Southern Athletic Co., Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Oct 26, 1949

86 N.L.R.B. 908 (N.L.R.B. 1949)

In the Matter Of SOUTHERN ATHLETIC COMPANY, INC., EMPLOYER and
AMALGAMATED CLOTHING WORKERS OF AMERICA (CIO), PETITIONER
Case No. 10-RC-490.Decided October 26,1949
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before James W.
Mackle, 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 National Labor
Relations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with
this case to a three-member panel [Members Reynolds, Murdock, and
Gray].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the National Labor Relations Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain
employees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9 (c)
(1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The Employer is engaged in the manufacture of various types of
garments at Knoxville, Tennessee, the principal products being pants
and football trousers. For operational purposes the plant is divided
into several departments : pants, coats, cutting, pressing, athletic,
shipping and receiving, and mail bags.,
All the parties agreed that the appropriate unit should be plant-
wide including all production and maintenance employees, excluding
clerical employees, guards, professional employees, and supervisors as
defined in the Act. At the hearing the parties took no position with
respect to the following : two clerks in the athletic department, the
inspector and clerk in the pants department, the clerk in the cutting
department, the receiving clerk, and the cleaner-watchman.
1 The coat department was not in operation after June 1 and the mail -bag department was
to close permanently August 31, 1949.
86 N. L. R. B., No. 130.
008
SOUTHERN ATHLETIC COMPANY, INC. 909
The Employer stated in its brief that it would appear the two
clerks (Rudder and Fair) in the athletic department are office cleri-
cals. The Petitioner and the Intervenor took no position as to them.
The evidence shows that these girls do not work in the main office with
the. other clerical employees but in the athletic department, in a
separate room there segregated from the production workers. Their
main task is to make out bills of lading and packing slips for the
athletic department. They are hourly paid, like the production em-
ployees, and have virtually the same hours except that they some-
times work overtime. They work under the direct supervision of the
supervisor of the department. We find that these employees are
plant clericals and we shall include them in the unit.2
Inspector and plant clerks in pants, cutting, and shipping departments
The duties of the inspector in the pants department are to inspect
the garments after they are finished and report to the supervisor
of the department. His duties are the customary ones connected with
the routine detection of defects and he has no authority over any
other employees. We shall therefore include him in the unit. The
clerk of the pants department (Buhl) works in the shipping room.
She keeps records of shipping documents, makes out packing slips
and bills of lading, and occasionally helps with the packing. The
clerk in the cutting department (Donovan) works at a desk in the
cutting room and reports to the supervisor of that room. Her duties
are to keep account of all materials used in that department. She
does not have access to personnel records. The receiving clerk (Mc-
Carroll) checks incoming shipments from parcel post, motor freight,
express, etc., and makes records of them. He also does some manual
work. All these employees are hourly paid and are subject to the
same benefits and working conditions as the other production em-
ployees. On the basis of the foregoing, we find that these employees
are plant clericals, and in accordance with our usual practice we
shall also include them in the proposed unit.
Cleaner-watchman
The night watchman works from 6: 30 p. in. to 6: 30 a. in. His
duties are to clean the premises and keep watch for fire and other
hazards as well as unauthorized intruders in the plant. During the
night he punches several time clocks as he makes his rounds. Since
the evidence shows that he spends two-thirds of his time in cleaning
and one-third of his time in the performance of his watchman's duties,
we find that he is not a guard, within the meaning of the Act, and
shall include hint in the unit.
2 Matter of Grand Central Airport Co., 70 N. L. R. B. 1094; Matter of Clayton Mark & Co.,
76 N. L. R. B. 230; Matter of Ilarnischfeder Corp., 86 N. L. R. B. 325.
910 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Postponement of Election
The Petitioner and the Intervenor request that the Board order an
election but leave the date to the Regional Director until such time as
he determines a more representative vote can be obtained, contending
that recent lay-offs at the plant were only temporary and in a few
months the number of employees will be materially increased. The
Employer opposes this request on the ground that there is no im-
mediate prospect for expansion and also requests that the election be
limited to the permanent departments, such as, pants, cutting, ath-
letic, and shipping and receiving departments.
The evidence shows that at the time the petition was filed, there were
475 employees in the plant. At the time of the hearing, there were
285, which included some 80 employees of the mail-bag department.
The latter were considered purely temporary employees and the mail-
bag department was to be closed permanently on August 31. The busy
season in the athletic department starts about June 1 each year, at
which time the Company hires some 15 to 20 additional employees to
handle the increased business. These extra employees are generally
terminated about October 1. The suit department was not in opera-
tion at the time of the hearing, and a company representative testified
there was no immediate prospect for resuming suit making.3
It appears that the Employer does not anticipate any expansion of
operations in the near future and in any event, the present number of
employees in the plant constitutes a substantial and representative
proportion of the contemplated working force.4 It is well established
in our decisions that a contemplated expansion of the personnel is no
bar to an immediate election, where the present force .is representative
of the expanding one and has a reasonable expectation of being perma-
nent.5 As to the Employer's request to limit the election to the perma-
nent departments, it appears that the mail-bag department was perma-
nently closed on August 31 and that the suit department has not been
in operation since June 1. We shall therefore adhere to our usual
practice in directing an election herein.
We find that all production and maintenance 6 employees of the
Employer at its plant in Knoxville, Tennessee, including the clerks in
8 However, this representative stated that the Company would resume this operation it
and when it would obtain contracts for such garments.
4 Matter of Aluminum Company,of America , 83 N. L . R. B. 398.
5 Matter of American Enka Corporation , 82 N. L . R. B. 298; Matter of Ford Motor Co.
Canton Forge Plant, 80 N. L . R. B. 1094 ; Matter of Poirier and McLane Corporation,
80 N. L. R. B. 849 ; Matter of Coast Pacific Lumber Co., 81 N. L. R. B. 1351.
0 We find that the truck driver should be included in the unit . The evidence shows that
he does the work of a general handy man around the plant and reports to the maintenance
foreman. He is hourly paid and is subject to the same benefits as the production and
maintenance workers.
. SOUTHERN ATHLETIC COMPANY, INC. 911
the athletic department, the inspector and clerk of the pants depart-
ment, the clerks of the cutting and shipping departments and the
cleaner-watchman but excluding office clerical employees, guards, pro-
fessional employees, and supervisors as defined in the Act, constitute
a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the
meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION'
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining with the Employer, an election 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
unit found appropriate in paragraph numbered 4, above, who were em-
ployed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of
this Direction of Election, including employees who did not work dur-
ing said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or tempo-
rarily laid off, but excluding those employees who have since quit or
been discharged for cause and have not been rehired or reinstated prior
to the date of the election, and also excluding employees on strike who
are not entitled to reinstatement, to determine whether they desire to
be represented, for purposes of collective bargaining, by the Amalga-
mated Clothing Workers of America (CIO), or the United Garment
Workers of America (AFL), or neither.
' Any participant in the election ordered herein may, upon its prompt request to and
approval thereof by the Regional Director, have its name removed from the ballot.