Home Furniture Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 25, 1948

77 N.L.R.B. 1437 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

In the Matter of HOME FURNITURE COMPANY, EMPLOYER -and UPHOL-
STERERS' INTERNATIONAL UNION or NORTH AMERICA, A. F. OF L.,
PETITIONER
In the Matter of THONET BROTHERS, INC., EMPLOYER and UPIIOLSTER-
ERS' INTERNATIONAL UNION OF NORTII AMERICA, A. F. OF L., PETI-
TIONER
Cases Nos. 4-R-2757 and 4-RC-24, respectively .Decided June 05,
1948
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon separate petitions duly filed,' a consolidated hearing in these
cases 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 Act, the Board
has delegated its powers in connection with this consolidated case to a
three-man panel consisting of the undersigned Board Members.*
Upon the entire record in this consolidated case,2 the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the
National Labor Relations Act.
2. The labor organization named below claims to represent em-
ployees of the Employer. -
3. A question of representation exists concerning,the representation
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 single unit of all production and mainte-
nance employees employed at the York, Pennsylvania,' plants of Home
i These cases were ordered consolidated by the Board on November 21, 1947.
* Chairman Herzog and Members Reynolds and Murdock.
2 After the close of the hearing in these cases, the Board , on its own motion, ordered
that the record be reopened and a further healing be held for the purpose of receiving addi-
tional testimony on the issues in these cases. Thereafter , the parties entered into a stipu-
lation with respectito the evidence requested by the Board , which they agreed should be
made part of the record in these cases . Tile parties also waived further hearing.
77 N. L. R B, No. 221. -
1437
1438 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Furniture Company, herein called Home, and Thonet Brothers, Inc.,
herein called Thonet, including janitors and watchmen, but excluding
clerical employees, the office charwomen, and all supervisors. Home
and Thonet oppose the scope of the unit proposed by the Petitioner,
and contend that only separate units composed of the employees of
Home and Thonet, respectively, ar a-ppropriate.
Home is a Pennsylvania corporation engaged in the manufacture of
bedroom furniture at York, Pennsylvania. Its operations are con-
ducted in 13 interconnecting buildings, 9 of which have no other oc-
cupants. Thonet, a New York corporation, is engaged at York,
Pennsylvania, in the manufacture of bent-ply and upholstered furni-
ture.3 To house its manufacturing operations, Thonet rents space in
4 of the buildings occupied by Home. Both Home and Thonet are
subsidiaries of International Furniture, Inc., a corporation organized
under the laws of the Republic of Panama. Not only is there com-
mon ownership of all the stock in both corporations, but they have a
common president, and secretary. The president also serves as a direc-
tor in the 2 corporations. It further appears that Henry Vollet, who
is listed as the manager of Home, manages the manufacturing opera-
tions and handles the labor relations of both corporations under the
direct supervision of the vice president of Home. Although there is
also a manager on the pay roll of Thonet, he is answerable to Vollet
for all matters pertaining to the labor relations of Thonet. An office
force in the employ of Home prepares financial reports and other rec-
ords for both Home and Thonet.
Home and Thonet employ 135 and 40 employees, respectively. The
employees of the 2 corporations possess similar skills. Furthermore,
their hours of work, vacation and insurance benefits, holidays, and
other conditions of employment are substantially the same.
In view of the common ownership and control of production opera-
tions and labor policies, we find that, for the purposes of this proceed-
ing, Home and Thonet constitute a single employer within the mean-
ing of Section 2 (2) of the Act.'
Accordingly, we find that all the production and maintenance em-
ployees of Home and Thonet, at York, Pennsylvania, including jani-
tors, but excluding all watchmen,5 clerical employees, the office char-
7 The record shows that Thonet also operates other plants throughout the United States.
This proceeding, however, concerns only its York operations.
4 Matter of Salter Mills Company, 76 N. L. R. B. 930 ; Matter of A. W. Franklin Manu-
facturing Corporation , 71 N. L. R. B 142.
6 We have excluded the night watchmen from the unit although the parties agreed to
their inclusion because, as we stated in our Decision in Matter of C. V. Hill and Company,
76 N. L. It. B. 158, Section 9 (b) (3) of the Act, as amended , prohibits the Board from
including any individual who has a duty to protect the property of the Employer against
0h-Pt mhnthar by PmnlovPPP or "other persons."
HOME FURNITURE COMPANY 1439
women, and all supervisors constitute a unit appropriate for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of
the Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the pur-
poses 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 Re-
lations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 5, 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 bar-
gaining, by Upholsterers' International Union of North America,
A. F. of L.