Swift Cleaners, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 25, 1971

191 N.L.R.B. 597 (N.L.R.B. 1971)

SWIFT CLEANERS, INC. 597
Swift Cleaners , Inc., B . Gross and B. Gross Men's
Wear , Inc. and Laundry, Dry Cleaning & Dye
House Workers International Union , Local 10. Case
AO-133
June 25, 1971
ADVISORY OPINION
This is a petition filed on April 21, 1971, by Swift
Cleaners, Inc., B. Gross, and B. Gross Men's Wear,
Inc., herein referred to individually by their respective
names and collectively referred to as the Employer, for
an Advisory Opinion in conformity with Section 102.98
and 102.99 of the National Labor Relations Board's
Rules and Regulations, Series 8, as amended, to deter-
mine whether the Board would assert jurisdiction over
the Employer.
In pertinent part, the petition alleges as follows:
1. There is presently pending before the Pennsyl-
vania Labor Relations Board a petition for investiga-
tion and certification or representatives, Case R-
34645-E. filed by the Laundry, Dry Cleaning & Dye
House Workers International Union, Local 10, herein
called the Union, seeking an election among employees
employed by Swift Cleaners, Inc., at its laundry and
drycleaning establishments located at Village Green,
Crum Lynne, and Chester, Pennsylvania.
2. By its petition, the Employer asserts that Swift
Cleaners, Inc., B. Gross, a Gross family partnership,
and B. Gross Men's Wear, Inc., are retail enterprises
engaged in the operation of laundry and drycleaning
establishments and the operation of a men's wear and
clothing store. The Employer alleges, inter alia, that
the three concerns are commonly owned, operated, and
controlled by the immediate members of the Gross
family, who maintain centralized control of labor rela-
tions. Accordingly, it contends that the three concerns
constitute a single integrated enterprise for the purpose
of the Board's exercise of jurisdiction. Further, the Em-
ployer asserts that the combined annual gross volume
of business of Swift Cleaners, Inc.,, B. Gross, and B.
Gross Men's Wear, Inc., exceeds the Board's current
standard for the assertion of jurisdiction over retail
enterprises. More specifically, the ' Employer alleges
that during the calendar year 1970, total gross sales for
Swift Cleaners, Inc., were approximately $293,000; for
B. Gross approximately $305,000; and for B. Gross
Men's Wear, Inc., approximately $447,000, making a
combined total of over $1 million.
3. The Employer further alleges that during the cal-
endar year 1970, Swift Cleaners, Inc., B. Gross, and B.
Gross Men's Wear, Inc., purchased goods and services
directly from companies outside the State of Pennsyl-
vania in the approximate amounts of $6,113, $10,881,
and $141,035, respectively, totaling over $150,000; and
made purchases from companies within the State of
Pennsylvania of goods that originated outside the State
in approximate amounts of $34,819, $25,777, and
$110,375, respectively, totaling over $170,000.
4. The Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board has
made no findings with respect to the aforesaid com-
merce data.
5. There is no representation or unfair labor practice
proceeding involving the same labor dispute pending
before the Board.
6. Although served with a copy of the petition, no
response as provided for in the Board's Rules and
Regulations has been filed by any of the parties.
On the basis of the above, the Board is of the opinion
that:
1. The Employer consists of three separate business
ventures which are retail enterprises and which, it is
reasonable to assume for purposes of this Advisory
Opinion, constitute a single integrated enterprise for
the purpose of the Board's exercise of jurisdiction.'
2. The Board's current standard for the assertion of
jurisdiction over retail concerns which fall within its
statutory jurisdiction is a minimum gross annual
volume of business of $500,000. Carolina Supplies and
Cement Co., 122 NLRB 88, 89. The substantial annual
out-of-state purchases constituting inflow to the Em-
ployer brings its operations within the Board's statu-
tory jurisdiction, while its combined annual gross
volume of sales in excess of $500,000 satisfies the dollar
volume test of the Board's standard for the assertion of
jurisdiction over retail enterprises.
Accordingly, the parties are advised under Section
102.103 of the Board's Rules and Regulations, Series 8,
as amended, that on the allegations submitted herein,
the Board would assert jurisdiction over the Em-
ployer's operations with respect to disputes cognizable
under Sections 8, 9, and 10 of the Act.
' The Family Laundry, Inc., et aL, 121 NLRB 1619.