Textiles-Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Nov 29, 1945

64 N.L.R.B. 1113 (N.L.R.B. 1945)

In the Matter of TEXTILES-INCORPORATED (SEMINOLE, PLANT ) and
N. C. STATE FEDERATION OF LABOR (A. F. OF L.) IN BEHALF OF
UNITED TEXTILE WORKERS OF, AMERICA, A. F. of L.
Case No. 5-R-1936.Decided November 929, 1945
Mr. George B. Mason, of Gastonia, N. C., for the Company.
Mr. Roy P. Seymour, of Dallas, N. C., and Mr. Albert W. Cox,
of Gastonia, N. C., for the Union.
Mr. Angelo J. Fiumara, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon a petition duly filed by N. C. State Federation of Labor
(A. F. of L.) in behalf of United Textile Workers of America, A.
F. of L., herein called the Union, alleging that a question affecting
commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees
of Textiles-Incorporated,' Gastonia, North Carolina, herein called
the Company, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an
appropriate hearing upon due notice before George L. Weasler, Trial
Examiner. Said hearing was held at Gastonia, North Carolina, on
June 7, 1945. The Company and the Union appeared and partici-
pated. All parties were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to
examine and cross-examine witnesses,- and to introduce evidence
bearing on the issues. The Trial Examiner's rulings made at the
hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. All
parties were afforded an opportunity to file briefs with the Board.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Textiles-Incorporated, a North Carolina corporation, is engaged in
the manufacture of yarn. In the conduct of its business the Company
'The parties stipulated that all formal papers herein be amended to show the name of
the Company as indicated in the caption and in the body of the Decision
64 N. L. R. B., No. 187. 1113
1114 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
operates 12 plants in North Carolina, 11 in Gastonia Township where
it manufactures combed yarn, and 1 at Kings Mountain devoted to
the manufacture of carded yarn. During the year 1944 the Company
purchased raw materials valued in excess of $15,000,000, of which
approximately 75 percent came from points outside the State of
North Carolina. During the same period the Company processed
combed yarn valued in excess of $20,000,000, approximately 90 per-
cent of which was shipped to places outside the State.
The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. TIIE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
N. C. State Federation of Labor, and United Textile Workers of
America, both affiliated with the American Federation of Labor,
are labor organizations, admitting to membership employees of the
Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On May 4, 1945, the Union requested recognition of the Company
as the exclusive collective bargaining agency of certain of its em-
ployees. The Company refused such request until the Union is
certified by the Board in an appropriate unit.
A statement of a Board agent, introduced into evidence at the
hearing, indicates that the Union represents a substantial number
of employees in the unit hereinafter found appropriate.2
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Company, within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Union seeks a unit composed of all production and mainte-
nance employees at the Company's Seminole plant with certain speci-
fied exclusions. The Company, while agreeing generally to the types
of employees to be included in the unit sought, maintains that only
a unit consisting of employees in its 11 plants 3 located in Gastonia
Township is appropriate.
The Company's operations covering the manufacture of combed
yarn are carried on in 11 plants in Gastonia Township. The Seminole
2 The Field Examiner reported that the Union submitted 126 authorization cards dated
between August 1944 and May 1945; and that there are approximately 180 employees in
the unit alleged by the Union to be appropriate
a These are the Arkray, Arlington, Mutual, Myers, Myrtle, Osceola, Priscilla, Ridge, Vic-
tory, Seminole, and Winget plants The Company would exclude its 1 plant at Kings
Mountain which, unlike the 11 plants noted above, manufactures carded yarn.
TEXTILES-INCORPORATED (SEMINOLE PLANT) 1115
plant is located in South Gastonia, which is a part of Gastonia Town-
ship. Except for the Osceola plant which is about 100 yards distant
from the Seminole plant, all the plants are situated at distances vary-
ing from 1/4 mile to 4 miles from the Seminole plant and are scat-
tered over a considerable area. All 11 plants have a common over-all
management, a central purchasing agent for cotton and another for
supplies; the same pay-roll department; and, at times, utilize one
another's facilities to meet production schedules. All employees are
subject to the same working conditions and receive substantially simi-
lar wage rates in their respective job classifications. In addition, one
"outside" or maintenance crew 4 and one yard crew 5 service all 11
plants.
Although the Company's operations are thus functionally inte-
grated, the record discloses indicia of independence for each plant.
The Company keeps separate records of the weekly production of each
plant, and maintains separate pay-roll records for each plant. Plant
superintendents, some with jurisdiction over two and three plants,6
have authority to hire and discharge employees under their supervi-
sion. Each plant has its own foremen and overseers who are subject to
the supervision of the superintendent of that plant. The Company
has no established central hiring practice and no company-wide sen-
iority policy; nor has the Company established such a volume of em-
ployee interchange between plants as to prevent easy identification of
the employees of the Seminole plant.
The Company has no collective bargaining history, and the Union
does not claim to represent nor has it organized the Company's em-
ployees at the several plants other than Seminole. Consequently,
under all the circumstances, including the present extent of union or-
ganization, and the fact that the employees at the Seminole plant con-
stitute an integrated, homogeneous, and identifiable group, we are
of the opinion that a unit limited to the employees at the Seminole
plant is appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining at the
present time.'
There remains for consideration the specific composition of the unit.
The parties disagree only as to the inclusion or exclusion of the
yard crew and the "outside" or maintenance crew, the Union desiring
to exclude both groups, and the Company wishing to include them.
The Company employs a yard crew of 10 employees and a group of 12
employees as an "outside" or maintenance crew. These employees
4 These include electricians, carpenters, and pipe fitters
5 The yard crew comprises warehousemen , truck drivers , waste balers , and mechanics.
6 The Seminole and Osceola plants are together under one plant superintendent.
7 See Matter of Dixie Manufacturing Company , Inc, 54 N. L R . B. 384; Matter of
Thomasville Chair Company ( Plant B, Old Bard Plant ), 54 N L. R. B. 1071 ; Matter of
Tomlinson of High Point, Inc., 55 N L R B. 1287.
1116 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
have no permanent station at any of the Company's plants but are
transferred from plant to plant depending upon where their services
are needed. Neither of these groups is permanently listed on the
Seminole plant pay roll. Since the time spent by these employees
at the Seminole plant varies, and, at best, represents only a small
fraction of the total time worked for the Company, we are of the
opinion that these employees lack a community of interest with the
other employees in the unit." Accordingly, we shall exclude them.
We find that all production and maintenance employees at the Com-
pany's Seminole plant, South Gastonia, North Carolina, excluding
clerical employees, the yard crew, the "outside" or maintenance crew,
the plant superintendent, overseers, section men, and all supervisory
employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or
otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively
recommend such action, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes
of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We shall direct that the question concerning representation which
has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot among the em-
ployees in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-roll
period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election
herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in the
Direction.°
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 Rela-
tions Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, as amended, it is
hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa-
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Textiles-Incor-
porated (Seminole Plant), Gastonia, North Carolina, an election by
secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than
sixty (60) days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and
supervision of the Regional Director for the Fifth Region, acting in
this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and sub-
ject to Article III, Sections 10 and 11, of said Rules and Regulations,
among the employees in the unit found appropriate in Section IV,
8 See Matter of Allis-Chalm ers Manufacturing Company, 63 N. L. R. B. 101.
8We shall grant the request of the Union to appear on the ballot as "United Textile
Workers of America, A F of L ," since it appears that the interested union in this pro-
ceeding is the United Textile Workers of America, A F of L
TEXTILES-INCORPORATED (SEMINOLE PLANT) 1117
above, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately
preceding the date of this Direction, including employees who did not
work during said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation
or temporarily laid off, and including employees in the armed forces
of the United States who present themselves in person at the polls, but
excluding any who have since quit or been discharged for cause and
have not been rehired or reinstated prior to the date of the election,
to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by United
Textile Workers of America, affiliated with the American Federation
of Labor, for the purposes of collective bargaining.