Alaska Fish and Farm Products, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 31, 1974

212 N.L.R.B. 730 (N.L.R.B. 1974)

730 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Alaska Fish and Farm Products , Inc. and International
Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehouse-
men and Helpers of America-Teamsters Local
959-State of Alaska, Petitioner. Case 19-RC-7058
July 31, 1974
DECISION ON REVIEW
By CHAIRMAN MILLER AND MEMBERS FANNING
AND JENKINS
On May 1, 1974, the Regional Director for Region
19 issued a Decision and Direction of Election in the
above-entitled proceeding in which he found appro-
priate and directed an election in a unit of salesmen,
drivers, warehousemen, and helpers employed by the
Employer. Thereafter, in accordance with Section
102.67 of the National Labor Relations Board's Rule
and Regulations, Series 8, as amended, the Petitioner
filed a timely request for review of the Regional
Director's Decision on the ground that in including
salesmen in the unit determination, the Regional Di-
rector made findings of fact which are clearly errone-
ous and departed from officially reported Board
precedent. Thereafter, the Employer filed a timely
brief in support of the Regional Director's Decision.
By telegraphic order dated May 28, 1974, the request
for review was granted and the election stayed pend-
ing decision on review.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the Na-
tional Labor Relations Board has delegated its au-
thority 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 is engaged in the wholesale food
service business at Anchorage, Alaska, and employs
3 salesmen and 10 drivers, warehousemen, and help-
ers. The Employer contended, and the Regional Di-
rector agreed, that the smallest appropriate unit must
include the salesmen. Petitioner contends that the
salesmen's terms and conditions of employment are
substantially different from those of the drivers, ware-
housemen, and helpers and, therefore, the salesmen
should have been excluded from the unit. We find
merit in this contention.
The record reveals that the drivers' duties consist of
filling orders, loading trucks, delivering merchandise,
and collecting from customers when delivering "col-
lect" orders. Although the drivers come into contact
with customers when making deliveries, they have no
selling duties. The duties of the warehousemen and
helpers include unloading shipments of merchandise,
putting the merchandise away, keeping the premises
clean, and filling orders in the warehouse. The drivers,
warehousemen, and helpers normally work from 7
a.m. to 4 p.m. under the direction of the leadman,
Tozier, although they are under the overall supervi-
sion of the operations manager, with whom they have
little contact. The drivers, warehousemen, and helpers
receive wages computed at an hourly rate, work set
hours with an established lunch break, punch time-
cards, and receive overtime on Saturdays or past 4
p.m. on weekdays. These employees, including the
drivers, usually wear jeans to work, although the driv-
ers are expected to look somewhat neater since they
come into contact with customers.
The salesmen's duties consist of soliciting business
from customers and ascertaining whether their cus-
tomers' orders have been properly filled and deliv-
ered. There is general testimony that in checking on
their orders they spend about 25 percent of their time
at the warehouse where they come into contact with
the drivers, warehousemen, and helpers. The sales-
men have no set hours and usually come to the ware-
house around noon, before the afternoon deliveries.
The salesmen have made deliveries and filled orders
on an occasional and irregular basis, usually after the
other employees have left the warehouse at 4 p.m. On
rare occasions, when there is a heavy workload at the
warehouse, one or two of the salesmen are called in
to work in the warehouse for a day. The record reveals
that this occurs 6 to 10 times a year. The record also
reveals that two of the three salesmen presently em-
ployed by the Employer were formerly employed as
drivers.
Unlike the other employees, the salesmen work un-
der the immediate direction of the operations manag-
er for approximately 1 hour each day. In the course
of pursuing their duties, the salesmen exercise discre-
tion in soliciting new accounts without prior approval
from the operations manager or the general manager.
In contrast to the other employees, the salesmen are
salaried, do not punch timecards, and do not receive
overtime. They supply their own cars and are com-
pensated for gasoline which they expend in the course
of business activities. Although the Employer has no
specific dress requirements, salesmen are expected to
be neat in appearance and, in practice, wear coats and
ties. All of the Employer's employees, including the
salesmen and management, receive company-spon-
sored fringe benefits.
Based on the foregoing and the record as a whole,
we conclude that the salesmen are outside salesmen
whose primary function is selling, and any duties they
perform at the warehouse or with respect to deliveries
are merely incidental to their selling function. Inas-
much as these salesmen have terms and conditions of
212 NLRB No. 98
ALASKA FISH & FARM PRODUCTS , INC. 731
employment which substantially differ from those of unit and the case is remanded to the Regional Direc-
the drivers, warehousemen, and helpers, we find their tor for the purpose of conducting an election pursuant
interests are not such as to require that they be includ- to his Decision and Direction of Election, as modified
ed in the unit.' herein, except that the payroll period for determining
Accordingly, the salesmen are excluded from the eligibility shall be that immediately preceding the date
of issuance of this Decision. [Excelsior footnote omit-
Newark Electronics Co, Inc, 131 NLRB 553, 554 ted from publication.]