Nashville Display Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 4, 1950

89 N.L.R.B. 135 (N.L.R.B. 1950)

In the Matter of NASHVILLE WIRE PRODUCTS MANUFACTURING CO.,
INC., AND C. B. ROLLINS, D/13-/A NASHVILLE DISPLAY COMPANY, E,i-
PLOYERS and UNITED STEELWORKERS OF AMERICA, CIO, PETITIONER
Case No. 10-RC-847.Decided April 4,1950
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before William J.
Rains, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hear-
ing 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
this case to a three-member panel [Chairman Herzog and Members
Houston and Styles].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employers are engaged in commerce within the meaning
of the National Labor Relations Act.
2. The labor organization named below claims to represent certain
employees of the Employers.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of certain employees of the, Employers within the meaning of
Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The appropriate units :
Nashville Wire Products Manufacturing Co., Inc., herein called
the Products Co., is a corporation engaged in the manufacture, sale,
and distribution of wire racks commonly used in refrigerators and
cooking stoves. C. B. Rollins, d/b/a Nashville Display Company,
herein called the Display Co., is engaged in the manufacture, sale, and
distribution of wire racks used in the display and advertising of mer-
chandise.
The Petitioner seeks a single unit composed of all production and
maintenance employees, excluding office clericals, watchmen, guards,
and supervisors, employed by both Employers, or, alternatively, sep-
arate units composed of all production and maintenance employees
89 NLRB No. 14.
135
136 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
of the respective Employers. The Employers oppose the establish-
ment of a single unit, and contend that one unit embracing the pro-
duction and maintenance employees of the Display Co., and separate
units for each of the three plants of the Products Co., constitute the
only units appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining. There
is no dispute as to the categories of employees to be included in any
unit or units.
Mrs. E. L. Rollins, C . B. Rollins, Jr., and R. 0. Rollins are the
corporate officers and sole stockholders of the Products Co. and,
together with C. B. Rollins , Sr.,1 constitute the Products Co.'s Board
of Directors . C. B. Rollins , Sr., purchased the Display Co . on Jan-
uary 1, 1950 .2 The Display Co. is located in the same building which
houses the Products Co.'s paint Shop, although separated therefrom
by a cement wall.3
The Products Co. and the Display Co . are operated as two separate
concerns . They maintain separate places of business and have sepa-
rate offices , clerical employees , payrolls, and management . There is
no interchange of materials , products , or employees . C. B. Rollins,
Sr., is neither an officer of , nor a stockholder in, the Products Co., and,
so far as the record reveals , none of the officers and stockholders
of the Products Co. owns any interest in the Display Co. In addi-
tion to being a director , Rollins, Sr ., also handles some sales for the
Products Co.
Under all of these circumstances , and in view of the fact that there
is no bargaining history on a broader basis, we believe that separate
units for the employees of each Employer should be established 4
The Products Co.'s operations are conducted at 3 separate locations,
all within the city limits of Nashville, Tennessee . The main plant
employs 65 production and maintenance employees . These employ-
ees are engaged in making and assembling the wire racks. They
operate wire cutting, punch press, butt welding, and spot welding
machines. After assembly and inspection , approximately. 50 percent
of the racks are plated , 25 percent are painted , and the remainder
are sold without further finishing . The racks are plated at the
Products Co.'s plating plant, located 1 mile from the main plant.
The plating plant employs 12 employees . These employees do plating
only. The racks are painted at the paint shop, located 4 miles from
the main plant and 4 miles from the plating plant . There are 20
' C. B. Rollins , Sr., is the husband of Mrs. E. L. Rollins, the father of C. B . Rollins, Jr.,
and the brother of R. 0. Rollins.
2 The Display Co., prior to January 1. 1950 , was owned by and operated as a subdivision
of the Products Co. under the name of Marco Specialty Company.
The building is owned jointly by C. B. Rollins, Sr.. and his wife , Mrs. E . L. Rollins.
The Fli-Back Company , 85 NLRB 959 ; J. B. Hubbard f Son, Inc ., et at., 82 NLRB 188.
NASHVILLE WIRE' PRODUCTS MANUFACTURING CO., INC. 137
employees at this plant. These employees paint and pack for ship-
ment part of the racks of the Products Co. They also paint approxi-
mately 95 percent of the racks and displays made by the Display Co.
The Products Co. employs two maintenance men at the main plant,
and one maintenance man to service the other two plants. Occasion-
ally one of the maintenance employees from the main plant will service
one of the other plants. The Products Co. also employs a truck
driver to operate a truck between the three plants.
Each plant is under separate immediate supervision, with full
authority to hire and discharge employees vested in the respective
plant superintendents. There is no interchange of employees between
the plants. However, all three plants are under the ultimate super-
vision of C. B. Rollins, Jr., all employees are on a single payroll,
receive comparable pay, and are subject to the same vacation plans
and other labor policies. In view of the integration of operations of
the three plants, their ultimate supervision by the same person, the
common ownership and control, and the physical proximity of these
three operations, we find that a single unit of employees in all three
plants of the Products Co. is appropriate.5
Accordingly, we find the following units to be appropriate Nvithin the
the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act :
(a) All production and maintenance employees at the Nashville
Wire Products Manufacturing Co., Inc.'s Nashville, Tennessee, main
plant, plating plant, and paint shop, excluding office clericals, watch-
men, guards, and supervisors within the meaning of the Act.
(b) All production and maintenance employees at the Nashville
Display Company's Nashville, Tennessee, plant, excluding office cleri-
cals, watchmen, guards, and supervisors within the meaning of the
Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining with the Employers, elections 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 units found appropriate in paragraph numbered 4, above, who
were employed during the payroll period immediately preceding the
date of this Direction of Elections, including employees who did not
6William Goar, d/b/a Gear's Service and Supply , 85 NLRB 219 ; Boland -Manufacturing
Company, 83 NLRB 1254 ; North Memphis Lumber Company , 81 NLRB 745.
138 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
worx during said payroll 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 rein-
stated prior to the date of the elections, and also excluding employees
on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to determine :
(1) Whether or not the employees in unit (a) desire to be repre-
sented, for purposes of collective bargaining, by United Steelworkers
of America, CIO.
(2) Whether or not the employees in unit (b) desire to be repre-
sented, for purposes of collective bargaining, by United Steelworkers
of America, CIO.