Whitfield Bus Lines

In the Matter of W. E. WIIITFIELD, JR., H. C. WHITFrELD, AND M. E. WHITFIELD, PARTNERS, D/B/A WHITFIELD Bus LINES , EMPLOYER and CHAUFFEURS , TEAMSTERS AND HELPERS , LOCAL 492, A. F. L., PETITIONER In the Matter of W . E. WHITFIELD , JR., H. C. WIITFIELD, AND M. E. WHITFIELD, PARTNERS, D/B/A WI-IITFIELD TRANSPORTATION COMPANY, EMPLOYER and CHAUFFEURS , TEAMSTERS AND HELPERS , LOCAL 492, A. F. L., PETITIONER Cases Nos. 33-RC-131 and 33-RC-133.Decided January 03, 1950 DECISION ORDER AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION Upon separate petitions duly filed, a hearing was held in the above- consolidated cases before Joseph A. Butler, hearing officer.' The hear- ing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with these cases to a three-member panel. [Chairman Herzog and Mem- bers Houston and Murdock]. Upon the entire record in these cases, the Board finds : 1. The business of the employers : CASE NO. 33-RC-133 Whitfield Transportation Company, a partnership consisting of W. E. Whitfield, Jr., H. C. Whitfield, and M. E. Whitfield,' is engaged in motor freight operations between El Paso, Texas, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is also engaged in tank trucking operations. The annual revenue from its operations averages about $500,000, of which from two-thirds to three-fourths is derived from interstate business. 1 By order of the Regional Director issued November 10, 1949, Cases Nos. 33 -RC-131 and 33-RC-133 were consolidated. 2 The name of the Employer in each case involved appears in the caption as amended at the hearing,, and as. thereafter amended by the Board . The petition and other formal papers in each of the cases are amended to show the correct name of each Employer. 88 NLRB No. 68. 261 262 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD The Employer admits, and we find, that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. CASE NO. 33-RC-131 Whitfield Bus Lines, a partnership composed of the same 3 indi- viduals who own and operate Whitfield Transportation Company, is engaged in operating a local bus line between Las Cruces, New Mexico, a city of about 8,000 population, and surrounding towns, none of which is more than 4 miles distant. The area which the bus line services is devoted to farming and ranching. Most of the Employer's business consists of transporting students to and from their homes and schools which they attend in the area. Although Whitfield Bus Lines and Whitfield Transportation Com- pany are commonly owned, the record shows that they are operated as separate enterprises.3 Thus, each business occupies separate offices, and is separately managed. It further appears that each business has its own clerical staff, keeps its own books, renders separate reports, does its own purchasing, has its own service facilities, and carries on its operations without interchanging employees. At the time of the hearing, steps were being taken to incorporate each business as a separate entity. Upon the foregoing facts, we are of the opinion that the operations of Whitfield Bus Lines are essentially local in character. Without deciding whether these operations affect commerce within the mean- ing of the Act, we believe it would not effectuate the policies of the Act to assert jurisdiction in this case. Accordingly, we shall dismiss this petition' 2. The Petitioner in Case No. 33-RC-133 is a labor organization claiming to represent employees of the Employer.5 3. A question concerning representation exists concerning the rep- resentation of employees of the Employer in Case No. 33-RC-133, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. 4. The following employees of the Employer in Case No. 33-RC- 133 constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bar- gaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act: All over-the-road tank and freight drivers, checkers, dockmen, warehousemen, and local pickup drivers, excluding clerical em- 3 Significantly, the Petitioner requests that separate units be established in each case. 4 Duke Power Company, 77 NLRB 652. Cities Transit Company, 33-CA-5 .(unpublished), adverted to by the Petitioner at the hearing, was settled by stipulation of the parties, and involved facts distinguishable from those in the instant case. 6 The Petitioner has waived any right to object to any election held in this proceeding on the basis of any acts alleged by it as unfair labor practices in Case No. 33-CA-51. WHITFIELD BUS LINES 263 ployees, mechanics, watchmen and guards, and all supervisors as defined in the Act. ORDER It is hereby ordered that the petition in Case No. 33-RC-131 be, and it hereby is, dismissed. DIRECTION OF ELECTION As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with W. E. Whitfield, Jr., H. C. Whitfield, and M. E. Whitfield, d/b/a Whitfield Transportation Com- pany, Las Cruces, New Mexico, 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 supervision 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 Relations Board Rules and Regulations, among the employees in the unit found appropriate in paragraph numbered 4, above, who were employed during the payroll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction of Election, including employees.who did not work during said payroll period because they were ill or on vacation or tempo- rarily 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 reinstatement, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented, for purposes of collective bargaining, by Chauffeurs, Teamsters and Helpers, Local 492, A. F. L.