Missco, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Sep 27, 1956

116 N.L.R.B. 1213 (N.L.R.B. 1956)

MISSCO, INC. 1213
'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.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.]
MEMBER BEAN took no part in the consideration of the above Deci-
sion and Direction of Election.
Missco , Inc.' and International Union , United Automobile, Air-
craft and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW-
AFL-CIO), Petitioner . Case No. 32-RC-940. September 27,
1956
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National
Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before Vivan E. Burks,
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 Petitioner seeks to represent certain employees of the Em-
ployer at its Blytheville, Arkansas, operation. The Employer, Miss-
co, Inc., an Arkansas corporation, is engaged in the retail sale, service,
and repair of farm machinery and farm implements, and in the retail
sale of furniture and' hardware, at its stores in Blytheville and Os-
ceola, Arkansas. The Employer operates a store in Blytheville,
Arkansas, known as Missco Implement Co. of Blytheville. In Osce-
ola, Arkansas, it operates two stores, one known' as Missco Implement
Co. of Osceola and the other known as Missco Hardware and Furniture
of Osceola. During the past year, the Employer's total out-of-State
purchases for its three operations was in excess of $1,000,000. None
of the Employer's stores, considered separately, has a sufficient volume
of business to come within the Board's established jurisdictional
standards.
The Employer contends that as each of its operations 2 is separate
and distinct from the other, the out-of-State purchases of the several
stores should not be combined for jurisdictional purposes. We find
this 'contention to be without merit. It is well-established Board
practice to total direct inflow, indirect inflow, or direct outflow of all
1 The name of the Employer appears as corrected at the hearing.
a The Petitioner introduced testimony tending to establish that Missco Implement Co ,
of Monette, Arkansas , another Arkansas corporation having the same officers , stockholders,
and general manager as Missco, Inc ., together with Missco, Inc., constitute a single
employer . In view of our decision in this proceeding , we deem it unnecessary to make
any finding on this point.
116 NLRB No. 163.
1214 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
retail' stores of an intrastate chain in determining if it would effec-
tuate the policies of the Act to assert jurisdiction over that chain or
any integral part thereof .3
The Employer further contends that purchases made outside the
State of Arkansas, and transported into the State of Arkansas, should
not be considered as direct inflow within the meaning of Hogue and
Knott Supermarkets, because title to such'pu'rchases is acquired out-
side the State. We also find this contention to be without merit, as
the direct inflow character of the interstate purchase is not lessened
.to any degree by the fact that title is taken outside the State of the
purchaser, or that the goods cross State lines in vehicles of the pur-
chaser.
Accordingly, as the Employer's out-of-State purchases exceed
$1,000,000, we find that the Employer is engaged in interstate com-
merce within the meaning of the Act, and that it will effectuate the
policies of the Act to assert jurisdiction herein.
2. The labor organization involved claims to represent certain em-
ployees of the-Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists 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 appropriate unit :
As indicated above, the Employer is engaged in the retail sale,
service, and repair of farm machinery and farm implements, at its
store in Blytheville, Arkansas. The Petitioner seeks a unit composed
of all mechanics, helpers, assemblers, parts employees, truckdrivers,
painters, and janitors employed at the Blytheville store. The parties
stipulated that the above classifications of employees are properly in-
cluded in the unit. However, the Employer contends that the book-
keeper and its two salesmen should also be included in the unit. The
Petitioner would exclude these latter employees.
As agreed upon, the unit is composed chiefly of service and repair
shop employees. The bookkeeper's duties include the normal func-
tions of preparing cash and daily receipts, posting the sales from all
departments,, and compiling sales records for remission elsewhere.
Occasionally, the bookkeeper sells, discusses and explains the opera-
tion of the equipment to customers. He also performs the services of
a collector. He never has any occasion to work in the shop, or with
the delivery of the equipment.
The duties of the salesmen are to solicit sales principally outside the
store, in designated territories. Through necessity, they are some-
times required to remain at the store to attend customers in the absence
of the general manager. The record shows also that it is not "unrea-
$ Hogue and Knott Supermarkets , 110 NLRB 543, 544.
VITA FOOD PRODUCTS, INC. OF MARYLAND 1215
sonable to assume" that if the shop foreman was sick he would be re-
placed by one of the salesmen. The salesmen adjust equipment in the
field, demonstrate the machinery, and deliver equipment when neces-
sary.
In view of the foregoing, we find that the bookkeeper and the sales-
men have no substantial community of interest with the other em-
ployees in the unit, and in accord with our usual practice, shall ex-
clude them .4
Accordingly, we find that the following employees constitute a unit
appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the mean-
ing of Section 9 (b) of the Act:
All mechanics,.helpers, truckdrivers, assemblers, painters, janitors,
and the parts manager and parts salesmen employed by the Employer
at Blytheville, Arkansas, excluding all office-clerical employees, the
bookkeeper, salesmen, store manager, shop foreman, professional em-
ployees, guards, and all supervisors as defined in the Act.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.]
* See Southern Truck Line, 107 NLRB 615, 617, footnote 2; and Casey-Metcalf Machinery
Co., 114 NLRB 1520.
Vita Food Products , Inc. of Maryland and Int'l Bro . of Teamsters,
Chauffeurs, Warehousemen & Helpers of America , AFL-CIO,
Local 876, and Cannery & Food Processing Also Meat & Poul-
try Workers, Local 199, Amalgamated Meat Cutters & Butcher
Workmen of N. A., AFL-CIO, Petitioner. Case No. 5-RC-2012.
September 27,1956
DECISION AND CERTIFICATION OF RESULTS
OF ELECTION
Pursuant to a stipulation for certification upon consent election exe-
cuted by the parties on June 5, 1956, and approved by the Regional
Director on June 7, 1956, an election by secret ballot was conducted
on June 15, 1956, under the direction and supervision of the Regional
Director for the Fifth Region, among the employees in the stipulated
unit. Upon the conclusion of the election, a tally of ballots was fur-
nished the parties. The tally shows that of approximately 330 eligible
voters, 322 cast ballots, of which 134 were for the Petitioner, 180 were
against the Petitioner, 6 were challenged and 2 were void.
Thereafter, the Petitioner filed objections to the conduct of the elec-
tion and to conduct affecting the results of the election. The Regional
Director investigated the objections and, on August 16, 1956, issued
and duly served upon the parties a report on objections in which he
116 NLRB No. 161.