Holiday Village

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Dec 2, 1976

226 N.L.R.B. 1305 (N.L.R.B. 1976)

HOLIDAY VILLAGE 1305
Erickson Barron Company , Holiday Station Stores,
Inc., Holiday Village, Inc., Lyndale Terminal Com-
pany, d/b/a Holiday Village and Locals 653-653A,
Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Food Handlers of
North America, AFL-CIO, Petitioner . Case 18-
RC-10885
December 2, 1976
DECISION ON REVIEW
BY CHAIRMAN MURPHY AND MEMBERS PENELLO
AND WALTHER
On May 7, 1976, the Regional Director for Region
18 issued a Decision and Direction of Election in the
above-entitled proceeding in which he found that Pe-
titioner's requested unit limited to employees of the
Employer's Mora, Minnesota, retail grocery store
was inappropriate and directed an election in a unit
of employees at all 10 of the Employer's rural or
ministores in Wisconsin and Minnesota, finding such
broader unit to be alone appropriate. Thereafter, in
accordance with Section 102.67 of the National La-
bor Relations Board Rules and Regulations, Series 8,
as amended, the Petitioner filed a timely request for
review of the Regional Director's decision on the
grounds that in reaching his unit determination, he
made findings of fact which were clearly erroneous
and departed from officially reported precedent.
Thereafter, the Employer filed a statement in opposi-
tion thereto.
The National Labor Relations Board by telegraph-
ic order dated June 11, 1976, granted the request for
review and stayed the election pending decision on
review. Thereafter, both parties filed briefs on re-
view.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the Na-
tional Labor Relations Board has delegated its au-
thority in this proceeding to a three-member panel.
The Board has considered the entire record in this
case with respect to the issues under review, includ-
ing the briefs on review, and makes the following
findings:
Contrary to the Regional Director's findings and
conclusions, which are set forth in footnote 3 of his
decision, excerpted and attached hereto as an appen-
dix, the Petitioner contends that the record facts, par-
ticularly as they relate to geographic separation of
the stores involved, the extent of employee inter-
change among the stores, and the degree of supervi-
sory authority exercised by the store managers, do
not rebut the presumption favoring the appropriate-
ness for bargaining purposes of its requested unit
confined to employees of the Mora store. We agree.
At the outset, we note that the Employer's 10 rural
or minisupermarkets are at widely separated loca-
tions in Minnesota and Wisconsin, their distances
from the Employer's Bloomington, Minnesota, cen-
tral office varying from 60 to 200 miles.' Each of the
10 stores has about 12,000 square feet devoted to sale
of food items, subdivided into sections typical of
food supermarkets; and 6 of the 10 stores have addi-
tional space, approximately 6,000 square feet, for the
sale of nonfood items. The employee complement of
the Mora store numbers approximately 34 and the
estimated total for all 10 stores is 340. About 25, or
75 percent, of the Mora store employees work part
time.
As more fully detailed by the Regional Director,
all administrative and many operational functions
for the 10 stores are centralized at the Employer's
Bloomington office. Personnel administration and la-
bor relations matters are the responsibility of the in-
dustrial relations director, and overall operations are
the responsibility of the operations manager. The in-
dustrial relations director and the operations manag-
er, in the course of their occasional visits to the
stores,2 from time to time observe infractions of poli-
cy and direct remedial and disciplinary action; also,
employees have addressed them directly with their
questions and grievances. Assisting the operations
manager are two store supervisors, each of whom is
primarily responsible for five specific stores but does
on occasion visit other stores. The record shows that
the store supervisors attempt to spend a day a week
at each of their stores. Once a month, the store super-
visors complete an inspection report containing a
check list of items relating to each of 13 areas and
they note any corrective action taken.' In the course
of their store visits they also check to insure compli-
ance with shelf profiles which are updated by the
central office three times a year.4 They also discuss
with the store managers, department heads, or lead-
ers any problems they may be having.
Each store has a store manager and an assistant
store manager. The store manager is responsible for
hiring all part-time employees. In the Mora store, as
in the other stores, part-time employees work in all
'The Employer also operates two large discount stores which are not
involved herein
2 The operations manager visits each store about once a month , the in-
dustrial relations director or other representatives of the personnel office
visit at least once every 2 months
7 These areas are outside appearance, front-end area, produce, meat,
dairy, frozen food, bakery-donut, promotional and end displays, grocery,
merchandise, backroom, maintenance room, and office
Shelf profiles lay out the allotments of shelf space for the various items
on sale
226 NLRB No. 212
1306 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
the departments and comprise the majority of all em-
ployees at the store. New stores are all staffed by the
central personnel office, frequently through contact
with the state employment office. After the initial
complement is hired, the store manager may himself
contact the state employment service when he needs
additional employees. Also, with regard to full-time
employees the store manager receives applications
and conducts initial interviews. He sends the applica-
tion, along with his recommendation, to central per-
sonnel. The store manager informs the applicant
whether or not he has been hired. The store manager
has the authority to discharge a part-time employee
during the employee's 60-day probationary period.
In other situations, he may make recommendations
which are generally accepted, and he usually notifies
the individual of the discharge. In addition, the store
managers' recommendations are sought with respect
to pay increases, merit increases, and deviations from
normal wage rate progressions.'
The store manager also makes recommendations
with regard to discipline and is responsible for imple-
mentation of disciplinary action. He also communi-
cates decisions as to layoffs and recalls to the em-
ployees. The store manager establishes work
schedules for the employees in his store, schedules
overtime and vacations, grants time off, and is re-
sponsible for confirming the number of hours
worked by employees; and he directs employees
from one department to help out employees in other
departments. Apart from his responsibilities for im-
mediate supervision of employees, the store manager
has other authority in connection with day-to-day
operations, e.g., to adjust customer complaints, to or-
der repairs for up to $50, and to reduce the price of
goods to prevent spoilage.
There is no regular contact or temporary inter-
change of employees at the Mora store and those
assigned to the other stores. While the Employer in-
troduced in evidence a list of 70 transfers of employ-
ees among the 10 rural stores taking place in the past
2 years, it admitted that no record of temporary
transfers is kept and that the list was a product of the
best recollection of the operations manager and the
personnel director. Most of the 40 temporary trans-
fers listed were either for training of employees prior
to their permanent assignment or for the limited pur-
pose of assisting in the grand opening of a new store.
Only seven of the temporary transfers involved the
Mora store, and all but two of the seven were in the
latter category.
In view of the foregoing and our review of the en-
tire record in this case, we conclude that the pre-
sumption favoring the appropriateness of the re-
quested single-store unit has not been rebutted. Here,
in our opinion, the record does not establish such a
degree of centralized control over personnel and la-
bor relations matters at the local store level as to
preclude a single-store unit. Contrary to the Regional
Director, we find that the store manager exercises
significant authority over store employees in areas
affecting their status. As indicated, he has full au-
thority to hire part-time employees, who make up the
vast majority of the store complement of employees,
and to discharge them during their probationary pe-
riod; also, he makes effective recommendations as to
matters affecting the status of all permanent employ-
ees, and he is involved in the training, disciplining,
and evaluation of employees and the handling of
grievances. We further find, contrary to the Regional
Director, that there is no significant interchange of
employees among the stores. In our opinion, these
factors, together with the substantial geographic se-
paration of the stores, the absence of any bargaining
history, and the fact that no labor organization seeks
to represent a broader unit, amply support the appro-
priateness of the requested unit.6 We find, therefore,
that the following unit is appropriate for purposes of
collective bargaining within the meaning of Section
9(b) of the Act:
All full-time and regular part-time employees
employed by the Employer at its Holiday Vil-
lage store in Mora, Minnesota, including meat
department employees, produce department em-
ployees, grocery and nonfood employees, but
excluding the store manager, service station em-
ployees, professional employees, watchmen,
guards, and supervisors, as defined in the Act.
Accordingly, we shall remand the case to the Re-
gional Director in order that he may conduct an elec-
tion pursuant to his Decision and Direction of Elec-
tion, as modified herein, except that the eligibility
payroll period therefor shall be that immediately pre-
ceding the date of this Decision on Review. [Excels-
ior footnote omitted from publication.]
5 The store supervisors have greater input than store managers with re-
gard to promotions However , the instances given relate to promotions to
the store manager position , and the store supervisors , of course , are in a
better position to make comparisons among candidates
6Angel's Super Valu, 197 NLRB 85 (1972 ), Primrose Super Market of
Malden, Inc, 178 NLRB 566 (1969)
APPENDIX
'The unit appears essentially as agreed to by the
parties, except the Petitioner seeks a unit limited to
employees employed at the Employer's Mora, Min-
nesota, store, and the Employer contends that the
only appropriate unit must also include the employ-
HOLIDAY VILLAGE 1307
ees at the Employer ' s other nine Holiday Village
stores located in the Minnesota towns of Moose
Lake, Redwood Falls , Fairmont and Detroit Lakes,
and the Wisconsin towns of Siren , Rice Lake, St.
Croix Falls , Milltown and Cumberland . There are
approximately 34 employees in the unit sought by the
Petitioner and approximately 340 employees in the
broader unit that the Employer contends is appropri-
ate.
There is no history of collective bargaining at any
of the Employer 's facilities herein , and no labor orga-
nization seeks to represent the employees in the
broader unit.
As noted , the Employer consists of four separate
corporations plus a subsidiary , all of which do busi-
ness as a single entity, Holiday Village. The directors,
officers and stockholders of all the corporations con-
sist of the same individuals . These corporations con-
duct their business from the same central office and
warehouse located in Bloomington , Minnesota. The
Employer 's executive vice president , Oscar Savik, is
responsible for the conduct of business in all of the
Employer's retail stores. Subordinate to him is Lyle
Larson , the operations manager, whose responsibili-
ties are to direct and oversee the overall operations of
the 10 Holiday Village stores. Assisting him with re-
gard to the stores involved in this proceeding are
Larry Flynn and Robert Welch, store supervisors.
Flynn is primarily responsible for the five stores in
Wisconsin , and Welch for the five stores in Minneso-
ta. However , both store supervisors supervise opera-
tions at each other 's stores. Store supervisors do not
have offices at the main office. They work out of
their cars but phone the operations manager and
other centrally officed personnel daily. Store supervi-
sors attend monthly meetings with the operations
manager. It is the function of the store supervisors to
visit the stores one day a week in order to assure that
the Employer 's policies , with regard to the operation
of the stores , are being followed.
All administrative functions of the Employer for
all stores are performed at its central office located in
Bloomington , Minnesota. Such activities include al-
most all purchasing of goods sold at the retail stores.
Also, the central office performs accounting , payroll,
order processing , warehousing and delivery , pricing,
including initial price setting and markups and mark-
downs, merchandising, advertising, construction,
major repair and maintenance , insurance and the
maintenance of personnel and other records for all
10 stores . Labor relations and personnel matters are
centrally formulated and administered from the
Bloomington main office . Wage rates , hours of work
and fringe benefits are common at all the Employer's
facilities . The 10 stores mail daily sales reports to the
central office and make daily cash deposits in a local
bank account on which the store managers may not
draw.
All of the Employer's stores with the exception of
some of the older ones are basically the same size
and have identical floor plans and layouts. The older
stores are smaller in size and lack the separate office
space and a large backroom which are found in the
newer stores. All the stores are essentially identical in
their outside and inside appearance. All of the stores
sell basically the same food products and general
merchandise. The only difference being those prod-
ucts which are local in nature. Also, the smaller
stores do not carry as wide a variety as the larger
stores. The prices of the products sold in these stores
are basically the same and set centrally by the mer-
chandising department. The only deviations in price
occur where local competitive practices necessitate it
and/or where state laws dictate such deviations.
These deviations, however, also must be approved by
the central merchandising department. All bills for
products and services that are supplied to the stores
are paid out of the central office and come directly to
that office. Although employee work schedules are
set by the store manager, the operations manager al-
locates the total number of hours to be worked for
each store on a departmental basis, and these hours
cannot be changed by the store managers without
prior approval of the operations manager or the store
supervisors. The quantity of product ordered by a
particular store is dictated by the amount of space
allowed on the shelf for that product and the store
profile which indicates the minimum and maximum
amount of the product that is to be on hand at all
times. These profiles also indicate what items are to
be carried by the stores and where they are to be
placed. All of the Employer's stores are open from
8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday
and 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sundays with the
exception of the Fairmont and Redwood Falls, Min-
nesota, stores , which keep longer -hours because of
their competitive situation in their communities.
Each store employs a store manager, who is pri-
marily responsible for the operation of the store with-
in well -defined guidelines established centrally. Each
store has an assistant store manager who functions as
the store manager in the absence of the store manag-
er, a meat manager who is responsible for the opera-
tion of the meat department , and a management
trainee who functions as a manager in the absence of
both the store manager and/or assistant store man-
ager. Finally, each store employs meat cutters, meat
wrappers, grocery-produce stockers, general mer-
chandise stockers, cashiers, courtesy and custodial or
maintenance employees. The duties of the employees
1308 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
in these classifications do not differ from store to
store . Where these employees wear uniforms, they
are supplied by the Employer and are the same as
those worn in all the stores. In these job classifica-
tions, approximately 25 of the employees at the Mora
store are part-time employees . Although these part-
time employees can be hired directly by the store
managers , the managers do not have the authority to
discharge them after their probationary period with-
out first consulting with the central office . Initial
wage rates for newly hired part -time employees are
centrally established and store managers cannot hire
at higher rates without prior approval . All hiring and
discharges of full -time employees is performed by the
central office . The operations manager, the director
of industrial relations and the store supervisors are
the individuals that are primarily concerned with ma-
jor employee disciplinary matters and the store man-
agers may not impose such discipline without the
prior approval of one of these individuals.
The Mora store is about 75 miles from the Em-
ployer's central office . The St. Croix Falls store is
about 60 miles from the main office ; the Milltown
store is about 75 miles from the main office ; the Si-
ren, Cumberland , and Redwood Falls stores are
about 95 miles from the main office; the Rice Lake,
Moose Lake , and Fairmont stores are about 110 to
115 miles from the main office , and the Detroit
Lakes store is about 200 miles from the main office.
The greatest distance between any of the two stores
would be approximately the 300 miles between the
Fairmont and the Detroit Lakes stores. Detroit
Lakes and Fairmont are about 170 miles from the
Mora store , and are the stores which are located the
greatest distance from the Mora store.
Temporary and permanent transfers between and
among the several stores is not uncommon . The Em-
ployer submitted an exhibit listing about 70 transfers
between and among the several stores since about
1974, about 30 of which were permanent . About 60
of the transfers occurred during the 12-month period
preceding the hearing herein . Transfers between
stores result from promotions , the opening of new
stores, or are for training purposes or to fill in for
absent employees . Thirteen of the transfers occurring
within a year of the hearing involved the Mora store.
Store managers are authorized to order minor re-
pairs and maintenance costing less than $50. How-
ever , this work must be performed by a contractor
whose name is on a list furnished to the store manag-
er by the Employer 's central office . Store managers
can unilaterally authorize overtime but thereafter
must justify such to the store supervisor. The store
manager is authorized to lower prices only to move a
product that is starting to spoil . They adjust custom-
er complaints and they or their subordinates at the
store order merchandise from the warehouse or from
specified suppliers in order to maintain centrally es-
tablished stock levels. Store managers apparently can
grant time off. It is unclear whether they unilaterally
schedule vacations.
As noted, the store supervisors visit each store
once a week and spend an entire day at the store.
While at the store they inspect the operations and
converse with the manager and employees, making
sure that all Employer policies and procedures are
being followed. The store supervisor monthly evalu-
ates each store with respect to its performance and
submits such evaluation to higher supervision. Also,
while at the store he discusses problems with employ-
ees and the store manager, and directs corrective ac-
tion be taken when warranted. The grocery buyer,
the meat and produce buyer, the sales promotion
manager, the merchandise manager, the operations
manager and representatives of the personnel depart-
ment visit the store periodically either monthly or
once every 2 months. While at the store these central-
ly officed personnel inspect the store and discuss
with employees and the store manager problems or
operations within their area of concern, making sure
that the Employer's policies and procedures are
being followed and directing that corrective mea-
sures be instituted where they are not. There is daily
and weekly mail sent to each store, including bulle-
tins on changes in any personnel or other policy mat-
ters. Central office personnel are in frequent tele-
phone contact with the stores.
About 40% of the food sold at the stores is deliv-
ered to the stores from the Employer' s warehouse
and essentially the remainder is furnished by other
suppliers who deal with and arrange delivery through
the central office personnel. All suppliers are paid by
the central office. The only exception to this are local
produce in season, which store managers, after clear-
ance from the central office, may purchase directly,
and beer, which under state law must be paid for on
delivery. The central office furnishes the store man-
ager with a blank check and the store manager fills in
the appropriate amount for the purchase of beer.
Wage increases are based on centrally established
schedules and upon discussions between the store
manager and store supervisor. The store manager
may recommend deviations from the established
schedules but such must be approved by the store
supervisor or higher authority. Promotions from
part-time to full-time status are based primarily on
the recommendations of the store supervisor, rather
than the store manager. The Employer's policy is to
promote from within.
The store supervisor, operations manager, or per-
HOLIDAY VILLAGE 1309
sonnel department determine whether layoffs are in
order. The store manager will probably notify the
employees of the layoff and recall. No layoffs may
occur without the approval of the store supervisor.
The store supervisor directs the store manager who is
to be laid off; this is generally determined by senior-
ity.
All employees share common benefits and work-
ing conditions and are covered by a common profit-
sharing and insurance plan and have the same vaca-
tion and holiday schedule, all of which is determined
centrally.
In view of the foregoing and the record as a whole,
and particularly the absence of local autonomy or
authority of the store managers, the extensive role
played by the store supervisors and other central of-
fice personnel in the operations of the stores, the sim-
ilarity of operations, functions, and skills of employ-
ees at the various stores, the centralized management
and administrative functions, the centrally estab-
lished policies and procedures from which store man-
agers may not deviate without prior approval, and
the interstore transfer of employees which is not un-
common, I find that the presumption that a single
store unit is appropriate has been rebutted and that
the unit sought by the Petitioner limited to the em-
ployees at the Mora, Minnesota store is not appropri-
ate for purposes of collective bargaining. Food Marts,
Inc., 200 NLRB 18 (1972); Purity Supreme, Inc., 197
NLRB 915 (1972); National Telephone Company, Inc.,
215 NLRB 176 (1974); Twenty-First Century Restau-
rant of Norstrand Avenue Corp, Licensee of Mc-
Donald's Corporation, 192 NLRB 881 (1971).