Atlanta Coca-Cola Bottling Co.

In the Matter of ATLANTA COCA-COLA BOTTLING COMPANY, EMPLOYER and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS , CHAUFFEURS, WAREHOUSEMEN AND HELPERS , SALES DRIVERS , LOCAL 859, A. F. L., PETITIONER Case No. 10-RC-452.-Decided April 26, 1949 DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing in this case was held before M. A. Prowell, hearing officer of the National Labor Relations Board. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from preju- dicial • error and are hereby affirmed.,, The Employer's motion to dismiss the petition is denied for reasons hereinafter stated. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board finds : 1. The Employer, a Georgia corporation, maintains its office and principal place of business in Atlanta, Georgia. It is engaged in the bottling, sale, and distribution of Coca-Cola beverages under the terms of an agreement with the Coca-Cola Company, a Georgia corpo- ration, which gives the Employer an exclusive right to market its product in an area within a radius of 25 miles from Atlanta. The Coca-Cola Company of Georgia is solely a sales organization and represents the Coca-Cola Company of Delaware, the original Coca- Cola Company and the owner of the basic rights to the manufacture of Coca-Cola syrup.2 The Coca-Cola Company of Delaware main- tains a plant for the manufacture of syrup in Atlanta, Georgia, which is the source of the Employer's supply. During the 12-month period preceding the date of the hearing, the Employer purchased raw materials consisting principally of Coca-Cola syrup, crowns, bottles, 1 The Employer objected to the receipt of the petition in evidence , and at the close of the hearing moved to dismiss the petition and amended petition , upon the grounds: (1) that the Petitioner had failed to adduce proof of its compliance with the filing requirements of Section 9 (f), (g), and (h) of the Act, and (2 ) that the Petitioner had failed to estab- lish any showing of interest . The receipt of the petition in evidence was not in error. We have consistently held that a showing of interest and proof of compliance with the filing requirements of the Act are matters for administrative determination , and are not subject to litigation or collateral attack . See Matter of J. I. Case Company, 78 N. L. R. B. 1043; Matter of Southern Advance Bag and Paper Co., Inc., 75 N. L. R. B. 614 ; see also Matter of Trueman Fertilizer Company, 81 N. L. R B. 72 2 See Matter of Raledgh Coca-Cola Bottling Works, 80 N. L. R. B. 768. 83 N. L. R. B., No. 23. 187 188 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD cases, and carbon dioxide gas and water in the amount of approxi- mately $1,000,000, of which approximately 4 percent represents raw materials originating, purchased, and shipped to the Employer from points outside the State of Georgia .3 During the same period the gross sales of the Employer's bottled beverage were valued in excess of $1,000,000, all of which were sold to retail customers within the State of Georgia. Upon the basis of these facts and the entire record in the case we find, contrary to the contention of the Employer, that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act .4 2. The labor organization named below claims to represent certain employees of the Employer. 3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa- tion of certain employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. 4. The Petitioner seeks a unit of driver-salesmen and their helpers. However, the Petitioner stated that should the Board decide that the particular unit requested is inappropriate, the Petitioner asks that separate units of driver-salesmen and helpers be established. The Employer, in moving to dismiss the petition, contends that the re- quested unit is inappropriate upon the sole ground that driver-sales- men are supervisors as defined in the Act. There are employed at the present time some 80 driver-salesmen. The-route operations of driver-salesmen are under the immediate su- pervision of route managers and the sales activities of the driver- salesmen under the supervision of one of the vice presidents in charge of sales. There are several intermediate levels of supervision. Each driver-salesman is assigned to a route or territory and is responsible for the sale and delivery by truck of the bottled beverage, the soliciting of new business, the collecting of monies due on sales made, and the selling of incidental merchandise such as coolers and advertising ,matter. The driver-salesman is also required to service the coolers. His duties require him to attend periodic sales meetings conducted by the sales manager or other official. He has no prescribed work sched- ule, but generally leaves the plant each morning between 7: 30 and 8: 00 o'clock and returns whenever his day's work is finished. However, in common with other production,and maintenance employees, he is required to punch a time clock when he leaves in the morning and upon his return in the afternoon. Other than during the peak season, I In addition to the purchase of raw materials used in the manufacture of the beverage, the record indicates that the Employer purchased during the year 1948 , coolers of an ap- proximate value of at least $300 ,000, all of which were obtained directly from manufac- turers located outside the State of Georgia. 4 See Matter of Rockford Coca -Cola Bottling Company, 81 N. L. R. B. 579. ATLANTA COCA-COLA BOTTLING COMPANY 189 he averages about 30 hours of work a week. Upon returning to the plant, he is required to prepare the daily report of his activities and must settle his financial accounts with the cashier before leaving for the day. A driver-salesman receives a weekly salary of $45 to start, with an immediate increase after the satisfactory completion of a 90-day training period; thereafter he receives automatic increases during the next 5 years until he reaches a maximum of $55 per week. He is eligible to participate in an employee retirement plan and is entitled to other benefits such as vacations. Each driver-salesman is normally assisted in his work by one helper who performs manual labor only. Helpers are hired at the plant by the individual in charge of loading and unloading operations, who also exercises general supervision over all helpers. On occasions, when no helpers are available from the plant pool, and a driver- salesman is in need of a helper, the driver-salesman will hire one while out on his route, subject to the later approval of the helpers' supervisor when the hiring is reported. Subject to the same approval, a driver-sales- man may dismiss a helper whom he considers undesirable. However, the direction by the driver-salesmen of the simple activities of their individual helpers is routine in character,5 and in our opinion their authority does not exceed that of a skilled craftsman with respect to a single helper working under his direction." Under the circum- stances, including the fact that each normally has only one helper, we are of the opinion that driver-salesmen are not supervisors of "em- ployees" within the meaning or intendment of the Act.7 We find that all driver- salesmen and helpers employed by the Em- ployer at its Atlanta, Georgia, plant, excluding all clerical and professional employees, watchmen or guards, and supervisors as de- fined in the Act, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of col- lective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. DIRECTION OF ELECTION As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the pur- poses of collective bargaining with the Employer, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than 30 days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and super- vision of the Regional Director for the Region in which this case was heard, and subject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of National Labor 6 See Matter of Dr. Pepper Bottling Company, 78 N. L. R. B. 1261. 6 See Matter of William C. Meredith Company, Inc., 74 N. L. R. B. 1064 , 1067, 1068; Matter of Rodgers-Wade Manufacturing Company, 69 N. L. It. B. 264, 266-267; Matter of Duval Texas Sulphur Company, 53 N. L. It. B. 1387, 1390-1391. 7 Cf. Matter of Roanoke Coca-Cola Bottling Works, Inc., 72 N. L. It. B. 733, 735-736; Matter of Distributors Association of the Norfolk Area, 73 N. L. R. B. 656. 660-661. 190 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Relations- Board Rules and Regulations-Series 5, as amended, among the employees in the unit found appropriate in paragraph num- bered 4, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period immedi- ately preceding the date of this Direction of Election, including employees who did not work during said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or temporarily laid off, but excluding those employees who have since quit or been. discharged for cause and have not been rehired or reinstated prior to the date of the election, and also excluding employees on strike who are not entitled to reinstate- ment, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented, for purposes of collective bargaining, by International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers, Sales Drivers, Local 859, A. F. L. I "