White Front San Diego, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 20, 1966

159 N.L.R.B. 684 (N.L.R.B. 1966)

684 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
and in the absence of a history of bargaining on a broader basis at the
South San Francisco store, we would find, contrary to our colleagues,
that a separate unit of janitorial employees may be appropriate,
although such employees may also be part of a storewide unit.
White Front San Diego , Inc. and White Front La Mesa, Inc. and
Building Service Employees International Union , Local 102,
AFL-CIO,' Petitioner, and Teamsters , Chauffeurs, Warehouse-
men and Helpers Union , Local 542, affiliated with the Interna-
tional Brotherhood of Teamsters , Chauffeurs, Warehousemen
and Helpers of America ,2 Petitioner . Cases 21-RC-9889 and
9946. June 20, 1966
DECISION AND ORDER
Upon separate petitions duly filed under Section 9 ( c) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended , a consolidated hearing was
held before Hearing Officer Claude R. Marston . The Hearing Officer's
rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are
hereby affirmed . The Petitioners , the Intervenor ,' and the Employer
each filed briefs with the National Labor Relations Board.
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-member panel [Members Fanning , Jenkins, and
Zagoria].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds:
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the
Act, and it will effectuate the purposes of the Act to assert jurisdiction
herein.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain
employees of the Employer.
3. No question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Sections
9(c) (1) and 2 ( 6) and (7) of the Act for the following reasons:
Building Service Employees seeks to represent a unit of janitors
and janitresses , and Teamsters seeks to represent a union of nonsales
employees at the Employer's San Diego and La Mesa stores. The
Employer and the Retail Clerks contend that only a unit of all
employees at both stores is appropriate.4
1 Herein called the Building Service Employees.
3 Herein called .the Teamsters.
3 Retail Clerks Union, Local 1222, affiliated with Retail Clerks International Association,
AFL-CIO, herein referred to as the Retail Clerks or Intervenor, was permitted to Inter-
vene on the basis of a card showing among the employees involved.
4 All parties appear to agree that a two-store unit is appropriate They differ only as
to the composition of the unit.
159 NLRB No. 64.
WHITE FRONT SAN DIEGO, INC. 685
The San Diego and La Mesa stores are discount department stores
which opened for business on November 18, 1965. They are part of a
chain of similar stores operated by the same interests in the State of
California. Prior to the filing of the petitions herein, and as the result
of a card check, the Employer recognized the Retail Clerks as bargain-
ing representative of all employees at both stores, including janitorial
and nonsales employees. Although a collective-bargaining contract
has been negotiated for all employees in the two-store unit, it is not
claimed that this contract is a bar.
The stores involved are basically self-service operations. They are
almost identical in physical layout and have various departments
which carry a wide range of merchandise. Some of the departments
are operated by independent owners who lease floor space from the
Employer and have their own employees and immediate supervision,
although the store manager maintains supervision of the entire store,
including the licensed departments. All employees wear badges and
uniforms furnished by the Employer. Working conditions and fringe
benefits are the same for all employees even to the extent that, with
few exceptions, all employees receive the same wage rates and identi-
cal holidays.
There are five janitors employed in each store. They scrub, mop,
wax, sweep, and strip the floor; they also dust the grill work along the
main aisle of the store. In addition to these duties, janitors also
regularly fold merchandise and hang up garments which are later put
on display on the selling floor. Employees working in various depart-
ments on the sales floor are responsible for dusting their respective
departments; boxboys nightly scrub down and dispose of refuse in the
check-out stands. Most of the stockrooms are maintained by stock-
room employees, not by the janitors. When janitors are not otherwise
available, boxboys are also responsible for cleaning up any spillage or
breakage which may occur. In the La Mesa store janitors are under
the direct supervision of the assistant store manager in charge of
operations, who also has direct supervision over various other non-
selling departments. The janitors in the San Diego store are under
the direct supervision of a leadman.
The so-called nonselling unit sought by the Teamsters includes all
"nonsales" personnel, checkers,' markers, shipping and receiving
clerks, warehousemen, PBX operators, validations employees, contract
writers, receptionists, secretaries, bookkeepers, file clerks, sign makers,
sign painters, appliance repairmen, furniture touch-up and burn men,
5 The term "checker" as used by the Petitioner has reference to the Employer ' s classifica-
tion of "marker " At the hearing , the Petitioner clarified the terminology used and in-
dicated that the classifications "boxboys" and "cashier" ( checker ) were not included in
the unit sought.
686 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
and radio, TV, and phonograph repairmen, but excludes sales person-
nel, maintenance employees, guards, snack bar employees, watchmen,
and supervisors.
The unit sought by the Teamsters would include employees who, like
the "markers" or "checkers," mark merchandise which is then placed
in the various stockrooms or placed on the selling floor, but would
exclude bagboys and cashiers who also do marking work. Like the
excluded bagboys, the "markers" or "checkers" also bag merchandise
at the checkout stands. The unit would also include shipping, receiv-
ing, and warehouse employees, also referred to as "dock personnel,"
who unload or "off-load" incoming merchandise, mark, and deliver it
to the appropriate department on the selling floor or to the stockrooms,
although it would exclude janitors, boxboys, sales stock employees,
and cashiers who also perform some or all of these duties when the need
arises.
As stated, the San Diego and La Mesa stores are essentially self-
service operations. Practically all employees are unskilled. Working
conditions are the same for all store employees, even to the extent that
almost all wage rates are identical. There is considerable overlap in
duties among the various employees. There is no separate bargaining
history for janitors or nonsales employees at these stores. Finally, the
Retail Clerks is seeking to bargain for the employees sought herein as
part of a storewide, two-store unit. Under these circumstances, we
find that the separate units of janitors sought by the Building Service
Employees,6 and nonsales employees sought by the Teamsters,' are not
appropriate for bargaining purposes. We shall therefore dismiss these
petitions.
[The Board dismissed the petitions.]
6 White Front San Francisco , Inc., d/b/a White Front South San Francisco , Inc., 159
NLRB 681 ( Chairman McCulloch and Member Brown disserting), issued this day. Cf.
J. L. Hudson, 155 NLRB 1345.
7 J. W. Mays, Inc ., 147 NLRB 968 ; Allied Stores of New York , Inc., 150 NLRB 799, 804.
Edir, Inc., d/b/a Wolfie's and Club and Restaurant Employees'
and Bartenders' Union Local No. 133, AFL-CIO, an affiliate of
Hotel and Restaurant Employees and Bartenders International
Union . Cases 12-CA-3002 and 3048(1-2). June 20, 1966
DECISION AND ORDER
On December 10, 1965, Trial Examiner Samuel M. Singer issued his
Decision in the above-entitled proceeding, finding that the Respondent
had engaged in certain unfair labor practices and recommending that
159 NLRB No. 72.