Oscar Ashburn & Son

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jan 23, 1950

88 N.L.R.B. 266 (N.L.R.B. 1950)

In the Matter Of MARION L. ASHBURN, DOING BUSINESS AS OSCAR ASH-
BURN & SON,' EMPLOYER and SEAFOOD WORKERS LOCAL UNION #462,
AMALGAMATED MEAT CUTTERS & BUTCHER WORKMEN OF NORTH
AMERICA, A. F. OF L., PETITIONER
Case No. 5-RC-430.-Decided January 03,1950
DECISION
AND
ORDER
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before John J. A.
Reynolds, hearing officer 2 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
this case to a three-member panel [Members Houston, Reynolds, and
Murdock].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
The Employer is the sole owner and operator of an oyster process-
ing and packing plant located at Weems, Virginia. Oysters are pur-
chased by the Employer in their natural state from oystermen, who
take the oysters exclusively from the waters of Virginia. The oysters
are then processed and packed at the Weems plant and delivered to
customers.
During the first 9 months of 1949, the Employer's purchases of raw
materials, supplies, and equipment amounted to in excess of $48,000
of which 6.6 percent, or $3,228, was secured from points outside the
Commonwealth of Virginia. During the same period, the Employer's
gross sales exceeded $85,000, of which 1.6 percent, or $1,380, represents
sales to points outside the Commonwealth of Virginia. The purchas-
ers of the Employer's merchandise within the Commonwealth of
Virginia resold these products locally.
The name of the Employer appears as amended at the hearing.
On November 4, 1949, the Regional Director for the Fifth Region consolidated this
case with R. H. Lumpkin, doing business as Lumpkin Seafood Company , Case No. 5-RC-431,
and E. I. Webb, doing business as E. I . Webb & Company , Case No. 5-RC-432. A consoli-
dated hearing in all three cases was held on November 29, 1949 . The instant case is
hereby severed from the two above-named cases.
88 NLRB No. 70.
266
OSCAR ASHBURN & SON 267
The Employer contends that he is not engaged in commerce within
the meaning of the Act. While we do not find that the operations of
the Employer are unrelated to commerce, we are of the opinion that
the enterprise is essentially local and the effect of such operations on
interstate commerce is so insubstantial that to assert jurisdiction in
this case would not effectuate the policies of the Act.3 Accordingly,,
we shall dismiss the petition.
ORDER
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petition herein be, and it hereby is,
dismissed.
3 Jerry Slaby, d/b/a Mrs. Slaby 's Noodle Co., 81 NLRB 634 ; Pacific Slope Lumber Com-
pany, 80 NLRB 1310.