National Labor Relations Board v. Chicago Health & Tennis Clubs, Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
567 F.2d 331 (1977)
- Written by Rose VanHofwegen, JD
Facts
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) (plaintiff) certified two bargaining units of employees at single retail stores in the Chicago-based chains Chicago Health & Tennis Clubs, Inc. (CHC) and Saxon Paint & Home Care Centers (Saxon) (defendants). CHC operated 16 Chicago clubs, while Saxon had 21 stores in Chicago and seven more elsewhere. The Saxon stores were virtually identical, while CHC operated three formats with differing facilities. Both chains had integrated, centralized management hierarchies with district managers or area supervisors, but CHC’s operations and procedures were not as highly centralized as Saxon’s. Saxon store-level managers had limited involvement in labor-relations and personnel matters, with no authority to make employment decisions. Upper management conducted all interviews, hiring, and training at central offices. Each CHC club manager had a marked degree of authority over personnel and labor-relations matters, including disciplinary authority over employees and control over the terms and conditions of their employment. Unlike Saxon, CHC’s store-level managers supervised most day-to-day employment activities without centralized management significantly interfering. Saxon frequently interchanged employees between locations, while CHC rarely did so. Finally, only Saxon had a prior history of collective bargaining, as the Retail Clerks Union (union) already represented a unit of employees at two Saxon stores in Indiana. The union petitioned for and won elections to represent a unit in each chain, limited to one Chicago store’s employees. Both employers refused to bargain, claiming the unit was inappropriate. The NLRB found both employers had violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and petitioned for enforcement.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Swygert, J.)
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