Wells-Lamont Smith Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 2, 1940

25 N.L.R.B. 21 (N.L.R.B. 1940)

In the Matter of WELLS-LAMONT S^IITII CORPORATION and INTERNA-
TIONAL GLOVE WORKERS OF AiuERICA, LOCAL 103, AFFILIATED WITH
TIIE AMERICAN FEDERATION of LABOR and BT ARDSTOWN ASSOCIATION
OF GLOVE WORKERS
Case No. R-1869-Decided July 2, 1940
Jurisdiction : glove manufacturing industry.
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question where
employer refust.s to accord full recognition to union ; election necessary
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : production and maintenance em-
ployees excluding clerical and all supervisory employees.
Fyffe ct Clarke, by Mr. Albert J. Smith, of Chicago, Ill., for the
Company.
Mr. Thomas Durian, of Milwaukee, Wis., for the International.
Mr. Lawson Wood, of Beardstown, Ill., for the Association.
Mr. Louis Colcin, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
July 2, 1,940
STATEMENT OF TILE CASE
On April 22, 1940, International Glove Workers of America, Local
103, herein called the International, filed with the Regional Director
for the Thirteenth Region (Chicago, Illinois) a petition alleging
that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of employees of. Wells-Lamont Smith Corporation, Beards-
town, Illinois, herein called the Company, and requesting an investi-
gation and certification of representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c)
of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the
Act. On May 20, 1940, the National Labor Relations Board, herein
called the Board, acting pursuant, to Section 9 (c) of the Act and
Article III, Section 3, of National Labor Relations Bodrd Rules and
Regulations-Series 2, as amended, ordered an investigation and
authorized the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide for
an appropriate hearing upon clue notice.
25 N L. R. B, No 8
21
2S°030--42-col 25--3
22 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
On May 22, 1940, the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing,
copies of which were duly served upon the Company, the Interna-
tlonal, and upon Beardstown Association of Glove Workers, herein
called the Association, a labor organization claiming to represent
employees directly affected by the investigation. Pursuant to the
notice, a hearing was held on June 3, 1940, at Beardstown, Illinois,
before Stephen M. Reynolds, the Trial Examiner duly designated by
the Board. The company was represented by counsel, the Inter-
national and the Association by their representatives, and all partici-
pated in the hearing. Full opportunity to be heard, to examine and
cross-examine witnesses, and to intro duce evidence bearing on the
issues was affording all parties. During the course of the hearing
the Trial Examiner, made several rulings on motions and on objec-
tions to the admission of evidence. The Board has reviewed the
rulings of the Trial Examiner and finds that no prejudicial errors
were committed. The rulings are hereby of lined. '
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
ThQ Company, a Minnesota corporation with its principal offices at
Chicago, Illinois, operates plants at Beardstown, Illinois; Burling-
ton and New London, Iowa; and Louisiana and Elsberry, Missouri;
where it is engaged in the business of manufacturing gloves. This
proceeding is concerned only with the plant at Beardstown.
The Beardstown plant expends approximately $245,000 annually
for the purchase of raw materials, all of which is shipped to it from
points outside the State of Illinois. The Company does an annual
business amounting to approximately $360,000 at its Beardstown
plant, 80 per cent of which is derived from shipments n:acle to points
outside the State of Illinois. The Company employs approximately
165 employees at its Beardstown plant. It admits that it is engaged
in interstate commerce.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOIXED
International Glove Workers of America, Local 103, is a labor
organization admitting to membership all production, maintenance,
admits to membership all production and maintenance employees of
the Company, excluding supervisory and clerical employees.
Beardstown Association of Glove Workers is an unaffiliated labor
organization admitting to membership all production, maintenance
and clerical employees of the Company, excluding employees having
the power to hire and discharge.
WELLS-LAMONT SMITH CORPORATION, 23
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On April 6, 1940, the International, claiming to represent a major-
-it..), Iof the Company's employees at the Beardstown plant, requested
the Company to deal with it as the exclusive representative of its em-
ployees. The Company refused, stating that it doubted the Interna-
tional's claim to represent a majority of the employees.
We find that a question has arisen concerning the representation
of employees of the Company.
Ii. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTION CONCERNIN G REPRESENTATION UPON
` COMMERCE
We find that the question concerning representation which has
.,risen, occurring in connection with operations of the Company de-
scribed in Section I above, has a close, intimate, and substantial
relation to trade, traffic, and commerce among the several States and
tends to lead to labor disputes burdening and obstructing commerce
and the free flow of commerce.
V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The International urges that all production and maintenance
employees of the Company, excluding supervisory and clerical em-
ployees constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining.
The Association and the Company contend that all production,
maintenance, and clerical employees of the Company, excluding em-
ployees having the authority to hire and discharge, constitute a unit
appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining.
The only dispute as to unit concerns clerical employees and super.
visory employees not having power to hire or discharge. The Inter-
national urges the exclusion of all such employees, and the Associa-
tion and the Company desire their inclusion. At the hearing this
dispute narrowed down to 11 named employees.
Florence Zeek, Erick Patterson," Elmer Wilson, and Russel Whited
are classified by- the Company as instructors. They are all paid on
an hourly basis while the employees whom they instruct are paid on
a piece-rate basis. They all have the power to reconnnend the hiring
and discharging of employees. James T'ochildson is employed with -
eight others in the packing department. Although all the employees
in this department are paid on the same basis, Tochildson directs
the packing operations of the others. Iwan Aloway is in charge of
issllulg cutting orders to the cutters. He has the authority to appor-
tion the Nvork and designate the cutters to various jobs. In view
of the supervisory duties of the afore-nneitioned employees, and in
24 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
view of the conflicting claims of the rival unions, we find that Zeek
Patterson , Wilson, Whited, Tochildson, and Aloway should be
excluded from the unit.'
Arthur Krohe is classified by the Company as a shipping clerk.
He does not handle the products to be shipped , his duties being cleri-
cal in nature . Dorothy Lynn and Betty Philips are office workers
and 'their work is purely of a clerical nature. In accordance with
our usual practice as to clerical employees we find that Krohe, Lynn,
and Philips should be excluded from the unit.2
Lawson Wood is engaged in determining the number of cuts to
be produced from leather hides . His work is closely allied with
production and we shall include him within the unit. Helen Mali-
coat is engaged in issuing stock to other employees . She has no
supervisory powers and her work is closely allied with that of the
production workers. We shall include Malicoat in the unit.
We find that all production and maintenance employees of the
Company, excluding clerical and all supervisory employees , consti-
tute a unit appropriate for the purpose of collective bargaining and
that said unit will insure to employees of the Company full benefit
of their right to self-organization and to collective bargaining and
otherwise effectuate the policies of the Act.
VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We find that the question which has arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of employees of the Company can best be resolved by an
election by secret ballot. The parties- agreed at the hearing that in
the event the Board directed an election that eligibility of the em-
ployees to vote should be determined by the Company's pay roll of
May 25, 1940. We find that those employees of the Company within
the appropriate unit, whose names appear on the Company's pay roll
of May 25, 1940, shall be eligible to vote, excluding those who have
since quit or been discharged for cause.
1Cf Mattel of lien; Manufacturing Co, Inc and A F of L Fedeial Local Union No.
20893, 7 N L R B 95, Matter of The Cuda/ii] Packing Company and United Packinghouse
Workers of America, Local 21, of the Packinghouse 1Vo,ters Organizing Committee, etc.,
13 N. L R B 520 In Matter of The Elechic Auto-Late Company, American Enameled
Magnet 1Piie Division and International Association of Mac/imists, Local 218, et ai, we
stated. "Wheie, as heie, rival unions making conflicting clams in regard to the inclusion
in a unit made up of production employees, of employees whose duties are on the border-
line between production and management, we have ordinarily excluded them "
2See Matter of Atlantic Ensue Iron Woil,c and industrial Union of Maisie and Ship-
building Workers of America, Local No. 13, 5 N L R B 402, where we stated • "As it is
obvious that the status and functions of clerical employees are essentially different Pion,
the status and functions of employees who do manual labor, our usual practice has been
to exclude cleiical employees from a unit largely composed of production and mainte-
nance employees Since no affirmative showing has been made by the Association or the
Company, nor any arguments advanced by them as to why we should dep,ut from this
pi actice, we shall exclude the cleiical employees from the unit "
WELLS-LAMONT SMITH CORPORATION 25
The International requested that in the event the Board directed
an election it appear on the ballot as "Local Union No. 103, affiliated
with the American Federation of Labor." The request is hereby
granted.
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and upon the entire
record in the case, the Board makes the following :
CoNCLuSIONTs or LAW
1. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of employees of «Tells-Lamont Smith Corporation, Beards-
town, Illinois, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section
2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act.
2. All production and maintenance employees of .the Company,
excluding all supervisory and clerical employees, constitute a unit
appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining, within the
meaning of Section 9 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act.
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-
t]ons Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is
hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation authorized by the Board
to ascertain representatives for the purpose of collective bargaining
with Wells-Lamont Smith Corporation, Beardstown, Illinois, an
election by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but
not later than thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction, un-
der the direction and supervision of the, Regional Director for the
Thirteenth Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National
Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article III, Section 9, of said
Rules and Regulations, among all production and maintenance em-
ployees of the Company, whose names appear on the Company's
pay roll of May 25, 1940, excluding all supervisory and clerical
employees and employees who have since quit or been discharged
for cause, to determine whether they desire to be represented by
Local Union No. 103, affiliated with the American Federation of
Labor, or by Beardstown Association of Glove Workers, for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining, or by neither.