The 1950-1951 contract with National Tea Co. included a lengthy clause defining the bargaining unit. Was inclusion of the clause Sutherland's way to prepare for the eventuality of self-service meat counters, or the union's attempt to inform employers that it would continue to insist on a legitimate position in meat department jurisdiction? “I would think that there was a little bit of both involved in this.” Meat department was gradually losing some products over which meat cutters had jurisdiction--butter, lard, bacon, for example. The union believed continuation would result in fewer jobs for butchers. Central meat processing plants would even further erode jobs. Contract language was designed to reflect those concerns and protect jobs.
