Lane Bryant, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 9, 1942

42 N.L.R.B. 218 (N.L.R.B. 1942)

In the Matter of LANE BRYANT, INC and DEPARTMENT STORE EM-
PLOYEES' UNION, LOCAL 291, UNITED RETAIL, WHOLESALE, AND
DEPARTMENT STORE EMPLOYEES OF AMERICA (CIO).
Case No R-3827 -Decided July 9, 1942
Jurisdiction : department store industry
Practice and Procedure : petition dismissed where there was no appioptiate unit
within its scope, proposed unit comprising pact of Company's employees held
inappropriate where it did not meet any functional or other logical test, union
admitted to membership all employees of the Company, was engaged in an
organizing campaign covering all employees, and admitted that the whole
stoie constituted the most appropriate unit
Mr. Robert E Dickman, for the Board
Mr Charles W Stie f el, Jr , of Chicago, 111, for the Company
Mr Francis Heisler and Mr Stanley F. Evans, of Chicago, Ill , for
the Union
Mr Louis Cokin, of counsel to the Board
DECISION
AND
ORDER
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon petition duly filed by Department Store Employees' Union,
Local 291 , United Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Employ-
ees of Amei ica (CIO ), herein called the Union , alleging that a ques-
tion affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of
employees of Lane Bryant, Inc, Chicago , Illinois , herein called the
Company, the National Labor Relations Boaid provided for an
appropriate hearing upon due notice before Gustaf B. Erickson, Trial
Examiner. Said hearing was held at Chicago , Illinois, on May
12 and 13, 1942 The Company and the Union appeared , partici-
pated, 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
On May 27, 1942 , the Company filed a brief which the Board has
considered.
42NLRB,No49
218
LANE BRYANT, INC 219
Upon the entire iecoid in the case, the Board snakes the following
FINDINGS OF FACT
I THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Lane Bryant, Inc is an Illinois corporation with its piincipal
place of business at Chicago, Illinois, where it is engaged in the
sale of women's clothes. During the 6-month period ending Decem-
ber 31, 1941, the Company purchased goods for resale valued at about
$960,000 00, approximately 90 percent of which was shipped to it
from outside Illinois During the same period, the Company sold
goods valued at $1,535,000 00, approximately 5 8 pei cent of which was
shipped out of Illinois.
II THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
Department Stoie Employees ' Union, Local 291, United Retail,
Wholesale, and Depaitment Stoie Employees of America, is a labor
organization affiliated -,,, ith the Congress of Industiial Organizations,
admitting to membership employees of the Company
III THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Union urges that all employees of the Company engaged in
ieceivrng merchandise, marking goods, carrying goods to and from
the stockroom, markers, ieceiving clerks, room clerks, floor stock
clerks, graders, packers, alteration-room stock clerks, wrappers, por-
ters, and night watchmen-porters, constitute an appropiiate unit
The Company contends that all its employees constitute an appro-
priate unit There are approximately 53 employees in the unit urged
by the Union to be appropriate and approximately 300 employees in
the unit urged by the Company , The Union contends that the em-
ployees claimed by it should be set up as a sepal ate unit because they
do not deal directly with the public, because such employees feel they
are a group by themselves, and on the ground that the other employees
of the Company are not yet organized All non-supervisory_ em-
ployees of the Company are eligible to membership in the Union,
and the Union is at present attempting to organize all such eui-
ployees A representative of the Union testified that eventually the
Union desires to have a store-wide unit. It appears that, despite the
distinction attributed to the proposed unit by the Union, such unit
would exclude 9 classes of employees who do not deal with the public
and would include some employees who deal directly with the public,
such as stock help who assist salesladies and actually make sales and
receive commissions- therefor. The employees in the alleged unit
220 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
work throughout the various departments of the Company and are
under various supervisory heads The Company has a manager for
each of its departments who is in sole charge of all employees therein,
those in the claimed unit as well as those not claimed by the Union
The record indicates that there is an inteichange of duties and posi-
tions between the employees sought by the Union and those excluded
by it
In view of the fact that the Union admits to membership all em-
ployees of the Company, that such oiganization is at present engaged
in an organizing campaign covering all the employees and admits that
the whole store constitutes the most appropriate unit, and that the
division proposed by the Union does not meet any functional or other
logical test, we find that the unit sought to be established by the Union
is not appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining We
shall, therefore, dismiss the petition
IV THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
Since, as pointed out in Section III above, the bargaining unit
sought to be established by the petition is inappropriate for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining, we find that no question has arisen con-
cerning the representation of employees in an appropriate bargaining
unit
ORDER
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petition for an investigation and cer-
tification of representatives of employees of Lane Bryant, Inc, Chi-
cago, Illinois, filed by Department Store Employees' Union, Local
291, United Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Employees of
America (CIO), be, and it hereby is, dismissed