Joseph Freund Knitting Mills, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 2, 1948

76 N.L.R.B. 1119 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

In the Matter Of JOSEPI -I FREUND KNITTING MILLS, INC., EMPLOYER and
LIICY LANGSTON AND JOHN ELIA , PETITIONERS and TEXTILE WORKERS
Uxiox OF AMERICA, C. I. 0., Uxrox
Case No. 2-RD-14.-Decided April 2, 1948
dlr. Harold Kor=enik, of New York City, for the Employer.
Lucy Langston and John Elia, Petitioners, in person.
Isserman and Kapelsohn , by Mr. Irving Leuchter, all of Newark,
N. J., for the Union.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition for decertification duly filed, hearing in this case
was held at New York City on January 5, 1948, before Leonard J.
Lurie, hearing officer. The hearing officers rulings made at the hear-
ing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. At the
hearing, the Union moved to dismiss the petition on the grounds that
(a) the Employer is not engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act, and (b) the record does not contain proof that a substantial
number of employees desire a decertification election. The hearing
officer referred the motion to the Board. For the reasons hereinafter
set forth, the motion is denied.
Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations
Board' makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER
Joseph Freund Knitting Mills, Inc., a New Jersey corporation, is
engaged in the manufacture of women's and children's knitted outer-
wear at its plant in Guttenberg, New Jersey. During 1947, the Em-
ployer purchased raw materials valued in excess of $100,000, approxi-
I Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act, the
Board has delegated its pokers in connection with this case to a three-loan panel consisting
of the undersigned Board Members [Houston, Murdock, and Gray].
7G N. L. R. B, No 158.
1119
1120 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
mately 90 percent of which represented shipments from outside the
State of New Jersey. During the same period, the Employer sold
finished products valued at more than $250,000, of which approxi-
mately 90 percent represented shipments to points outside the State.
We find, contrary to the Union's contention, that the Employer is
engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Rela-
tions Act.
II. HIE PARTIES INVOLVED
The Petitioners, employees of the Employer, assert that the Union
is no longer the representative of the Employer's employees as
defined in Section 9 (a) of the amended Act.
The Union, a labor organization affiliated with the Congress of
Industrial Organizations , became the contractual bargaining repre-
sentative of the Employer's employees on October 8, 1946.
III. TILE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The aforesaid contract between the Employer and the Union pro-
vided for an initial period ending December 31, 1947, and for its auto-
matic renewal for an additional year in the absence of thirty (30)
days' notice of a desire to terminate. On October 29, 1947, the Em-
ployer notified the Union of its desire to terminate the contract in
accordance with its terms and on November 6, 1947, the Petitioners
filed the instant petition.
The Union does not urge that the 1946 contract bars this proceeding.
It does, however, seek a dismissal of the petition on the ground that
there is no proof of the Petitioners' representative interest. We have
heretofore held, as we do now, that in a decertification proceeding
under Section 9 (c) (1) (A) of the amended Act, as in a certification
proceeding, the requirement of a showing of representative interest
is only an administrative device and is not subject to attack by any
of the parties 2 Accordingly, inasmuch as we are administratively
advised that the Petitioners have made an adequate showing, we find
no merit in the position of the Union.
We find that a question affecting commerce 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.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
We find, substantially in agreement with the parties, that all em-
ployees of the Employer, excluding office personnel, the head shipping
2 Matter o f Burry Biscuit Corporation, 76 N. L R. B 640
JOSEPH FREUND KNITTING MILLS, INC. 1121
clerk, forelady, and assistant foreladies, the knitting foreman, knitter
mechanics,3 and all or any other supervisors, constitute a unit appro-
priate°for the purposes 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
purposes of collective bargaining with Joseph Freund Knitting Mills,
Inc., Guttenberg, New Jersey, an election by secret ballot shall be
conducted as early as possible, but not later than thirty (30) days
from the date of this Direction, under the direction and supervision
of the Regional Director for the Second Region and subject to Sec-
tions 203.61 and 203.62, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and
Regulations-Series 5, among the employees in the unit found appro-
priate in Section IV, above, who were employed during the pay-roll
period immediately preceding the date of this Direction, 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 reinstated prior to the date of the election, and
also excluding employees on strike who are not entitled to reinstate-
ment, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by
Textile Workers Union of America, C. I. 0., for the purposes of
collective bargaining.
' Although the parties agreed that knitter mechanics should be included in the unit,
the record discloses that they can effectively recommend the hiring of employees. The
knitter mechanics are therefore supervisors within the meaning of the amended Act. It
also appears that these employees were not covered by the 1946 contract . Accordingly,
we shall exclude the knitter mechanics.