United Jet Center

177 304 NLRB No. 34 UNITED JET CENTER United Jet Center and District Lodge 65, Inter- national Association of Machinists and Aero- space Workers, AFL–CIO, Petitioner. Case 3– RC–9681 August 21, 1991 DECISION AND ORDER BY CHAIRMAN STEPHENS AND MEMBERS CRACRAFT AND DEVANEY Upon a petition filed under Section 9(c) of the Na- tional Labor Relations Act (NLRA), a hearing was held on January 8, 1991, before Hearing Officer Paul J. Murphy. Thereafter, pursuant to Section 102.67 of the National Labor Relations Board’s Rules, the case was transferred to the Board for decision. The National Labor Relations Board has delegated its authority in this proceeding to a three-member panel. The Board has reviewed the hearing officer’s rulings made at the hearing and finds that they are free from prejudicial error. They are affirmed. On the entire record in the proceeding, the Board finds: United Jet Center (UJC), a wholly owned subsidiary of United Acquisitions, is engaged in the operation of an air charter service for celebrities, corporate execu- tives, and government officials at its facility in James- town, New York. UJC also conducts pilot training courses and provides refueling and maintenance serv- ices to other aircraft at the facility. The Employer concedes that it meets the Board’s discretionary jurisdictional standards, but contends that it is a common carrier by air, subject to the Railway Labor Act, and thus is not an ‘‘employer’’ subject to the NLRA. The Petitioner, on the other hand, contends that UJC is not a common carrier within the meaning of the Railway Labor Act, and that the Board should therefore assert jurisdiction. Section 2(2) of the Act provides in pertinent part that the term ‘‘employer’’ as used in the National Labor Relations Act should not include any person subject to the Railway Labor Act. Because of the na- ture of the jurisdictional question presented, on Feb- ruary 28, 1991, the Board requested the National Me- diation Board (NMB) to review the record to deter- mine the applicability of the Railway Labor Act to UJC. In response, on May 28, 1991, the NMB advised the Board that it had concluded that: UJC’s charter operations establish it as an air car- rier pursuant to Section 181 of the Railway Labor Act. 45 U.S.C. § 181. UJC’s refueling and main- tenance activities support this finding. The [NMB] has concluded that such work had traditionally been performed by airline employees. See Jimsair, [15 NMB 85 (1988)]; Memorandum Re Airline Industry Hearings, 5 NMB 2, 4 (1972). The [NMB], therefore, is of the opinion that United Jet Center and its employees are subject to the Railway Labor Act. [United Jet Center, 18 NMB 354 (1991).] Accordingly, in view of the foregoing, we shall dis- miss the petition. ORDER The petition in Case 3–RC–9681 is dismissed.