Marshall Field & Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 30, 1947

74 N.L.R.B. 411 (N.L.R.B. 1947)

In the Matter Of MARSHALL FIELD & COMPANY, EMPLOYER and
MARSHALL FIELD EMPLOYEES UNION, LOCAL 242, A. F. OF L.,
PETITIONER
Case No. 13-R-J 06.-Decided June 30, 1947
Messrs. Ralph E. Bowers and Lloyd H. Richmond, of Chicago, Ill.,
for the Employer.
Mr. Daniel D. C,arrmell, by Joseph E. Gubbins, and Martin Heck-
mann, of Chicago, Ill., for the Petitioner.
Mr. Gerald P. Leicht, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
Upon a petition duly filed, the National Labor Relations Board on
April 29, 1947, conducted a prehearing election among employees of
the Employer in the alleged appropriate unit, to determine whether
or not they desired to be represented by the Petitioner for the purposes
of collective bargaining.
At the close of the Election a Tally of Ballots was furnished the
parties. The Tally shows that of the approximately 607 eligible
voters, 457 cast valid ballots, of which 285 were for, and 172 against,
the Petitioner ; there were 3 challenged ballots.
Thereafter, a hearing in the case was held at Chicago, Illinois, on
May 19, 1947, before Max Rotenberg, hearing officer. The hearing
officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error
and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in' the case, the National Labor Relations
Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER
Marshall Field & Company, an Illinois corporation having its prin-
cipal office and place of business in Chicago, Illinois, operates textile
mills in North Carolina and Virginia, and department stores in Illi-
nois and Washington. This proceeding is concerned only with the
74N.L R.B,No.73. 411
412 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Employer's State Street, Chicago, department store. During 1945,
the Employer purchased for resale in the State Street store, merchan-
dise valued in excess of $30,000,000, of which approximately 80 per-
cent was obtained outside the State of Illinois. During the same year,
the Employer's total sales of merchandise from this store exceeded
$40,000,000, of which approximately 12 percent was shipped out of the
State.
We find that the Employer is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.'
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
The Petitioner is a labor organization affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor, claiming to represent employees of the
Employer.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Employer refuses to recognize the Petitioner as the exclusive
bargaining representative of employees of the Employer until the
Petitioner has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit.
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Employer, within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Petitioner seeks a unit of all regular restaurant division em-
ployees of the Employer's State Street store, Chicago, Illinois, in-
cluding regular short-hour employees, but excluding clerical
employees, bake shop employees, general employees, hostesses, all
supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge,
discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or
effectively recommend such action, and all other employees.
The Employer's contention that a store-wide unit is the most appro-
priate unit, and that a unit of non-selling employees might be
appropriate, has been previously considered and rejected by the
Board.2 There is no issue as to the categories of employees to be
included and excluded.
The restaurant division is one of the five major divisions in the
Operating Organization of the Employer.3 Each division has a man-
1 Jurisdiction over the Employer has been asserted by the Board in earlier proceedings.
See, e . g, Matter of Marshall Field t Company/, 73 N L. R. B 900; 67 N. L. R. B 1367 ;
57 N. L. R B 1244 ; 36 N.L R B 748.
2 See cases cited in footnote 1, supra
a The other four major divisions are • construction and maintenance , operating and
delivery service, customer services , retail manufacturing (work rooms)
MARSHALL FIELD & COMPANY' 413
ager who reports to the general operating manager. The manager of
the restaurant division directs the working activities of all employees
in the division in the performance of their duties through section
managers and supervisors.
,The record shows that there are approximately 600 employees in
the restaurant division. Their work consists of the conventional
duties of restaurant employees, such as processing, preparing, and
serving food to customers and employees of the Employer. The
principal places of employment and categories of employees at each
location are: (1) Main hitchen-chef, assistant chef, vegetable
preparation, vegetable cooks, fish preparation, chicken preparation,
meat cooks; (2) Service Pantries-sandwich makers, salad makers,
food servers, coffee makers; (3) Dining Rooni-waitresses, bus people;
(4) Cafeterias-the same categories as are employed in the main
kitchen, as well as counter girls; (5) Fountain-Dinette-counter
girls, sandwich makers, swing employees; and (6) Miscellaneous-
dish washers, stockroom employees.
Because it appears that the various categories of employees in the
restaurant divis cn have common, separate supervision, and that their
training, skills, and interests differ from those of other store em-
ployees, we find that they constitute a well-defined homogenous group-
ing, appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining .4
Accordingly, we find that all regular restaurant division employees
of the Employer's State Street store, Chicago, Illinois, including regu-
lar short-hour employees, but excluding clerical employees, bake shop
employees, general employees, hostesses, all supervisory employees
with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise
effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend
such action, and all other employees, constitute a unit appropriate for
the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section
9 (b) of the Act.
V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
The results of the election held before the hearing show that the
Petitioner has secured a majority of the valid votes cast. Accord-
ingly, we shall certify it as the collective bargaining representative of
the employees in the appropriate unit.
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
IT Is HEREBY CERTIFIED that Marshall Field Employees Union, Local
242, A. F. of L., has been designated and selected by a majority of
See Matter of W/whney's Depa? tment Store, 73 N L. R B 1245, Matter of Mc-
Iaerney Spring and Were Company, 61 N L. a. B. 842.
414 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
the employees in the unit described in Section IV, above, as their
representative for the purposes of collective bargaining, and that,
pursuant to Section 9 (a) of the Act, the said organization is the
exclusive representative of all such employees for the purposes of
collective bargaining with respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of
employment, and other conditions of employment.
CHAIRMAN HERZOG took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Certification of Representatives.