ET&WNC Motor Transportation Co.

In the Matter of ET&WNC MOTOR TRANSPORTATION Co. and DIIIvERs & WAREHOUSEMEN'S UNION Case No. R_,9339.-Decided March 01, 1941 Jurisdiction :` motor transportation industry. ,Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: refusal to recognize either of rival unions until certified by the Board ; elec- tion necessary. Unit Appropriate for Collective , Bargaining : system-wide unit comprising over- the-road drivers, pick-up and delivery men, city warehousemen, and checkers held appropriate ; appropriateness of a smaller unit upon the basis of the claim of other, unions involved to be considered, in the event election shows that employees do not desire to be represented in-a system-wide unit: Mr. James H: Epps, Jr., and Mr. Robert L. Taylor, of-Johnson City, Tenn., for the, Company. Mr. Nelson Swan, of Johnson City, Tenn., for the Drivers & Ware- housemen and' for Auxiliary II of Drivers & Warehousemen's Union. Mr. H. G. Trythall; of Knoxville, Tenn., for Locals Nos. 511 and 621. Mr. Theodore W. Kheel, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE On January 11, 1941, Drivers & Warehousemen's Union, herein called the Drivers & Warehousemen, filed with the Regional Director for the Tenth Region (Atlanta, Georgia) a petition alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representa- tion of employees of E. T. & W. N. C. Motor Transportation Com- pany, Johnson City, Tennessee, herein called the Company, and requesting an investigation and certification of representatives pur- suant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On February 7, 1941, the National Labor Relations Board, herein called the Board, acting pursuant to Section ,V(c) of the Act,and Article III, Section 3, of National Labor Rela- tions Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, ordered an 30 N. L. R. B., No. 73 . 505 506 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD investigation and authorized the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide -for an appropriate hearing upon due notice. On February 12, 1941, the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company, the Drivers and Warehousemen , and the Truck Drivers and Helpers, Local Unions Nos . 515 and 621, -affiliated with the American Fed- 'eration of Labor, herein jointly called Locals Nos. 515 and 621, labor organizations claiming to represent employees directly affected by the investigation . Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held on Febru- ary 20, 1941 , at Johnson City, Tennessee, :before Alexander E. Wilson,- Jr., the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Chief Trial Examiner. The Company, the Drivers and Warehousemen , and Locals Nos. 515 and 621 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 parties. At the commencement of the hearing , Auxiliary II, of Drivers & Warehousemen's Union, petitioned to intervene in this pro- ceeding, seeking to represent the mechanics and clerical employees of the Company, employees other than those directly affected by the investigation. The Trial Examiner reserved ruling on this petition. During the hearing, this union admitted that it had not attempted to bargain with the Company on behalf of the employees it sought to - represent. It is apparent, therefore , that no question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the representation of these employees.' The petition to intervene is denied . During the course of the hear- ing, the Trial Examiner made several rulings on other motions and on objections to the admission of evidence. The Board has reviewed the rulings of the Trial Examiner and finds that no prejudicial errors were committed . The rulings are hereby affirmed. Upon the entire record in the case; the Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY The Company is a Tennessee corporation with its principal offices located in Johnson City, Tennessee. The Company is engaged in the transportation of freight for hire by motor vehicles in both intra- state and interstate commerce. Its freight lines, with many branches, extend from Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Raleigh, North Carolina, and Laurens, South Carolina. It has approximately 15 terminals in Tennessee, 11 in North Carolina, and- 2 in South' Carolina. -At the 'time'of the hearing it was employing 246 persons with a pay roll for 1940 in excess of $250,000. Its gross receipts•fdr 1940 amounted to ' Cf. Matter of J. t A. Young, Inc., and Rose Amanzeo, 9 N! L. R. B. 1164. I ET&`VNC MOTOR TRANSPORTATION COMPANY 567 $626,669.96. The Company operates under the jurisdiction of the Interstate Commerce Commission. II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED Dr'ivel's"&'Wa"r'ehousemen's Union is a labor organization admitting to membership employees of the Company. Truck Drivers & Helpers, Local Unions Nos. 515 and 621, affiliated with the American-. Federation of Labor, are labor organizations admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION Locals Nos. 515 and 621 began to organize the Company's em- ployees in October 1940. In the latter part of November or December 1940, they opened negotiations with the Company. A tentative agree- ment,:recognizing°tl em as the "sole representative" of the over-the- road drivers, pick-up and delivery men, city warehousemen, and checkers of the Company employed in Chattanooga, Cleveland, Knox- ville, Morristown, and Greenville, Tennessee, was drawn up and would have been executed, it is claimed, if the Drivers and Ware- housemen had not appeared., The Drivers and Warehousemen com- menced to organize in the middle of December 1940 and a few days later presented,a contract to the Company. The Company then re- fused to negotiate an agreement with any union until it had been certified by the Board. - It appears from the statement of-the Trial Examiner that the unions represent a substantial number of the Company' employees in the unit they seek as appropriate.2 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 commerce and the free flow of commerce. s The Drivers and warehousemen submitted its Articles of. Association signed by 96 of the - 156 employees In the unit it claims to be appropriate . Locals Nos. 515 and 621 submitted application cards signed by 39 of the 52 employees, in the unit they seek as appropriate. 508 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT Both the Drivers and Warehousemen and Locals Nos. 515 and 621 seek to represent over-the-road drivers, pick-,up and delivery men, city warehousemen, and checkers of the Company. However, the Drivers and Warehousemen would include all the employees'in these categories throughout the entire system while Locals Nos. 515 and 621 would restrict the unit to these employees in Chattanooga, Cleveland, Knoxville, Morristown, and Greenville, Tennessee.3 During. the hear= ing, J. T. Burgess, business representative of Local'No. 621, admitted that the jurisdiction of Local 621 extended' beyond the limits of the unit sought as appropriate but, he asserted, "the boys in Knoxville organized and wanted a gage increase, and that is why we didn't go any further to organize the Company." 4 In any event, Burgess claimed, Locals Nos. 515 and 621 could not organize the entire system as other locals of the, International Union had jurisdiction over cer- tain of the Company's terminals.5 Further, in their petition to inter- vene, Locals Nos. 515 and 621 pointed, in justification of the unit which, they seek, to the "existing geographical conditions, and difference in time ,between Johnson City, and that part of the system extending from Greenville to Chattanooga." On the other hand, ,the system is ' operated as a closely knit unit. Wages and working conditions are uniform throughout, the entire system and the transportation of freight from one terminal to another inevitably brings employees of all terminals into, close association with each other. Because the operation, management, and-organiza- tion of a system of transportation as, a single, closely integrated enterprise results in an intimate relationship and interdependence in the work and interests of the employees involved, the Board-has gen- erally found the system-wide unit to be appropriate if organization has proceeded sufficiently far.6 And it appears from the record that the Drivers and Warehousemen has members in all but a few small terminals. Under these circumstances, we shall find'the system"wide unit to be appropriate. If, however, the election shows that the,em- ployees do not desire at this time to be represented'in the system-wide s Local 515 is located In Chattanooga , Tennessee , and Local 621 in Knoxville, Tennessee. ' The business representative of, Local No. 515 was unable to testify but it was explained that he had "authorized" Burgess to speak for him and that the evidence he would give would be "cumulative " We assume, therefore, that Local No 515 confined itself to the smaller unit for the same reasons as Local No 621. Burgess testified, for example , that Local 621 could not organize the Company's em- ployees in Charlotte, North Carolina "because there is an A. F of L. union already over there." -. 1 11 1 - 6 See Matter , of Iowa' Southern Utitlities Company and Utility , Workers Organizing Committe Local 109 (CIO ), et al., 15 N. L. R. B. 580; Matter of Gulf Oil Corporation and Gulf Employees Association of New England, et at., 19 N. L. R. B. 334. 11 ET&WNC MOTOR TRANSPORTATION COMPANY 509 unit, we shall then consider further the appropriateness of the smaller unit upon the basis of the claim of Locals Nos. 515 and 621.' We find, that the over-the-road drivers, 'pick-up and delivery men, city warehousemen, and checkers employed by the Company through- out its system, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of col- lective bargaining and that said unit will insure to employees of the Company the full benefit of their right to self-organization : and to collective bargaining and otherwise effectuate the policies of the. Act. VT. TIIE DETERIIINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES We find that the question concerning representation which has arisen can best be resolved by means _of an election by secret ballot. At the hearing the Company, the Drivers and Warehousemen, and Locals Nos. 515 and 621 agreed that the pay roll of January 19, 1941; should be used to determine eligibility to vote in the election. We find that the employees of the Company eligible to vote in the elec- tion shall be those employees in the appropriate unit who 'were on the Company's pay roll on January 19, 1941, with the limitations and additions set forth in our Direction. In this election, Locals Nos. 515 and 621 shall appear on the ballot jointly under the name Ameri= can Federation of'Labor. Their names shall 'be set forth'on the ballot in the election in brackets after the name American Federation of Labor. 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 the E. T. & W. N. `C. Motor Transportation Company, Johnson City, Tennessee, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act. 2. All over-the-road drivers, pick-up and delivery men, city ware- housemen, and checkers employed by the Company 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 by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Rela- i * Cf Matter of Gulf Oil Corporation and Gulf Employees Association of New England, et al., 19 N . L R. B 334. 510 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD tions Act, 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 E. T. & W. N. C. Motor Transportation Company, Johnson City, Tennessee, 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, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Tenth 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 all over-the-road drivers, pick-up and, delivery men, city warehousemen, and checkers, who were on the Company's pay roll on January 19, 1941, including those employees who did not work during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or absent because called for military service and employees who were then or have since been temporarily laid off, but excluding employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether they desire to be represented for the- pur-poses of collective bargaining by Drivers & Warehousemen's Union, by American Federation of Labor [Truck Drivers & Helpers, Local Unions Nos. 515 and 621], or by neither. r 1