Helms Motor Express, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsNov 20, 1953

107 N.L.R.B. 132 (N.L.R.B. 1953)

13 2 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD could not have interfered with, or have influenced, the results of the election. Assuming, without deciding, that Dotson was a supervisor, we believe that the designation of Dotson as an observer, in the circumstances of this case, was noprejudicialto the Inter- venor. The policy underlying the Board's rule against the use of supervisors as election observers is that their presence at the polls may unduly influence employees to cast a no-union vote. However, none of the two valid votes in the instant case were cast for no union. Nor is there any basis for inferring that, in acting as an observer, Dotson influenced the employees to vote for one union in preference to another. In view of the foregoing, we find that the objections filed by the Intervenor do not raise substantial or material issues. Accordingly, as the Petitioner has received a majority of the valid votes cast, we shall certify it as the bargaining repre- sentative of the employees in the unit heretofore found appro- priate. ,[The Board certified the Marine Cooks and Stewards, Sea- farers International Union, AFL, as the designated collective- bargaining representative of all stewards department employees on the Employer' s sea schooner, S. S. Lumber Lady, excluding guards and the cook-steward and other supervisors as defined in the Act.1 Member' Murdock took no part in the consideration of the above Supplemental Decision and Certification of Representa- tive s. HELMS MOTOR EXPRESS, INC .' and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS , CHAUFFEURS, WARE- HOUSEMEN AND HELPERS OF AMERICA , AFL, LOCAL 391, Petitioner . Cases Nos. 11-RC-551 , 11-RC-552, 11- RC-553, 11-RC-554 , 11-RC - 555, and 11 - RC-556 . November 20, 1953 DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION Upon petitions duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, a consolidated hearing was held before Louis Perloff, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. Upon the entire record in this case , the Board finds: 1. The Employer, a North Carolina corporation, is a certified motor vehicle common carrier of general com- 1 The name of the Employer appears as amended at the hearing. 107 NLRB No. 32. HELMS MOTOR EXPRESS, INC. 133 modities operating under a North Carolina license and an I.C.C. permit. Its principal place of business and terminal is at Albermarle, North Carolina, and it operates 10 other terminals at Raleigh, Goldsboro, Fayetteville, Troy, Asheboro, Greensboro, Charlotte, Sanford, Durham, and Greenville, North Carolina. The Employer uses 45 pickup units and 40 to 45 tractor-trailers units, and employs approximately 144 persons in its operation. The Employer regularly handles by interchange with inter- state motor carriers, freight brought into North Carolina from out of the State, and freight which it delivers to inter- state carriers destined for shipment out of the State. It also picks up freight from rail carriers and regularly hauls in its trucks, freight for military installations such as Fort Bragg and Camp Lejeune within the State of North Carolina. The majority of freight handled by the Employer originates and terminates in North Carolina. The Employer purchased trucks and equipment entirely within the State during the past year in amount of approximately $75,000. The Employer takes no position as to whether it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act. Upon the foregoing facts, we find that the Employer is engaged in, and that its operations affect, commerce within the meaning of the Act. The Employer hauls freight for military installations, and, therefore, its operations are a part of the national defense program. Accordingly, we shall assert jurisdiction herein.' 2. The labor organization involved claims to represent certain employees of the Employer. 3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representation of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.' 4. The appropriate unit: The Petitioner seeks six separate terminal units composed of all drivers, driver helpers, and warehousemen, excluding all office and clerical employees, mechanics, guards, profes- sional employees, and supervisors, at the Raleigh, Goldsboro, Fayetteville, Troy, Asheboro, and Greensboro terminals. The Employer contends that the proposed units are inappropriate, and that the only appropriate unit is one covering all em- ployees at all 11 terminals, excluding supervisors and those who perform office clerical work of a confidential nature. The Employer conducts its operations from the home office located at the Albermarle, North Carolina, terminal. The 2 W. C. King d/b/a Local Transit Lines, 91 NLRB 623; Local Union No. 878 of the Inter- national Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, AFL (Arkansas Express , Inc.), 92 NLRB 255; Westport Moving and Storage Company, Crate Making Division, 91 NLRB 902. 3 The Employer's motion to dismiss the petition on the ground that the Petitioner made no request for recognition prior to the filing of the petition is hereby dented. Advance Pattern Company, 80 NLRB 29; Wiley Mfg. Inc., 92 NLRB 40. 134 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD records of shipments , claims against the Employer, bills payable , accounts receivable , and all files are kept at this central location . Purchasing is carried out from the home office , and all matters of company policy are decided there. Although each terminal is supervised by a local manager, each manager is directly responsible to the home office and the general manager located there . Vacation pay, group insurance, and other employee benefits are uniformly applicable to employees at all terminals . There is interchange of employees between terminals . In view of these integrated operations, we find that the Employer ' s 11 terminals comprise a unit appro- priate for the purposes of collective bargaining. The parties disagree regarding the unit placement of the classifications and individuals discussed below ; the Employer would include , while the Petitioner would exclude, all of them. Mechanics: The mechanics , at the terminals where em- ployed, have the usual duties incidental to the maintenance and repair of trucking equipment . At the Charlotte terminal, the mechanics work full time performing mechanical duties. At the other terminals where mechanics are employed, they adjust brakes , carburetors , spark plugs, and valves, and also on occasion perform such duties as truckdriving , and loading and unloading freight . We find that the primary duty of all the mechanics is to maintain and service the trucks and equipment of the Employer . Their interests are, therefore, different from those of the drivers and warehousemen, and we shall accordingly exclude them from the unit. Head warehousemen at the Raleigh and Goldsboro termi- nals: The head warehousemen employed at the Raleigh and Goldsboro terminals handle, roll , check, call , and stack freight . These head warehousemen possess the authority to hire and discharge employees and also have the power to discipline employees working under them. We find these head warehousemen to be supervisors within the meaning of the Act, and we shall therefore exclude them from the unit. A day dispatcher and a night dispatcher at the Charlotte terminal: The day dispatcher answers the telephone and reports to the city pickup and delivery driver the calls in his section of town so that the freight traffic may move in the proper direction . The day dispatcher has no authority to hire, discharge , or discipline employees , nor to apportion the runs to the drivers. The work he performs is of a routine nature. We find that the day dispatcher is not a supervisor within the meaning of the Act , and we shall therefore include him in the unit. The night dispatcher is in charge of the warehouse at night. He has the responsibility to apportion the runs to the drivers, and the authority to hire and discharge employees independ- ently of the terminal manager . We find that the night dispatcher is a supervisor within the meaning of the Act and we shall therefore exclude him from the unit. HELMS MOTOR EXPRESS . INC. 135 Billing and filing clerks at the Charlotte , Troy, and Raleigh terminals: The billing and filing clerks at these terminals bill freight and make out way bills . They spend all their time in the terminal office doing the routine work of copying infor- mation regarding the freight . They do no physical work of handling the freight . We find that the billing and filing clerks are office clerical employees , and, in accordance with our usual practice , we shall exclude them from the unit.4 Rate clerks at the Charlotte terminal : The rate clerks rate bills according to the listing furnished by the tariff authority. The majority of their time is spent in the office writing the rates . They spend approximately 25 percent of their time in the warehouse handling freight . Since they spend the major part of their time doing work of a clerical nature in the office, we find that the rate clerks are office clerical employees, and we shall exclude them from the unit. Rate and billing clerk at the Greensboro terminal: The rate and billing clerk at the Greensboro terminal rates bills, checks freight , and loads and unloads freight . This clerk is in charge of the warehouse in the absence of the terminal mana- ger, and at such times he has the authority to hire and discharge employees and direct the men on duty . This occurs daily during the terminal manager's lunch period as well as during his absences for short periods of time for other reasons. How- ever, the record shows that the rate and billing clerk has never exercised the authority to hire, discharge , or give orders. As whatever supervisory authority is vested in him is of a sporadic nature, and as he has actually exercised supervisory authority , we are not persuaded that he is a supervisor within the meaning of the Act. Accordingly , we shall include this receiving and billing clerk in the unit. Janitor at the Albermarle terminal : The janitor empties trash and does the sweeping and dusting in the office . He also cleans the men's washroom in the terminal . He does not handle freight but on occasion has taken trucks and equipment to the Charlotte and Raleigh terminals . This is not part of his regular duties and occurs infrequently . We find that the janitor does not have interests in common with the employees in the unit , and we shall therefore exclude him. General office clerks (female )' and claim stenographers at the Albermarle terminal : The female general office clerks, including the file clerk , spend all their time in the office doing general office work such as filing , typing , copying, measuring, and drawing . The claim stenographers do mostly stenographic work, transcribing from an audiograph or a dictaphone, and they also do some transcribing of general correspondence. We find that these general office clerks, the file clerk, and the 4Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc ., 92 NLRB 542. s The parties agree that the male office clerks who do the terminal auditing and road inspecting with authority to lay off and discipline the truckdrivers should be excluded. 13 6 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD claim stenographers are office clerical employees, and we shall therefore exclude them from the unit. We find that a unit of all drivers, driver -helpers, and ware- housemen at the Employer' s 11 terminals in North Carolina, including the day dispatcher at the Charlotte terminal and the rate and billing clerk at the Greensboro terminal , but excluding mechanics , the head warehousemen at the Raleigh and Golds- boro terminals , the night dispatcher at the Charlotte terminal, the billing and filing clerks at the Charlotte , Troy, and Raleigh terminals , the rate clerks at the Charlotte terminal, the janitor at the Albermarle terminal , the general office clerks, file clerk, and claim stenographers at the Albermarle terminal, professional employees , guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act, constitute a unit appropriate for the pur- poses of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. As the unit found appropriate is broader than the unit sought by the Petitioner , the Petitioner may, if it does not desire to proceed with an election in such a unit , withdraw its petitions in this proceeding , provided that it notifies the Regional Director for the Eleventh Region to that effect within ten (10 ) days from the date of issuance of this Decision and Direction of Election. (Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication. RADCLIFF SILO COMPANY and INTERNATIONAL UNION OF MINE, MILL AND SMELTER WORKERS, LOCAL 883, INDEPENDENT, Petitioner . Case No . 14-RC-2339. Novem- ber 20, 1953 DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 ( c) of the National Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before Walter A. Werner, hearing officer . The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. Upon the entire record in this case , the Board finds: 1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act. 2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain employees of the Employer.' 3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representation of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9 ( c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. 'Quarry Workers, Local 829, affiliated with International Hod Carriers and Common Laborers, AFL, was permitted to intervene on the basis of a card showing. 107 NLRB No. 41.