Rhodes, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsAug 25, 1959

124 N.L.R.B. 714 (N.L.R.B. 1959)

714 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 6. The General Counsel has failed to prove by a fair preponderance of the evi- dence that an object of the above-described inducement and encouragement was to force or require either O'Rourke Construction Company or Bock Construction Com- pany to cease doing business with Macatee, Inc. [Recommendations omitted from publication.] Bock Construction Company Wm. H. LaDew Company O'Rourke Construction Company Russell Plumbing Company APPENDIX B Ed Hogan, d/b/a Hogan Plastering Contractor American Roofing Company Gotham Electric Company Crisp & Vaughn Richardson school project John Deere project Exchange Park pioject APPENDIX C Reserve Life Insurance project DuBoise, Highway 75 project Great Southwest Corporation project Rhodes , Inc. and Local Union 991, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen & Helpers of America, Ind., Petitioner. Cases Not. 15-RC,-1968 and 15-RC-1974.1 August 25, 1959 DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before John H. Immel, Jr., hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three- member panel [Chairman Leedom and Members Bean and Fanning]. Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds : 1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act. 2. The labor organization involved claims to represent certain em- ployees of the Employer. 3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa- tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9(c)(1) in d Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. 4. The Petitioner seeks to represent warehouse employees at the Employer's five retail furniture stores located in the Pensacola, Flori- da, area of the Employer's operations, excluding salesmen, collectors, and office clerical employees. 'A consolidated hearing in Cases Nos. 15-RC-1968 and 15-RC-1974 was conducted on May 12 , 1959 , at Pensacola, Florida. On May 28, 1959 , Petitioner filed a request for withdrawal of its petition in Case No. 15-RC-1974. As we have been administratively advised that the Petitioner has taken no action inconsistent with its withdrawal request, and, as the Employer poses no objection thereto in its brief , the request for withdrawal is hereby granted. Subsequent reference herein to a petition are to the petition in Case No 15-RC-1968 124 NLRB No. 96. RHODES, INC. 715 The Employer opposes establishment of a unit limited to warehouse employees. It would include the salesmen and collectors on the ground that they perform functions closely interrelated with the duties of warehouse employees. It is silent with respect to the placement of ^oftice clerical employees. The Employer also maintains retail furniture stores in Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. The Employer, in agreement with the Petitioner, urges in its brief that any unit found appropriate should .embrace the five stores involved herein, which are all located in the Pensacola, Florida, area. Four of the Employer's retail stores are .located in Pensacola, the fifth, the Fort Walton store, is approximately 40 miles from Pensacola. As the Palafox, Escambia, Brownsville, Pensacola, and Fort Walton stores constitute a distinct geographical .segment of the Employer's operations, we find that a unit limited to -these five stores is appropriate. Employees at each of the five retail furniture stores in the Pensa- cola, Florida, area are generally engaged in sales, warehouse, and office functions.' All but one of these stores maintain, and are sup- plied from, their own warehouses. All warehouses are located in the .same building as the stores,' either on the same floor as, or adjacent to, the sales and office areas. Most of the warehouses are storage and