Viner Brothers, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Nov 30, 1948

80 N.L.R.B. 992 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

In the Matter Of VINER BROTHERS , INC., EMPLOYER and BOOT & SHOE
WORKERS' UNION, AFL, PETITIONER
Case No.1 RC-622.Decided November 30, 1948
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before a hearing of-
ficer of the National Labor Relations Board. 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-man panel consisting of the undersigned Board
Members.*
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 organization named below claims to represent em-
ployees 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 appropriate unit:
The Petitioner seeks to represent a unit of all production employees,
excluding office and clerical employees, guards, and supervisors, as
defined in the Act, at the Bangor, Maine, plant of the Employer. The
Employer contends that certain categories of employees generally des-
ignated at the hearing as maintenance employees should be included in
the unit, whereas the Petitioner contends that they should be excluded.
These categories include the following :
Stitching room mechanics, carpenters, night men or janitors,
shipping room employees, receiving room employees, the truck
driver, part-time guards, and floor girls and floor boys.
The Employer is engaged at Bangor, Maine, in the manufacture
of leather moccasins. There are approximately 205 employees within
*Houston, Reynolds , and Murdock.
80 N. L. R. B., No. 150.
992
VINER BROTHERS, INC. 993
the proposed production unit, and approximately 19 maintenance em-
ployees.
The two stitching room mechanics repair and adjust the sewing
machines of the operators. Their duties also include any electrical
work necessary to the operation of the sewing machines. The two
carpenters build benches for machines, racks to store shoes, shelves,
and also make repairs upon the Employer's building. The two
night men (or janitors) are engaged primarily in janitorial work
but spend from 10 to 25 percent of their time in production processes
such as "antiquing." The six shipping room employees, pursuant
to shipping orders, pack and otherwise prepare the finished shoes
for shipment. The three receiving room employees check in mer-
chandise as it is received at the Employer's premises, and distribute
it to the storeroom and warehouse. The Employer also employs
one truck driver who takes away waste from the plant, and who also
does some maintenance work, including helping the carpenters. The
three guards spend the majority of their time in work other than
guard duties, such as washing "antiquing" rags, and performing jani-
torial work. This work is done between their rounds which they
are required to make every hour for fire protection.
The 10 floor girls and floor boys are carried on the Employer's
pay roll as assistants to the foreman. The Employer contends that
they are not supervisors; the Petitioner takes the position that they
are. According to the record, these employees have no authority to
discipline, hire, discharge, or to recommend such action. Their pri-
mary duty is to watch the operators and to check the work to see
that it is satisfactory. If the work is defective, they return it to the
operators. Although they are responsible for inspecting the work
for defects, the Employer employs other employees who are desig-
nated as inspectors. They also match work, do some instructing, and
manually distribute work to the operators. They are paid by the hour.
In view of the close relationship and necessary integration be-
tween the work of the maintenance employees and that of the pro-
duction employees, and in the absence of any cogent reason for their
separation, we shall include the stitching room mechanics, and the
carpenters," the night men (or janitors) ,2 the shipping room em-
ployees, and the receiving room employees,3 the truck drivers,4 the
guards who spend the majority of their time in work other than guard
'Matter of Steelweld Equipment Company, Inc., 76 N. L. R. B . 831; Matter of The
Connecticut Malleable Castling Company, 66 N. L. R. B. 506.
2 Matter of Boaz Mills, Inc., 78 N. L. R. B. 1086.
'Matter of Union Manufacturing Company, 69 N. L. R. B . 640; Matter of Scripto Manu-
facturing Company, 65 N. L. R. B. 222.
4 Matter of General Plywood Corporation , 79 N. L. R. B. 1458.
994 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
duties,5 and the floor girls and floor boys 6 together with the produc-
tion employees in the same bargaining unit.
We find that all production and maintenance employees in the
Employer's Bangor, Maine, plant, including stitching room mechanics,
carpenters, night men or janitors, shipping room employees, receiving
room employees, the truck driver, guards who spend the majority
of their time in work other than guard duties, and floor girls and floor
boys, but excluding office and clerical employees, guards, and super-
visors as defined in the Act, constitute a unit appropriate for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b).
The Petitioner having made a substantial showing of interest in
the unit found appropriate herein, we shall direct an election 7 If,
however, the Petitioner does not desire to participate in an election
at this time in the unit found appropriate, we shall permit it to with-
draw its petition upon notice to the Regional Director within ten
(10) days after issuance of this Direction, and shall thereupon vacate
the Direction of Election.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining with Viner Brothers, Inc., Bangor,
Maine, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as pos-
sible, but not later than 30 days from the date of this Direction, under
the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the First
Region, and subject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 5, as amended, among
the employees in the unit found appropriate in paragraph numbered
4, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately
preceding the date of this Direction of Election, including employees
who (lid not work during said pay-roll period because they were ill
or on vacation or temporarily 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 exclud-
ing employees on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to de-
termine whether or not they desire to be represented by Boot & Shoe
Workers' Union, AFL, for the purposes of collective bargaining.
If emloyees spend more than 50 percent of their working time as night watchmen, Nle
will consider that they are "employed as a guard " within the meaning of Section 9 (b) (3)
of the amended .Act, and they will he excluded from the unit, otherwise, they will be
regarded as maintenance emloyees and will be included Matter of Steelweld Equipment
Company, Inc ., 76 N. L R. B 831.
The Board has previously held that an Inspector ' s authority to reject , and in certain
,.stances to report, defective work, is insufficient to establish supervisory authority.
Matter of General Plywood Corporation, 79 N L It B 1458
'' Matter of J 8 Abercrombie Company, 77 N L. R. B. 712 ; Matter of Hall-Rodell Motors,
Inc., 79 N. L R B 1408.