Chesapeake Ferry Co.

In the Matter of CHESAPEAxE FERRY COMPANY and SEAFARER'S INTERNATIONAL UNION OF NORTH AMERICA , A. F. OF L. Case No. 5-R-1811.-Decided June 4, 1945 Messrs. Arthur Hitch, John B. Jenkins, Jr., W. E. Wornaington, and H. S. Herman, of Norfolk, Va., for the Company. Mr. John Hawk, of New York City, and,Messrs Ray White and R. E. Goforth, of Norfolk, Va., for the Union. Miss Aida Casanas, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon a petition duly filed by Seafarer's International Union of North America, A. F. of L, herein called the Union, alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Chesapeake Ferry Company, Norfolk, Virginia, herein called the Com- pany, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon clue notice before George L. Weasler, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Norfolk, Virginia, on April 13, 1945. The Company and the Union appeared and participated. All parties were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witness, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues. The Trial Examiner's rulings. made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. All parties were afforded an opportunity to file briefs with the Board. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Chesapeake Ferry Company is a Virginia corporation engaged in the transportation of passengers and vehicles from Norfolk to Newport News and Old Point Comfort, Virginia. During the year 1944 the gross income 62 N. L. R. B, No. 10. 89 90 1)LCIS1OiNS Ol, NATI0NA1, LA B01' RELATIONS 130ARWW derived from this business amounted to between $1,000,000 and $2,000,000. The Company's operations are under the regulations of the Steamboat Inspection Service of the United States Coast Guard. The record shows that the Norfolk-Newport News area, located on the navigable Virginia Tidewater, is highly concentrated with military establishments and is the site of Naval bases and shipyards. The Company operates 6 ferries continuously throughout a period of about 19 hours per day, and 8 ferries during rush hours. Each ferry has a capacity of approximately 450 passengers and 40 vehicles ; and the Com- pany annually furnishes transportation on its ferries to 600,000 to 700,000 vehicles, including trucks. A survey made by a Board Field Examiner, who testified at the hearing, indicates that approximately 14 percent of such vehicles, of which 25 percent is trucks, bear out-of-State licenses.' The Field Examiner's testimony shows that during two rush periods of a day, totaling 5 hours, the ferries traveling to and from the Norfolk terminal on the Newport News line carried 336 private passenger cars, of which 279 were registered in Virginia and 57 in other States ; 111 trucks, of which 104 were registered in Virginia and 7 in other States ; and 82 Army and Navy vehicles. During these same 5 hours the Field Examiner observed 2 Greyhound busses, I traveling from Norfolk carrying a sign indicating that its destination was Baltimore, Maryland, the other, whose point of origin was not indicated, traveling from Newport News to Norfolk and bearing a destination sign, "Norfolk." Motor busses carrying passengers are regularly carried on the Company's ferries. The Company has a contract with the Greyhound Company whereby it is reimbursed for the transportation of the busses and passengers of that company traveling between Norfolk and Newport News. In addition, at the present time, the, Company furnishes transportation of personnel and vehicles to the armed services, pursuant to a contract with the United States Government! The water route, about 4Y2 miles in distance, is the shortest and most direct route between Norfolk and Newport News, the trip by land being about 30 miles long. The Company's two ferry lines form a connecting link in several United States and Virginia highways leading from Norfolk to points north, south, and west of that city. Only one other concern, the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad, operates ferries between Norfolk and New- port News. The record discloses that the Company's ferries are utilized by shipyard workers who live in Norfolk and work at Newport News. The president of the Company testified, and we find, that a cessation of the Company's operations would seriously cripple transportation in the area. These figures , which do not include military traffic, are derived from testimony which referred particularly to the Norfolk-Newport News line . The record does not indicate specifically the comparable figures for the Willoughby-Old Point Comfort operation 2 Approximately 20 percent of the total business of the Company at the present time represents transportation for the United States Government. CHESAPEAKE FERRY COMPANY 91 Although the Company does not concede the Board's jurisdiction, it is clear, and we find, that the Company' s operations affect commerce within the meaning of the Act.' II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED Seafarer's International Union of North America, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, is a labor organization admitting to mem- bership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The Company has refused to grant recognition to the Union as the exclu- sive bargaining representative of the Company's unlicensed employees until the Union has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit. A statement of a Board agent, introduced into evidence at the hearing, indicates that the Union represents a substantial number of employees in the unit hereinafter found appropriate.' We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Company, within the meaning of Sec- tion 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT The parties stipulated that the appropriate unit for the purposes of col- lective bargaining should consist of "all unlicensed men in the deck and engine department of the ferries operated by the Company in Norfolk, Virginia." These employees are engaged as deck hands, firemen, and oilers, and they do not have any supervisory authority. We find that all unlicensed personnel employed by the Company in the deck and engine departments of the ferries operating in Norfolk, Virginia, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within, the meaning of Section 9,(b) of the Act. V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES The Union desires the Board to use as pay-roll date for the purpose of determining eligibility in any election it may conduct, the pay-roll date, immediately preceding January 26, 1945. The Company is willing to leave the decision entirely to the discretion of the Board. We find no merit in the Union's contention for a departure from our usual policy. We shall direct that the question concerning representation which has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot among the employees in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-roll period imme- 8 See N. L R. B. v. Baltimore Transit Co., 140 F. (2d) 51 (C. C. A. 4), 47 N L. R. B. 109; In the Matter of Virginia Ferry Corporation, 8 N. L. R. B. 730. 1 The Field Examiner reported that the Union submitted 55 authorization cards dated as follows 7 in November 1944, 2 in December 1944, 39 in January 1945, and 7 in February 1945 There are 78 emplo.ees in the unit petitioned for 92 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD diately preceding the date of the Direction of Election herein, subject to- the limitations and additions set forth in the Direction DIRECTION OF ELECTION By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, as amended, it is hereby DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Chesapeake Ferry Company, Norfolk, Virginia, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than thirty (30) days from the date of this Direc- tion, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Fifth Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Rela- tions Board, and subject to Article III, Sections 10 and 11, of said Rules and Regulations, among the employees in the unit found appropriate in Section IV, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period innne- diately preceding the date of this Direction, including employees who did not work during said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or temporarily laid off, and including employees in the armed forces of the United States who present themselves in person at the polls, but excluding any who have since quit or been discharged for cause and have not been rehired or reinstated prior to the date of the election, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by Seafarer's International Union of North America, A. F of L., for the purposes of collective bargaining