Clinton Garment Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Aug 2, 1938

8 N.L.R.B. 775 (N.L.R.B. 1938)

In the Matter Of CLINTON GARMENT COMPANY' and INTERNATIONAL
LADIES GARMENT WORKERS UNION
Case No. RD1^9,.Decided August 0, 1938
Dress dlanufacturing Indush y-Investigation of Representatives: controversy
concerning representation of employees : refusal of employer to recognize peti-
tioning union as bargaining agency-Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining:
production employees excluding foreladies, part-time instructors and other super-
visory employees, machinists, shipping clerks, janitors, designers, and office
employees-Election Ordered-Petition dismissed: No union representative re-
ceived majority vote at Board election.
Mr. Stephen M. Reynolds, for the Board.
Mr. Emmett P. Delaney, of Clinton, Iowa, for the Union.
Mr. Erwin Feldman, of New York City, for the Company.
Mr. William F. Guffey, Jr., of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Q STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On February 2, 1938, International Ladies Garment Workers
Union,2 herein called the Union, filed with the Regional Director for
the Thirteenth Region (Chicago, Illinois), a petition alleging that a
question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation
of employees of The Clinton Garment Company, Clinton, Iowa, herein
called the Company, and requesting an investigation and certification
of representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On April 25, 1938,
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 Board Rules and Regulations-Series 1, as
amended, ordered an investigation and authorized the Regional Direc-
tor to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due
notice.
' It appeared at the hearing that the full name of the Company is "The Clinton Garment
Company."
2 Petition is signed in abbreviated form : " Intl. Ladies Garment Workers Union."
8 N. L. R. B., No. 90.
775
-776 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
On May 5, 1938, the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing,
and on May 17, 1938, an order of continuance, copies of which were
duly served upon the Company and the Union. Pursuant to the order
of continuance, a hearing was held on May 26, 1938, at Clinton, Iowa,
before Samuel Jaffee, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the
Board. The Board, the Company, and the Union were represented
by counsel and participated in the hearing. Full opportunity to be
heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evi-
dence bearing on the issues was afforded all parties. During the
course of the hearing the Trial Examiner made several rulings on
motions and on objections to the admission of evidence. The Board
has reviewed these rulings and finds that no prejudicial- errors were
committed. The rulings are hereby affirmed.
On June 28, 1938, oral argument was had before the Board in
Washington, D. C. The Company was represented by counsel and
presented its argument. The Union did not appear.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
The Clinton Garment Company is a corporation incorporated under
the laws of Iowa in November 1936. It is engaged in the manufacture
of cotton dresses. Its sole place of business is Clinton, Iowa. The
four or five persons who are officers, directors, and sole stockholders
in the Company bear the same relation to R. & M. Kaufmann, Inc.,
Aurora, Illinois, herein called the Illinois corporation. The Com-
pany has a contract with the Illinois corporation which provides,
among other things, that the Company, will manufacture cotton'
dresses for the Illinois corporation according to specifications fur-
nished by the latter. The sole and exclusive business of the Company
is the manufacture of cotton dresses for the Illinois corporation. In
the terms of the trade the Company is a "contract shop" and' attains
its compensation on a "cut, trim and make basis." It utilizes 14,000
square feet of floor space, 204 sewing machines, 4 cutting tables and
10 pressing stands. During the year 1937 the Company manufactured
20,000 dozen dresses. -
The raw materials used by the Company in the manufacture of
dresses consist mainly of cotton fabric and such miscellaneous items
as buttons, thread and trimmings. The cotton fabric comes from tex-
tile centers in New England and from various States in the South.
The other items come from various sources in the Eastern States. All
the raw materials are purchased in the name of the Illinois corpora-
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 777
tion, but approximately 75 per cent of the raw materials used by the
Company in the Clinton plant are shipped directly from the various
points in the East and South to the Clinton plant , all such shipments
being marked as follows : "R. & M. Kaufmann Company, Inc., care of
Clinton Garment Company , Clinton, Iowa." Shipments of raw mate-
rial are made principally by rail , but same of the shipments go first
to Aurora , Illinois and are reshipped to the Company by motor trucks
operated by the Keeshin Motor Service.
Title to the raw material as well as the finished product is always
in the Illinois corporation . The Company is in substance merely a
processor . After the Company cuts , sews, presses, and otherwise
finishes the garments, the finished garments are sent back to the
Illinois corporation for sale and distribution.
At the time of the hearing the Company employed approximately
210 persons.
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
International Ladies Garment Workers Union is a labor organiza-
tion originally chartered by the American Federation of Labor and
now affiliated with the Committee for Industrial Organization , herein
called the C . I. 0., admitting to its membership all workers engaged
in production of women's and children 's garments.
III. TIIE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
In July or August 1937 the Union began to organize employees of
the Company. Several meetings ' were held for the, purpose of creating
interest in the Union . A number of employees signed union mem-
bership cards . On October 20, December 10, and December 22, 1937,
the Union, by letter , requested conferences for the purpose of collec-
tive bargaining with the Company. The Company made no reply to
these letters . At the hearing Harry Rufer, general organizer for the
Union, testified that on February 2, 1938, 74 or 76 employees of the
Company were members of the Union . The Union did not introduce
in evidence membership cards which it claimed to have in its pos-
session. At the oral argument before the Board , the Company stated
that the Union also refused to show its membership cards to the Trial
Examiner and queried whether the evidence supporting the Union's
membership claims was sufficient to show that a question concerning
representation, had arisen . There is no indication in the record that
the Union refused to show its cards to the Trial Examiner. While
the evidence appearing in the record is insufficient to serve as a basis
for certification , it is nevertheless sufficient to show the existence of
a question concerning representation which can be resolved by the
holding of an election.
778 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
We find that a question has arisen concerning representation of
employees of the Company.
IV. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION UPON
COMMERCE
We find that the question concerning representation .which has
arisen, occurring in connection with the operations of the Company
described 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 Union, in its petition, claimed that all employees of the Com-
pany, except foreladies, office help, shipping clerks, janitors, and
designers, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining. At the hearing the Union clarified its claim by defining
"employees" as those "actively engaged in production of cotton gar-
ments in the Clinton Garment plant." The Company made no objec-
tion to the unit described by the Union and made no claim for any
other unit. We see no reason for deviating from the unit claimed by
the Union.
Questions were raised concerning the inclusion or exclusion from
the unit of part-time instructors, a machinist, and a part-time
shipping clerk.
There are three or four part-time instructors. They were first hired
as machine operators and as the Company was growing and new
employees were being hired, they became operator-instructors. Orig-
inally the foreladies had acted as instructors. When the operator-
instructors first began instructing, they spent about half their time
as operators and half their time as instructors, but during the 8 weeks
preceding the hearing they were engaged almost entirely in instruct-
ing new employees. The Union apparently desires their exclusion
from the unit and the Company desires their inclusion. Since their
work at the time of the hearing was mainly supervisory we shall
exclude them from the unit.
The Union desires to exclude from the unit a machinist who keeps
the production machines in good working condition. The Company
apparently takes no position regarding the machinist. The record
discloses that the machinist is not eligible to membership in the
Union. We shall exclude the machinist from the unit.
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 779
One employee, whose regular work is the operation of a cutting
machine, spends 33 to 40 per cent of his time in the shipping room,
counting and packing garments, and addressing the packages. The
Union makes no specific request for the exclusion of this part-time
shipping clerk, but it does exclude full-time shipping clerks. It is
clear from the record that the Company desires that he be included
in the unit. We find that this employee is primarily engaged in
production and we shall include him in the unit.
We find that the production employees of. the Company, excluding
foreladies, part-time instructors and other supervisory employees,
machinists, shipping clerks, janitors, designers, and office employees
constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargain-
ing and that said unit will insure to employees of the Company the
full benefit of their right to self-organization and to collective
bargaining and otherwise effectuate the policies of the Act.
VI. TIIE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
The Union claims to represent 74 or 76 employees. No member-
ship cards or other evidence, except oral testimony to that effect by
the general organizer of the Union, was introduced in support of
this claim. We find that the question which has arisen concerning
representation of employees of the Company can best be resolved by
an election by secret ballot.
The Union claims that eligibility to vote should be determined
on the basis of the Company's pay roll of December 22, 1937, the date
on which the Union first'claimed majority representation, and not
later than February 2, 1938, the date on which the petition was filed.
The Company claims that May 26, 1938, the (late of the hearing,
should be the determinative date. On December 22, 1937, there
were 98 employees in the appropriate unit; on January 22, 1938,
there were 131; and at the time of the hearing there were 204. The
Company is a young and growing enterprise and there has been a
constant increase in the number of employees since it began opera-
tions. From the filing of the petition to the date of the hearing
there was an increase of about 73 employees. Under these circum-
stances we are of the opinion that a more accurate determination of
the desires of all the Company's employees affected by our investiga-
tion will be obtained by insuring eligibility to vote in the election
to all the employees in the appropriate unit during the pay-roll
period next preceding the date of the hearing. Accordingly, all
employees in the appropriate unit during the pay-roll period next
preceding May 26, 1938, the date of the hearing, excluding those who
780 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
have since quit or have been discharged for cause, shall be eligible
to vote in the election.
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and upon the entire
record in the case, the Board makes the following :
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of employees of The Clinton Garment Company, Clinton,
Iowa, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7)
of the National Labor Relations Act.
2. The production employees of the Company, excluding fore-
ladies, part-time instructors and other supervisory employees, ma-
chinists, shipping clerks, janitors, designers, and office 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-
tions Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 1, as amended, it is
hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation authorized by the Board
to ascertain representatives for collective bargaining with The Clin-
ton Garment Company, Clinton, Iowa,. an election by secret ballot
shall be conducted within fifteen (15) days from the date of this
Direction, under the direction and supervision of the Regional
Director for the Thirteenth Region, acting in this matter as the agent
for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article III,
Section 9, of said Rules and Regulations, among all the production
employees of The Clinton Garment Company, Clinton, Iowa, who
were in the Company's employ during the pay-roll period next pre-
ceding May 26; 1938, excluding foreladies, part-time instructors and
other supervisory employees, machinists, shipping clerks, janitors,
designers, and office employees, and those who have since quit or been
discharged for cause, to determine whether or not they desire to be
represented by International Ladies Garment Workers- Union, for
the purposes of collective bargaining.
DECISIONS AND ORDERS
[SAME TITLE]
SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION
AND
ORDER
781
September 1, 1938
On August 2, 1938, the National Labor Relations Board, herein
called the Board, issued a Decision and Direction of Election in the
above-entitled case. The Direction of Election directed that an elec-
tion by secret ballot be conducted within fifteen (15) days from the
date of the Direction among all the production employees of The
Clinton Garment Company, who were in the Company's employ dur-
ing the pay-roll period next preceding May 26, 1938, excluding fore-
ladies, part-time instructors and other supervisory employees, machin-
ists, shipping clerks, janitors, designers, and office employees, and
those who had since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine
whether or not they desired to be represented by International Ladies
Garment Workers Union, for the purposes of collective bargaining.
Pursuant to the Direction, an election by secret ballot was con-
ducted on August 16, 1938, at Clinton, Iowa, under the direction and
supervision of the Regional Director for the Thirteenth Region
(Chicago, Illinois). On August 18, 1938, the said Regional Director,
acting pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Relations
Board Rules and Regulations-Series 1, as amended, issued and served
upon the parties an Intermediate Report on the ballot. No objections
or exceptions to the Intermediate Report have been filed by any of
the parties.
As to the results of the secret ballot, the Regional Director reported
as follows : -
Total number eligible to vote------------------------------- 191
Total number of ballots cast-------------------------------- 177
Total number of ballots cast for International Ladies Garment
Workers Union ------------------------------------------- 55
Total number of ballots cast against International Ladies Gar-
ment Workers Union-------------------------------------- 119
Total number of challenged ballots cast----------------------- 3
Total number of blank ballots cast--------------------------- 0
Total number of void ballots cast----------------------------- o
The results of the election show that no collective bargaining repre-
sentative has been selected by a majority of the employees. The peti-
tion for investigation and-certification of representatives of employees
of The Clinton Garment Company, Clinton, Iowa, will therefore be
dismissed.
782 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
ORDER
By virtue of Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49
Stat. 449, and pursuant to Article III, Sections 8 and 9, of National
Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 1, as amended,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petition for investigation and certi-
fication of representatives of employees of The Clinton Garment Com-
pany, Clinton, Iowa, filed by International Ladies Garment Workers
Union, be, and it hereby is, dismissed.
MR. EDWIN S. SMITH took no part in the consideration of the above
Supplemental Decision and Order.
S N. L. 11. B, No. 90a