Wawina Co-op. Society

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Sep 30, 1948

79 N.L.R.B. 1243 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

In the Matter Of WAWINA CO-OP. SOCIETY, EMPLOYER AND PETITIONER
and MILK DRIVERS & DAIRY EMPLOYEES , LOCAL #32, INTERNATIONAL
BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS , CHAUFFEURS , WAREHOUSEMEN AND
HELPERS OF AMERICA , A. F. L.
Case No. 18-RM-25.Decided September 30, 1948
DECISION
AND
ORDER
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before a hearing
officer of'the National Labor Relations Board. The hearing officer's
rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are
hereby affirmed. At the hearing, Milk Drivers & Dairy Employees,
Local #32, moved to dismiss the petition on the ground that the
Employer is not engaged in commerce within the meaning of the
Act. For the reasons stated below, the motion to dismiss is hereby
granted.
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds:
THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER
Wawina Co-op. Society, organized under a special statute of Minne-
sota pertaining to the organization of cooperatives, is engaged in the
retail sale of general merchandise and farm equipment. In connec-
tion with such merchandising, it operates two retail stores, one at
Wawina, Minnesota, and the other at Jacobson, Minnesota, approxi-
mately 13 miles apart.
The Employer is a member of, and purchases a large proportion of
its merchandise from, the Central Co-operative Wholesale, located in
Superior, Wisconsin. During 1947, the Employer purchased goods
valued at almost $190,500, approximately 62 percent of which repre-
sented purchases from the Central Co-operative Wholesale. In addi-
tion, it purchased merchandise valued at approximately $7,000 from
other vendors outside the State of Minnesota. During the same year,
79 N.-L. R. B., No. 161.
1243
1244 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
the Employer shipped goods valued at approximately $300 to one of
its members, living in North Dakota. The entire remainder of its
sales was made to persons residing in the State of Minnesota.
In addition to the Employer's general merchandising activities, it
also arranges for the shipment of peeled balsam pulp wood to various
paper mills in Wisconsin. All wood handled by the Employer is
grown by its members. The Employer arranges for ordering railroad
cars or trucks to ship the wood, notifies its members when the cars,
will arrive, supervises the loading of the cars or trucks, and, in
general, handles the shipment of, the wood for individual Co-op. mem-
bers. It, in turn, sells the wood through the Range Co-operative
Federation, of Virginia, Minnesota. Although the Employer ships
the wood directly to the mills, the Range Co-op. arranges for the sale
of the lumber, informing the Employer what mills to ship to and
collecting payment for the wood sold. Both the Range Co-op. and the
Employer deduct a commission of 50 cents a cord from the sale price
for the services they perform. During 1947, the Employer handled
the shipment of 300 cords of wood, valued at $4,068.73, for which it
received $150. It appears that the Employer does not actually take
title to the wood shipped, but merely acts as an agent for its members
in the shipment of the lumber.
The Employer contends that, in view of its substantial out-of-State
purchases and its continuous shipment of goods to points outside the
State, it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act. Al-
though the Employer does make substantial purchases outside the
State, its sales are almost entirely local'and the volume of its interstate
shipments is small. It has eight employees in its two stores, of whom
only six'would be within the unit alleged to be appropriate. In view
of the predominantly local nature of the Employer's operations, we
do not believe that it would effectuate the policies of the Act to assert
jurisdiction in this case.' We shall, therefore, dismiss the petition.
ORDER
IT Is HEREBY ORDERED that the petition filed herein be, and it hereby
is, dismissed.
- 'Matter of Hyde Park Cooperative Society, Inc ., 73 N. L . R. B. 1254; Matter of
McDonald Co -operative Dairy Co., 58 N. L. R. B. 552.