Mexico Coca-Cola Bottling Co.

In the Matter of Mexico COCA-COLA BOTTLING COMPANY, EMPLOYER and GENERAL DRIVERS, WAREHOUSEMEN AND HELPERS, LobAL UNION No. 534 OF SEDALIA, MISSOURI, AFFILIATED WITH INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS, CHAUFFEURS, WAREHOUSEMEN AND HELPERS OF AMERICA, A. F. OF L., PETITIONER Case No. 14-RC-873.Decided January 31, 1950 DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before Harry G. Carlson, hearing officer. The hearing 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 this case to a three-member panel [Chairman Herzog and Members Houston and Murdock]. Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds : 1. The Employer, a Missouri corporation, is engaged in bottling, selling, and distributing Coca-Cola within the State of Missouri. It carries on its operations under a contract with Western Coca-Cola Bottling Company, an Illinois corporation. This contract, or fran- chise, grants to the Employer the exclusive right to bottle, sell, and distribute Coca-Cola within a designated area in Missouri. The Em- ployer, .in turn, is obligated to purchase all Coca-Cola syrup from The Coca-Cola Bottling Company, a Delaware corporation, and to purchase only bottles and bottle crowns manufactured by licensees of The Coca-Cola Bottling Company. During the preceding calendar year, the Employer purchased mate- rials valued at approximately $66,000. Of this sum, approximately $13,000 was for goods purchased and shipped to the Employer's plant at Mexico, Missouri, from points outside the. State of Missouri. Dur- ing the :same period, the Employer sold Coca-Cola valued at 'a pproxi- mately $100,000, all within the State of Missouri. On the basis of these facts and the entire record in the case, we find, contrary to the contention of the Employer, that the Employer is en- 88 NLRB No. 82. 421 422 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD gaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Rela- tions Act.' 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 composed of the driver-salesmen em- ployed at the Employer's Mexico, Missouri, Coca-Cola bottling plant, excluding all other employees. The Employer contends that the ap- propriate unit should also include its production and maintenance employees. The Employer employs six drivers to sell and distribute bottled Coca-Cola. Each driver has an assigned territory to cover. The Employer furnishes the trucks and pays the drivers upon a commis- sion basis. The drivers arrive at the plant each morning at approxi- mately 7 a. m., load their trucks, and depart on their routes. They are responsible for promoting sales and soliciting new customers within their respective territories, and collecting for the Coca-Cola delivered. Upon their return to the plant in the afternoon, the drivers unload the trucks and account to the Employer for all Coca-Cola sold. The drivers perform no other work at or around the plant. There are four general plant employees engaged in the operation of the bottling plant, and one mechanic who repairs the equipment in the-plant and the several trucks. These plant employees are under separate supervision; under no circumstances do they interchange with the drivers; their work is separated from and dissimilar to that of the driver-salesmen; and their hours, method of payment, and responsibilities differ from those of the driver-salesmen. Where no labor organization is seeking to represent the driver- salesmen in a separate unit, we have found the over-all unit, including driver salesmen, to be appropriate.2 On the other hand, where, as here, no labor organization is seeking the broader unit, we have found appropriate a unit of driver-salesmen alone.3 We find, therefore, that all driver-salesmen employed at the Em- ployer's Mexico, Missouri, Coca-Cola bottling plant, excluding all supervisors within the meaning of the Act, constitute a unit appro- ' Norfolk Coca-Cola Bottling Works, Inc., 86 NLRB 462; Atlanta Coca-Cola Bottling Company, 83 NLRB 187; Greensboro Coca Cola Bottling Company, 82 NLRB 543; Rockford Coca-Cola Bottling Company, 81 NLRB 579; and Raleigh Coca-Cola Bottling Company, 80 NLRB 768. ' See Raleigh Coca-Cola Bottling Works, supra ; cf. State Beverage Distributors No. 4, Inc., 88 NLRB 62. 1 See Rockford Coca-Cola Bottling Co ., supra. MEXICO COCA-COLA BOTTLING COMPANY 423 priate for purposes of collective 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 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 General Drivers, Warehousemen and Helpers, Local Union No. 534 of Sedalia, Missouri, affiliated with International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, A. F. of L. Q