Goodman's, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Nov 18, 1952

101 N.L.R.B. 352 (N.L.R.B. 1952)

352 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATTOI1TS BOi IiD
As we have found on the record before us no "dispute" within the
meaning of Sections 8 (b) (4) (D) and 10 (k), we shall quash the
notice of hearing issued in this proceeding.
Order
On the basis of the foregoing findings of fact and conclusions of
law, and on the entire record in this case, the National Labor Relations
Board hereby orders that the notice of hearing heretofore issued
in this proceeding be, and it hereby is, quashed.
MEMBER HOUSTON took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Order.
GOODMAN'S, INC. and LOCAL 1430, INTERNATIONAL BROTIiERIHOOD OF
ELECTRICAL WORKERS, AFL, PETITIONER. Case No. £-R'Ci-4141.
November 18, 195
Decision and Order
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National La-
bor Relations Act, a hearing was held May 13, 1952, before Lewis
Moore, hearing officer. Pursuant to Board Orders on June 19 and
August 27, 1952, the proceeding was reopened and remanded for
further hearings, which were held on July 31 and September 15,
1952. The hearing officer's rulings made at the three hearings 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-mem-
ber panel [Chairman Herzog and Members Houston and Murdock].
The Employer, Goodman's, Inc., does business in Jersey City, New
Jersey, where it is engaged in the retail sale of electrical appliances
and the installation and servicing of radio and television sets. Be-
cause the volume of its interstate operations, if considered alone, falls
short of the Board's established jurisdictional minimal it is neces-
sary to decide whether the Board should, for jurisdictional purposes,
consider also the operations of certain related corporations.
The Employer is a wholly owned subsidiary of Baycull Trucking
Company, Inc., a holding and real estate managing corporation owned
by five families. This five-family group also owns a 90-percent inter-
est in Goodman Warehouse Corporation. The Warehouse Corpora-
1 During the 12 months preceding the original hearing, the Employer' s out -of-State
purchases were approximately $49,000, and its out-of-State sales amounted to approximately
$2,000.
101 NLRB No. 89.
GOODMAN' S, INC. 353
tion and Baycull each own a 50-percent interest in Goodman Furniture
Company. Goodman's, Inc. (the Employer), Goodman Furniture
Company, and Goodman Warehouse Corporation occupy contiguous
real estate owned by Baycull.
Baycull's manager, Nathan L. Goodman, who is also vice president
and a director of Baycull, is in addition the president and a director
of each of the other three corporations. Two other director-officers of
Baycull are the managers of the Employer and the Furniture Com-
pany, respectively. The fourth director-officer of Baycull is vice
president and a director of the Warehouse Corporation. However,
none of these men participates in the day-to-day operations of more
than one of the Goodman corporations.
All four corporations are conducted as separate enterprises. Apart
from the fact that the Employer rents all of its real estate from Bay-
cull and that it utilizes the services of the Warehouse Corporation
to an extent which constitutes less than 15 percent of the latter's reve-
nue,2 the Employer does no business with or for any of the other corpo-
rations in the group. It has a separate manager, offices, and books of
account, establishes separate credit ratings for its customers, and
handles its own selling activities. There is no interchange of em-
ployees. Hours, wages, and conditions of work are different in each
corporation. Labor relations policy is separately established by each
of the several managers.
Upon these facts and the record as a whole we conclude that it
will not effectuate the policy of the Act to assert jurisdiction over
the Employer, Goodman's, Inc. Although common ownership and
interlocking top control are significant elements in this kind of situa-
tion, the fact that the Goodman corporations are engaged in different
kinds of business 3 and that there is no substantial integration either of
operations or of labor relations policy 4 leads us to the conclusion that
we ought not to exercise our jurisdiction here.
Order
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petition filed herein be, and it hereby
is, dismissed.
2 The Employer and the Furniture Company together utilized about 15 percent (approxi-
mately $17,000 worth ) of the Warehouse Corporation 's services during the 12 months
preceding the first hearing. The amount and proportion used by the Employer alone was
not established.
Valhalla Memorial Park, 97 NLRB 903; Duke Power Company, 77 NLRB 652.
Chestnutt 's Stores, Inc , 100 NLRB 490 ; Whitfield Bus Lines , 88 NLRB 261 ; Toledo
Sertiice Parking Co., 96 NLRB 263.