Warrior Cooperative Mercantile Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

May 27, 1957

117 N.L.R.B. 1773 (N.L.R.B. 1957)

WARRIOR COOPERATIVE- MERCANTILE COMPANY 1773
Warrior Cooperative Mercantile Company and Retail Clerks
International Association , AFL-CIO, Petitioner.- Case No.
f31-RC-4667. May '27, 1957
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, a hearing was held before James W. Cherry, Jr.;
hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are
free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer operates a retail store and an adjacent filling
station at Inspiration, Arizona, engaging in the sale of food supplies,
clothing, drugs, notions, oil, tires, gasoline, and hardware. The
Employer is a wholly owned subsidiary of Inspiration Consolidated
Copper Company. The president and the secretary-treasurer of the
Employer are respectively the vice president and general manager and
the assistant secretary and assistant treasurer of the parent corpora-
tion. The president of the Employer is also a director of both corpo-
rations. The Employer is authorized by its charter to engage in
general mercantile business for profit and to distribute its profits
after declaration of dividends to purchasers of merchandise at the
discretion of its directors. In 1939, the board of directors, of the
parent corporation waived its right to dividends on the stock prior to
distribution of profits to customers, and since then all profits except
those set aside for reserves have been distributed in proportion to
purchases made to charge customers of the Employer in classes desig-
nated by the Employer's board of directors. The most recent distri-
bution resolution of,the board of directors provided for distribution
of profits to charge customers who were employees of the Employer,
the parent corporation, International Smelting and Refining Com-
pany, Miami-Inspiration Hospital, the United States Post Office at
Inspiration, the Ben Franklin School of District 40, pensioned em-
ployees, and widows of former employees.' During 1956, the Em-
ployer's sales amounted to approximately $790,000, 78 percent . of
which was made to employees of its parent, 18 percent to employees of
International Smelting ,and Refining Company has no corporate relationship to Inspira-
tion Consolidated Copper Company, but its operations in the vicinity of Inspiration are
carried on for the purpose of smelting and casting copper extracted by Inspiration Con-
solidated Copper. Company and Miami Copper Company, another unrelated corporation
engaged in , copper mining in that area. Miami-Inspiration Hospital is jointly operated
by the Employer' s parent corporation and Miami Copper Company for the purpose of
,providing medical "services to mining industry employees-in the vicinity of Inspiration.
Benjamin Franklin School is a public school located in the vicinity of ,the Employer's
store. There are four teachers at the school who are eligible to receive a share of the
Employer's profit distribution.
117 NLRB No. 232.
1774 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
International Smelting and Refining Company, and the remaining 4
percent to other persons eligible for profit-sharing and to the general
public. Approximately 1,000, or practically all, of the parent cor-
poration's employees received profit distributions, and their purchases
during that period averaged $600. Except in the case of old employ-
ees with established credit, an employee, in order to charge purchases
and thus obtain a share in the distribution of profits, must authorize
his employer to deduct his store bill from his earnings.
During the past year the Employer had direct inflow of approxi-
mately $120,000, no direct outflow, and made direct sales in excess of
$14,000 to its parent, which in turn annually ships copper valued at in
excess of $50,000 directly out of State. The latter sales were mostly of
gasoline and oil for use in company cars and light trucks. Thus, the
Employer has insufficient inflow or outflow to warrant the assertion of
jurisdiction over it as a separate entity. However, under all the cir-
cumstances of this case including the fact that the Employer is a
wholly owned subsidiary of Inspiration Copper Company, has some
officers and a director in common with its parent, sells merchandise
principally to employees of the parent corporation, and gives rebates
to employees of the parent corporation which are not available to the
general public, we find, contrary to the Employer's contention, that
the operations of the Employer and Inspiration Consolidated Copper
Company are sufficiently integrated to constitute them a single em-
ployer. Consequently, we find it will effectuate the policies of the
Act to assert jurisdiction over the Employer, as the combined opera-
tion has direct outflow in excess of $50,000.2
2. The labor organization involved claims 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 parties agree and we find that the following employees of
the Employer at its Inspiration, Arizona, retail store and filling sta-
tion constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bar-
gaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act:
All employees including regular part-time employees, but excluding
casual employees, watchmen, guards, and supervisors as defined in the
Act.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.]
MEMBERS RODGERS and BEAN took no part in the consideration of the
above Decision and Direction of Election.
2 The T. H. Rogers Lumber Company, 117 NLRB 1732.