Montgomery Ward & Co., Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

May 29, 1975

218 N.L.R.B. 65 (N.L.R.B. 1975)

MONTGOMERY WARD & CO., INC. 65
Montgomery Ward & Company, Inc. and General
Teamsters & Allied Workers, Local Union No.
992, an affiliated Local Union of the International
Brotherhood of Teamsters , Chauffeurs, Ware-
housemen and Helpers of America , Independent,
Petitioner. Case 5-RC-9170
May 29, 1975
DECISION ON REVIEW AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
BY MEMBERS FANNING, JENKINS, AND
KENNEDY
On December 31, 1974, the Regional Director for
Region 5 issued a Decision and Order in the above-
entitled proceeding in which he dismissed the
petition on the basis of his finding to be inappropri-
ate both the Petitioner's primary unit of all truckdri-
vers, warehousemen, and helpers located at the
Employer's warehouse facility, and its alternative
unit of all employees at the warehouse. Thereafter, in
accordance with the National Labor Relations
Board's Rules and Regulations, Series 8, as amended,
the Petitioner filed a timely request for review of the
Regional Director's decision on the ground that in
reaching the aforementioned conclusions he depart-
ed from precedent and made findings of fact which
are clearly erroneous. The Employer filed opposition
to the request for review.
On March 13, 1975, the National Labor Relations
Board, by telegraphic order, granted the Petitioner's
request for review.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the
National Labor Relations Board has delegated its
authority in this proceeding-to a three-member panel.
The Board has considered the entire record in this
case with respect to the issues under review and
makes the following findings:
The Petitioner contends, in view of the geographic
separation, separate supervision, distinctiveness of
function, and absence of significant integration of
operations between the store and warehouse, that its
primarily requested warehouse unit is appropriate.
We fmd merit in the Petitioner's contention.
The Employer, an Illinois corporation, is engaged
in the nationwide sale and distribution of merchan-
dise through a system of catalogue warehouses, retail
stores, and catalogue stores. The facility involved
here is a newly I constructed complex located in
Hagerstown, Maryland, which consists of a one-story
retail store, an, auto service center, and a warehouse.
The store and auto center are located about 75 to 80
yards apart, and the warehouse is located approxi-
mately 2 to 3 miles away from the store. In addition
218 NLRB No. 24
to selling space, the retail store contains, inter alia, a
dock area for the receipt of merchandise, a counting
and marking area, a number of offices, and four
storage areas interspersed through the store. The
separate warehouse facility contains a large storage
area, a service area, and a parts depart-
ment/reception area. There are 25 employees who
work in the warehouse facility. Eight, of these
employees-two customer delivery drivers, two
driver helpers, one shuttle driver, and three stock
helpers-perform such traditional warehouse func-
tions as loading, unloading, storing, and delivering
merchandise. The remaining 17 employees at the
warehouse constitute the Employer's customer serv-
ice department and are classified as service techni-
cians, service clerks, and a parts clerk/receptionist.
There are approximately 250 selling and nonselling
employees at the facilities involved.
The record reveals that the bulk of the Employer's
incoming merchandise is initially received at the
retail store dock area. Depending upon the size and
quantity of the goods as well as present store needs,
merchandise will either be unloaded and stored at
the retail store or sent to the warehouse for storage.
The warehouse is used mainly for larger items, such
as major appliances. Again, depending on size and
quantity, goods bound for the warehouse may be
received, counted, and marked at the store dock, or
may go directly to the warehouse for counting,
marking, and storage. Paperwork associated with
incoming merchandise such as invoices or "checking
memos" are handled by offices located in the retail
store. Goods stored in the warehouse are shuttled to
the store as needed, and items sold in the store are
shuttled to the warehouse for consolidation and
customer delivery.
Overall supervision of the Employer's operation is
vested in the store manager. He is assisted by two
merchandise managers, a comptroller, and an opera-
tions manager. The operations manager is responsi-
ble for all nonselling departments, including the
warehouse. Located at the warehouse are a service
manager having responsibility with respect to the
customer service department and a warehouse
manager having immediate supervision over employ-
ees engaged in warehousing and driving. The store
manager visits the warehouse once a iieek, and the
operations manager four or five times a week.
Store sales personnel sometimes assist their depart-
mental managers in taking warehouse inventories,
and on occasion might assist the warehouse shuttle
driver in loading or unloading merchandise. Sales
personnel call and sometimes visit the warehouse to
check the level of goods in stock.
The Employer's store manager testified that there
was temporary interchange between warehouse and
66 DECISIONS 'OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
store dock employees. However, it appears such
interchange was most extensive at the time when the
new complex opened and the Employer was seeking
to normalize operations. Further, Petitioner's witness
testified that interchange was a rare occurrence.
There is no evidence of the existence of temporary
interchange between warehouse employees and store
sales personnel.
While many of the Employer's personnel practices
and working conditions are uniform, certain distinc-
tions between the warehouse and store do exist.
Thus, warehouse employees report directly to the
warehouse for work, and punch in on a separate
clock. Store employees work staggered shifts from
9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.; all warehouse employees
work a single 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. shift. The retail store is
open on Saturdays; the warehouse functions with
only a single full-time employee on Saturdays.
Warehouse employees receive infrequent overtime.
Although the store remains open on certain holidays,
the warehouse is closed.
In view of the foregoing, and the record as a whole,
we are persuaded that the unit primarily sought by
the Petitioner is appropriate. We note particularly
that 'the requested unit combines drivers and stock
helpers and that the latter are engaged in typical
warehousing functions, under separate immediate
supervision, at a site geographically separate from
the Employer's retail store. The fact that certain
checking and marking functions are performed both
by store employees and warehouse employees does
not destroy the separate and distinct community of
interest which the requested employees share by
reason of the driving and warehousing functions in
which they are wholly engaged.'
Accordingly, we shall direct an election in the
following unit which we find to be appropriate for
the purposes of collective bargaining within the
meaning of Section 9(c) of the Act:
All truckdrivers, helpers, and stock helpers
located at the Employer's Hagerstown, Maryland
warehouse, excluding all other employees, guards
and supervisors as defined in the Act.
[Direction of Election omitted from publication.]2
MEMBER KENNEDY, dissenting:
I agree with the Regional Director's finding that
the warehouse unit sought is inappropriate and
would affirm his dismissal of the petition.
The Employer's retail store facility at Hagerstown,
Maryland, consists of the store proper, an auto
service center, and a warehouse. The warehouse is
located approximately 2 miles from the store and the
auto service center. The entire facility is under the
supervision of the store manager. Under the store
manager are two merchandise managers and an
operations manager. The two merchandise managers
are responsible for the selling departments of the
store. Under the operations manager are the nonsell-
ing departments of the store, auto service center,
warehouse, and security employees. There is a single
personnel department for the entire Hagerstown
operation. Its functions include preparing the payroll
and maintenance of all personnel records. It also
screens applicants for employment and sends the
applicants to either the merchandise managers or the
operations manager, depending upon the type of job
sought, for further interview and final decision as to
their hiring. In the case of warehouse employees this
would be the operations manager. The protection
department services the entire facility. All employees
of the Hagerstown operations have common benefits.
They have the same holidays and vacation plan.
They are eligible for identical benefits such as health
insurance and life insurance.
The warehouse is utilized solely as a supportive
operation of the Hagerstown store. Warehousing is
performed throughout the Hagerstown facility. Inter-
spersed throughout the store are four stock areas
used for storage. Merchandise is also stored at the
auto service center. The store has a receiving dock
where most deliveries of merchandise are received.
On receipt, the merchandise is checked against the
manifest by receiving clerks, stock helpers, or other
store employees. It is then priced by the markers, and
then either taken directly to a sales area, or stored in
one of the four retail storage areas, or shuttled to the
warehouse. In some instances, it may be decided to
send the delivery directly to the warehouse, in which
case the checking of the merchandise and price
marking would be performed by the warehouse stock
helpers before being stored. The store, in addition to
selling merchandise in stock in the store, also
maintains a catalog operation whereby customers
can order from the Montgomery Ward catalog.
Merchandise ordered through the catalog is delivered
to the store and warehoused at the store if the
customer wants to pick it up and take it. If a
customer desires delivery of a catalog order, the
merchandise would be sent to the warehouse for
storage until it can be delivered by the Employer's
drivers through its customer delivery operations.
The Employer has one shuttle-truck driver and two
delivery drivers. Merchandise is transferred between
the warehouse, store, and auto service center by the
shuttle truck. The shuttle driver makes daily trips to
i Montgomery Ward & Co., Incorporated 181 NLRB 1132 (1970); Sears, 2 [Excelsior fn. omitted from publication ]
Roebuck and Co., 151 NLRB 1356 (1965).
MONTGOMERY WARD & CO., INC. 67
the store to deliver merchandise from the warehouse.
He frequently takes the merchandise to the selling
floor, sometimes with the assistance of the sales
personnel. When merchandise requiring delivery is
sold at the store, normally it would be removed from
the sales area or storage area of the store by one of
the two delivery drivers and often with the assistance
of a store employee. The delivery schedule for the
drivers is prepared by a delivery clerk who is located
in the store. As previously indicated, the stock
helpers located in the warehouse perform essentially
the same function that is performed by the stock
helpers and markers located at the store, which is the
receiving, marking, and storing of merchandise.
There is temporary interchange between the stock
helpers of the store and the warehouse when required
by the workload. During annual inventory periods,
various employees from the store work in the
warehouse. Inventory records are maintained at the
store. Excluded from the unit found appropriate by
the majority is the service department located at the
warehouse. The repair service technicians of this
department make adjustments or repairs to merchan-
dise on the display, floor, in the homes of customers,
and in the warehouse. Some of their work also relates
to the work performed by delivery drivers. The repair
service technicians frequently must follow up deliver-
ies made by' the drivers to finish the merchandise
assembly in the customer's home which a driver may
not have done properly. Also, damaged merchandise
in the customer's home is brought back to the service
department and then delivered back to the customer
by either the driver or the service technician.
It is evident that the warehouse and the store, and
to a lesser extent the auto service center, have a high
degree of operated integration and operate as a single
entity. There is centralized labor relations. The
employees in the unit found appropriate clearly share
a strong community of interest with the other
employees. They have the same supervision with
respect to hiring and firing. They have the same
benefits. The work and job functions performed by
most of the unit employees are almost identical to
that performed by some of the store employees and
there is some interchange. I do not view the fact that
the warehouse may be geographically separated from
the store by a distance of approximately 2 miles as a
sufficient basis for finding a separate unit. It does not
preclude almost daily visits by the operations
manager. The record shows that sales personnel from
the store also visit the warehouse three or four times
a week to check on merchandise.
In two recent cases 3 'the Board has refused to find
appropriate separate units for employees working at
a detached warehouse where as ' here the warehouse
was closely integrated with the store's retail opera-
tion and a duplication of job functions existed
between included and excluded employees. In both
of these cases, there was geographic separation. In
one case a distance of 1 mile and in the other 1-112
miles. I do not view the distance' of 2 miles in the
present case to constitute a significant difference that
calls for a different result.
I would adhere to the principles applied in these
Sears cases to this Montgomery Ward store. Contra-
ry to my colleagues, I would not find the unit in
which they are directing an election to constitute an
appropriate unit.
3 Sears, Roebuck and Co., 191 NLRB 398 (1971); Sears, Roebuck and Co.,
191 NLRB 442 (1971). See also J. C. Penney, Company, Inc., Store No. 1957,
Edina Minnesota 216 NLRB No. 175 ( 1975).