Schneider Transportation Co.

In the Matter of SCHNEIDER TRANSPORTATION COMPANY, EMPLOYER and SEAFARERS INTERNATIONAL UNION OF NORTH AMERICA, GREAT LAKES DISTRICT (AFL), PETITIONER Case No. 8-R4721.-Decided January 16, 1948 Leckie, McCreary, Schlitz & Hinslea, by Mr. Ross E. Mortimer, of Cleveland, Ohio, for the Employer. Smoot & Rienzer, by Mr. Mortimer Riemer, of Cleveland, Ohio, and Messrs . Russel B. Smith and Fred J. Farnen, of Detroit, Mich., for the Petitioner. Mr. Herman Rosenfeld, of New York City , and Mr. Michael Vargo, of Cleveland, Ohio, for the N. M. U. Mr. Meyer A . Cook, of Cleveland , Ohio, for the Lake Sailors.. DECISION Upon a petition duly filed, hearing in this case was held at Cleve- land, Ohio, on November '10, 1947, before John A. Hull, Jr., hearing officer. National Maritime Union, C. I. 0., herein called the N. M. U., on its own motion, was permitted by the hearing officer to intervene in this case "for the purposes of this hearing." The N. M. U. has not complied with the filing requirements of Section 9 (f), (g), and (h) of the Act, as amended, nor did it allege, or show, a contractual in- terest in this matter. Accordingly, the hearing officer's ruling per- mitting the intervention is reversed.- Other rulings made by the hearing officer are free from prejudicial error, and are affirmed. Pursuant to the provisions of Section-3 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act, the National Labor Relations Board has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three-man panel consisting of the undersigned Board Members.* Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations Board makes the following: 'The requests of the Petitioner and the N . M. U. for oral argument are denied. The record and briefs filed herein , in our opinion , adequately present the issues and positions of the parties Moreover , with respect to the questioning by the N M U . of the legality of Section 9 (f), (g), and ( h) of the Act, as amended , we are of the opinion that it is inappropriate for the Board to pass upon matters respecting the constitutionality of Congressional enactments See Matter of Rite-Form Corset Company, 75 N L R. B 174. *Houston, Reynolds, and Gray 75 N. L R. B., No. 107. 870 SCHNEIDER TRANSPORTATION COMPANY FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER 871 Schneider Transportation Company, a Delaware corporation with general offices in Cleveland, Ohio, is engaged in the operation of ves- sels on the Great Lakes. During the year 1946, the Employer operated two vessels which transported more than 200,000 tons of bulk cargo, including ore and coal, between the various ports on the Great Lakes. The Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. H. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED The Petitioner is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, claiming to represent employees of the Employer. Lake Sailors Union, herein called the Lake Sailors, is a labor or- ganization claiming to represent employees of the Employer. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The Employer refuses to recognize the Petitioner as the exclusive bargaining representative of employees of the Employer until the Petitioner has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit. We find that 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. IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT; THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES The Petitioner requests a unit of all unlicensed personnel, including stewards, aboard all vessels owned and/or operated by the Employer. The Lake Sailors agree that the requested unit is appropriate. The Employer, while otherwise agreeing that the unit sought is appro- priate, would exclude stewards on the ground that they are super- visors. On each of its ships the Employer employs a steward"2 who, unlike other unlicensed personnel, is hired through the Employer's general offices and not by a member of the licensed personnel on the vessel. The steward is responsible for the maintenance of the ship's mess and the quarters for officers and crew. He plans and cooks meals, and purchases provisions and supplies. In the exercise of his duties, the steward is responsible to the Employer's general offices, and not to the master of the vessel on which he is serving. Stewards have au- thority to hire and discharge; in addition, they approve overtime for, 2 The term "chief cook" Is used interchangeably with the term "steward." 872 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD and grant working privileges to, the men working under their direc- tion. It appears, therefore, that stewards are supervisors within the meaning of Section 2 (11) of the Act, as amended . Accordingly, we shall exclude them from the unit.' We find that all unlicensed personnel aboard all vessels owned and/or operated by the Employer , excluding stewards and other supervisors, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. It appears that the Employer has curtailed its operations for the winter season to such an extent that a representative vote is presently not possible. We shall therefore defer issuing a Direction of Election and determining an eligibility period until such time as the Regional Director for th. Eighth Region shall advise us that the Employer has resumed normal operations and that a representative number of per- sons is employed in the unit found appropriate above. c 3 See Matter of the M A. Hanna Company, 75 N. I. R B 185; Matter of Walson Transit Company, 75 N L. R B. 181; Matter of The Kinsman Transit Company, 75 N. L R. B 150.