Petitioners in these two cases, consolidated for hearing, are Meijer, Inc., a company which operates a chain of super markets and " Thrifty Acres" stores, and the Consolidated Independent Union, which has represented up to this point the nonsupervisory employees in all of said stores. The company corporate headquarters are located in Walker, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids. The Consolidated Independent Union was certified by the National Labor Relations Board as bargaining representative for Meijer's approximately 1,000 employees in 1963 for the "17 retail establishments and [a] warehouse located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and environs." Since then the company and the union have grown. Nine new stores have been added as "accretions" to the existing bargaining unit. By 1974 Meijer's stores had increased to 25 and spread across Southern Michigan, with a total employment of between 6,000 and 9,000.
