Safren Wool Stock Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Oct 26, 1940

27 N.L.R.B. 1119 (N.L.R.B. 1940)

In the Matter of SAFREN WOOL STOCK COMPANY AND STANDARD WIP-
ING RAG COMPANY and WAREHOUSE WORKERS UNION, LOCAL 1-26,
INTERNATIONAL LONGSHOREMEN & WAREHOUSEMEN'S UNION, C. I. O.
Case No. R-207'1.-Decided October 26, 1940
Jurisdiction : rag manufacturing industry.
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: re-
fusal to accord recognition to union ; election necessary.
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : production and maintenance em-
ployees including working foremen and warehouse department employees but
excluding supervisory and clerical employees.
Warehouse department employees included in the unit where competing
union desiring their exclusion had bargained on an industrial basis and
petitioning union requested such unit.
Mr. Arthur Garrett, of Los Angeles, Calif., for the Company.
Mr. Charles Pfeiffer, of Los Angeles, Calif., for the C. I. O.
Mr. Jack B. Mills, of Los Angeles, Calif., for the A. F. of L.
Mr. Norman M. Neel, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OP THE CASE
On August 15, 1940, Warehouse Workers Union, Local 1-26, Inter-
national Longshoremen & Warehousemen's Union, C. I. 0., herein
called the C. I. 0., filed with the Regional Director for the Twenty-
first Region (Los Angeles, California) a petition alleging that a
question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation
of employees of Safren Wool Stock Company,l Los Angeles, Cali-
fornia, herein called the Company, and requesting an investigation
and certification of representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the
National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act.
On September 17, 1940, the National Labor Relations Board, herein
called the Board, acting pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the Act and
' It was stipulated at the hearing that Standard Wiping Rag Company is not a corpora-
tion but is merely the trade name of one of the departments of Safren Wool Stock Company.
27 N. L. R. B., No. 180.
1119
1120 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Article III, Section 3, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and
Regulations-Series 2, as amended, ordered an investigation and
directed the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide for an
appropriate hearing upon due notice.
On September 23, 1940, the Regional Director issued a notice of
hearing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company, upon
the C. I. 0., and upon Laundry Workers International Union, Local
52, affiliated with the A. F. of L ., herein called the A. F. of L., a labor
organization claiming to represent employees directly affected by the
investigation . Pursuant to notice , a hearing was held on September
30, 1940, at Los Angeles , California , before David Sokol, the Trial Ex-
aminer duly designated by the Board. The Company by its counsel,
and the C. I. O. and A. F. of L. by their representatives , participated
in the hearing . Full opportunity to be heard , to examine and cross-
examine witnesses , and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues was
afforded all.parties . During the course of the hearing the Trial Ex-
aminer made several rulings on motions and on objections to the
admission of evidence . The Board has reviewed the rulings of the
Trial Examiner and finds that no prejudicial errors were committed.
The rulings are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I: THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
The Company is a California corporation engaged in the business of
collecting waste materials such as mixed rags and, old newspapers and
producing therefrom woolen rags used in cloth manufacture and wip-
ing rags. During the period from January 1, 1940, to August 31, 1940,
the Company purchased waste materials totaling in value $149,534.26,
of which $30,556.12 represents materials purchased outside the State
of California. During the same period the Company sold products
totaling in value $180,78'0.87, of which $57,594.89 represents sales made
to purchasers located outside the State of California.
H. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
Warehouse Workers Union, Local 1-26, International Longshore-
men and Warehousemen's Union, is a labor organization affiliated with
-the Congress of Industrial Organizations admitting to membership
production and maintenance employees of the Company.
Laundry Workers International Union, Local 52, is a labor organiza-
tion affiliated with.the American Federation of Labor admitting to
membership production and maintenance employees of the Company.
SAFREN WOOL STOCK COMPANY
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The A. F. of L. began to organize the Company's employees prior
to July ' 19, 1940, and requested recognition as exclusive bargaining
representative for all production workers. On July 26, 1940, the Com-
pany granted recognition to the A. F. of L. as bargaining represent-
ative for all production employees and the one "driver" 2 and nego-
tiations for a contract were begun but never consummated.3 On Au-
gust 15, 1940, the C. I. O. filed the petition in this proceeding and there=
after requested recognition, claiming that it represented a majority
of the Company's employees and offering to prove its claim. The
Company took the position that since a petition had been filed, it would
await a determination of representatives by the Board.
At the hearing there was adduced in evidence a statement of the
Regional Director showing a substantial membership in the C. I. O.
and in the A. F. of L.4
We find that a ,question has arisen concerning the representation of
employees of the Company.
IV. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION UPON
COMMERCE
We find that the question concerning representation which has
arisen, occurring in connection with the operations of the Company
described in Section I above, has a close, intimate, and substantial rela-
tion to trade, traffic, and commerce among the several States, and tends
to lead to labor disputes burdening and obstructing commerce and the
free flow of commerce.
V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
In its petition the C. I. O. claimed a unit consisting of production
and maintenance employees at the Company's Los Angeles plant, ex-
cluding supervisory and clerical employees. At the hearing the A. F.
of L. claimed a unit comprising all production and maintenance em-
ployees excluding employees in the warehouse department. The par-
2 The "driver," who worked part time in the warehouse and part time as chauffeur for
one of the Company's officials was included by agreement between the Company, the
A F. of L, and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, and Warehouse-
men which ordinarily repsesents such employees.
3 Negotiations were interrupted by the absence for business reasons of a company official,
but on August 9 the Company posted the teams which had been agreed upon before,the
official's departure '
4 There were approximately 39 employees in the unit alleged to be appropriate by the
C. I. 0 for the pay-roll period ending September 26, 1940. There were submitted to the
Regional Director 34 niembeiship applications of the C. I. 0 signed by persons on the
Company's pay roll of September 5, 1940, and 33 membership applications of the A. F. of L.
signed by persons on said pay roll.
323428-42-vol. 27-72
1122 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
ties agreed upon the propriety of including working foremen within
the unit.
The record discloses that there are two major divisions of the Los
Angeles plant. A mill houses the operations in wiping rags and cloth,
including the cutting, sorting, baling, receiving, and shipping of wool
cloth which is sold to be incorporated in the manufacture of woolen
yard goods and also the receiving, sorting, laundering, baling, and
shipping of cotton wiping rags. The warehouse department is in a
separate building devoted to receiving, baling, and warehousing paper
for export to China. At all times during the year 1940, because of
the war in China, there has been no export of the paper in the ware-
house department and as a consequence there have been no regular
operations or employees in that department. Occasional rebaling has
been done by employees in the other division.
Although the warehouse department is not at present functioning,
it is clear that its operation is similar to the receiving, baling, and
shipping carried on in the other division of the plant. Moreover, in
the negotiations conducted by the A. F. of L. with the Company, in
which partial agreement was reached (see supra,. Section III), ware-
house employees were included. Since the A. F. of L. bargained on
the basis of all employees and the C. I. O. requests the same unit, we
shall include warehouse-department employees within the appropriate
unit.
We find that all production and maintenance employees at the Com-
pany's Los Angeles plant, including working foremen and ware-
house-department employees but excluding supervisory and clerical
employees, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining and that said unit will insure to the employees of the Com-
pany the full benefit of their right to self-organization and to collec-
tive bargaining and otherwise effectuate'the policies of the Act.
VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We find that the question which has arisen concerning representa-
tion can best be resolved by the holding of an election by secret ballot.
We shall direct that all employees in the appropriate unit whose names
appear on the Company's pay roll for the pay-roll period immediately
preceding our Direction of Election, including employees who did
not work during" such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vaca-
tion, and employees who were then or have since been' temporarily
laid off, but excluding those who have since quit or been discharged
for cause, shall be eligible to vote.
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and upon the entire
record in the case, the Board makes the following :
SAFREN WOOL STOCK COMPANY
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1123
• 1. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of employees of Safren Wool Stock Company, Los Angeles,
California, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and
(7) of the National Labor Relations Act.
2. All production and maintenance employees at the Company's
Los Angeles plant including working foremen and warehouse-depart-
ment employees, but excluding supervisory and clerical employees,
constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining
within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the National Labor Relations
Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor
Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act,
49 Stat. 449, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is
hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation ordered by the Board
to ascertain representatives for the purpose of collective bargaining
with Safren Wool Stock Company, Los Angeles, California, an elec-
tion by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible but not later
than thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction, under the direc-
tion and supervision of the Regional Director for the Twenty-first
Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations
Board and subject to Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and Regu-
lations, among all production and maintenance employees at the Com-
pany's Los Angeles plant, including working foremen and warehouse-
department employees, who are employed during the pay-roll period
immediately preceding the date of this Direction, including such em-
ployees who did not work during such pay-roll period because they
were ill or on vacation and those who were then or have since been
temporarily laid off, but excluding supervisory and clerical employees,
and further excluding all persons who have -since quit or been dis-
charged for cause, to determine whether they desire to be represented
by Warehouse Workers Union, Local 1-26, International Longshore-
men and Warehousemen's Union, C. I. O. or Laundry Workers Inter-
national Union, Local 52, A. F.. of L., for the purposes of collective
bargaining, or by neither.