Abdow Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Aug 29, 1984

271 N.L.R.B. 1269 (N.L.R.B. 1984)

ABDOW CORP.
Abdow Corporation and General Teamsters, Chauf-
feurs, Warehousemen and Helpers, Building
Materials, Heavy and Highway Construction
Employees, Local Union 404 a/w International
Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Ware-
housemen and Helpers of America, Petitioner.
Case I-RC-17930
29 August 1984
DECISION ON REVIEW, ORDER, AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
BY MEMBERS ZIMMERMAN, HUNTER, AND
DENNIS
On 2 August 1983 the Regional Director for
Region 1 issued a Decision and Direction of Elec-
tion in the above-entitled proceeding in which he
found appropriate a unit of all full-time and regular
part-time drivers and warehouse employees at the
Employer's commissary in Springfield, Massachu-
setts, including dockmen, shipping/receiving, and
the plant clerical.' The Regional Director rejected
the Employer's contention that the only appropri-
ate unit was a plantwide unit including the kitchen
and bakery employees. Thereafter, in accordance
with Section 102.67 of the National Labor Rela-
tions Board's Rules and Regulations, the Employer
filed a timely request for review of the Regional
Director's decision on the grounds, inter alia, that
in excluding the kitchen and bakery employees
from the unit found appropriate, he made errone-
ous findings of fact and departed from official
Board precedent.
By mailgram dated 26 August 1983, the request
for review was granted. Pursuant to the Board's
Rules and Regulations, the election was held on 27
August 1983 in the unit found appropriate by the
Regional Director and the ballots were impounded
pending decision on review.
The National Labor Relations Board has delegat-
ed its authority in this proceeding to a three-
member panel.
The Board has considered the entire record in
this case with respect to the issue under review and
makes the following findings.
The Employer, a Massachusetts corporation, op-
erates a commissary where it is engaged in the
preparation of food products which are distributed
to restaurants in Massachusetts and Connecticut.
The Petitioner seeks to represent a unit of approxi-
mately 10 employees (drivers, dockworkers, and
shipping/receiving employees) employed at the
'The Petitioner had requested the unit found appropriate with the ex-
ception of the clerical who, it contended, was an office clerical and
therefore properly excluded. However, the Employer alleged and the Re-
gional Director found that the disputed employee was a plant clerical and
thus properly included in the unit.
271 NLRB No. 176
Employer's commissary. The Employer contends
that a plantwide unit of approximately 24 employ-
ees including the kitchen and bakery employees is
the only appropriate unit. The Regional Director
found that the drivers and warehouse employees
share a community of interest distinct from that of
the other employees based on such factors as sepa-
rate supervision, dissimilar job responsibilities, and
lack of interchange with the kitchen and bakery
employees. The Employer argues that in reaching
this conclusion the Regional Director failed to give
appropriate weight to such factors as the integrated
nature of the Employer's operation, its small size,
and employee contact. We agree.
The Employer's commissary covers approximate-
ly a 16,320 square-foot area which has dock, stor-
age, and refrigeration areas; a kitchen; a bakery;
several offices; and a "break room." The kitchen
and bakery areas are located at the center of the fa-
cility with storage areas on either side. The main
offices are located behind the kitchen and bakery.
There is also a small office in the storage area. The
break room is adjacent to the bakery. The two
dock areas are located on the outside of the facili-
ty. The in-dock area runs parallel to the upper stor-
age area; the out-dock area runs parallel to the
lower storage area. Entrances to the commissary
are located between the dock and storage areas.
The Employer's manager, Jeff Costello, 2 and As-
sistant Manager Wayne Minor have overlapping
authority over the entire plant operation. Original-
ly, Minor, on his own request, was transferred
from driving to the kitchen so that he could learn
kitchen operations. After spending 6 to 8 months in
the kitchen, Minor was promoted to kitchen super-
visor and then to assistant manager. Minor works
primarily with the kitchen employees and super-
vises the entire operation only when Costello is
absent.
There are 13 full-time employees and I part-time
employee in the kitchen and bakery classifications.
These employees prepare the food products which
are shipped out to various restaurants. One section
of the storage area directly across from the bakery
is for the exclusive use of the kitchen and bakery
employees.
There are five dockworkers. They are responsi-
ble for filling orders from inventory kept in the
storage area, bringing the orders to the dock to be
loaded on company trucks for delivery, and receiv-
ing and placing incoming products in the storage
areas. They also replenish the kitchen and bakery
staffs' storage area when necessary. On occasion,
2 Costello was promoted to manager about 10 days prior to the hear-
ng.
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DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
other employees who are available assist the dock-
workers in unloading trucks. Two of the dock-
workers also serve as substitutes for the Employ-
er's drivers.
The Employer's three drivers regularly deliver
its products to Connecticut and Worcester, Massa-
chusetts, as well as to various local restaurants.
When making a run to Connecticut, a driver gener-
ally spends about 1-1/2 hours loading his truck
before going out on the road and returns to the
commissary early in the afternoon. He then spends
another hour loading up for two afternoon deliv-
eries. After these trips have been completed, the
driver generally does not return to the warehouse
until the following day. Similarly, when making a
run to Worcester, a driver typically makes an early
morning run to two local stores, then returns to the
commissary and spends approximately 1-1/2 to 2
hours loading his truck. After the trip to Worcester
has been completed, the driver typically does not
return to the warehouse until the following day.
On local runs, drivers deliver goods to five differ-
ent stores. Out of the 5 days the drivers regularly
work, 1 day a week is spent in the warehouse
working with the dock employees in replenishing
the storage areas.
The plant clerical spends 25 to 40 percent of her
time in the office located in the storage area. She
takes orders and does inventory control work. The
clerical also works in the front office (located
behind the kitchen and bakery) where she handles
computer work concerning order information.
Finally, there is the shipping/receiving classifica-
tion. Although employees in this classification as
well as dockworkers normally receive shipments as
they arrive at the commissary, if they are unavail-
able, any of the other employees are allowed to
and actually have signed the truckers' bills.
The kitchen, bakery, and dock employees pre-
pare their meals in the kitchen and take breaks in
the "break room." Kitchen and bakery workers
walk through the upper storage room where the
dock employees work in order to get to the break
room. Dockworkers must go through the kitchen
to carry loads out to the dock. Eight employees
have transferred from the kitchen to the ware-
house. Of those eight, only two are currently with
the Employer. All employees work Monday,
Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday with Tuesday
and Thursday as alternate days off. In addition, any
employee may request a Saturday off. The kitchen
and bakery are closed on Sundays. Drivers are re-
quired to work one Sunday out of every month.
Drivers are expected to arrive at work between
6 and 6:30 a.m. and may leave as early as 4 or as
late as 6 p.m. Dockworkers work until 7 p.m. on
some days, and kitchen and bakery employees
arrive between 5:30 and 6 a.m. and work until 2 to
4 p.m.
There are four job grades. Drivers are in grade
four with a starting salary of $4.50 per hour. The
average wage for drivers is $5.28, for dockworkers
$4.31, and for kitchen and bakery workers $4.25.
The clerical earns approximately $4.40 to $4.50 per
hour. After 3 months, all employees receive a 25-
cent raise and every employee is reviewed periodi-
cally thereafter. All hourly paid employees receive
the same fringe benefits and follow the same gener-
al work rules. Dockworkers and drivers wear uni-
forms different from the uniforms worn by kitchen
and bakery employees. In the 2 months prior to the
hearing, two employee meetings were held which
involved only the dock and driving employees.
Management was present at the first of these two
meetings.
Upon the foregoing, and our review of the entire
record in this case, we conclude that a plantwide
unit is alone appropriate. We rely especially on the
fact that the Employer employs a relatively small
complement of plant employees, approximately 24;
they are all located within a single building; the
building is designed in such a way that there neces-
sarily is contact between the various classifications;
all aspects of the Employer's operation are func-
tionally integrated, revolving around a single goal
of preparation and delivery of the Employer's food
products to the restaurants; and all employees are
allowed to and actually do perform receiving func-
tions. Based on these factors, we are of the view,
contrary to the Regional Director, that a unit limit-
ed to the Employer's drivers and warehouse em-
ployees is inappropriate. Instead, we find that the
kitchen and bakery employees share such a sub-
stantial community of interest with the warehouse
employees that only a plantwide unit is appropri-
ate. 3
As the unit found appropriate is substantially
larger than the warehouse unit found appropriate
by the Regional Director, the election conducted
on 27 August 1983 must be vacated. However, as
the Petitioner has indicated a willingness to pro-
ceed to an election in the broader unit found ap-
propriate, we shall direct that the election be held
in the following unit which we have found appro-
priate:4
3 See generally Napa Columbus Distribution Co.. 269 NLRB 1052
(1984); Scholastic Magazines. 192 NLRB 461 (1971).
4 As the unit found appropriate is larger than that requested, the Peti-
tioner is accorded a period of 10 days in which to submit the requisite
showing of interest to support an election. In the event the Petitioner
does not wish to proceed to an election herein, it may withdraw its peti-
tion without prejudice by notice to the Regional Director within 7 days
from the date of this decision.
1270
ABDOW CORP.
All regular full-time and part-time employees
employed at the Employer's commissary in
Springfield, Massachusetts, excluding office
clericals, guards, and supervisors as defined in
the Act.
ORDER
The election conducted on 27 August 1983 is va-
cated.
[Direction of Election omitted from publication.]
MEMBER ZIMMERMAN, dissenting.
I do not agree with my colleagues that a
plantwide unit, including the Employer's drivers,
warehouse employees, and kitchen and bakery em-
ployees "is alone appropriate." Rather, I would
adopt the Regional Director's finding that the unit
of drivers and warehouse employees sought by the
Petitioner constitutes a separate appropriate unit
for the purpose of collective bargaining within the
meaning of the Act.
The record establishes that the drivers and ware-
house employees spend almost all of their time in
the storage and dock areas, which are separate
from the kitchen and bakery, and that the contact
between them and the Employer's other employees
is limited. The drivers and warehouse employees
perform the primary duties of loading and unload-
ing trucks, stocking products, picking up and load-
ing orders, and driving delivery trucks. They per-
form no kitchen or bakery work. The majority
states that all employee job functions revolve
around the goal of preparing and delivering the
Employer's products to customers; but this case
lacks the interchange and functional similarity of
tasks extant in the cases cited by the majority in
support of its finding that the unit sought by the
Petitioner is inappropriate. Further, here the driv-
ers and warehouse employees are separately super-
vised, 2 differently uniformed, and meet separately
with management.
Accordingly, on the record as a whole I would
find that the warehouse employees constitute a ho-
mogeneous group which shares a community of in-
terest distinct from that of the Employer's other
employees.3 I would therefore direct an election in
the unit sought by the Petitioner.
t There is evidence that kitchen employees are permitted and do re-
ceive merchandise coming into the Employer's facility when warehouse
employees are not available. However, receiving is only one aspect of the
work performed by drivers and warehouse employees who are the only
employees to fill orders, perform shipping functions, and drive delivery
trucks.
2 As noted by the majority, Assistant Manager Minor, who supervises
the kitchen employees, oversees the Employer's entire operation only in
the absence of Manager Costello. Accordingly, I do not agree with the
majority that Minor and Costello have "overlapping authority."
I Institutional Food Services, 258 NLRB 650 (1981); Marriott Corp., 252
NLRB 707 (1980), enfd. 652 F.2d 202 (Ist Cir. 1981).
1271