Oberman and Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Mar 20, 1939

11 N.L.R.B. 1238 (N.L.R.B. 1939)

In the Matter of OBERMAN AND COMPANY and UNITED GARMENT
WoRBERs OF AMERICA, LOCAL 229
Case No. C-1187.-Decided March 20, 1939
Clothing Manufacturing Industry-Settlement: stipulation providing for com-
pliance with Act, reinstatement and back pay-Order: entered on stipulation.
Mr. L. N. D. Wells, Jr., and Mr. Alba B. Martin, for the Board
Mr. Allan V. McDonnell, and Mr. Tom M. Pogue, of Waco, Tex.,
for the respondent.
Mr. Wm. R. Brooks, of Kansas City, Mo., for the United.
Mr. Jim Guthrie, of Dallas, Tex., Mr. Leon M. Despres, and Mr.
Newman Jeffrey, of Chicago, Ill., and Mr. Hyman Reiff, of Kansas
City, Mo., for the Amalgamated. _
Mr. Richard A. Williams, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
ORDER
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon charges and amended charges duly filed by United Garment
Workers of America, Local 229, affiliated with the American Federa-
tion of Labor, herein called the United, the National Labor Rela-
tions Board, herein called the Board, by the Regional Director for
the Sixteenth Region (Fort Worth, Texas), issued its complaint on
January 7, 1939, and its amended complaint" on January 24, 1939,
against Oberman and Company, Waco, Texas, herein called the re-
spondent, alleging that the respondent had engaged in and was
engaging in unfair labor practices affecting commerce within the
meaning of Section 8 (1) and (3) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the
National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act.
A copy of the complaint and the amended complaint and notices of
hearing thereon were duly served upon the respondent, the United,
and the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, Local 334,
i The hearing was adjourned on January 23 to permit service of the amended complaint
on January 24 with 5 days' notice to all parties.
11 N. L. R. B, No. 114.
1238
OBERMAN AND COMPANY DT AL . 1239
herein called the Amalgamated, a labor organization named in the
complaint.
Concerning the unfair labor practices the complaint as amended
alleged, in substance, that the respondent formed, dominated, inter-
fered with, and contributed financial and other support to the Amal-
gamated, in that the respondent expressed opposition to the United
and encouraged and intimidated its employees to affiliate with the
Amalgamated; that the respondent entered into an illegal closed-shop
contract with the Amalgamated; that the respondent discriminatorily
locked out and terminated the employment of and refused to reinstate
35 named individuals because they joined the United and refused
to join the Amalgamated; and that the respondent, by the aforesaid
and other acts, interfered with, restrained, and coerced its employees
in the exercise of their rights guaranteed in Section 7 of the Act.
On January 11, 1939, the Amalgamated filed its motions to intervene
in the proceedings and to transfer the hearing from Waco to Fort
Worth, Texas. The motion to intervene was granted January 14,
1939.2
On January 17, 1939, the respondent filed an answer to the com-
plaint in which it admitted the allegations concerning the scope and
nature of its business and the closed-shop contract with the Amalga-
mated; but denied that it had committed an unfair labor practice by
entering into a closed-shop contract with the Amalgamated and denied
all other allegations with respect to the unfair labor practices. On
January 31, 1939, the Amalgamated filed an answer to the complaint,
as amended, in which it denied, inter alia, that the respondent had
committed an unfair labor practice by entering into the closed-shop
contract with it.
Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held on January 23, 30, and 31,
and on February 1, 2, 3, 4, and 8,3 1939, at Waco, Texas, before Earl S.
Bellman, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Board. The
Board, the respondent, the United and the Amalgamated participated
in the hearing and were represented by counsel. Full opportunity to
be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce
evidence bearing upon the issues was afforded all parties. During the
course of the hearing the respondent filed a motion to dismiss the alle-
gations in the complaint, as amended, relative to the closed-shop
contract. The motion was denied. Thereafter, the Trial Examiner
granted without objection the motions made by counsel for the Board
to dismiss the complaint, as amended, in so far as it alleged that the
2 The record does not disclose a formal ruling on the motion to transfer the hearing,
but the requested transfer was not made.
a All parties agreed that they were duly notified of the hearing on February 8, 1939.
1240 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Amalgamated was dominated by the respondent and that the Amal-
gamated's contract was the culmination of the respondent's plan to
engage in unfair labor practices, and to substitute, therefor, an alle-
gation that the respondent expressed opposition to the United; and
to dismiss the complaint, as amended, in so far as it alleged the dis-
criminatory discharge of two persons. The afore-mentioned motions
were made contingent upon the Board's approval of the settlement
stipulation set forth below. The Board hereby affirms the afore-
mentioned rulings of the Trial Examiner.
During the course of the hearing the Trial Examiner made several
rulings on motions and on 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.
On February 4, 1939, the respondent, the United, the Amalgamated
and counsel for the Board entered into a stipulation in settlement of
the case. This stipulation provides as follows :4
STIPULATION
It is hereby stipulated and agreed by and between Oberman
and Company, respondent herein, and the United Garment
Workers of America and Local 229 thereof, the complaining
Union herein, and the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of Amer-
ica and Local 334 thereof, the intervenor herein, and L. N. D.
Wells, Jr. and A. B. Martin, Attorneys for the Sixteenth Region
of the National Labor Relations Board, as follows :
I
Respondent, Oberman and Company, is a Missouri corporation,
organized in 1932, with its domicile and principal place of busi-
ness in Jefferson City, Missouri. Respondent, Oberman and
Company, operates three garment factories, located at Jefferson
City, Missouri, Springfield, Missouri, and Waco, Texas. Re-
spondent operates in the State of Texas pursuant to authority
granted by a permit to do business in the State of Texas, issued
by the Secretary of State of Texas in November, 1936.
Respondent, at its Waco, Texas plant, manufactures men's
work clothing, both shirts and trousers. Raw materials used in
the manufacture of these products include cloth, thread, buttons,
etc. In the year 1938, respondent purchased approximately
4 Because it is identical with Appendix "A," infra, of the Board's Order in this case,
Exhibit "A" attached to the stipulation is not set forth.
OBERMAN AND COMPANY ET AL. 1241
$599,000.00 worth of such materials, of which more than ninety
percent were purchased from States of the United States other
than the State of Texas, and were transported by rail, truck and
water from States of the United States other than the State of
Texas, into the State of Texas. The products of respondent's
Waco plant had a value in the year 1938 of approximately Eight
Hundred and Fifty Thousand ($850,000.00) Dollars, of which
approximately Ninety-Five percent was shipped to States of the
United States other than the State of Texas.
Respondent's principal customers include Sears-Roebuck and
Company, Montgomery Ward, and J. C. Penney Company. Ap-
proximately Ninety-Eight percent of the products of re-
spondent's Waco plant are distributed nationally through the
above named customers.
All financial transactions involving the respondent's Waco
plant are handled through respondent's main office, located at
Jefferson City, Missouri, and sales of products of respondent's
Waco plant are made through respondent's Jefferson City office
by several traveling salesmen and a sales office which respondent
maintains in New York City, New York.
Respondent employs approximately four hundred and fifty
(450) persons at its Waco, Texas plant.
II
Respondent agrees and admits that it is engaged in interstate
commerce, within the meaning of Section 2, Subdivision (6) and
(7) of the National Labor Relations Act, and that respondent
is subject to the jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations
Board.
III
The National Labor Relations Board may forthwith make
jurisdictional findings based upon respondent's admission con-
tained in respondent's answer of the truth of the allegations of
paragraphs one, two, three and four of the complaint herein, and
upon the facts stipulated above, and upon the testimony hereto-
fore taken in these proceedings.
IV
All parties hereto hereby waive their right to further hearing
in this matter, and also waive the making of findings of fact and
conclusions by the National Labor Relations Board.
1242 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
V
All parties hereto agree and consent that the National Labor
Relations Board may forthwith enter an Order providing as
follows :
The respondent, Oberman and Company, shall:
1. Cease and desist from interfering with, restraining, or
coercing its employees in the exercise of their rights to self organ-
ization; to form, join or assist labor organizations; to bargain
collectively through representatives of their own choosing; and
to engage in concerted activities for the purpose of collective
bargaining or other mutual aid or protection, as guaranteed
by Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act;
2. Cease and desist from discriminating in regard to hire or
tenure of employment of any of its employees by discharging,
locking out, or in any other manner discriminating against any
of said employees for the purpose of discouraging membership
in the United Garment Workers of America, or any other labor
organization, provided that nothing in this Order shall preclude
respondent from making or abiding by an agreement with a
labor organization (not established, maintained, or assisted by
any action defined in the National Labor Relations Act as an
unfair labor practice) to require as a condition of employment
membership therein;
3. Take the following affirmative action to effectuate the poli-
cies and purposes of the National Labor Relations Act :
(a.) Offer immediate and full reinstatement without prejudice
to any seniority or other rights and privileges, to the individuals
named on Exhibit "A" attached hereto;
(b.) Make whole the individuals named on Exhibit "A" at-
tached hereto for any losses of pay they have suffered as a result
of their lockout by respondent, on April 25, 1938, to the extent of
paying to each of them the sum of money set forth opposite his
name on Exhibit "A" attached hereto;
(c.) Post and keep posted, for a period of at least sixty (60)
days from the date of the Order herein agreed to, in several con-
spicuous places throughout its Waco plant, copies of the Order
herein agreed to ;
(d.) Notify the Regional Director for the Sixteenth Region
of the National Labor Relations Board, within ten (10) days of
the date of the issuances of the Order herein agreed to, of the
steps the respondent, Oberman and Company, has taken to
comply herewith.
a At the hearing the words "of the date of the issuance" of the order were inserted
without objection.
OBERMAN AND COMPANY ET AL.
VI
1243
All parties hereto agree and consent to the entry by the Fifth
Circuit Court of Appeals of an enforcement Order embodying
the terms of the Board Order agreed to above, and all parties
hereby waive further notice of the entry of such Court order.
VII
All stipulations herein made are subject to the approval of the
National Labor Relations Board, and should the National Labor
Relations Board fail to approve the terms and conditions con-
tained herein, this stipulation shall be null and void and of no
effect, and the proceedings in this matter shall be in the same
status as if no stipulation had been entered into.
On February 7, 1939, the Board issued its order approving the
above-mentioned stipulation and transferring the proceedings to the
Board for the purpose of entry of a decision and order by the Board.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF. FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE RESPONDENT
The respondent, a Missouri corporation, with its principal place of
business in Jefferson City, Missouri, and a plant at Waco, Texas, is
engaged in the manufacture of men's work clothing including shirts
and trousers. The raw materials used in.the manufacturing opera-
tions of the respondent at its Waco plant include cloth, thread, and
buttons. During the year of 1938, the respondent purchased approxi-
mately $599,000 worth of raw materials of which more than 90 per
cent were received from points outside the State of Texas. During
the same year the products of the respondent's Waco plant had a
value of $850,000 of which approximately 95 per cent were shipped to
points outside the State of Texas. The respondent employs approxi-
mately 450 persons at its Waco, Texas, plant.
We find that the above-described operations constitute a continu-
ous flow of trade, traffic, and commerce among the several States.
ORDER
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact, stipulation, and the
entire record in the case, and pursuant to Section 10 (c) of the
1244 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
National Labor Relations Act, the National Labor Relations Board
hereby orders that Oberman and Company, Waco, Texas, shall:
1. Cease and desist from :
(a) Interfering with, restraining, or coercing its employees in the
exercise of their rights to self-organization, to form, join, or assist
labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives
of their own choosing, and to engage in concerted activities for the
purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection,
as guarantees) by Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act;
(b) Discriminating in regard to hire or tenure of employment of
any of its employees by discharging, locking out, or in any other
manner discriminating against any of said employees for the pur-
pose of discouraging membership in the United Garment Workers
of America, or any other labor organization, provided that nothing
in this Order shall preclude respondent from making or abiding
by an agreement with a labor organization (not established, main-
tained, or assisted by any action defined in the National Labor Rela-
tions Act as an unfair labor practice) to require as a condition of
employment membership therein.
2. Take the following affirmative action to effectuate the policies
and purposes of the National Labor Relations Act:
(a) Offer immediate and full reinstatement without prejudice to
any seniority or other rights and privileges, to the individuals named
in Appendix "A" attached hereto and made a part hereof ;
(b) Make whole the individuals named in Appendix "A", above
mentioned, for any losses of pay they have suffered as a result of
their lock-out by respondent, on April 25, 1938; to the extent of
paying to each of them the sum of money set forth opposite his name
in Appendix "A";
(c) Post and keep posted, for a period of at least sixty (60) days
from the date of this Order, in several conspicuous places through-
out its Waco plant, copies of this Order;
(d) Notify the Regional Director for the Sixteenth Region of the
National Labor Relations Board, within ten (10) days of the date
of the issuance of this Order, of the steps the respondent, Oberman
and Company, has taken to comply herewith.
OBERMAN AND COMPANY ET AL. 1245
EXHIBIT A
Margaret Anderson---------- $111.60 Lillie Belle Olson____________ $50.10
Bernice Fillingame ---------- 68.40 Muriel Peters________________ 104.70
Beryl Payne_________________ 97.80 Georgia Forrest______________ 114.90
Myrtle Payne________________ 113.10 Jewell Murphree_____________ 106.20
Janie West__________________ 111.90 Ruby Lee Reid_______________ 52.50
Minnie Thomas______________ 97.80 Evalene Sims________________ 116.10
Ella Bee Lippard ------------ 82.80 Gladys Sims ----------------- 69.60
Lucille Handlin______________ 98.40 Coy Payne___________________ 120.30
Melba Norman_______________ 96.00 C. L. Forest_________________ 111.60
Mallie Clemmons ------------ 30.00 Loraine Dorris_______________ 124.80
Myrtle Chorice -------------- 43.80 Christine Staudt_____________ 104.40
Edith Earle Hunt___________ 54.90 Reba Drake__________________ 105.90
Ottis Anderson_______________ 113.10 Ruby Lee Keith______________ 87.90
Pearl Jones__________________ 100.50 Louise Shaw_________________ 65.10
Doris Gray__________________ 120.00 Violet Bowen________________ 84.30
Ode Harwell ----------------- 103.50 Lorene Good_________________ 56.40
Inez Scott___________________ 81.60
1 The stipulation incorrectly designates as "0. D." Harwell.