Methodist Children's Home of Missouri

National Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsFeb 22, 1974

209 N.L.R.B. 211 (N.L.R.B. 1974)

METHODIST CHILDREN'S HOME OF MISSOURI Methodist Children's Home of Missouri and Service Employees, International Union, Local 50, AFL- CIO, Petitioner. Case 14-RC-74l 3 February 22, 1974 DECISION AND ORDER BY CHAIRMAN MILLER AND MEMBERS JENKINS AND PENELLO Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, a hearing was held before Hearing Officer Ethel M. Shipley . Following the hearing, and pursuant to Section 102.67 of the National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations , Series 8, as amended, the Regional Director for Region 14 transferred this case to the National Labor Relations Board for decision . Thereafter , the Employer filed a brief. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the National Labor Relations Board has delegated its authority in this proceeding to a three-member panel. The Board has reviewed the Hearing Officer's rulings made a t the hearing and finds that no prejudicial error was committed . They are hereby affirmed. Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds: The Petitioner seeks to represent certain employees of the Employer . The Employer contends that its operations are essentially local in nature and that its impact upon commerce is insufficient to warrant the assertion of the Board 's jurisdiction . We agree with the Employer's contention. The facts , which are essentially undisputed, show that the Employer is a nonprofit corporation , closely allied to the Methodist religion , which operates a home for orphans and emotionally disturbed child- ren at two locations in St . Louis, Missouri. The Employer's main facility consists of two buildings, one known as the Main Building , which houses the children and contains some offices , the other known as the Social Services Building which primarily contains office space . The main facility also contains a school for those children unable to attend public schools.' At the time of the hearing, there were 21 boys in residence at the main facility . The Employer is also responsible for children who have been placed in foster homes. 1 Although the Employer employs four teachers, in this connection, we are of the opinion that the record as a whole demonstrates that the Employer is primarily a specialized child care institution , and that it is not operated primarily as an educational institution or a "school." 2 Drexel Home. Inc. 182 NLRB 1045 This child care facility does not fall within the term "nursing home" as we have applied that term or as it is generally used in common parlance. We have not previously, nor would we 211 In addition to the main facility, the Employer also operates a group foster home known as "Hayes House," which is located approximately 5 miles from the main facility. Hayes House is primarily a place for boys of high school age who have completed their treatment but have no home to return to. At the time of the hearing, there were five boys in residence at Hayes House. The parties stipulated that during 1972 the Em- ployer had gross revenues in excess of $300,000, and purchased goods in excess of $14,000 directly from suppliers located outside the State of Missouri. The Employer receives over 80 percent of its income from church-related contributions. An additional 7 per- cent is derived from nonchurch, private contrib- utions, while 1.3 percent comes from the parents of boys receiving treatment in the Home. Finally, 7 percent is supplied by Federal and local governmen- tal agencies. The Board has asserted jurisdiction over child- caring institutions in The Children's Village, Inc., 186 NLRB 953, and Jewish Orphan's Home of Southern California a/k/a Vista Del Mar Child Care Service, 191 NLRB 32. The employer in Children's Village, supra, cared for approximately 240 boys, had gross annual revenues of $3.5 million, and annually purchased goods from out-of-state valued at $300,000 to $400,000. In asserting jurisdiction, the Board noted that the employer met all of the Board's ordinary jurisdictional standards. The employer in Jewish Children's Home, supra, cared for approxi- mately 106 children, had gross revenues of 1.24 million, and purchased food supplies valued in excess of $110,000 from a food service company located outside the State. In asserting jurisdiction, the Board again noted that the employer's revenues and expenditures were sufficient to meet any of the Board's ordinary jurisdictional standards. Unlike either Children's Village or Jewish Orphan's Home, the revenues and expenditures of the Employ- er herein do not meet any of the Board's existing jurisdictional standards which conceivably might be applicable to the Employer, with the exception of the nursing home standard.2 We find that the Employ- er's operations do not have the requisite impact upon commerce to justify our assertion of jurisdiction herein .3 Accordingly, we shall dismiss the petition. now, therefore , apply the standard applicable to that classification of institutions. 3 In the absence of any specific standards for this type of operation, we have applied existing standards , but we leave open the question of whether or not to establish a specific standard for such cases. See The Children's Village, Inc, 186 NLRB 953, and Jewish Orphan's Home of Southern California, a/k/a Vista Del Mar Child Care Service, 191 NLRB 32. 209 NLRB No. 20 212 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD ORDER tional Union, Local 50, AFL-CIO, be, and it hereby It is hereby ordered that the petition in Case is , dismissed. 14-RC-7413, filed by Service Employees Interna-