L. Bamberger & Co.Download PDFNational Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsSep 9, 194458 N.L.R.B. 144 (N.L.R.B. 1944) Copy Citation In the Matter of L. BAMBERGER & Co. and AMALGAMATED CLOTHING WORKERS OF AMERICA , JOURNEYMEN TAILORS UNION, LOCAL 195 Case No. 3-R-.4397.Decided September 9, 1944 Lauterstein, Spiller, Bergerman & Dannett, by Mr. Emanuel Dan- nett, of New York City, for the Company. Mr. David M. Schlossberg, of New York City, for the Amalgamated. Mr. Abraham G. Lew, of Newark, N. J., for the AFL. Miss Frances Lopinsky, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND ORDER STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon a petition duly filed by Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, Journeymen Tailors Union, Local 195, herein called the Amalgamated, alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of L. Bamberger & Co., Newark, New Jersey, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before Leon Novak, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at New- ark, New Jersey, on August 2, 1944. At the hearing, A. F. of L. De- partment Store Council of New Jersey, herein called the Council, and Retail Clerks International Protective Association, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, herein called the RCIPA, both or- ganizations collectively called the AFL, requested and were granted leave to intervene in the proceedings. The Company, the Amalga- mated, and the AFL appeared, participated, and were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues. The Trial Examiner's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. All parties were afforded an opportunity to file briefs with the Board. 58 N. L. R. B., No. 27. 144 L. BAMBERGER & CO. 145 Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following: FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY L. Bamberger & Co. is a New Jersey corporation with offices and principal place of business located at Market and Halsey Streets, New- ark, New Jersey, where it is engaged in business as a department store. The Company is a subsidiary of R. H. Macy & Co., Inc., a cor- poration engaged in business as a department store in the State of New York. In addition to its building at Market and Halsey Streets, the Company operates six warehouses at various locations in the city of Newark, and one warehouse in the city of Hackensack, New Jersey. This proceeding concerns only employees in the department store. Purchases made by the Company, for resale at its department store, during the year preceding the hearing, amounted in value to approxi- mately $24,000,000, 75 percent of which was shipped to the Newark store from points outside the State of New Jersey. During the same period, the Company's sales totaled approximately $38,000,000, less than 1 percent of which was made to customers in States other than the State of New Jersey. - Contrary to the contentions of the Company, we find that the opera- tions of the Company affect commerce within the meaning of the Na- tional Labor Relations Act.' H. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, Journeymen Tailors Union, Local 195, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organiza- tions, is a labor organization admitting to membership employees of the company. A. F. of L. Department Store Council of New Jersey, and Retail Clerks International Protective Association, both affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, are labor organizations admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE ALLEGED QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION; THE ALLEGED APPROPRIATE UNIT The Amalgamated seeks a unit consisting of approximately 64 alteration department employees, among whom are included tailors, , See Matter of The J. L. Hudson Company, 42 N. L. R. B. 536; N. L. R. B. v. Kudile, 130 F. (2d) 615. 609591-45-vol. 58-11 146 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD fitters, dressmakers, and finishers, who perform necessary alterations on men's and women's suits and dresses sold in the department store. The alteration department is part of the non-sales division of the Com- pany, %hich, together with the sales division, consists of 150 depart- ments. On December 4, 1941, the Company and the AFL entered into a contract, defining wages, hours, and working conditions for all "regular" employees in the department store, in both divisions, on a store-wide basis. The term "regular," as defined in the contract, does not include supervisory, clerical, confidential, or temporary employees, certain specialists, or employees whom the Company recognizes as craftsmen,2 and who are represented in separate units by unions other than the RCIPA, which are members of the Council. The Council signed the 1941 contract not only as the parent body of the RCIPA, but also for the purpose of binding all of its constituent members to the no-work-stoppage pledge contained in the said contract. Since 1941, bargaining has continued between the Company and the AFL on the basis outlined in the 1941 contract.' The Amalgamated supports its request to separate the alteration department from the larger unit by pointing to the physical separa- tion of that department from other departments, its control under separate supervision, and the special skills possessed by the employees therein. The Company and the AFL oppose the setting up of a sep- arate unit, basing their position on the claim that (1) the alteration department employees possess no special skills which are different from those of employees in other departments; (2) the alteration de- partment does not constitute a clearly definable group since there have been instances of interchange of employees between the alteration department and other departments; and (3) the history of collective bargaining in the Company's store and in the industry generally has been on a store-wide basis. There is little merit in the first two con- tentions of the Company and the AFL. The record clearly estab- lishes that although the least skilled of the alteration, employees, the finishers, can be trained within a short period, others in the altera- tion department require 4 to 7 years' experience to qualify for the positions they hold. Interchange of employees between the depart- ment and other departments of the store is so slight as to have no significance. However, despite the separation of the alteration de- partment from other departments of the store, and the skills exercised by the employees therein, the department is an integral part of the operations of the store, and has since 1941 been treated as such for the 2 Furniture finishers , furniture sendmen, electricians , elevator repairmen, mechanics and helpers, carpenters, painters, heat, light, and power employees, drivers, and warehouse engineers. L. BAMBERGER '& CO. 147 purposes of collective bargaining . Moreover, except in instances where organization has progressed only partially , employees in the industry, other than certain craftsmen, for the most part engaged in maintenance work, are generally represented on a store-wide basis .3 In the light of these facts , we find the unit requested by the Amalgamated inap- propriate . We further find that no question concerning the repre- sentation of employees of the Company in an appropriate bargaining unit has arisen within the meaning of Section 9 ( c) of the Act. We shall , therefore , dismiss the petition. ORDER Upon the basis of the foregoing findings of fact and the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations^Board hereby orders that the petition for investigation and certification of representatives of employees of L. Bamberger & Co., Newark, New Jersey, filed by Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, Journeymen Tailors Union, Local 19.5, be, and it hereby is, dismissed. Cni.11RMAN MILLIS took no part in the consideration of the above Decision and Order. 8 The contracts between an affiliate of the Amalgamated and R. H. Macy & Co, and between an affiliate of Vie AFL and department stores on the west coast, offered in evi- dence, are based upon store-wide units. Cf. Matter of J. L. Hudson & Co, 49 N. L. R. B. 273. Copy with citationCopy as parenthetical citation