Kindy Optical Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Aug 29, 1949

85 N.L.R.B. 940 (N.L.R.B. 1949)

In the Matter Of KINDY OPTICAL COMPANY, EMPLOYER- and UNITED.
OPTICAL AND INSTRUMENT WORKERS, C. I. 0., PETITIONER
Case No. 18-RC-385.-Decided August 29, 1949
DECISION
AND
ORDER
Upon a petition duly filed, it hearing was held at Minneapolis,
Minnesota, on June 12 and 16, 1949, before Clarence A. Meter, hearing
officer. 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 National Labor
Relations Act, .the. Board has delegated its .powers in connection with
-this case to a. three-member panel [Members Reynolds, Murdock, and
,Gray].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds:
1. The Employer is a Delaware corporation engaged in the manu-
facture and retail sale of glasses and optical goods with headquarters
in St. Paul, Minnesota. It operates retail stores in St. Paul, Minne-
apolis, and Duluth, Minnesota; Alton, Illinois; Detroit, Kalamazoo,
Pontiac, and MIiskegon, Michigan; Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska;
and Milwaukee and Superior, Wisconsin. Its lens grinding shops are
.in. St. Paul, Duluth, Lincoln, Omaha, Milwaukee, Detroit, and Mus-
kegon. All of these shops and stores are operated by the Employer as
.an integrated operation. The Employer purchases raw materials, for
all its operations in excess of $100,000, and its sales from all its opera-
tions are in excess of $100,000.
On the basis of the above facts, we find that the Employer is engaged
in commerce within the meaning of the Act.'
2. The Petitioner, and an intervening union, Twin City Optical
Workers Union, Local 20604, A. F. of L., herein called the Intervenor,
are labor organizations claiming to represent employees of the
Employer.
3. Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds that no ques-
tion affecting commerce exists concerning the representation of em-
i Matter of Riggs Optical Company, 81 N. L. R. B. 1171.
85 N. L . R. B., No. 163.
940
KINDY OPTICAL COMPANY 941
-ployees of the Employer, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) (1) and
:Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act, for the following reasons :
The Employer's business consists of two operations, (a) retail stores,
where customers come to get their prescriptions filled and to buy opti-
cal goods and (b) the shops, consisting of the bench and surface de-
partments where lenses are ground and mounted on the frames. The
only part of the Employer's operations here before us are the shops in
Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. The Petitioner seeks a unit of
the bench and surface departments in the Minneapolis shop. The
Intervenor contends, first, that a multiple-employer unit is appro-
,priate consisting of the shop employees of five employers,2 including
.stock clerks and inspectors and second, if such unit is not found appro-
pl•iate, then the appropriate unit should cover the combined employees
of the Minneapolis and St. Paul shops. The Employer agrees with
the Petitioner.
We find the Intervenor's contention that a multi-employer unit is
appropriate in this case to be without merit. Even assuming, ar-
grtendo,' that the past bargaining -history between various employers
in this industry and the Intervenor in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area
'establishes that a multi-employer. unit did exist, the Employer herein
has affirmatively indicated that he wishes to pursue a course of indi-
vidual bargaining for his employees.3 Under these circumstances
we have in the past found that any existing association ties have been
severed and a separate appropriate unit may be found 4 We so find
here.
The Intervenor alternatively contends that the combined Min-
neapolis St, Paul operations of the Employer constitute an appropriate
unit. The record shows that the St. Paul shop employs some 18 persons
:and the Minneapolis shop 3. The lens grinding for both shops is done
.at St. Paul. The principal work of the Minneapolis shop is to mount
and fit into frames the ground lenses received from St. Paul. Imme-
.diate Supervision of both operations lies with the merchandise manager
at St. Paul and personnel functions are directed by the vice president,
.also in St. Pail. Transfers between the two shops are infrequent and
separate seniority lists are maintained. Hours and working condi-
2These are: The Employer; Tames E. Lee Optical Company, Newquist-Shidla (also re-
ferred to as the Golden Rule) ; E. B. Meyrowitz , Inc. ; and Roddy -Kuhl -Ackerman Co., all
.located in the Twin Cities.
3 The last contract negotiated by a multi-employer committee and the Intervenor expired
several months ago and has not been renewed , at least so far as the Employer herein is
concerned . No further negotiations have taken place involving the Employer and he
stated on the record in this proceeding that in the future he intended to bargain for him-
self alone.
4 See Matter of California Metal Trades Association, 72 N. L. R. B. 624; Matter of Asso-
ciated Shoe Industries of Southeastern Mass. , Inc., et at ., 81 N. L. R. B. 224 ; Matter of Air
Conditioning Company of Southern California, et at., Sl N . L. R. B. 946.
942 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
tions are, however, the same for both shops and in the past both of
them have been included under one collective bargaining agreement.
Because of the past bargaining history, the close integration of the
two branches, the dependence of the Minneapolis operation on St.
Paul, the common supervision and control, and the similarity of wages
and working conditions, we find that the combined Minneapolis and
St. Paul shops constitute the appropriate unit.'
Inasmuch as the Petitioner has not indicated that it represents a
substantial showing among the employees of the unit herein found
appropriate, we find that no question affecting commerce exists within
an appropriate bargaining unit and we shall, therefore, dismiss the
petition filed herein.,'
ORDER
Upon the basis of the foregoing findings of fact and the entire
record in the case, the Board hereby orders that the petition for in-
vestigation and certification of representatives of employees of the
Kindy Optical Company, Minneapolis, Minnesota, filed by the United
Optical and Instrument Workers, CIO, be, and it hereby is, dismissed.
Matter of Allen B. Dumont Laboratories , hte., 80 N. L. R. B. 172.
Matter of Raybe8to8 -Manhattan Co. Inc., 74 N. L. R. B. 1321.