Scottdale Mills

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Nov 1, 1937

4 N.L.R.B. 1 (N.L.R.B. 1937)

DECISIONS AND ORDERS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR
RELATIONS BOARD
In the Matter of SCOTTDALE MILLS and TEXTILE WORKERS ORGANIZING
COMMITTEE
Case No. R-244.-Decided November 1, 1937
Cotton Textile Industry-Investigation of Representatives: controversy con-
cerning representation of employees: substantial doubt as to majority status;
refusal by employer to recognize petitioning union as exclusive representative-
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining: production and maintenance em-
ployees ; eligibility for membership in union-Election Ordered-Certification of
Representatives.
DECISION
AND
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On July 9, 1937, Textile Workers Organizing Committee, herein
called the Union, filed with the Regional Director for the Tenth
Region (Atlanta, Georgia) a petition alleging that a question affect-
ing commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees
of Scottdale Mills,' Scottdale, Georgia, 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 July 31, 1937, the National Labor
Relations Board, herein called the Board, acting pursuant to Article
III, Section 3 of the National Labor Relations Board Rules and
Regulations-Series 1, as amended, authorized the Regional Director
to conduct an investigation and provide for an appropriate hearing.
Pursuant to notice of hearing duly served upon the Company, the
Union, and the Southern Representative of the American Federation
of Labor, a hearing was held in Atlanta, Georgia, on August 10, 1937,
before William H. Griffin, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the
Board. The Board, the Company, and the Union were represented
by counsel and participated in the hearing, but the American Federa-
tion of Labor did not appear and took no part in the hearing. Full
0
1 The petition designated the Company as Scottdale DIIIl.
1
0
2 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses; and
to introduce evidence bearing upon the issues was afforded all parties.
It was stipulated by all parties that the Board should consider all
the evidence and exhibits submitted in Matter of Whittier Mills Com-
pany and Textile Workers Organizing Committee, Case No. R-238,2
both upon the subject of interstate commerce and upon the merits of
the case, as equally applicable to this case. All objections to evidence
and testimony adduced in the above cited case will be considered to
have been made in this case.
Objections to the introduction of evidence were made during the
course of this hearing, by counsel for the respective parties. The
Board has reviewed the rulings of the Trial Examiner on motions
and objections in these cases, and finds that no prejudicial errors were
committed. The rulings are hereby affirmed.
After examining the record in this matter, the Board concluded
that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of the production and maintenance employees of the Com-
pany, and on the basis of such conclusion, and acting pursuant to
Article III, Section 8 of National Labor Relations Board Rules and
Regulations-Series 1, as amended, issued a Direction of Election 3
on August 27, 1937, in which it found that the production and main-
tenance employees of the Company, exclusive of clerical and super-
visory employees, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of
collective bargaining. For the purpose of expediting the election and
thus to insure to the employees of the Company the full benefit of
their right to collective bargaining as soon as possible, the Board
directed the election without at the same time issuing a decision em-
bodying complete findings of fact and conclusions of law. The
Board also designated the Regional Director for the Tenth Region
as its agent to conduct the election among the employees in the ap-
propriate unit on the pay roll of the Company for the week ending
on July 17, 1937. Thereafter the Board was advised that the Com-
pany had temporarily ceased production, but that it would resume
normal operations on September 7, 1937. All parties agreed to a
postponement of the election until such resumption of normal opera-
tions, and also stipulated that all employees working at any time
during the month of July 1937, with the exception of Sallie Ballard,
were to be eligible to vote in said election. On September 2, 1937, the
Board issued an Amendment to Direction of Election,4 which
ordered that the election be postponed and that those eligible to vote
should be the employees within the appropriate unit who had worked
for Scottdale Mills at any time during the month of July 1937, ex-
23N L R.B 389
3 3 N. L.R B 441.
4 3N L R B 442
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 3
elusive of those whose employment had permanently terminated since
July 31, 1937.
On September 4, 1937, the Company filed exceptions and petition
for review of the Direction of Election ' on the ground that it had
been issued without a fact-finding report on the hearing, and that no
statement of facts had been issued upon which the conclusion that a
question affecting commerce had arisen could be based. On Septem-
ber 8, 1937, the Board issued an order denying the petition for review.
Pursuant to the Board's Direction of Election, and the Amendment
to Direction of Election, an election by secret ballot was conducted by
the Regional Director on September 10, 1937, among the employees
of the Company constituting the bargaining unit found appropriate
by the Board. Thereafter, the Regional Director issued and duly
served upon the parties to the proceeding the Intermediate Report
upon the secret ballot. No exceptions to the Intermediate Report have
been filed by any of the parties.
As to the results of the secret ballot, the Regional Director reported
the following :
Total number eligible_______________________________________ 558
Total ballots cast___________________________________________ 524
Total votes for the Textile Workers Organizing Committee----- 263
Total votes against the Textile Workers Organizing Committee_ 256
Total votes challenged_______________________________________ 3
Total votes miscast_________________________________________ 2
Even though all the votes challenged and miscast were added to the
votes cast against the Textile Workers Organizing Committee, the
result would not be affected.
Upon the entire record in the case the Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Scottdale Mills is a Georgia corporation, chartered in DeKalb
County, Georgia, and situated in Scottdale, in the same State. As of
July 27, 1937, it employed 558 employees, exclusive of the super-
visory and clerical forces.
J. J. Scott is general manager of the Company, and is also general
manager and treasurer of Whittier Mills Company, herein called
Whittier, and Silver Lake Company, herein called Silver Lake.
The Company uses cotton, cotton waste, and woolen yarn as raw
materials. The total quantity of these raw materials used annually
amounts to approximately 6,200,000 pounds. The Company manufac-
tures sheeting, drills, tubes, osnaburgs, and cloth that is half wool
and half cotton.
The parties in the case stipulated that : the sources of the cotton,
cotton waste, and wool are substantially the same in this case as in
4 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
the case of Whittier, and that the percentage of these materials
obtained from sources outside the State are also approximately the
same; that the Board may consider all the evidence in the Whittier
case, on the subject of sources of material, as being equally applicable
to the Company; that the operations of the Company and that of
Whittier are substantially similar, as are the methods of sale and
shipment; that the destinations of the shipments of finished products
from the Company are essentially similar to ttiose in the case of
Whittier, except that in the case of the Company, between ten and
fifteen per cent more of the finished products are shipped to destina-
tions outside the State; and that the competition in connection with
the product marketed by the Company is nation-wide and similar to
.that in the Whittier case.
In the latter case, the Board made, in part, the following findings
of fact which are applicable here:5 0
The principal raw materials used by Whittier are cotton and
waste materials. The waste materials are composed of card strips
and combers. Whittier also uses wool in the form of yarn, dyes,
and bleaching materials.
For the year ending June 30, 1937, Whittier used 6,030,000
poimds of cotton, and 2,520,000 pounds of waste materials. Cot-
ton is purchased from dealers in Georgia and North Carolina.
In certain cases, Whittier definitely specifies its desire for western
cotton. Over ten per cent of the cotton is ordered from dealers
doing business in states other than Georgia, and delivered by
them by means of rail and truck, from outside the State. Most
of the cotton used by Whittier is purchased from Georgia
dealers, but some of this cotton comes from other states. This
is illustrated by the testimony of C. S. Ruff, manager of the
Atlanta office of Anderson-Clayton Company, from whom Whit-
tier buys ten per cent of its cotton. Ruff testified that his firm
sold Whittier 324 square bales during the period mentioned above.
Of this amount 200 bales had been shipped directly to Whittier
from Houston, Texas, by rail, and the remaining 124 bales had
come to Whittier from Anderson-Clayton's warehouse in Atlanta.
Four bales of the 124 contained eastern-grown cotton, and the
remainder contained cotton grown in Texas or Oklahoma. When
these bales had been shipped from Texas or Oklahoma, some had
been designated for Whittier, and some had not; as a general
rule, they had been designated for Whittier.
At least 22 per cent of the waste materials come by shipment
from dealers outside of Georgia. All of the wool yarn used by
Whittier comes from Massachusetts.
• 6In the quoted portions of the decision In Matter of Whittier Mills Company and Tex-
.tile Workers Organizing , Committee, 3 N L Ti B 389 , the word , " Companies" refers to
Whittier and Silver Lake, and not to Scottdale Mills.
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 5
Most of the products of Whittier are manufactured on order.
For the year ending June 30, 1937, Whittier shipped 5,600,000
pounds, as follows : approximately 16 per cent to Silver Lake
Company; 11 per cent to a local mill (Scottdale Mills) ; 16 per
cent to wrapping and twine jobbers; 46 per cent (hose cord and
duck) to rubber manufacturers. The remaining ten per cent of
the products consisted of three per cent as cotton worsted goods,
and seven per cent as mop yarn and single yarn.
The proportion of the products shipped outside the State is
as follows: all of the hose cord and duck produced; three-fourths
of the cotton-worsted goods; 90 per cent of the mop, yarn and
single yarn ; and 90 per cent of the twine.
A majority of the stock of both Whittier and Silver Lake is
owned by the same persons; and a majority of the stockholders
live in Massachusetts. The three directors of Silver Lake, James
J. Scott, Butler Ames, and Ames Stevens, are also included
among the directors of Whittier. James J. Scott is the manager
and treasurer of the Companies as well as being the general
manager of Scottdale Mills, and the president of Georgia Duck
& Cordage Mill. Miriam Duncan is the secretary of the Com-
panies, and has charge of their records.
Up to two and a half years ago, the Companies maintained
sales offices in Boston and elsewhere. These offices have now been
abandoned, and the Boston office has been taken over by J. P.
Stevens Company, commission merchants, of New York. The
present selling arrangements with this firm are the same for both
Companies. While there is no written agreement, the New York
firm sells all of the products of the Companies, except those
portions sold to Silver Lake and Scottdale Mills. J. P. Stevens
Company secures orders for the Companies, submits the specifi-
cations, and arranges for payment. Bills of lading show Whit-
tier as the consignor in some cases , and J. P. Stevens Company in
the remainder.
H. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
Textile Workers Organizing Committee is a labor organization
affiliated with the Committee for Industrial Organization. It admits
to membership all production and maintenance workers in the employ
of the Company, but excludes supervisory and clerical employees.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
It was stipulated between the parties that the negotiations between
the Company and the Union were the same in the instant case as in
the case of Whittier, and that they had the same results.
6 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
In the Whittier case, the Board made the following findings of
fact in 'regard to the organization involved and as to the question
concerning representation which are applicable here :
Chattahoochee Local Union No. 1886, United Textile Workers
of America, herein called Local 1886, was organized in 1933. In
April 1937, pursuant to the action of its international organiza-
tion, Local 1886 became affiliated with Textile Workers Organiz-
ing Committee, the Union, and the Committee for Industrial
Organization... .
Local 1886 first negotiated with the management of the Com-
paniQs early in 1934. In September 1934 a strike occurred,
during which neither of the Companies operated. Eventually
Local 1886 filed a complaint with the Textile Labor Relations
Board.,
In November 1935 there was a change of management and a
change in labor policies as well. Several men discharged by the
former management, presumably for union activity, were taken
back. Local 1886 was recognized and dealt with as the repre-
sentatives of its own members.
During May 1937 the Textile Workers Organizing Committee
began negotiations with the Companies, and presented a tenta-
tive agreement to J. J. Scott, the general manager. Scott in-
formed the Union that he desired to make sure that it repre-
sented a majority. The Union thereupon furnished him with a
list of its members. Negotiations were proceeding when Scott
called the attention of the Union's representatives to the fact
that the American Federation of Labor had served notice upon
him claiming that they represented a majority of the employees.
The Union thereupon agreed to an election to demonstrate its
majority.
A consent election was arranged with the names of both
unions on the ballot. A few days before the date upon which
this election was scheduled to be held, the American Federation
of Labor withdrew its ,name from the ballot, over the protest
of the Union. Subsequently, the management declined to par-
ticipate in a consent election. The parties stipulated that a
controversy had arisen over the question of whether the Union
represents a majority of the employees.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Union claims as constituting the appropriate unit, all the
production and maintenance employees, excluding supervisory em-
ployees. The Union also excludes clerical employees, and we will
follow our usual rule in excluding such workers from the appropriate
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 7
unit when none of the unions involved wish to bargaih for them.
We find that in order to insure to employees the full benefit-of their
right to self-organization and to collective bargaining, and otherwise
to effectuate the policies of the National Labor Relations Act, all of
the production and maintenance workers of Scottdale Mills, exclusive
of clerical and supervisory employees, constitute a unit appropriate
for the purposes of collective bargaining.
V. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTION OF REPRESENTATION ON COMMERCE
We find that the question concerning representation which has
arisen, occurring in connection with the operations of Scottdale Mills
described in Section I above, has a close, intimate, and substantial
relation 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.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
Upon the basis of the foregoing findings of fact and upon the entire
record in the proceeding, the Board makes the following conclusions
of law :
1. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of employees of Scottdale Mills, Scottdale, Georgia, within
the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the
National Labor Relations Act.
2. The production and maintenance employees of Scottdale Mills,
exclusive of clerical and supervisory employees, constitute a unit ap-
propriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the mean-
ing of Section 9 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act.
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National La-
bor Relations Board. by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations
Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8 of National Labor Rela-
tions Board Rules and Regulations-Series 1, as amended,
IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that Textile Workers Organizing Committee
has been designated by a majority of the production and maintenance
employees of Scottdale Mills, Scottdale, Georgia, exclusive of clerical
and supervisory employees, as their representative for the purposes
of collective bargaining, and that, pursuant to the provisions of Sec-
tion 9 (a) of the National Labor Relations Act, Textile Workers Or-
ganizing Committee is the exclusive representative of all such em-
ployees for the purposes of collective bargaining in respect to rates
of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other conditions of
employment.
67573-38-vol. iv-2