Local 344, Retail Clerks Int'l Assn., AFL-CIO; Etc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 7, 1960

127 N.L.R.B. 1027 (N.L.R.B. 1960)

LOCAL 344 , RETAIL CLERKS INT'L ASSN ., AFL-CIO; ETC. 1027
as no union seeks a unit consisting of employees at all the locations of
the Employer, and as no collective bargaining resulted from the
earlier proceeding , there is no obstacle to the Board 's conclusion that
a more restricted unit may be appropriate.
In view of the geographic separation of the various operations, the
lack of employee interchange , the degree of local plant autonomy,
the separate immediate supervision at each plant , the absence of any
bargaining history, and the fact that no other labor organization
seeks a broader unit, we find, notwithstanding some degree of inter-
relation which exists between the Employer 's plants, that a unit
confined to production and maintenance employees, including truck-
drivers, at the Cayce and Dixianna operations is appropriate.' Ac-
cordingly , we find that the following unit is appropriate for purposes
,of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the
Act :
All production and maintenance employees, including truckdrivers,
of Southeastern Concrete Sales, Inc., Southeastern Concrete Prod-
ucts Company , and Southeastern Sand Co. at Cayce, South Carolina,
and Dixianna , South Carolina , excluding all clerical employees , sales-
men, technicians and professional employees , guards, and supervisors
as defined in the Act.
In view of the above unit determination, the Employer 's motion to
dismiss, based on the ground that the petitions herein request an inap-
propriate unit, is hereby denied.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.]
6,lfaule Industries, Inc, 117 NLRB 1710, 1711-1712 ; Kennecott Copper Corporation,
125 NLRB 107, Standard Truck i ng Company, 122 NLRB 761, 762
Local 344, Retail Clerks International Association , AFL-CIO;
and Retail Clerks International Association , AFL-CIO and
Alton Myers Brothers , Inc. Case No. 14-CB-686. Jwne 7,1960
DECISION AND ORDER
On November 30, 1959, Trial Examiner Earl S. Bellman issued his
Intermediate Report in the above-entitled proceeding, finding that
the Respondents had not violated the Act as alleged in the complaint
and recommending that the complaint be dismissed.' Thereafter, the
General Counsel and the Respondents filed exceptions and briefs.
Pursuant to the provisionis of Section 3(b) of the National Labor
Relations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with
'Because the Board believes that this Decision and Order makes adequate disposition
of the issue presented, the Intermediate Report is not annexed hereto
127 NLRB No. 138.
1028 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
this case to a three-member panel [Members Rodgers, Bean, and
Fanning].
The sole issue 2 in this case is whether, as the complaint alleged, the
Respondents violated Section 8(b) (1) (A) of the Act by peacefully
picketing the Company's premises to compel the Company to recognize
Local 344 as the exclusive bargaining representative of the Company's
employees in an appropriate unit at a time when it did not represent
a majority of such employees. The Trial Examiner recommended
dismissal of the complaint on the ground that the General Counsel
had not established that recognition was an object of the picketing.
On March 28, 1960, the Supreme Court issued its decision in
N.L.R.B. v. Drivers, Chauffeurs and Helpers Local Union No. 639
etc. (Curtis Brothers Inc.), 3 in which the Court held that peaceful
picketing by a union which does not represent a majority of the em-
ployees to compel recognition as the employees' exclusive bargaining
agent is not an unfair labor practice under Section 8(b) (1) (A) of
the Act.
Accordingly, as the decision of the Supreme Court in the Curtis
case is controlling as to the allegations herein, we shall, in compliance
therewith, dismiss the complaint without passing on the Trial
Examiner's findings and conclusions.
[The Board dismissed the complaint.]
2 As stated in the Intermediate Report, the Company is engaged in the retail clothing
business in Alton, Illinois . It is one of seven such separately incorporated enterprises in
the State of Illinois , whose labor , fiscal, and merchandising policies are centrally con-
trolled and uniformly applied by the seven Myers family brothers and cousins , who also
occupy most of the executive positions and directorships of each corporation and, together,
comprise the majority stockholders thereof. The seven corporations made gross sales in
excess of $5,000 ,000 from the period of February 1, 1958, to January 31 , 1959, and made
out-df-State purchases in excess of $2,500,000 during the fiscal year ending January 31,
1958. We find, in agreement with the Trial Examiner , that the seven corporations are a
single employer within the meaning of the Act. Orkin Exterminating Company Inc. (of
Kentucky), 115 NLRB 622 . We further find, as did the Trial Examiner, that the Com-
pany is engaged in commerce and that it will effectuate the policies of the Act to assert
jurisdiction. Carolina Supplies and Cement Co., 122 NLRB 88.
2 362 U.S. 274.
Revere Metal Art Co., Inc. and International Union of Electri-
cal, Radio, and Machine Workers of America, Local 477, AFL-
CIO. Case No. 2-CA-6560. June 7, 1960
DECISION AND ORDER
On January 6, 1960, Trial Examiner Thomas A. Ricci issued his
Intermediate Report in the above-entitled proceeding, finding that the
Respondent had engaged in and was engaging in certain unfair labor
practices and recommending that it cease and desist therefrom and
127 NLRB No. 127.