Winthrop Chemical Co., Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jan 13, 1945

59 N.L.R.B. 1550 (N.L.R.B. 1945)

`In the Matter Of WINTHROP CHEMICAL COMPANY, INC. and WHOLESALE
& WAREHOUSE WQRN;FRS UNION, LOC=AL 65, CIO
Case No. 2-R-5128.-Decided January 13, 1915
Mr. George S. Hills, of New York City,. for the Company.
Messrs. Leonard H. Wacker and Mac Mattis, of New York City,
for the Union.
Mr. Harold M. Humphreys, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon a petition duly filed by Wholesale & .Warehouse Workers
Union, Local 65, CIO, herein called the Union, alleging that a question
,affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of em-
ployees of Winthrop Chemical Company, Inc., New York City, herein
=called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board provided
for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before Jerome I. Macht,
'Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at New York City, on
-December 5, 1944. The Company and the Union appeared and par-
ticipated.l All parties were afforded full opportunity to be heard,
to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence
bearing on the issues. The Trial Examiner's rulings 1nade at the
hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. All
parties were afforded an opportunity to file briefs with the Board.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Winthrop Chemical Company, Inc., is a New York corporation
engaged in the manufacture, sale and distribution of pharmaceutical,
i Although duly served with Notice of Hearing , Federal Labor Union, Local 20734,
A. F. L., failed to appear.
59 N. L. R. B., No. 283.
1550
WINTHROP CHEMICAL COMPANY, INC. 1551
chemical and medicinal products. It has plants in Renssalaer, New
York, and West Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and warehouses in New
York City, Renssalaer, New York, Chicago, Illinois, and San Fran-
cisco, California. In addition, it has 12 divisional offices located
throughout the United States: We are concerned in the instant pro-
ceeding with the employees in the Company's New York City Metro-
politan Divisions A and B. The Company's warehouse in New York
City annually handles products valued in excess of $100,000, of which
in excess of 5 percent is shipped from, and more than 85-percent is
shipped to, points outside the State of New York.
The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
H. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
Wholesale & Warehouse Workers Union, Local 65, affiliated with
the Congress of Industrial Organizations, is a labor organization
admitting to membership employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Company has refused to grant recognition to the Union as the
exclusive bargaining representative of certain of its-employees until
the Union has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit.
A statement of a Board agent, introduced into evidence at the hear-
ing, indicates that the Union represents a substantial number of
employees in the unit hereinafter found appropriate.2
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Company, within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Union seeks a unit composed of the representatives of the detail
and sales division 3 who work out of the Company's New York City
Metropolitan Divisions A and B, excluding office, shipping, packing,
warehouse, and supervisory employees. However, the Company con-
tends that the appropriate unit should encompass its entire sales force
throughout the United States, or in the alternative the sales force of its
Eastern Division, which consists of offices in Atlanta, Georgia, Boston,
2 The Field Eataminer reported that the Union submitted 17 membership cards and that
all names appearing on the cards were listed on the Company 's pay roll for the period
ending November 3, 1944, which contained the names of 32 employees in the alleged
appropriate unit.
The detail and sales division is not to be confused with any of the 12 geographic divi-
sional offices of the Company.
618683-45-vol. 59-99
1552 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Massachusetts, Buffalo, New York, Baltimore, Maryland, and Metro-
politan New York City.
All representatives of the detail and sales division have substantially
the same qualifications, duties, responsibilities and pay range; most
of the representatives are registered and licensed pharmacists; all of
them sell the Company's products and they call on stores, physicians,
hospitals, wholesale druggists, and veterinarians. In addition to sell-
ing, they also explain the chemical composition, dosage and methods of
administering the Company's products. With the exception of those in
the New York City Metropolitan Divisions A and B, most of the repre-
sentatives do considerable traveling at the expense of the Company.
There are 32 representatives of the detail and sales division who work
out of the office located at 170 Varick Street, New York City, known as
the Company's Metropolitan Divisions A and B. As noted above,
they have the same duties as other representatives. However, they
reside in the New York City area and they are not required to do any
traveling which would detain them overnight. The Metropolitan
Divisions, like all other divisions, are each supervised by a manager
and assistant manager. In the absence of the manager of either Metro-
politan Division A or B, the other acts in his place. Moreover there
is interchange of employees between the Metropolitan Divisions A and
B, but substantially none between those divisions and the Company's
remaining divisions.
In view of the foregoing facts, we find that all representatives of
the detail and sales division of the Company, who work out of its
office located at 17k) Varick Street, New York City, known as the
Metropolitan Divisions A and B, but excluding office, shipping, pack-
ing, warehouse employees, managers, assistant managers, and all other
supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge,
discipline, or otherwise effect, changes in the status of employees, or
effectively recommend such action, constitute a unit appropriate for
the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Sec-
tion 9 (b) of the Act.
V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We shall direct that the question concerning representation which
has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot among the em-
ployees in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-roll
period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election
herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in the Direc-
tion.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor
Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations
WINTHROP CHEMICAL COMPANY, INC. 1553
Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Rela-
tions Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, as amended, it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa-
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Winthrop Chem-
ical Company, Inc., New York City , an election by secret ballot shall
.be conducted as early as possible , but not later than thirty ( 30) days
from the date of this Direction , under the direction and supervision
of the Regional Director for the Second Region, acting in this matter
as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Ar-
ticle III, Sections 10 and 11, of said Rules and Regulations , among the
employees in the unit found appropriate in Section IV, above., who
were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the
date of this Direction, including employees who did not work dur-
ing the said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or
temporarily laid off, and including employees in the armed forces of
the United States who present themselves in person at the polls, but
excluding those employees who have since quit or been discharged for
cause and have not been rehired or reinstated prior to the date of the
election, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by
Wholesale & Warehouse Workers Union, Local 65, CIO , for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining.