Fitzgerald Cotton Mills

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jan 21, 1938

4 N.L.R.B. 1121 (N.L.R.B. 1938)

In the Matter of FITZGERALD COTTON MILLS and TEXTILE WORKERS
ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Case No. R-480.-Decided January 01, 1938
Cotton, Textile Industi y-Invest igation of Representatives : controversy con-
cerning representation of employees ; substantial doubt as to majority status
created by failure to introduce union membership cards-Unit Appropriate
for Collective Bargaining : production employees , exclusive of clerical and super-
visory employees ; no controversy as to-Election Ordered
Mr. Al. A. Prowell, for the Board.
Mr. J. C. McDonald, of Fitzgerald, Ga., for the Company.
Mr. Alton Lawrence, of Columbus, Ga., for the T. W. O. C.
Mr. S. G. Lippman, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On July 24, 1937, Textile Workers Organizing Committee, herein
called the T. W. O. C., filed with the Regional Director for the Tenth
Region (Atlanta, Georgia) a petition alleging that a question affect-
ing commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees
of Fitzgerald Cotton Mills, Fitzgerald, Georgia, herein called the
Company, and requesting an investigation and certification of rep-
resentatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations
Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On November 8, 1937, 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 December 3, 1937, the Regional Director issued a notice of
hearing and an amended notice of hearing on December 8, 1937,
copies of which were duly served upon the Company and the
T. W. O. C. Pursuant to the notice, as amended, a hearing was
held on December 10, 1937, at Fitzgerald, Georgia, before D. Lacy
McBryde, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Board. The
Board and the Company were represented by counsel and the Union
1121
1122 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
was represented by the Regional Director for the T. W. O. C. All
participated in the hearing. Full opportunity to be heard, to ex-
amine and cross -examine witnesses , and to introduce evidence bearing
upon the issues was afforded all parties.
At the hearing, the Company filed a special appearance asking a
dismissal of the petition on the ground that the Board was withou:
jurisdiction and on the ground that any proceeding under the peti-
tion would be in violation of the first amenctment of the Constitu-
tion. The Board has reviewed the special appearance and finds
it to be without merit. The request for dismissal of the petition
is hereby denied. The Company also filed an answer which denied
that the T. W. O. C. represented a majority of the employees of the
Company or that the T. W. O. C. had requested the Company to
recognize it as the bargaining representative of the employees.
During the course of the hearing the Trial Examiner made several
rulings on motions and objections to the admission of evidence. The
Board has reviewed the rulings of the Trial Examiner and finds that
no prejudicial errors were committed. The rulings are hereby
affirmed.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
The Fitzgerald Cotton Mills, a Georgia corporation, is engaged in
the manufacture, sale, and distribution of cotton cloth. The Com-
pany's principal office and plant are located at Fitzgerald , Georgia.
On July 24, 1937, the Company employed 376 people.
The principal raw material used in the Company's business is cot-
ton. All of the cotton used by the Company is produced within a
radius of fifty miles of Fitzgerald , Georgia. The Company , however,
obtains 25 per cent of its machinery parts from points outside of
Georgia. The Company also uses mill supplies valued at approxi-
mately $52,000 , and approximately 50 per cent of such supplies are
secured from sources outside of Georgia.
The Company produces annually 2,600 ,000 pounds of cotton cloth
valued at $900,000. The entire amount of this cloth is sold through a
New York commission house, and 90 per cent. cf the cloth is shipped
to points outside of Georgia.
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
Textile Workers Organizing Committee is a labor organization,
affiliated with the Committee for Industrial Organization, admitting
to its membership all production and maintenance employees of the
Company, excluding clerical and supervisory employees.
DECISIONS AND ORDERS 1123
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
On July 22, 1937, Alton Lawrence, T. W. 0. C. representative, and
two employees of the Company conferred with J. H. Mayes, vice
president and superintendent of the Company. According to Law-
rence's testimony, Mayes was informed that the T. W. 0. C. repre-
sented a majority of the Company's employees and that it desired
recognition as the bargaining representative of such employees.
Mayes denied that Lawrence requested recognition of the T. W. 0. C.
as the bargaining representative of the Company's employees. The
T. W. 0. C. claims that approximately 341 employees of the Company
are included within its membership.
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 operation of the Company
described in Section I above, has a close, intimate and substantial re-
lation 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 T. W. 0. C. alleges in its petition that all the mill production
employees of the Company, exclusive of clerical and supervisory em-
ployees, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining. Testimony at the hearing showed that the T. W. 0. C.
seeks to.include within the bargaining unit all production and mainte-
nance employees of the Company. The Company raised no objec-
tion to the unit claimed by the T. W. 0. C. as appropriate.
We find that the production and maintenance employees of the
Company, excluding clerical and supervisory employees, constitute
a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining 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. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
The record shows that the Company employs approximately 350
employees within the appropriate unit. The T. W. 0. C. claims to
have within its membership 341 employees of the Company.
Lawrence, the T. W. 0. C. representative, testified that he saw 100
employees sign T. W. 0. C. membership cards, and that he received
1 124 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
signed cards from 50 to 100 additional employees. No membership
cards were, however, introduced into evidence.
We find that the question which has arisen concerning representa-
tion can best be resolved by the holding of an election by secret
ballot. Those eligible to vote shall be the production and mainte-
nance employees who were on the Company pay roll as of July 24.
1937, the date of the filing of the petition, excluding clerical and
supervisory employees, and ' excluding those employees who have
since quit or been discharged for cause.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of employees of Fitzgerald Cotton Mills, Fitzgerald, Geor-
gia, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and
(7) of the National Labor Relations Act.
2. The production and maintenance employees of the Company,
excluding clerical and supervisory employees, constitute a unit ap-
propriate for the purposes of collective bargaining, within the mean-
ing 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
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation authorized by the Board
to ascertain representatives for collective bargaining with Fitzgerald
Cotton Mills, Fitzgerald, Georgia, an election by secret ballot shall
beconducted within fifteen (15) days from the date of this Direction,
under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for
the Tenth 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 the production and maintenance em-
ployees employed by the Company on July 24, 1937, excluding cleri-
cal and supervisory employees, and those employees who have since
quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether or not they
desire to be represented by Textile Workers Organizing Committee
for the purposes of collective bargaining.