Marion Manufacturing Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Nov 7, 1952

101 N.L.R.B. 256 (N.L.R.B. 1952)

256 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
MARION MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LEBANON MANUFACTURING COM-
PANY, SPORTLEIGH HALL, INC., GLASGOW MANUFACTURING COMPANY
and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF FIREMEN AND OILERS, LOCAL
#320, AFL,1 PETITIONER
LEBANON MANUFACTURING COMPANY, MARION MANUFACTURING COM-
PANY, GLASGOW MANUFACTURING COMPANY, SPORTLEIGH HALL, INC.,2
and LOCALS 472, 481, AND 526, INTERNATIONAL LADIES' GARMENT
WORKERS' UNION, AFL,a PETITIONER. Cases Nos. 9-RC-1535, 9-
RC-1536, 9-RC-1565, 9-RC-1594, and 9-RC-1654. November 7,
1952
Decision and Direction of Election
Upon separate petitions duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the
National Labor Relations Act, a consolidated hearing 4 was held
before Bernard Marcus, 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 these cases to a three-
Hereinafter referred to as Local 320.
The petition and other formula papers in Case No. 9-RC -1654 are hereby amended to
show the correct name of Employer Lebanon Manufacturing Company.
8 Hereinafter referred to as the ILGWU.
* The petitions as consolidated for hearing did not include the ILGWU 's petition in
Case No. 9-RC-1654 which was not filed until after the hearing on Local 320's petitions.
After filing its petition , the ILGWU moved to intervene with respect to Local 320's peti-
tions and , Joined in by the Employers , further moved to consolidate its petition with the
other petitions herein . Local 320, by way of opposition to these motions , moved to dismiss
the ILGWU 's petition on the grounds , among others , that ( 1) to consider such petition
and to grant further consolidation would unduly delay the processing of its petitions, and
(2) the ILGWU has waived its interest in the employees herein by its failure , although
served with notice thereof , to intervene at the hearing involving these employees.
We find no merit to contention ( 1) for the reason that subsequent to the above motions,
all parties herein waived a hearing in Case No . 9-RC-1654 and stipulated that the transcript
of the proceedings in Cases Nos 9-RC-1535, 1536, 1565, and 1594 should constitute part
of the record in Case No 9-RC-1654. In view of the foregoing stipulation , this proceed-
ing will not be protracted by a further consolidation of petitions. Contention ( 2) lacks
merit because the record discloses that although the claims of both Petitioners overlap,
the ILGWU seeks to represent a substantially different group of employees from those
sought by Local 320. Accordingly , it was proper for the ILGWU to file a petition on its
own behalf rather than merely to intervene in the pending proceedings . See Associated
Shoe Industries of Southeastern Mass., Inc, 81 NLRB 224. Moreover , the fact that the
ILGWU did not intervene at the hearing cannot be considered a waiver of its interest in
the employees herein as the Board has frequently permitted a labor organization to
intervene after the close of a hearing where , as here, its showing of interest was acquired
before the hearing . See Fedders-Quigan Corporation, 88 NLRB 512; Consolidated Vultee
Aircraft Corporation , 80 NLRB 116 . Accordingly , the motion to dismiss is hereby denied
and as the Petitioners ' claims overlap and similar unit issues are involved in all these
petitions , Case No. 9-RC-1654, for the purposes of decision , is hereby consolidated with
Cases Nos . 9-RC-1535, 1536 , 1565, and 1594 and each Petitioner herein shall be regarded
as an Intervenor with respect to the other 's petition or petitions . Carbide t Carbon
Chemicals Corporation, 88 NLRB 437.
101 NLRB No. 76.
MARION MANUFACTURING COMPANY 257
member panel [Chairman Herzog and Members Murdock and
Peterson].
Upon the entire record in these cases, the Board finds :
1. The Employers are engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain em-
ployees of the Employers.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of employees of the Employers within the meaning of Section 9
(c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. Local 320, in its petitions as amended at the hearing, seeks a
multiemployer unit consisting of all sewing machine mechanics,
maintenance employees, and firemen at the Employers' plants in Leba-
non, Harrodsburg, and Glasgow, Kentucky, excluding sweepers,
shipping and receiving department employees, truck drivers, office
clericals, watchmen, time-study employees or engineers, supervisors as
defined in the Act, and those employees now represented by the
ILGWU. However, should the Board find its primary unit request
inappropriate, it will accept a unit including the sweepers and ship-
ping and receiving department employees or the unit deemed appro-
priate by the Board.
The ILGWU, in its petition, seeks to add to its existing multi-
employer unit of production employees 5 all sewing machine mechanics,
maintenance employees, sweepers, and shipping and receiving depart-
ment employees, excluding firemen, truck drivers, office clericals,
watchmen, time-study employees or engineers, and supervisors as de-
fined in the Act. The Employers agree with the voting group con-
tention of the ILGWU except insofar as it excludes the firemen whom
the Employers would include. The ILGWU, in the alternative,
would, in agreeniQnt with the Employers, include the firemen.
There is nothing in the record to support Local 320's initial unit
contention limited to the Employers' sewing machine mechanics,
maintenance employees, and firemen. None of the employees in the
unit thus sought are craftsmen, nor do such employees otherwise con-
stitute by themselves a distinct and homogeneous group with interests
different from those of other employees such as the Board has recog-
nized may be separately represented. Rather, the record shows that
the Employers' sewing machine mechanics, firemen, maintenance em-
ployees, sweepers, and shipping and receiving department employees
all have interests and conditions of employment similar to those em-
ployees now represented by the ILGWU. As such, they may appro-
5 The ILGWU currently represents a multiemployer unit of the Employers' production
employees who constitute about 85 percent to 90 percent of the Employers ' total comple-
ment of employees.
258 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
priately be added to the ILGWU's existing unit. Accordingly, we
shall reject the ILGWU's initial request to exclude the firemen, but
shall include them in the voting unit as requested by the Employers
and the ILGWU, in the alternative.
On the other hand, pursuant to Local 320's alternative request, we
find that these employees constitute a residual group of employees a
whom the Board has, under similar circumstances, previously allowed
to be separately represented, if they so desired.' Accordingly, we shall
direct an election among all sewing machine mechanics, firemen,"
maintenance employees,9 sweepers,10 and shipping and receiving de-
partment employees at the Employers' plants in Lebanon, Harrods-
burg, and Glasgow, Kentucky, excluding truck drivers, office cleri-
cals,'1 watchmen, time-study employees or engineers, supervisors 12 as
defined in the Act, and those employees now represented by the
ILGWU.18
If a majority vote for the ILGWU they will be taken to have indi-
cated their desire to be included in the unit now represented by the
ILGWU, and the Regional Director conducting the election directed
herein is instructed to issue a certification of results of election to such
effect. In the event a majority vote for Local 320, they will be taken
to have indicated their desire to constitute a separate appropriate unit
and the Regional Director is instructed to issue a certification of
representatives to Local 320 for such units.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication in this
volume.]
See Jacobs Manufacturing Company, 99 NLRB 482; The Wilson H. Lee Company,
97 NLRB 1023.
7 See Houston Lighting & Power Company, 100 NLRB 76 ; see also, Central Mercedita,
Inc., 100 NLRB 1168 , and cases cited therein. 0
8 Included in this category are employees who are also variously referred to as boilermen
or oilers.
9In accord with the stipulation of the parties, we shall exclude Pedigo, a high school
student who works 6 hours on Saturdays.
10 Included in this category are employees who are also variously referred to as janitors
or maids.
11 Included in this category are those clerical employees who, although they occasionally
go into the production areas for information , work predominantly in the Employers'
offices.
u Excluded under this classification is Peda, the head sewing machine mechanic at
Glasgow. The head sewing machine mechanics at the Employers ' other plants are included
in the unit on the basis of the parties ' stipulation that they are not supervisors within
the meaning of the Act.
18 The excluded classifications are described in accordance with the agreement of the
parties.