S.L. Bird and Sons, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

May 18, 1950

89 N.L.R.B. 1430 (N.L.R.B. 1950)

In the Matter of S. L. BIRD AND SONS, INC., EMPLOYER and GREATER
DETROIT JOINT BOARD, RETAIL & DEPARTMENT STORE EMPLOYEES,
AMALGAMATED CLOTHING WORKERS OF AMERICA, C . I. 0., PETITIONER
Case No. 7-RC-800.-Decided May 18,1950
DECISION
AND
ORDER
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, a hearing was held before Herman Corenman, hearing
officer. 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 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 :
S. L. Bird and Sons, Inc., a Michigan corporation, operates a depart-
ment store in Detroit, Michigan, which carries men's, boys', and
women's wearing apparel. The women's wearing apparel depart-
ments and the shoe departments have been leased by the Employer to
the Consolidated Retail Stores Company, herein called Consolidated,'
and Ekco,2 respectively. In return for their leases, Consolidated and
Ekco each pay the Employer a specified percentage of the gross sales
of their respective departments.
Annually, the Employer purchases approximately $500,000 worth
of merchandise, almost all of which is obtained from out-of-State
sources. While the record does not disclose the amount of purchases
made by Consolidated and Ekco annually, it appears that for the most
part, their purchases are obtained from outside the State. The Em-
ployer's annual sales amount to between $700,000 and $900,000, all of
' Consolidated is a large retailer of women's clothing and maintains about 40 branch
stores in a number of cities in the United States.
2 Ekco , with headquarters in Brockton , Massachusetts , operates numerous branch stores
throughout the United States.
89 NLRB 158.
1430
S. L. BIRD AND SONS, INC. 1431
which represent sales to customers within the State. The annual sales
of Consolidated and Ekco together amount to between $700,000 and
$990,000, all of which are made locally.
The Employer contends, contrary to the argument of the Petitioner,
that it is not engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act.
Although we do not find that the Employer's operations are unrelated
to commerce, we are of the opinion that they are essentially local in
character and that to assert jurisdiction in this case would not effectu-
ate the policies of the Act.3 Accordingly, we shall dismiss the petition.
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petition for investigation and certifica-
tion of representatives filed herein be, and it hereby is, dismissed.
8 Ann Francis Millan d /b/a Fashion Fair Shoes and Millan Shop, 88 NLRB 1512; Evans
Fur Company and Evans Apparel Company , 88 NLRB 1095; Squire's Inc., 88 NLRB 8.