Fort Schuyler Knitting Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Sep 29, 1938

8 N.L.R.B. 1356 (N.L.R.B. 1938)

In the Matter of FORT SCHUYLER KNITTING COMPANY and TEXTILE
WORKERS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE OF THE C. I. O.
Case No. R-973-Decided September 29, 1938
Textile Industry-Investigation of Representatives : controversy concerning
representation of employees-Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining: all
employees at Utica, New York, plant, exclusive of supervisory employees, office
employees , watchmen, and engineers : stipulation as to, by all parties : interpre-
tation of , by Board-Election Ordered
Xt
.'Mr. Edward D. Flaherty, for the Board.
Mr. Angus W. Clarke, of Utica, N. Y., for the Company.
Mr. Alfred Udoff, of New York City, for the T. W. O. C.
Ribyat, Walsh c Myers, of Utica, N. Y., by Mr. John J. Walsh, for
the A. F. of L.
Mr. Bernard W. Freund, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On June 14, 1938, Textile Workers Organizing Committee, C. I. 0.,
herein called the T. W. O. C., filed with the Regional Director for
the Third Region (Buffalo, New York) a petition alleging that a
question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation
of employees of Fort Schuyler Knitting Company,' Utica, New York,
herein called the Company, and requesting an investigation and cer-
tification of representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National
Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On July
6, 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
Director to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing
upon due notice. On July 15, 1938, the Regional Director issued a
notice of hearing, copies of which, together with copies of the peti-
1 Designated in the petition as Ft. Schuyler Knitting Company.
8 N. L. R. B, No. 162.
1356
DECISIONS AND'OI DENS 1357
tion, were duly, served upon the Company, the T. W. O. C., and
the American Federation of Labor, herein called the A. F. of L., a
labor organization claiming to represent employees directly affected
by the investigation. -
Pursuant to the notice,, a hearink was held on July 28, 1938, at
Utica, New York, before Charles E. Persons, the Trial Examiner
duly designated by the Board. The Board, the T. W. O. C., and
the A. F. of L. were represented by counsel, the Company by its
secretary-treasurer, and all participated in the hearing. Full oppor-
tunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to
introduce evidence bearing on the issues was afforded all parties.
During the course of the hearing the Trial Examiner made several
rulings on objections to the admission of evidence. The Board has
reviewed these rulings and finds that no prejudicial errors were com-
mitted. The rulings are hereby affirmed. Pursuant to leave granted
by the Trial Examiner at the close of the hearing, a memorandum
was submitted by counsel for the T. W. O. C., and a brief was sub-
mitted by counsel for the A. F. of L., both of which the Board has
considered.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Fort Schuyler Knitting Company is a New York corporation en-
gaged in the manufacture of men's, women's and children's knitted
underwear and outerwear. Its plant and principal place of business
are situated in Utica, New York. The Company also maintains a
sales office at New York City, and employs salesmen who canvass
the States of the Northeast and Middle West. ' In. other States, ex-
cept in the South, the Company has commission agents for the sale
of its products.
In 1937, the Company expended approximately $374,465, for raw
materials,' of which over 90 ,per' cent were shipped to the Utica plant
from points outside the State of New York. In the same period
over 50 per cent of the Company's finished products, which had a
total value of approximately $639,000 were shipped from the Utica
plant to points outside the State of New York.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
Textile Workers Organizing Committee is a labor organization
affiliated with the Committee for Industrial Organization, admitting
to its membership productive workers in the textile industry. Local
1358 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
No. 42 of the T. W. O. C. admits to its membership employees of the
'Company at its Utica plant.
The American Federation of Labor is a labor organization. Textile
Workers Union No. 21601, a labor organization affiliated with the
A. F. of L. and in behalf of which the A. F. of L. appears to have
participated in these proceedings, admits to its membership em-
ployees of the Company at its Utica plant.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On May 25, 1937, the Company and the T. W. O. C. entered into
an agreement by which the Company recognized the T. W. O. C. as
the sole collective bargaining agency in respect to wages, hours, and
other conditions of employment, for all of its employees except
office help and employees in a supervisory capacity. By its terms,
the agreement was to remain in effect until June 1, 1938, and to be
continued from year to year thereafter, subject to written notice
by either party, 60 days prior to June 1 of each year, of desire to
change, alter, or amend the agreement.
Beginning on March 18, 1938, and continuing through April 1938,
an organizing campaign in behalf of the A. F. of L. and an un-
specified federal labor union of the A. F. of L. was conducted
among the approximately 170 employees of the Company, during
the course of which about 80 applications for membership were se-
cured. On April 20, 1938, the A. F. of L. granted a charter to
Textile Workers Union No. 21601, with jurisdiction over employees
of the Company at its Utica plant.
On May 15, 1938, a representative of the A. F. of L. notified the
Company that in the very near future Textile Workers Union No.
21601 would submit a proposed contract to the Company as the basis
for negotiations. Within a few days thereafter, the Company ad-
vised the T. W. O. C. that it would not continue negotiations then
pending between them for the execution of a new agreement until it
was determined which union -represented the employees.
Beginning about May 20, 1938, the T. W. O. C. circulated petitions
among the employees of the Company, providing for the designation
of the T. W. O. C. as sole collective bargaining agency in respect to
wages, hours, and other conditions of employment. By June 6, 1938,
these petitions had been signed by about 85 employees of the Com-
pany, of whom 25 had applied for membership in the A. F. of L.
in March or April 1938.
On June 21, 1938, following the filing of the petition herein, a
conference of representatives of the Board, the Company, and the
two unions was held for the purpose of arranging for an election
upon the consent of the parties. However, the parties were unable
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 1359
to agree on whether provision should be made on the ballots for
a space to indicate preference for neither union.
We find that a question concerning representation has arisen con-
cerning the 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
At the hearing all the parties stipulated that the appropriate unit
should consist of the employees whose names appear on the Com-
pany's combined pay rolls for the weeks ending May 28, June 11, and
July 23, 1938,1 except employees shown under the heading "Salaried,"
with the proviso that the Board determine whether Steve Warzala,3
Olga O'Brien,4 and J. Creamer,-1 should be excluded from the unit
because of the nature of their duties.
The employees listed on the combined pay rolls were identified as
employees in the Company's knitting, cutting, bleachery, shipping,
folding and pressing, and finishing departments, which, according to
the testimony of Angus W. Clarke, secretary-treasurer of the Com-
pany, constitute "all the departments." Clarke testified that many
of the employees devote part of their time to maintenance work, but
that "no one person . . . is entirely maintenance." The employees
shown under the heading "Salaried" were identified as foremen,
assistant foremen, engineers, watchmen, and office employees. War-
zala was identified as an assistant dyer, O'Brien as a head instructor
in the finishing department, directing the work of the inspectors and
trimmers, and Creamer as a knitting machine fixer.
We have stated that the T. W. O. C. heretofore has been recog-
nized by the Company as the exclusive representative of all of the
employees, exclusive of office and supervisory employees. Michael
Walsh, an organizer for the A. F. of L., testified that, during the
course of the'negotiations conducted for the purpose of arranging for
an election upon the consent of the parties, it was agreed that the
2 Board Exhibit No. 2
8 Appearing as S. F . Warzala in Board Exhibit No 2
' Appeasing as O. O'Brien in Board Exhibit No 2
6 Appearing as J. F . Creamer in Board Exhibit No 2
1360 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOAJW
appropriate unit should consist of all the production employees,
excluding office employees , foremen, assistant foremen, watchmen,
and engineers . Anthony Janiec, a representative of the T. W. O. C.,
who also participated - in the negotiations , testified that he thought
that it was agreed to exclude machine fixers also . In its brief sub-
mitted subsequent to the hearing , the A. F. of L . maintained that
the unit should consist of "production workers including ` fixers' but
exclusive of officers of the Company , clerical and office force, fore-
men, assistant foremen, and maintenance men including engineers,
firemen, and watchmen." There is no indication in the record that
any firemen are employed by the Company.
Upon the entire record in the case, we are of the opinion that
the parties intended , by their stipulation at the hearing, to define
the appropriate unit as including all the employees of the Com-
pany at its Utica plant except supervisory employees, office employees,
watchmen, and engineers . We see no reason to depart from the unit
agreed upon by the parties.
Warzala, O'Brien, and Creamer perform supervisory functions to
a limited extent , but none of them had been elevated, at the time of
the hearing, to the "Salaried" classification on the Company's pay
rolls, in which foremen and assistant foremen are listed . The A. F.
of L. has accepted applications for membership from both War-
zala and Creamer . While the positions of the parties on the ques-
tion of whether or not the three employees should be included in
the appropriate unit were not in all respects clearly defined in the
record, it appears that the T. W. O. C. desires these three employees
to be excluded from the unit, and that - both the A. F . of L. and
the Company desire their inclusion in the unit. Although not free
from doubt , we conclude , on the basis of the present record, that
Warzala and Creamer should be included in the appropriate unit,
and that O'Brien should be excluded from the unit.
We find that all the employees of the Company at its Utica, New
York, plant , exclusive of supervisory employees , office employees,
watchmen, and engineers , constitute a unit appropriate for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining, and that said unit will insure to em-
ployees 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. THE DETERMINATION ' OF- REPRESENTATIVES
In Section III above, we have noted that, beginning on March
18, 1938, and continuing through April 1938 , an organizing campaign
was conducted among the employees of the Company in behalf of
the A . F. of L . and that, beginning about May 20, 1938, a similar
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 1361
campaign was conducted by the T. W. O. C. At the hearing, the
signed application cards and petitions which were secured as a result
of these activities were.identified and'introduced into evidence. . Dur-
ing the noon recess of the hearing, the parties checked the names
appearing on these cards and petitions against the list of names
appearing on the Company's combined pay rolls for the weeks
ending May 28, June 11, and July 23, 1938. We have examined
the combined pay rolls of the Company, the A. F. of L. application
cards, the T. W. O. C. petitions, and the check of these documents
made by the parties, and find that the combined pay rolls contain
the names of 163 employees in the appropriate unit, and that 54 of
these employees signed A. F. of L. application cards only, 62 signed
T: W. O. C. petitions only, and 25 signed both A. F. of L. application
cards and T. W. O. C. petitions. One employee in the latter group
testified at the hearing that he desired to be represented by the
T. W. O.- C. ; the other 24 in this group did not testify.
The T. W. O. C. contended that, since all the signatures to its
petitions were secured subsequent to the signing of the A. F. of L.
application cards, it has proved that a majority of 87 of the 163
employees in the appropriate unit whose names appear on the com-
bined pay rolls desire to be represented by the T. W. O. C., and that
the Board should, therefore, certify the T. W. O. C. as exclusive
representative of all the employees in the appropriate unit. We find;
however, that the question concerning representation can best be
resolved by a secret ballot, and will so direct.
At the hearing, both unions used the Company's combined pay
rolls for the weeks ending May 28, Jude 11, and July 23, 1938, as
the basis for proving a majority; and the Company indicated at
the hearing that it considered the combined pay rolls to be a fair
basis for determining eligibility of employees to vote in an election.
Accordingly, eligibility to vote in the election shall be governed by
the combined pay rolls.
The A. F. of L. has requested the Board to make no provision for
the casting of ballots for neither union. Upon the authority of the
Interlake Iron case 6 and following cases, the request is hereby
denied.
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and upon the entire
record in the case, the Board makes the following :
CONCLUSIONS or LAW
1. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of employees of Fort Schuyler Knitting Company, Utica,
6 Matter of Interlake Iron Corporation and Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and
Tin Workers of North America , Local No. 1657 , 4 N L It. B 55. 58.
1362 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
New York, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6)
and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act.
2. All the employees of Fort Schuyler Knitting Company at its
Utica, New York, plant, exclusive of supervisory employees, office
employees, watchmen, and engineers , 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, 49 Stat. 449, 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 the purposes of collective
bargaining with Fort Schuyler Knitting Company, Utica. New York,
an election by secret ballot shall be conducted within fifteen (15)
days, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Direc-
tor for the Third 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 the employees of Fort
Schuyler Knitting Company who were employed at its Utica, New
York, plant during one or more of the weeks ending May 28, June 11,
and July 23, 1938, exclusive of supervisory employees, office em-
ployees, watchmen, and engineers, and excluding those who have
since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether they
desire to be represented, for the purposes of collective bargaining, by
the Textile Workers Organizing Committee, affiliated with the Com-
mittee for Industrial Organization, or by the American Federation
of Labor, or by neither.
MR. DONALD WAKEFIELD SMITH took no part in the consideration
of the above Decision and Direction of Election.