John Blood & Co., Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Mar 20, 1936

1 N.L.R.B. 371 (N.L.R.B. 1936)

In the Matter of JOHN BLOOD & COMPANY, INC., A CORPORATION and
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF HOSIERY WORKERS, BRANCH No. 69
Case No. R-9O.-Decided March 20, 1936
Hosiery Industry-Unit App) opriate for Collective Bargaining : eligibility for
membership in only organization making bona fide effort at collective bargain-
ing; production employees-Rcpresentatlvcs : proof of choice : petition desig-
nating-Certification of Rcpt cscntatives: after investigation but without elec-
tion.
Mr. Gerhard P. Van Aricel for the Board.
Mr. Isadore Satz, of Philadelphia, Pa., for the Union.
Mary Lemon Schleifer, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
STATEMENT OF CASE
A petition for investigation and certification of representatives,
pursuant to Section 9(c) of the National Labor Relations Act, ap-
proved July 5, 1935, and Article III, Section 1 of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 1, was filed with the
Regional Director for the Fourth Region by Branch No. 69, American
Federation of Hosiery Workers (hereinafter referred to as Branch
No. 69) on November 29, 1935, alleging that a question affecting coln-
merce had arisen concerning the representation of employees in the
Boyertown mill of John Blood & Company, Inc., Boyertown Penn-
sylvania (hereinafter referred to as the Company). The National
Labor Relations Board, acting pursuant to Article III, Section 3 of
National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 1,
authorized the Regional Director to conduct an investigation. On
January 27, 1936 the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing,
copies of which were duly served on the Company and upon Branch
No. 69.
Pursuant to the notice of hearing, a hearing was held February 10,
1936 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, before Robert M. Gates, duly
designated by the National Labor Relations Board to act as Trial
Examiner. The respondent was not represented by counsel but Ernest
Blood, President and General Manager of the Company, appeared at
the hearing and testified concerning the business of the Company.
371
372 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Upon the evidence adduced at the hearing and from the entire
record now before it, including the transcript of the hearing and ex-
hibits introduced, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. John Blood & Company, Inc., a corporation organized under and
existing by virtue of the laws of the State of Pennsylvania, is en-
gaged iii the manufacture of full fashioned hosiery. It owns and
operates two units, a mill in Boyertown, Berks County, Pennsyl-
vania, where hosiery is knit and finished in ,an undyed condition; and
a plant at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where the hosiery is dyed and
packed for shipment. The Boyertown mill has a monthly capacity
of approximately 8,000 dozen pairs of hosiery.
The Company has a registered trade mark and states in its appli-
cation for registration "that said Trade Mark is used by said cor-
poration in commerce among the several States of the United States."
2. Silk is the principal material used by the Company in the
manufacture of hosiery. The silk is imported from Japan in a raw
state and is purchased by the Company from importers located prin-
cipally in New York City. After purchase, the Company has the
raw silk shipped to a throwster in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania where
it is prepared and wound on bobbins for knitting and is then deliv-
ered by the throwster to the Boyertown mill of the Company. Be-
tween 6,000 and 6,700 pounds of raw silk are purchased by the Com-
pany per month. Small quantities of silk already thrown are occa-
sionally purchased by the Company. The record does not show where
this silk is purchased.
Cotton in small quantities is also used in the knitting of hosiery.
All cotton used by the Company is purchased from a company in
Easthampton, Massachusetts.
Needles used on the knitting machines are purchased by the Com-
pany in Torrington, Connecticut.
3. The hosiery is manufactured in an undyed condition in the
Boyertown mill and is there placed in large canvas bags and conveyed
by a contract carrier by truck to the Philadelphia plant. At this
plant the hosiery is dyed, marked and shipped according to orders
received.
4. Three classifications of hosiery are manufactured at the Boyer-
town mill. A small portion is manufactured for disposal under the
Company's trade mark "True Shape". Another classification consists
of singlewelt hosiery made by the Company as the licensee of a patent
owned by a resident of New York. Single welt hosiery is sold under
the names of jobbers or retailers. Manufacturing of single welt
hosiery comprises only a small portion of the Company's business.
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 373
The balance, comprising a major portion of the hosiery manufactured
by the Company, is manufactured for sale to jobbers and retailers
to be sold by them under their own names.
5. Hosiery manufactured to be sold under the trade name "True
Shape" is, with the exception of two accounts, all sold by a jobber in
Philadelphia. All hosiery manufactured under the license is sold in
New York City by a sales agent of the owner of the patent. The
balance of the hosiery made by the Company is sold by a salesman
employed by the Company and by the Company's president, practi-
cally all of these sales being made in New York City. All sales of
hosiery are made on open accounts.
6. All three classes of hosiery are delivered by the Company either
by truck or by parcel post to the purchasers. A majority of the sales
are to purchasers located in New York. The balance of the pur-
chasers are located throughout the United States. Eighty-five per
cent of the purchasers from the Company in 1935 were located out-
side the State of Pennsylvania. The total sale price of hosiery sold
by the Company in 1935 was approximately $335,000.
7. All of the aforesaid constitutes a continuous flow of trade, traffic
and commerce among the several States.
8. Branch No. 69, American Federation of Hosiery Workers, is
a labor organization which was organized following a strike in 19,33
in the full fashioned hosiery mills in Berks County. All workers
engaged in the manufacture of hosiery, excepting those in a super-
visory capacity, are eligible for membership. The membership of
Branch No. 69 is composed of workers engaged in the manufac-
ture of hosiery in other mills of the vicinity as well as employees of
John Blood & Company, Inc.
9. In September, 1933, following the strike in the full fashioned
hosiery mills in Berks County, elections were held in each of the
mills by the National Labor Board to determine the choice of em-
ployees as to their representatives for the purposes of collective
bargaining . The employees of the Company did not participate
in this strike since the management of the Company closed down
the Boyertown mill to forestall any such action. The Boyertown
mill was closed down for the entire period of the strike, which
lasted about eight weeks. In the election held in the Boyertown mill
the employees were given the opportunity of selecting between a
non-union committee appointed by the superintendent of the Com-
pany and Branch No. 69. The non-union committee received the
majority of votes and was certified to the Company as the representa-
tive for the purposes of collective bargaining. No election has been
held at the Boyertown mill since September, 1933 to choose new
committee members.
° 374 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
10. The non-union committee made two -attempts to engage in
collective bargaining with the Company. The first attempt was -in
1933 following the election; the second in the Spring of 1934. The
Company met with the committee at its request in 1933 and agreed
to a division of sizes of hosiery among the employees so that all
employees would be treated equally in the distribution of work.
The Company, however, lived up to this agreement for only two
weeks. When the committee signified its desire to meet with the
Company in the Spring of 1934 the management refused to meet
with it. Shortly thereafter all three members of the non-union com-
mittee became members of Branch No. 69 and made no further
attempts to act as a non-union collective bargaining committee.
11. On September 23, 1935, after Herbert W. Payne, representa-
tive of the American Federation of Hosiery Workers, had been se-
lected by Branch No. 69 to negotiate with the Company, he called
Ernest Blood, President and General Manager, and requested an
appointment to meet him for the purpose of bargaining collectively.
Blood replied that he did not have to meet Payne because of the
selection of the non-union committee in 1933.
Immediately after this conversation Payne sent a registered letter
to Blood, stating that he had been elected by Branch No. 69 to
represent them in collective bargaining with the Company and re-
questing Blood to meet with Payne and a union committee to discuss
wage rates of employees engaged in footing and legging operations.
On September 28, Blood replied that, ". . . the employees of this
Company, quite some time ago, selected a committee out of their
own number to represent them in matters concerning their employ-
ment, and we are not aware of any change. In view of this we do
not see how we can entertain your request."
12. A petition was prepared by Branch No. 69 immediately after
the receipt of Blood's reply. The petition read : "We, the under-
signed workers of the John Blood Hosiery Company, desire to be
represented in collective bargaining with the Company by the union
committee and its regularly elected representative, H. W. Payne
of the American Federation of Hosiery Workers." This petition
was circulated among the employees in the Boyertown mill of the
Company between September 28 and October 9, 1935. Ninety-four
employees voluntarily signed this petition.
13. On October 9, 1935 Payne, by registered mail, informed Blood
that since:
".. . you are unaware of any change in the sentiment of your
workers since 1933, I have secured the names of a good majority
of your workers signed to a petition expressing their wish to be
represented by the union committee and its representative. In
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 375
view of this expression on the part of your workers, I am again
,requesting that you meet with this committee and myself .. .
If there is any doubt in your mind as to the wishes of your
employees, in this respect, I shall be very glad to submit to you
this petition...."
On October 14, 1935, Blood replied that:
"We assume you are familiar with, and therefore call your
attention to the established procedure in such matters and that
all workers, including the minority, are entitled to a free voice
in the selection of their representative. Nothing in your letter
indicates that such a course has been pursued. We cannot, there-
fore, say we are free of doubt in the matter . . . We are always
interested in any question affecting our employees, but are not
aware of any matter on which they desire to confer with us
at this time."
14. A question concerning the representation of employees has
arisen in the Boyertown mill of the Company.
15. The manufacture of full fashioned hosiery is confined to ap-
proximately eighteen states of the United States, the largest center
of manufacture being in Pennsylvania. The reports of the United
States Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census, for 1929, state
that 3,400,000 dozen pairs of pure thread silk hosiery were produced
in Pennsylvania in that year. The State of North Carolina pro-
duced the next largest amount, 551,000 dozen pairs. Substantial
amounts were also produced in the States of New Jersey, New York,
Massachusetts, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Georgia and Indiana.
The market is highly competitive and seasonal. Due to the chang-
ing demands for colors, the policy of the industry is not to keep
an inventory of dyed hosiery. Orders are generally placed by pur-
chasers in advance. The hosiery is then held by the manufacturer
until the purchaser indicates the colors desired and is then dyed
by the manufacturer for immediate shipment. When seasonal de-
mands which occur in the spring and fall arise, a stoppage in pro-
duction in, one or more plants caused by strikes or any other cause,
causes a cancellation of orders and diversion of the business to other
centers of production.
There were no strikes in 1935 in hosiery mills having agreements
with the American Federation, of Hosiery Workers. It is estimated
that in the 10 to 20 strikes which occurred during the same period
in mills where there was no agreement 2,000 to 3,000 workers were,
involved and approximately 275,000 to 325,000 man days were lost.
Practically all of these strikes were caused by the refusal of em-
ployers to bargain collectively.
97571-36-vol 1-25 , '
376 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
16. The question concerning representation which has arisen in the
Boyertown mill of the Company tends to lead to labor disputes bur-
dening and obstructing commerce and the free flow of commerce.
17. The employees engaged in production in the Boyertown mill
of the Company, and not including those engaged as watchmen,
shippers, fixers or as clerical or supervisory employees, constitute a
unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining.
18.* Blood testified that in September, 1935, there were about 133
or 134 employees in the Boyertown mill. The petition which was
circulated during this period was signed by 94 employees. This peti-
tion is sufficient evidence on which to base a certification of repre-
sentatives. The petition was circulated by Payne and the three
members of the committee who had been selected to represent Branch
No. 69. Each of these persons testified that the petition offered in
evidence was the original petition and as to which signatures he had
secured that the petition was voluntarily signed in his presence and
without coercion, and that each person who signed the petition was
an employee of the Company.
The evidence shows that the respondent employs seven persons,
including two watchmen, one fixer, one bookkeeper, one shipper, one
forewoman and one superintendent who, by the finding in para-
graph 16, are excluded from the appropriate unit. The forewoman
is identified as Marjorie Leh, the superintendent as Charles Boger,
and the fixer as Irvin Nagel. None of these names appears on the
petition. Assuming that the other four persons not engaged in
production signed the petition, ninety persons in the appropriate
unit desire to be represented by Branch No. 69.
The petition was signed by a majority of the persons in the unit
appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of employees in the Boyertown mill of the Company, with-
in the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2, subdivisions (6) and
(7) of the National Labor Relations Act.
2. Those employees engaged in production in the Boyertown mill
of the Company, and not including those engaged as watchmen,
shippers, fixers or as clerical or'supervisory employees, constitute a
unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining, within
the meaning of Section 9- (b) of the National Labor Relations Act.
3. Branch No. 69, American Federation of Hosiery Workers, hav-
ing been selected for the purposes of collective bargaining by the ma-
jority of the employees in a unit appropriate for such purposes, is,
by virtue of Section 9 (a) of the National Labor Relations Act, the
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 377
exclusive representative of all the employees in such unit for the
purposes of collective bargaining in respect to rates of pay, wages,
hours of employment and other conditions of employment.
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National La-
bor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Rela-
tions Act, approved July 5, 1935, and pursuant to Article III, Sec-
tion 8 of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-
Series 1,
IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that Branch No. 69, American Federation
of Hosiery Workers has been designated and selected by a majority
of the employees in the Boyertown mill of John Blood & Company,
Inc., engaged in production, and not including those engaged as
watchmen, shippers, fixers or as clerical or supervisory employees, as.
their representative for the purposes of collective bargaining and
that, pursuant to the provisions of Section 9 (a) of the Act, Branch
No. 69, American Federation of Hosiery Workers, is the exclusive
representative of all such employees for the purposes of collective
bargaining in respect. to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment
and other conditions of employment.