the San Francisco office.
The Employer is engaged at its San Francisco branch, and in all of
the other branches named, in the business of servicing commercial gas
appliances. This work consists of cleaning, adjusting, and repairing
gas ranges for commercial accounts. Among the accounts of the San
Francisco branch are hotels, such as the St. Francis and the Fairmont,
and the San Francisco and the International Airports. During the
calendar year 1948, the Employer's Nation-wide volume of business
amounted to approximately $1,245,000. . During the same year, the
volume of business of the San Francisco branch amounted to approxi-
mately $80,000. During this same period, the San Francisco branch
85 N. L. R. B., No. 231.
1497
1498 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
purchased parts and equipment in the amount of $14,230, of which
approximately 50 percent was purchased from points outside the State
of California.
. We find, contrary to the contention of the Employer, that it is
engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Re-
lations Act.'
2. The labor organization involved claims to represent certain em-
ployees of the Employer.
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 following employees of the Employer constitute a unit ap-
propriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the mean-
ing of Section 9 (b) of the Act:
All servicemen and salesmen doing service work at the Employer's
San Francisco, California, branch office, excluding office and clerical
employees, and ail 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 su-
pervision 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, 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 rein-
stated prior to the date of the election, and also excluding employees
on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to determine whether
or not they desire to be represented, for purposes of collective bargain-
ing, by United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the
Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada,
Local 38, AFL.
1 Matter of The Davey Tree Expert Company, Inc., 81 N. L. R. B. 1161. In that case,
tbe' Board held that where an employer operates on a multi-State basis , the Board will, in
order to best effectuate the purposes of the Act , take jurisdiction in cases involving either
its operations as a whole or any administrative section thereof , even though its business
relates to services locally rendered and the amount of material it brings across State
lines may be relatively small.