Pennsylvania Truck Lines, Inc.

PENNSYLVANIA TRUCK LINES, INC. 641 Pennsylvania Truck Lines, Inc. and International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehouse- men & Helpers of America, Local 470, Petitioner Pennsylvania Truck Lines, Inc. and Railroad Yardmas- ters of America, AFL-CIO, Petitioner. Cases 4- RC-9777 and 4-RC-9795 October 10, 1972 DECISION AND ORDER BY MEMBERS JENKINS, KENNEDY, AND, PENELLO Upon petitions duly filed under Section 9(c) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, a hearing was held before Hearing Officer Donald M. Spooner. Thereafter, pursuant to Section 102.67 of the National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regula- tions, Series 8, as amended, and by direction of the Acting Regional Director for Region 4, this case was transferred to the National Labor Relations Board for decision. The Employer and the Petitioner filed briefs. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the Na- tional Labor Relations Board has delegated its au- thority in this proceeding to a three-member panel. The Board has reviewed the rulings of the Hear- ing Officer made at the hearing and finds that they are free from prejudicial error. They are hereby affirmed. Upon the entire record is this case, the Board finds: 1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act and it will effectuate the poli- cies of the Act to assert jurisdiction herein. 2. The labor organizations involved claim to rep- resent certain employees of the Employer. 3. No question affecting commerce exists con- cerning the representation of employees of the Em- ployer within the meaning of Section 9(c)(1) of the Act, for the following reasons: The Teamsters, Petitioner in Case 4-RC-9777, seeks a unit of dispatchers and strip supervisors at the Employer's six terminals in the Philadelphia area. The Yardmasters, Petitioner in Case 4-RC-9795, seeks a unit of dispatchers and strip supervisors at all of the approximately 30 terminals of the Employer where such individuals are employed.' The Employer con- tends that all strip supervisors and dispatchers are supervisors. The Employer, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Penn Central Transportation Company, an interstate 1 At some of the Employer's smaller terminals, the terminal manager, who is concededly a supervisor, performs the functions of strip supervisors and dispatchers in addition to the duties performed by terminal managers at larger terminals. rail carrier, provides terminal and trucking services for Penn Central and other customers at more than 40 terminals throughout the Eastern United States. Each terminal has a "yard" adjacent to the railroad right- of-way. In the yard, employees of the Employer re- move trailers from flatcars on incoming trains. Yard drivers, using yard tractors, then move the trailers to another part of the yard, where street drivers with tractors take the trailers and deliver them, with any loads contained therein, to consignees. The street drivers return to the terminal with empty or loaded trailers picked up from the consignees, and the yard drivers move these trailers to the railroad track, where they are loaded on flatcars, to be transported in "pig- gyback" fashion by Penn Central. Strip supervisors oversee activity in the yard. They determine, from a loading slip given to them by Penn Central, where a trailer in the yard is to be sent and which block of cars on an outgoing train is head- ed for the same destination as the trailer. Factors such as height limitations must be taken into account in determining which trailers are to be placed on which cars within a block. The strip supervisor then gives a yard driver a slip of paper telling him what trailer is to be picked up, where in the yard it is located, and on what flatcar in the train it is to be placed. The loading is actually performed by yardmen; the same individuals may perform the functions of yard drivers on one occasion and those of yardmen on another. The strip supervisor checks to make sure that each trailer is loaded properly onto the proper car . He also oversees the unloading of incoming trains. The relationship of dispatchers and street drivers is similar to that of strip supervisors and yard drivers. When a street driver reports for work, the dispatcher gives him a timecard to punch and tells him what load to deliver and where to deliver it. When the driver has finished loading or unloading a trailer at the consignee's place of business, he calls the dispatcher to give him the time, then returns to the terminal for another assignment. When the driver punches out at the end of the day, the dispatcher fills out his time- card, indicating, for each load hauled, the trailer used, the weight of the load, and the time and distance involved. At the end of each day, a dispatcher at each terminal in a city calls the Employer's central office in that city and indicates how many drivers will be needed the next day and at what times . The central office then calls the drivers, in order of seniority, and tells them where to report. At some terminals, when there are several loads to be hauled at the same time, the drivers reporting at that time decide, in order of seniority, which load each will deliver. At other termi- nals, the dispatcher assigns loads to drivers, but this is essentially a routine function; it makes no differ- ence which load is given to which driver, except that 199 NLRB No. 123 642 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD heavy loads must be given to drivers with tandem axle trailers. If additional drivers are needed at a terminal, the dispatcher informs the central office, which then asks the dispatchers at other terminals whether they can spare any drivers. If they have any drivers who are not working, these drivers are sent to the terminal where they are needed. Strip supervisors and dispatchers file written re- ports of poor job performance or violations of work rules with the Employer's main office, which sends a warning letter to the driver involved and copies there- of to the strip supervisor or dispatcher and to the driver's bargaining representative2 and the steward. In a few cases of serious misconduct, such as drunken- ness or refusal to perform assigned work, a strip su- pervisor or dispatcher has discharged a driver on the spot. If a grievance is filed concerning a discharge or disciplinary action, the strip supervisor or dispatcher does not discuss it directly with the employee, but meets with the terminal manager and the steward and describes the events leading to the discharge or impo- sition of discipline. If the matter goes to arbitration, he may be called as a witness. A strip supervisor or dispatcher may require driv- ers to continue working beyond the end of their shift, thereby obligating the Employer to pay the drivers for overtime; this is sometimes done without prior ap- proval by the terminal manager. Similarly, the dis- patcher or strip supervisor may require drivers to work through their lunch hour; drivers receive extra pay for this. Strip supervisors and dispatchers normally report to the terminal manager. When he is not there-usual- ly at night or on weekends-a strip supervisor or dis- patcher may be in charge of the terminal. If an emergency arises, the terminal manager or assistant 2 The drivers at each terminal are represented by the Teamsters local terminal manager can be called at home. Strip supervisors and dispatchers are salaried, whereas drivers are hourly paid. They do not receive overtime pay, but may take unlimited sick leave with- out loss of pay, whereas drivers, under the Teamsters contracts, are not paid for time lost due to illness, although they may receive health and welfare bene- fits. Dispatchers and strip supervisors receive the same fringe benefits, including life insurance and pay- ment of medical and surgical benefits, as other per- sonnel not covered by Teamsters contracts. On the basis of the foregoing facts, we conclude that the strip supervisors and dispatchers are supervi- sors, rather than employees, within the meaning of the Act. We note in particular that they have, on several occasions, exercised the authority to discharge drivers for serious misconduct, and that in sending drivers to other terminals and requiring them to work overtime or during their lunch periods, the strip supervisors and dispatchers exercise independent judgment in assign- ing and directing their work. Furthermore, if strip supervisors and dispatchers were found to be nonsu- pervisory, there would be no more than three supervi- sors-the terminal manager, the assistant terminal manager, and the operations manager-at any of the Employer's terminals, some of which have as many as 100 drivers, and there would be no supervisors at the terminals on weekends, when a dispatcher or strip supervisor is in charge.3 Accordingly, as we have found that the individ- uals sought herein are supervisors rather than "em- ployees" within the meaning of Section 2(3) of the Act, we shall dismiss these petitions. ORDER It is hereby ordered that the petitions filed herein be, and they hereby are, dismissed. having jurisdiction over the area in which the terminal is located They are 3 The fact that these individuals are in charge of the terminal on weekends covered by the National Master Freight Agreement of the International is itself evidence of supervisory status. See Consolidated Frerghtways Corpora- Brotherhood of Teamsters and by local supplements in each area . lion of Delaware, 196 NLRB No. 124, and cases cited in fn. 4 therein.