Pelican Cracker Factory, Inc.

In the Matter Of PELICAN CRACKER FACTORY, INC. and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS, CHAUFFEURS, WAREHOUSEMEN AND 'HELPERS, LOCAL No. 270, A. F. OF L. Case No. R-2253.-Decided February 14, 1941 Jurisdiction : baking industry. Investigation and Certification of Representatives: existence of question: refusal to accord union recognition; election necessary. Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : employees engaged customarily in driving or loading motor trucks. Messrs. Harry MeEnerny, Jr., and Samuel Lang, of New Orleans, La., for the Company. - Messrs. Alvin I. Liska and Manny Moore, of New Orleans, La., for the Union. . Mr. Harold Weston, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE On December 9, 1940, and January 6, 1941, respectively, Interna- tional Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers, Local No. 270, herein called the Union, filed with the Re- gional Director for the Fifteenth Region (New Orleans, Louisiana), a petition and amended petition alleging that a question affecting com- merce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Peli- can Cracker Factory, Inc., New Orleans,(Louisiana, herein called the Company, and requesting an investigation and certification of repre- sentatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act) 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On December 26, 1940, the National Labor Relations Board, herein called the Board, acting pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the Act, and Article III, Section 3, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, ordered an investigation and authorized the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice. ' 29 N. L. R. B., No. 105. - 607 608 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD On January 3, 1941, the Regional Director issued a notice of hear- ing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company and 'the Union, Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held on January 10, 1941, at New Orleans, Louisiana, before Charles A. Kyle, the Trial Exam- iner duly designated by the Board. The Company 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 on the issues was' afforded all par- ties. During the course of the hearing the Trial Examiner made several rulings on motions and on objections to the admission of evi- dence. The Board has reviewed the rulings of the Trial Examiner and finds that no prejudicial errors were 'committed. The rulings are hereby affirmed. On January 28, 1941, the Company, and on February 3, 1941, the 'Union, filed briefs which the Board has duly considered. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board-makes the following: FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Pelican Cracker Factory, Inc., is engaged in the production, sale and distribution of cakes and crackers. During the 11-month period from January 1, 1940, to November 30, 1940, the Company purchased raw materials, valued at approximately $150,000, more than 70 per cent of which were shipped to the Company from points out- side the State of Louisiana. During this same period, the Company's sales amounted to about $400,000, almost 50 per cent of which rep- resent sales to purchasers outside the State of Louisiana. The Com- pany employs approximately 124 persons. The Company admits that it is engaged in interstate commerce within the meaning of the Act. II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehouse- men and Helpers, Local Union No. 270, is a labor organization affili- ated with the American Federation of Labor, admitting to member- ship employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The Company refuses to bargain with the Union, assigning, as the reason for its refusal, its belief that the Union does not repre- sent a majority of the employees in an appropriate unit. At the hearing there was introduced in evidence a report of the Regional PELICAN CRACKER FACTORY, INC. 609 Director which shows that the Union represents a substantial number of employees in the unit which it alleges to be appropriate.' We find that a question has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Company. IV. THE EFFECT OF_ THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION UPON COMMERCE We find that the question concerning representation which has arisen occurring in connection with,the operations of the Company described in Section I above, has a close, intimate, and substantial relation to trade, traffic and commerce among the several States, and tends to lead to, labor disputes burdening and obstructing com- merce and the free flow of commerce. V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT The Union contends that all truck drivers and "truck drivers' helpers" employed by the Company constitute an appropriate bar- gaining unit. It is the Compaliy's position that the unit should con- sist of all employees in what it 1 'rms its shipping department. At the time of the hearing, there were 13 employees in,the unit sought by the Teamsters, 10 of whom are required by the Company to have chauffeurs' licenses. Of these 13 employees, 3 drive trucks exclusively, while a fourth drives a truck all but 1 hour a day which-he spends in truck loading. Two other employees, Hilton Smith and Morris Scott, devote the major portion of their day to truck driving and spend the remainder of their time in loading trucks, assembling orders, and traflsporting products by means of flat dolly trucks, from one part of the first floor, where products are wrapped and stored, to another. Adrian Reimann and Oscar Madere, two other employees, customarily drive and load trucks and perform the other duties ascribed to Smith and Scott. - Floyd Diehl, Stanley Daigle, Benjamin Ryan, Oray Braud, and Allan Edgecombe, the five remaining employees in the unit proposed by the Union, do not drive trucks, although Daigle and Braud are required to possess drivers' licenses; these five employees customarily load trucks and prepare orders for shipment. It is the Union's position that the primary work of the afore-mentioned 13 employees is driving and loading trucks and that they depart from these duties only when there is a lull in their usual work. In addition to these above-described 13 employees, the Company would include in the unit 18 other employees on the ground that r In support of its position that it represents 12 of the 13 employees in the unit which it claims is appropriate , the Union submitted to the Regional Director 11 authorization cards, all of which were dated November 1940 610 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD all 31 perform related work in the same, department and under the same supervisor. None of these. 18 employees customarily drives or, loads motor trucks. Twelve of the 18 employees are women, one of whom packs samples -and spends a small proportion of her day in office work, while the remainder wrap and sometimes stack the cakes and, when necessary, place the products on the flat dolly trucks that are used to transport materials between the various departments of the plant. The Company claims that all but 3 of the 13 employees in the unit desired by the Union may be, and are, called upon to assist the girls with the wrapping; it appears, however, that only in rare instances, have these employees been required to help the girls with their work. The six other employees perform a variety of duties.. One is a general utility man who makes and repairs boxes and sometimes packs the products. Two sweep and clean the factory. Two others transport, by means of the. dolly trucks, products and containers between the production -department on the second floor, 'and the first floor where the em- ployees in question work. The sixth, Erwin, uses the dolly trucks to carry products between various parts of the first floor, helps receive raw materials, stacks products in the storeroom; and cleans cracker cans; on one or two occasions, Erwin has been called upon to load trucks. While the 13 employees comprising the Union's desired unit- and the other 18 employees may be called upon to perform similar tasks, the 13 employees are the only ones who regularly perform the duties of driving arid loading trucks, and they therefore constitute a coherent group. Twelve of the 13 truck drivers and loaders ap- pear to have designated the Union, and it does not appear that the Union has sought to organize the remainder of the shipping department.' Under these circumstances, we find that the Company's employees engaged customarily in driving or loading motor trucks constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining and that said unit will insure to the employees of the Company the full .benefit of their right to self-organization and to collective bargain- ing, and otherwise effectuate the policies of the Act. VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES We find that the question which has arisen concerning representa- tion can best be resolved by the holding of an election by secret ballot. We shall direct that such an election be held. Those em- 2 While the Union admits that some of the employees outside its proposed unit were. contacted by its representatives,,,it claims that this was inadvertent and that they were "turned down " as soon as the error was disclosed PELICAN CRACKER FACTORY, INC. 611 ployees in the appropriate unit during the pay-roll period immedi- ately preceding the date of the Direction of Election, including employees who did not work during such pay-roll period because they were ill, on vacation, or temporarily laid off, but excluding those who have since quit or been discharged for cause, shall be eligible to vote in the election. Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre- sentation of employees of Pelican Cracker Factory, Inc., New Or- leans, Louisiana, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act. 2.. The Company's employees engaged customarily in driving or loading motor trucks constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. DIRECTION OF ELECTION By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor Relations Board, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is hereby DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation ordered by the Board to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Pelican Cracker Factory, Inc., New Orleans, Louisiana, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible but not later than thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction of Election, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Di- rector for the Fifteenth Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board and subject to Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and Regulations, among its employees en- gaged customarily in driving or loading motor trucks, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction of Election, including such employees who did not work during that period because they were ill, on vacation, or tem- porarily laid off, but excluding employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented for purposes of collective bargaining by International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers, Local No. 270, A. F. of L. . 413602-42-vol 29-40