Georgia Duck & Cordage Mill

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Nov 1, 1937

4 N.L.R.B. 8 (N.L.R.B. 1937)

In the Matter of GEORGIA DUCK & CORDAGE MILL and TEXTILE
WORKERS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Case No. R-2If5.Decided November 1, 1937
Cotton Textile Industry-Investigation of Representatives: controversy con-
cerning representation of employees : substantial doubt as to majority status ;
refusal by employer to recognize petitioning union as exclusive representative-
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : production and maintenance em-
ployees ; eligibility for membership in union-Election Ordered-Certification
of Representatives.
DECISION
AND
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Textile Workers Organizing Committee, herein called the Union,
filed a petition on July 9, 1937, and an amended petition on July;
16, 1937, with the Regional Director for the Tenth Region (Atlanta,
Georgia) alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen
concerning the representation of employees of Georgia-Duck & Cord-
age Mill, Scottdale, Georgia, herein called the Company, and re-
questing an investigation and certification of representatives pur-
suant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat.
449, herein called the Act. On July 31, 1937, the National Labor
Relations Board, herein called the Board, acting pursuant to Article
III, Section 3 of the National Labor Relations Board Rules and
Regulations-Series 1, as amended, authorized the Regional Director
to conduct an investigation and provide for an appropriate hearing.
Pursuant to notice of hearing duly served upon the Company, the
Union, and the Southern Representative of the American Federation
of Labor, a hearing was held in Atlanta, Georgia, on August 10, 1937,
before William H. Griffin, the Trial Examiner duly designated by
the Board." The Board, the Company, and the Union were repre-
sented by counsel and participated in the hearing, but the American
Federation of Labor did not appear and took no part in the hearing.
Full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine wit-
nesses, and to introduce evidence bearing upon the issues was af-
forded all parties. It was stipulated by all parties that the Board
8
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 9
should consider all the evidence and exhibits submitted in Matter of
7Vhittier Mills Company and Textile Workers Organizing Comrnittee,
Case No. R-238,1 both upon the subject of interstate commerce and
upon the merits of the case; as part of the record in this case and
equally applicable. All objections to evidence and testimony adduced
in the above cited case will be considered to have been made in this
case.
Objections to the introduction of evidence were made during the,
course of this hearing, by counsel for the respective parties. The
Board has reviewed the rulings of the Trial Examiner on motions and
objections in these cases and finds that no prejudicial errors were
committed. The rulings are hereby affirmed.
After examining the record in this matter, the Board concluded
that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of the production and maintenance employees of the Com-
pany, and on the basis of such conclusion, and acting pursuant to
Article III, Section 8 of National Labor Relations Board Rules
and Regulations-Series 1, as amended, issued a Direction of Elec-
lion on August 27, 1937, in which it found that the production and
maintenance employees of the Company, exclusive of the clerical and
supervisory employees, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes
.of collective bargaining. For the purpose of expediting the election
and thus to insure to the employees of the Company the full benefit
of their right to'collective bargaining as soon as possible, the Board
directed the election without at the same time issuing a decision em-
bodying complete findings of fact and conclusions of law. The
Board also designated the Regional Director for the Tenth Region
as its agent to conduct the election among the employees in the
appropriate unit on the pay roll of the Company for the week ending
on July 177, 1937. Thereafter the Board was advised that the Com-
pany had temporarily ceased production, but that it would resume
normal operations on September 7, 1937. All parties agreed to a
postponement of the election until such resumption of normal opera-
tions, and also stipulated that all employees working at any time
during the week of July 27, 1937, were to be eligible to vote in said
election: On September 2, 1937, the Board issued an Amendment
to Direction of Election, which ordered that the election be post-
poned and that those eligible to vote should be the employees within
the appropriate unit who had worked for Georgia Duck & Cordage
Will at any time during the week of July 27, 1937, exclusive of those
-whose employment had permanently terminated since July 31, 1937.
On September 4, 1937, the Company filed exceptions and petition
-for review of the order directing an election, on the ground that the
13 N L R. B. 389.
10 'NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
order contained no fact-finding report on the hearing, and that no
statement of facts had been issued upon which the conclusion that a
question affecting commerce had arisen could be based. On Septem-
ber 8, 1937, the Board issued an order denying the petition for review.
Pursuant to the Board's Direction of Election, and the Amendment
to the Direction of Election, an election by secret ballot was con-
ducted by the Regional Director on September 10, 1937, among the
employees of the Company constituting the bargaining unit found
appropriate by the Board. Thereafter, the Regional Director issued
and duly served upon the parties,to the proceeding the Intermediate
Report upon the secret ballot. No exceptions to the Intermediate
Report have been filed by any of the parties.
As to the results of the secret ballot, the Regional Director reported
the following :
Total number eligible_______________________________________ 146
Total ballots cast___________________________________________ 123
Total votes for the Textile Workers Organizing Committee----- 108
Total votes against the Textile Workers Organizing Committee- 14
Total votes challenged_______________________________________ 3
Total votes miscast_________________________________________ 2
Upon the entire record in the case the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Georgia Duck & Cordage Mill is a Georgia corporation, chartered
in De Kalb County, Georgia, and having its office and principal place
of business in Scottdale, in the same State. As of July 27, 1937, it
employed approximately 160 employees.
The Company is engaged in the manufacture, sale, and distribu-
tion of- duck and laundry textiles. The raw materials used include
cotton, and a small amount of cotton waste. The quantity of cotton
used annually is approximately 1,900,000 pounds.
The parties stipulated that : the sources of the raw materials are
substantially the same in this case as in the case of the Whittier
Mills Company, herein called Whittier, and that the percentages of
these materials obtained from sources outside the State are also
approximately the same; that reference shall be made to the Whittier
case for the facts upon this point; that the method of operation of
the Company is similar to that of Whittier, as are the methods of
sale and shipment; that the same arrangement exists with J. P.
Stevens Company, with the exception that approximately 10 to 15
per cent of the Company's production is sold direct to the consumer;
that approximately 95 per cent of the shipments of finished products
from the Company go to destinations outside of the State of
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 11
Georgia; and that the competition in the sale of the products manu-
factured by the Company is nation-wide in scope.
In the Whittier case, the Board made, in part, the following find-
ings of fact , which are applicable here : 4
The principal raw materials used by Whittier are cotton and
waste materials . The waste materials are composed of, card
strips and combers. Whittier also uses wool in the form of yarn,
dyes, and bleaching materials.
For the year ending June 30, 1937, Whittier used 6,030,000
pounds of cotton, and 2,520,000 pounds of waste materials. Cot-
ton is purchased from 'dealers in Georgia and North Carolina,
In certain cases, Whittier definitely specifies its desire for west-
ern cotton. Over ten per cent of the cotton is ordered from,
dealers doing business in states other than Georgia, and de-
livered by them by means of rail and truck, from outside the
State. Most of the cotton used by Whittier is purchased from
Georgia dealers, but some of this cotton comes from other states.
This is illustrated by the testimony of C. S. Ruff, manager of the
Atlanta office of Anderson-Clayton Company, from whom Whit-
tier buys ten per cent of its cotton. Ruff testified that his firm
sold Whittier 324 square bales during the period mentioned
above. Of this amount 200 bales had' been shipped directly to
Whittier from Houston, Texas, by rail, and the remaining 124
bales had come to Whittier from Anderson-Clayton's warehouse
in Atlanta. Four bales of the 124 contained eastern-grown cot-
ton, and the remainder contained cotton grown in Texas or
Oklahoma. When these bales had been shipped from Texas or
Oklahoma, some had been designated for Whittier, and some had
not; as a general rule, they had been designated for Whittier.
At least 22 per cent of the waste materials come by shipment
from dealers outside of Georgia. All of the wool yarn used by
Whittier comes from Massachusetts.
Most of the products of Whittier are manufactured on order.
For the year ending June 30, 1937, Whittier shipped 5,600,000
pounds, as follows : approximately 16 per cent to Silver Lake
Company; 11 per cent to a local mill (Scottdale Mills) ; 16 per
cent to wrapping and twine jobbers; 46 per cent (hose cord and
duck) to rubber manufacturers. The remaining ten per cent of
the products consisted of three per cent as cotton worsted goods,
and seven per cent as mop yarn and single yarn.
The proportion of the products shipped outside the State is as
follows : all of the hose cord and duck produced ; three-fourths of
S In the quoted portions of the decision in Matter of Whittier Mills Company and Tex-
tile Workers Orgonizinq Committee, 3 N L R B 389 , the word "Companies " refers to
Whittier, and Silver Lake Company, herein called Silver Lake, and not to Georgia Duck
& Cordage Mill
12 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
the cotton-worsted goods; 90 per cent of the mop yarn and single
yarn; and 90 per cent of the twine.
A majority of the stock of both Whittier and Silver Lake is
owned by the same persons; and a majority of the stockholders
,live in, Massachusetts. The three .directors of Silver Lake, James
J. Scott, Butler Ames, and Ames Stevens, are also included
among the directors of Whittier. James J. Scott is the manager
and treasurer of the Companies as well as being the general man-
ager, of Scottdale Mills, and the president of Georgia Duck &
Cordage Mill. Miriam Duncan is the secretary of the Com-
panies, and has charge of their records.
Up to two and a half years ago, the Companies maintained
sales offices in Boston and elsewhere. These offices have now
been abandoned, and the Boston office has been taken over • by
J. P. Stevens Company, commission merchants, of New York.
The present selling arrangements with this firm are the same for
both Companies. While there is no written agreement, the New
York firm sells all of the products of the Companies, except
those portions sold to Silver Lake and Scottdale Mills. J. P.
Stevens Company secures,orders for the Companies, submits the
specifications, and arranges for payment. Bills of lading show
Whittier as the consignor in some cases , and J. P. Stevens Com-
pany in the remainder.
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
Textile Workers Organizing Committee is a labor organization
affiliated with the Committee for Industrial Organization. It admits
to membership all production and maintenance workers in the employ
of the Company but excludes supervisory and clerical employees.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
It was stipulated between the parties that the negotiations between
the Company and the Union were the same in the instant case as in
the case of Whittier, and that they had the same results.
In the Whittier case, the Board made the following findings of
fact in regard to the organization involved and as to the question
concerning representation which are applicable here :
Chattahoochee Local Union No. 1886, United Textile Workers
of America, herein called Local 1886, was organized in 1933. In
April 1937, pursuant to the action of its international organiza-
tion, Local 1886 became affiliated with Textile Workers Organiz-
ing Committee, the Union, and the Committee for Industrial
Organization.
DECISIONS AND ORDERS - 13
Local 1886 first negotiated with the management of the.-Com-
panies early in 1934. In September 1934 a strike occurred- '
ing which neither of the Companies operated. Eventually Local'
1886 filed a complaint with the Textile Labor Relations Board.
In November 1935 there was a change of management and a
change in labor policies as well. Several men discharged by the
former management, presumably for union activity, were taken
back. Local 1886,was recognized and dealt with as the repre
sentatives of its own members. . l
During May 1937 the Textile Workers Organizing Committee
began negotiations with the Companies, and presented a tenta-
tive agreement to J. J. Scott, the general manager. Scott in-
formed the Union that he desired to; make sure that it' represented
a majority. The Union thereupon furnished him with a list of
its members. Negotiations were proceeding when Scott called
the attention of the Union's representatives to the fact that the
American Federation of Labor had served notice upon him claim-
ing that they represented a majority of the employees. The
Union thereupon agreed, to an election to demonstrate its
majority.
A consent election was arranged with the names of both unions
on the ballot. A few days before the date upon which this elec-
tion was scheduled to be held, the American Federation of Labor
withdrew its name from the ballot, over the protest of the
Union. Subsequently, the management declined to participate
in a consent election. The parties stipulated that a controversy
had arisen over the question of whether the Union represents
a majority of the employees.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Union claims that the appropriate unit should consist of all
the production and maintenance employees, excluding supervisory
employees. The Union also excludes clerical employees, and we will
follow our usual rule in excluding such workers from the appropriate
unit when none of the unions involved wish to bargain for them.
We find that in order to insure to employees the full benefit of their
right to self-organization and to collective bargaining, and otherwise
to effectuate the policies of the National Labor Relations Act, all of
the production and maintenance workers of Georgia Duck & Cordage
Mill, exclusive of clerical and supervisory employees, constitute a
unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining.
V. THE''EFFECT OF THE QUESTION OF' REPRESENTATION ON COMMERCE
We find that the question concerning representation which has
arisen, occurring in connection with the operations of Georgia Duck
14 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
& Cordage Mill described in Section I above, has a close, intimate,
and substantial relation to trade, traffic, and commerce among the
several States, and tends to lead to labor disputes burdening and ob-
structing commerce and the free flow of commerce.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
Upon the basis of the foregoing findings of fact and upon the entire
record in the proceeding, the Board makes the following conclusions
of law :
1. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of employees of Georgia Duck & Cordage Mill, Scottdale,
Georgia, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and
(7) of the National Labor Relations Act.
2. The production and maintenance employees of Georgia Duck &
Cordage Mill, exclusive of clerical and supervisory employees, consti-
tute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining
within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the National Labor Relations
Act.
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National
Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Rela-
tions Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8 of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 1, as amended,
IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that Textile Workers Organizing Committee
has been designated by a majority of the production and maintenance
employees of Georgia Duck & Cordage Mill, Scottdale, Georgia, ex-
clusive of clerical and supervisory employees, as their representative
for the purposes of collective bargaining, and that, pursuant to the
provisions of Section 9 (a) of the National Labor Relations Act,
Textile Workers Organizing Committee is the exclusive representa-
tive of all such employees for the purposes of collective bargaining in
respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other condi-
tions of employment.