Melrose Hosiery Mills, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Nov 17, 1955

114 N.L.R.B. 1166 (N.L.R.B. 1955)

1 166 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
serve most of the present patchwork arrangement of the three units..
Its proposed modifications are not based on plant, divisional, or craft
lines. Although its proposed Machinists' unit would include many of
the employees in the hand tool division, it would still reserve all the
metal finishing employees, the inspectors, and the shipping employees
asisgned to that division for the Polishers' unit. All employees in the
custom forging division would be included in the Boilermakers' unit,
but that unit would also include the heat treating employees and pro-
duction welders assigned to the hand tool division. Although em-
ployees in the two machine shops work on similar equipment using
substantially the same skills, they would be divided between the
Machinists' and the Boilermakers' units. Similarly, the inspectors
and the shipping employees would be divided between the Polishers'
and Boilermakers' units, despite the fact that each classification per-
forms similar work regardless of the division it is assigned to.
We are satisfied that the Employer's proposed modifications are not-
based- on any of the criteria which the Board uses to determine the ap-,
propriateness of a unit. We find, therefore, that the units contended
for by the Employer are all inappropriate and that, accordingly, no
question affecting commerce exists concerning the representation of
the employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9 (c)ry
(1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. We shall, therefore, dis-
miss the petition.
[The Board dismissed the petition.]
MEMBER MURDOCK took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Order.
Melrose Hosiery Mills, Inc. and United Textile Workers of
America, AFL, Petitioner. Case No. 11-BC--783, November 17,
1955
DECISION AND ORDER
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, a hearing was held before Martin L. Ball, Jr., hear-
ing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free
from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
2. The'Petitioner is a labor organization claiming to represent cer-
tain employees of the Employer.
3. No question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9
114 NLRB No. 173.
MELROSE HOSIERY MILLS, INC. 1167
(c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act, for the following
reasons:
The Petitioner in its petition sought all production and maintenance
-employees of the Employer at High Point, North Carolina, show-
ing approximately 450 employees in the unit sought and making an
adequate showing of - interest for this number of employees. How-
ever, at the heaming^the Petitioner'stated•that it sought only a produc-
tion and maintenance unit at the English Street mill of the Employer
where there are approximately 225 employees. The Employer con-
tends that the appropriate unit should include all the production
and maintenance employees of its 3 mills, located within 3 miles of
each other, performing similar operations, and employing approxi-
mately 465 production and maintenance employees.
The three mills operated by the Employer at High Point, North
Carolina, are designated as divisions of the Employer. The mill lo-
cated on English Street, where the central offices are, is the main
operation. The other two mills are located on Kivet Street; one is
known as the Glenn mill and the other as the full-fashioned mill.
All three mills are under a central overall management, and the
Employer has a single', employment ,office and personnel office at the
English Street location. Each mill is under the direct supervision of
a vice president. The vice president in charge of the Glenn mill is
also in charge of all purchasing for the 3 mills, and another vice presi-
dent is in charge of all sales for the 3 mills. Supervisors, as well as
top management officials, from the three operations meet together
monthly to discuss policy and production. The same employee poli-
cies, fringe benefits, and wages are applicable to all the Employer's
operations. Although each mill maintains shipping records and cer-
tain production records needed for day-to-day production, all person-
nel, sales, production, and.payroll records are maintained at the gen-
-oral offices on -En-list} Street.
A vice president of the Employer-testified that the Company con-
siders an employee's length of service based on his employment at any
of the mills ; that the goods are transferred among the three mills in
order to spread the work. Employees in the knitting and looping de-
partment of the Glenn mill were transferred to the English Street
mill when the knitting and looping operations were moved there.
Seamless machines which were formerly located at the English Street
mill are now operating at the full-fashioned mill, and some of the
fixers, and.knitters,transferred with; the operation.
The English.Street,mill; sought=by the Petitioner, produces anklets,
men's socks, boys' socks, and infants' transfer tops. The entire opera-
tion of knitting, looping, dyeing, and finishing is performed at this,
mill. In March of 1955, the' knitting and looping operations at the
Glenn mill were transferred to the English Street mill and the Glenn
1168 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
mill now does only finishing operations on products knit and looped
on English Street and has approximately 40 employees. The full-
fashioned and seamless mill performs the entire operation of knitting,
looping, and finishing of ladies' full-fashioned and seamless stock-
ings, with the exception of the dyeing process which is performed at
the mill on English. The stockings are trucked back and forth for
-this dyeing process. There are approximately 200 employees at this
mill.
On these facts we are satisfied that a unit limited to the employees
of the English Street mill would be inappropriate for collective-bar-
gaining purposes. Because of the centralized control over the gen-
eral conditions of employment affecting all employees of the Em-
ployer, the integrated operations of the plants involved, and the
similarity of skills and functions of all the employees, we find the
one-plant unit requested by the Petitioner inappropriate and dismiss
the petition herein.
[The Board dismissed the petition.]
MEMBER MURDOCK took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Order.
Walgreen Company and Retail Clerks Union , Local No. 1460,
Retail Clerks International Association , AFL, Petitioner. Case
No. 13-RC-4426. November 17,1955
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, a hearing was `held before Jewel G. Maher, hearing
officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free
from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.'
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
2. The' labor organization involved claims to represent certain
employees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exist's concerning the representa-
tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section
9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The Employer operates a' chain of 389 retail drugstores in 38
States'of the United States by means of an administrative system com-
posed of geographical divisions, within which are subdivisions known
1 For reasons hereinafter set forth , we deny the Employer's motion to dismiss the peti-
tion on the ground that the units alternatively sought by the Petitioner are inappropriate.
114 NLRB No. 174.