Southern Oil Transportation Company, Inc.

In the Matter of SOUTHERN OIL TRANSPORTATION COMPANY, INC. and' LOCAL No. 391, INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD TEAMSTERS, CHAUF- FEURS, STABLEMEN AND HELPERS Case No. C-1324.-Decided August 21, 1939 Petroleum Products Transportation, Industry-Settlement : stipulation provid- ing for compliance with Act, including reinstatement of employees and recogni- tion of union-Order: entered on stipulation-Complaint : dismissed as to two, persons. Mr. Jacob Blum and Mr. Samuel M. Spencer, for the Board. Mr. L. P. McLendon and Mr. Norman Block, of Greensboro, N. C.,. and Mr. J. A. Myatt of High Point, N. C., for the respondent. Mr. C. P. Barringer, of Salisbury, N. C., for the Union. Mr. Richard A. Williams, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND ORDER STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon charges and amended charges duly filed by Local No. 391, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Stablemen and Helpers," herein called the Union, the National Labor Relations Board, herein called the Board, by the Regional Director for the Fifth Region (Baltimore, Maryland), issued its complaint dated May 24, 1939, against Southern Oil Transportation Company, Inc.,. herein called the respondent, alleging that the respondent had en- gaged in and was engaging in unfair labor practices affecting com- merce within the meaning of Section 8 (1), (3), and (5) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449,. herein called the Act. A copy of the complaint accompanied by notice of hearing was duly served upon the respondent and the Union. Concerning the unfair labor practices the complaint alleged, in substance, that although a majority of the respondent's employees in an appropriate unit had designated the Union as their representative " Incorrectly designated in the charges and certain subsequent pleadings as "Local No. 391, International Brotherhood of Teamsters , Chauffeurs , Stablemen and Helpers." 14 N. L. R. B., No. 65. 844 SOUTHERN OIL TRANSPORTATION COMPANY, INCORPORATED 845 for purposes of collective bargaining, the respondent had refused to bargain collectively with the Union; that the respondent had dis- charged H. L. Rochelle because of an alleged accident and had refused to reinstate him because of his membership in and activity on behalf of the Union; that the respondent had refused to reinstate J. D. Pridgen, after granting him a voluntary leave of absence, because of his membership in and activity on behalf of the Union;. that the respondent had discharged and refused to reinstate Wilson L. Allender because of his activity on behalf of union members; that, following a strike of the respondent's employees brought about by the respondent's aforesaid unfair labor practices, the respondent had discharged and refused to reinstate certain other named employees; because of their membership in and activity on behalf of the Union and because they participated in the aforesaid strike; and that the respondent by the aforesaid activities and by threatening its em- ployees with discharge because of their membership in and activity on behalf of the Union and by other acts had interfered with, restrained,, and coerced its employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in Section 7 of the Act. On June 1, 1939, the Regional Director issued an order granting the respondent an extension of time from June 2 to June 5, 1939, in which. to file its answer. Thereafter, the respondent filed its answer in which it admitted the allegation in the complaint relative to the appropriate unit but denied all other material allegations, and, in addition, set up certain affirmative defenses. The respondent's answer also contained a motion to dismiss the complaint on the ground that the respondent was not subject to the jurisdiction of the Board. Subsequently, at the hearing, the motion was denied by the Trial Examiner. The Trial Examiner's ruling is hereby affirmed. Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held, in Wilmington, North Car- olina, on June 12 and 13, 1939, before A. Bruce Hunt, the Trial Ex- aminer duly designated by the Board. The Board, the respondent, and the Union were represented by counsel and participated in the hearing. Full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross -examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing upon the issues was afforded all parties. During the course of the hearing, on June 13, 1939, a stipulation in settlement of the case entered into by the respondent, the Union, and counsel for the Board, was read into the record without objec- tion. This stipulation provides as follows : Southern Oil Transportation Company, Inc., (hereinafter re- ferred to as the Respondent), by its attorneys L. P. McLendon and J. A. Myatt, Local 391 International Brotherhood of Team- sters, Chauffeurs, Stablemen and Helpers, by C. P. Barringer, 8846 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD The National Labor Relations Board, Fifth Region, by Jacob Blum, and Samuel M. Spencer, its attorneys, hereby stipulate and agree as , follows : 1. The union is a labor organization within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act, 2. The respondent is a corporation organized and existing by virtue of the laws of the State of North Carolina, and since the year 1934 has been engaged in the hauling by motor trucks of petroleum products from Wilmington, North Carolina, to other points within the State of North Carolina. The principal office of the Respondent is located at High Point, North Carolina, and its officers consist of R. L. Brinson, President, Controlling stock is owned by the said R. L. Brinson, The Petroleum Products which the said Respondent hauls are shipped to the Port of Wilmington, North Carolina, by tank steamer from points in Texas and Louisiana. Upon arrival at Wilmington, North Carolina, the steamers -are unloaded into the land tanks of the Standard Oil Company and the Pure Oil Company. After unloading, the products are permitted to settle so that an accurate gauge can be made and -then loaded into tank trucks owned and operated by various companies, including the Respondent, for shipment to the cus- tomers of the Standard Oil Company and the Pure Oil Company in the State of North Carolina. Contracts for such shipment are in existence between the Re- spondent and the two named Oil Companies, and all shipments are directed to the ultimate destination by the Oil Companies. During the year 1938, 30 million gallons of petroleum prod- ucts were shipped to the customers of the Pure Oil Company by the Respondent, which products had a cash value of $1,850,- 000.00, and represented 307o of petroleum products shipped to the Pure Oil Company through the Port of Wilmington, North Carolina. The Respondent was paid $200,000.00 for its services during the year 1938, The Atlantic States Motor Lines is a North Carolina corpora- tion, incorporated in 1934, with its principal place of business at High Point, North Carolina. The controlling stock is owned by the same R. L. Brinson hereinbefore mentioned. This Com- pany operates a freight hauling business by means of motor trucks under franchises secured from the Interstate Commerce Commission and its route covers the various states from Georgia to New York. It also operates terminals and garages at Atlanta, Georgia; High Point, North Carolina; Greenville, South Caro- lina; Baltimore, Maryland, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. SOUTHERN OIL TRANSPORTATION COMPANY, INCORPORATED 847 At intervals, interstate shipments of freight were brought to the Respondent's terminal at Wilmington, North Carolina, by the Atlantic States Motor Lines, unloaded, then transferred to. a pickup truck of the Respondent for local delivery. Likewise, shipments of packages and freight destined for de- livery in interstate commerce were picked up by the pickup truck of the Respondent, carried to its terminal in Wilmington, North Carolina, and transferred to the trucks of the Atlantic States Motor Lines. No charge is made to the Atlantic States Motor Lines for the services performed by the Respondent. Atlantic States Motor Line trucks are serviced and repaired at the Respondent's terminals and likewise Respondent's trucks. are serviced and repaired by employees of the Atlantic States. Motor Lines without charge or extra compensation to the em- ployees performing such services or making such repairs. The Respondent's trucks haul gasoline from its terminal at Wilmington, North Carolina, to the terminal of the Atlantic- States Motor Lines for consumption by the latter Company's- trucks in connection with their use in interstate commerce. Each Company has its own employees and the individuals• hereinafter named to be reinstated are all employees of the Respondent. New trucks and replacement parts and tires are all separately purchased for separate use by each company and are shipped to. North Carolina from states other than North Carolina. Any facts herein recited with respect to- jurisdiction are for the purpose of the proceeding alone, including Board Order and. Consent Decree herein provided for, and all shall be without prej - udice to Respondent in any other proceeding. 3. It is further stipulated and agreed by the parties that the Board may enter an order herein and parties specifically waive- its rights to the making of findings of fact and conclusions of- law by the Board. 4. On the basis of the foregoing facts, the Respondent and Union agree that the Board may enter an order as follows : ORDER Upon the basis of the testimony, exhibits, this stipulation, and the pleadings herein, and pursuant to Section 10 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, the National Labor Relations :-848 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Board hereby orders that the Respondent, its officers, agents, successors and assigns shall: 1. Cease and desist : (a) From in any manner discouraging membership in Local 391, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Stable- men and Helpers, or any other labor organization of its employ- ees, by laying off, discharging, or refusing to reinstate, or other- wise discriminating against its employees in respect to hire or -tenure of employment; (b) From refusing to bargain collectively with Local 391, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Stablemen rand Helpers, as the exclusive representative, as provided in -Section 9 (a) of the National Labor Relations Act, of all of its truck drivers and truck drivers' helpers in respect to rates of -pay, wages, hours of employment, and other conditions of em- ployment; (c) From in any other manner interfering with, restraining or coercing its employees in the exercise of their rights to self -organization, to form, join or assist labor organizations, to bar- gain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in concerted activities for the purpose of collective -bargaining and other mutual aid and protection as guaranteed in Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act. II. Take the following affirmative action which the Board ,finds will effectuate the policies of the Act: (a) Offer to H. L. Rochelle, J. D. Pridgen, Wilson L. Allender, J. B. Broughton, H. D. Sims, H. E. Morgan, G. A. Hendricks, .J. T. Moss, H. E. Moore, T. D. Sasser, W. T. White, Norman Williamson, W. C. Sykes, J. D. Whitlock, D. W. Roper, C. W. White, L. C. Davis, W. N. Quinliven, R. A. Melvin, J. E. Par- rish, W. H. Amick, R. L. Braswell, G. L. Hammer, R. C. Weigle, T. D. Gore, E. J. Roseman, W. F. Pridgen, P. H. Morgan, H. B. Helms, P. J. Allender, H. B. Hartis, F. K. Meyers, B. G. Upte- .grove, E. L. (sic) Johnson, N. R. Helms, L. F. Middleton, C. L. Allred, T. B. Beverley, L. E. Sykes, (sic) G. (sic) H. Vanderpool, W. R. Howard, G. C. Upchurch, W. J. Pickett, H. A. Durham, J. D. Lennon, J. H. Carter, E. M. Wilson, Jr., G. R. Wilkens, S. A. Causey, C. W. Morgan, C. C. Bullard, and D. S. Beasley, immediate and full reinstatement to their former positions, with- out prejudice to their seniority and other rights and privileges; (b) Bargain collectively in good faith with Local 391, Inter- national Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Stablemen and Helpers as the exclusive representatives, as provided for in Sec- tion 9 (a) of the National Labor Relations Act for all of its truck drivers and truck drivers' helpers, in respect to rates of SOUTHERN OIL TRANSPORTATION COMPANY, INCORPORATED 849 pay, wages, hours of employment, and other conditions of em- ployment; and if an agreement is reached, reduce the same to writing and execute it; (c) Immediately post notices in conspicuous places at each of its warehouses, terminals and garages and maintain such notices for a period of ninety (90) consecutive days from the date of such posting stating that the Respondent will cease and desist as aforesaid; (d) Notify the Regional Director of the Fifth Region in writ- ing ten days from the date of this order, what steps the Re- 'spondent has taken to comply therewith; (e) The complaint shall be dismissed as to R. O. Ward and J. F. Hobbs. 5. The respondent hereby consents to the entry by an appro- priate Circuit Court of Appeals of the United States of a decree .enforcing an order of the Board in the form above, and expressly waives its right to receive notice of the filing of an application for the entry of such decree. 6. The entire agreement is contained within the terms of this stipulation and there is no verbal agreement of any kind which varies, alters or adds to the stipulation, except that in the case .of J. F. Hobbs concerning whom the complaint is dismissed, .shall be reinstated to his former position without prejudice to his seniority or other rights if he is acquitted by the State Court of North Carolina from any participation in violence which caused damage or injury to the Company property. 7. All of the foregoing shall be subject to the approval of the National Labor Relations Board. On July 8, 1939, the Board issued its order approving the above stipulation and transferring the proceeding to the Board for the purpose of entry of a decision and order by the Board. Upon the above stipulation and the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE RESPONDENT The respondent, Southern Oil Transportation Company, Inc., a North Carolina corporation with its principal office at High Point, North Carolina, is engaged in the business of hauling petroleum prod- ucts by motor trucks from Wilmington, North Carolina, to other points within the State of North Carolina. The petroleum products hauled by the respondent are shipped to the port of Wilmington, North Carolina, by tank steamer from points in Texas and Louisiana. 850 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD These products, upon arrival at Wilmington, are unloaded into land'. tanks of the Standard Oil Company and the Pure Oil Company and' then loaded into tank trucks owned and operated by various com- panies, including the respondent, for shipment to customers of the- Standard Oil Company and Pure Oil Company in the State of North Carolina. Contracts for such shipment are in existence between the, respondent and the two above-named oil companies and all shipments are directed to their ultimate destination by the afore-mentioned oil companies. During the year of 1938, 30 million gallons of petroleum products with a cash value of $1,850,000 and representing 30 per cent of the petroleum products shipped to the Pure Oil Company through the Port of Wilmington, North Carolina, were shipped to the customers of the Pure Oil Company by the respondent. For these services the respondent was paid $200,000. The respondent's president, R. L. Brinson, owns a controlling inter- est in the respondent's stock. Brinson also owns a controlling in- terest in Atlantic States Motor Lines, herein called the Atlantic, a North Carolina corporation with its principal place of business at High Point, North Carolina. The Atlantic operates a freight-haul- ing business by means of motortrucks, under franchises secured from the Interstate Commerce Commission, over routes covering the vari- ous States from Georgia to New York. It also operates terminals and garages at Atlanta, Georgia; High Point, North Carolina; Green- ville, South Carolina; Baltimore, Maryland; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At intervals, interstate shipments of freights are brought to the respondent's terminal at Wilmington, North Carolina, by the At- lantic, unloaded, then transferred to a pick-up truck of the respond- ent for local delivery. Likewise, shipments of packages and freight destined for delivery in interstate commerce are picked up by the pick-up truck of the respondent, carried to its terminal in Wilming- ton, and transferred to the Atlantic's trucks. For these services, no, charge is made to the Atlantic by the respondent. The Atlantic's trucks are serviced and repaired at the respondent's terminal and, similarly, the respondent's trucks are serviced and re- paired by the employees of the Atlantic without charge or extra com- pensation to the employees performing such services or making such repairs. The respondent hauls gasoline from its Wilmington termi- nal to the Atlantic's terminal for consumption by the Atlantic's trucks in connection with their use in interstate commerce. New trucks, replacement parts and tires are all separately purchased for separate use by the respondent and the Atlantic and are shipped to North Carolina from States other than North Carolina. The re- SOUTHERN OIL TRANSPORTATION COMPANY, INCORPORATED 851 spondent and the Atlantic have their own employees and the individ- uals named hereinafter 2 are all employees of the respondent. We find that the respondent is engaged in commerce within the meaning of Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED Local No. 391, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, :Stablemen and Helpers, is a labor organization admitting to mem- bership employees of the respondent. ORDER Upon the basis of the testimony, exhibits, this stipulation, and the pleadings herein, and pursuant to Section 10 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, the National Labor Relations .Board hereby -orders that Southern Oil Transportation Company, Inc., its officers, agents, successors and assigns shall: I. Cease and desist from : (a) In any manner discouraging membership in Local 391, Inter- national Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Stablemen and Help- ers, or any other labor organization of its employees, by laying off, -discharging, or refusing to reinstate, or otherwise discriminating .against its employees in respect to hire or tenure of employment; (b) Refusing to bargain collectively with Local 391, International .B rotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Stablemen and Helpers, as the exclusive representative, as provided in Section 9 (a) of the Na- tional Labor Relations Act, of all of its truck drivers and truck drivers' helpers in respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employ- ment, and other conditions of employment; (c) In any other manner interfering with, restraining or coercing its employees in the exercise of their rights to self-organization, to form, join or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining and other mutual aid and protection as guaranteed in Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act. II. Take the following affirmative action which the Board finds will effectuate the policies of the Act : (a) Offer to H. L. Rochelle, J. D. Pridgen, Wilson L. Allender, J. B. Broughton, H. D. Sims, H. E. Morgan, G. A. Hendricks, J. T. Moss, H. E. Moore, T. D. Sasser, W. T. White, Norman Williamson, W. C. Sykes, J. D. Whitlock, D. W. Roper, C. W. White, L. C. Davis, W. N. Quinliven, R. A. Melvin, J. E. Parrish, W. H. Amick, B. ,L. 2 See paragraph No. II of the Board's order herein. 852 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Braswell, G. L. Hammer, R. C. Weigle, T. D. Gore, E. J. Roseman,. W. F. Pridgen, P. H. Morgan, H. B. Helms, P. J. Allender, H. B. Hartis, F. K. Meyers, B. G. Uptegrove, E. L. Johnson,3 N. R. Helms,. L. F. Middleton, C. L. Allred, T. B. Beverly, L. E. Sykes,4 G. H. Vanderpool,' W. R. Howard, G. C. Upchurch, W. J. Pickett, H. A. Durham, J. D. Lennon, J. H. Carter, E. M. Wilson, Jr., G. R. Wilkens,. S. A. Causey, C. W. Morgan, C. C. Bullard, and D. S: Beasley, im- mediate and full reinstatement to their former positions without prejudice to their seniority and other rights and privileges; (b) Bargain collectively in good faith with Local 391, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Stablemen and Helpers as the. exclusive representatives, as provided for in Section 9 (a) of the National Labor Relations Act, for all of its truck drivers and truck 'drivers' helpers, in respect. to rates of pay, wages, hours of employ- ment, and other conditions of employment; and if an agreement is reached, reduce the same to writing and executive it; (c) Immediately post notices in conspicuous places at each of its warehouses, terminals and garages and maintain such notices for a period of ninety (90) consecutive days from the date of such posting stating that the respondent will cease and desist as aforesaid; (d) Notify the Regional Director of the Fifth Region in writing ten days from the date of this order, what steps the respondent has taken to comply herewith. AND IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the complaint, in so far as it per- tains to the cases of R. 0. Ward and J. F. Hobbs, be, and it hereby is, dismissed. E. J. Johnson in the Complaint. 4 L. F. Sikes in the Second Amended Charge and the Complaint. 5C. H. Vanderpool in the Second Amended Charge and the Complaint.