Memphis Steam Laundry-Cleaner, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Oct 28, 1949

86 N.L.R.B. 1094 (N.L.R.B. 1949)

In the Matter Of MEMPHIS STEAM LAUNDRY-CLEANER, INC., EM-
PLOYER and TRUCK DRIVERS, SALESMEN AND WAREHOUSEMEN, LOCAL
667, AFFILIATED WITH INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS,
CHAUFFEURS, WAREHOUSEMEN AND HELPERS OF AMERICA, AFL,
PETITIONER
Case No. 32-RC-156.-Decided October 28, 1949
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held on July 29, 1949, at
Memphis, Tennessee, before Andrew P. Carter, 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
the case to a three-member panel [Members Reynolds, Murdock, and
Gray].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The business of the Employer :
The Employer is a Deleware corporation engaged in the operation
of a laundry, dry cleaning, and linen supply service in Memphis,
Tennessee. It does an annual business of about $2,850,000 of which
approximately $57,000 represents services furnished customers in the
adjoining States of Mississippi and Arkansas. The Employer pur-
chases supplies amounting to about $240,000 annually, of which
$96,000 represents out-of-State purchases. The Employer also owns
all the stock in two separate corporations which operate linen supply
services in Jackson, Mississippi, and Little Rock, Arkansas. These
two corporations are separately managed, although the three corpora-
tions have practically the same boards of directors and officers.
We find, contrary to the contention of the Employer, that it is
engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act.,,
'Matter of Davey Tree Expert Company, Inc., 81 N. L . R. B. 1161; Matter of Riggs
Optical Company , Inc., 81 N. L. R. B. 1171; Matter of New York Steam Laundry, Inc ., et al.,
80 N. L. R. B. 1597. See Matter of Gear's Service & Supply, 85 N. L. R. B. 219; Matter
of Horton's Laundry, Inc., 72 N. L. R . B. 1129.
The Board has refused to assert jurisdiction in other laundry cases where , unlike the
present case , there were no services furnished customers outside the State and the employer
did not operate out-of-State enterprises . See Matter of J. Arthur Anderson Laundry,
83 N. L. R. B. 1120; Matter of Lebanon Laundry & Dry Cleaners , 81 N. L. R. B. 405.
86 N. L. R. B., No. 108.
1094
MEMPHIS STEAM LAUNDRY-CLEANER, INC. 1095
2. The Petitioner is a labor organization claiming to represent em-
ployees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of certain employees of the Employer within the meaning of
Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.2
4. All driver-salesmen employed by the Employer at its Memphis,
Tennessee, plant, excluding office and clerical employees, professional
employees, guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act, constitute a
unit appropriate 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 the Employer, an election by
secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than
30 days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and super-
vision of the Regional Director for the Region in which this case was
heard, and subject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations, among the employees in the
unit found appropriate in paragraph numbered 4, above, who were
employed during the pay-roll. period immediately preceding the date
of this Direction of Election, 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 re-
instated prior to the date of the election, and. also excluding employees
on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to determine whether
or not they desire to be represented, for purposes of collective bar-
gaining, by Truck Drivers, Salesmen and Warehousemen, Local 667,
affiliated with International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs,
Warehousemen and Helpers of America, AFL.
2In its brief , the Employer contends that the petition should be dismissed because the
Petitioner made no showing of representation on the record and because there was no
proof of the Petitioner 's compliance with the filing requirements of the Act . We have
repeatedly decided that both these questions involve matters of administrative determina-
tion and are not subject to collateral attack. Matter of Auburn Rubber Corporation, 85
N. L. It. B. 545; Matter of Mine Safety Appliances Company, 85 N. L. R. B. 290.