Blue Rock Quarry

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Dec 14, 1956

116 N.L.R.B. 1778 (N.L.R.B. 1956)

1778 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Blue Rock Quarry and Truck Drivers , Warehousemen & Helpers,
Local No. 340, a/w International Brotherhood of Teamsters,
Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America , AFL-CIO,
Petitioner . Case No. 1-RC-46414. December 14, 1956
DECISION AND ORDER
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, a hearing was held before George A. Sweeney, hearing
officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from
prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds:
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
2. The labor organization involved claims to represent certain em-
ployees of the Employer.
3. No question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of the employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section
9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act for the reasons stated
below.
The Petitioner seeks to represent all truckdrivers and transit mix
drivers employed exclusively by Blue Rock Quarry. The Employer
contends the unit sought is inappropriate and urges that the appropri-
ate unit should include the employees of seven corporations, W. H.
Hinman Co.; New England Paving Corp.; Leeds Sand and Gravel;
Engineering Laboratory Service; Maine Bituminous Corporation;
Eastern Construction Corporation; and Blue Rock Quarry, and pre-
sents evidence to show that only a multicorporation unit is appropriate.
There is no history of collective bargaining for any of the corporations.
Blue Rock Quarry is engaged in the manufacture and sale of stone
and its aggregates, cement, concrete, and asph alt, and in the construc-
tion of roads, parking lots, driveways, and other construction that ends
with the level of the earth. W. H. Hinman Co. is engaged in heavy
construction, e. g., it is now constructing the airport at Portland,
Maine. This corporation has the largest number of employees and
operates in a larger radius than the other corporations. In addition
to Maine, it operates in New Hampshire and Vermont. Leeds Sand
and Gravel processes and sells sand and gravel and does miscellaneous
construction work and paving. The Engineering Laboratory Service
performs engineering type survey work, testing materials, making
borings, etc. It also does engineering consulting for interests other
than these six corporations. Eastern Construction Corporation was
established to engage in work for the Government at predetermined
wage rates. Not having been successful in recent bids, it has been
116 NLRB No. 261.
BLUE ROCK QUARRY 1779
inactive for the past 4 or 5_ years. Maine Bituminous Corporation has
not been active for the past year.
All seven corporations are owned by the same people. Each stock-
holder has the same amount of stock in each corporation. The officers
hold the same offices and the directors are the same in each corpora-
tion. The Hinman family owns a majority of the stock in all corpora-
tions equally.
All of these corporations have as their main operational head-
quarters and are controlled from 58 Maine Street, Westbrook, Maine,
although their corporate charter may list another location, e. g., Hin-
man Co. shows North Anson, Maine, as its principal,office, about 80,
miles from Portland. The Westbrook location is about halfway be-
tween Portland and Westbrook where there are numerous buildings
within a single enclosure. There are buildings for storage of ma-
terials, machine and quarry parts, repair and maintenance shops,
mixing or batching buildings, buildings in which bituminous concrete
is manufactured, an insecticide plant, carpenter shops, the quarry and
rock crushing, screening, and washing operation. Although each cor-
poration has a separate telephone listing, there is a common switch-
board and there is no designation of any one corporation on any of
the offices. All repair and maintenance to all equipment used by any
corporation in that vicinity is made at Westbrook.
One person, the comptroller, is in charge of accounting for all
corporations and handles all banking arrangements through the
same bank. Although separate payrolls are maintained for each
corporation, practically all hiring is done at Blue Rock Quarry ex-
cept that which is done at the job site. Hiring is done usually by
2 or 3 men for all the corporations. The master mechanic on the
Hinman payroll hires substantially all crane operators. When any
corporation needs a crane operator, the master mechanic supplies
one. Another person hires practically all the truckdrivers for all
the corporations. Estimators do the job estimating for all corpora-
tions. Supervisors of all jobs in the area of all the corporations
meet each morning at Blue Rock Quarry and balance out personnel
and equipment to meet the day's anticipated needs without regard to
payrolls or ownership of equipment.
The major classifications hired by these corporations are truck-
drivers and miscellaneous operators which include crane operators,
bulldozer operators, front end loader operators, and air compressor
operators. There are also some laborers, but all truckdrivers are
hired with the understanding that when the truck is idle, they join
the laboring crews. For example, when a load of material is de-
livered by a truckdriver to a certain job, if the people there are not
ready for it to be unloaded, the driver joins the labor crew until he
1780 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
can unload his truck. However, the truckdriver is not penalized by ^a
reduction in his rate of pay while performing laboring tasks.
Without regard to the payroll an employee is on, if he is working
for one of the corporations, the supervisor on that job has the au-
thority to discharge him if he is found to be unsatisfactory. All
promotions must clear through one man , the president of all cor-
porations.All employees of all corporations are paid the same wage
rate and receive the same fringe benefits. One labor policy, estab-
lished by the president, is effective at all jobs without regard to the
corporation.
Under all the circumstances, including the same overall manage-
ment and control of labor policies, the related businesses of the cor-
porations, the integration of operations, the common use of offices,
the daily interchange of equipment and personnel, and the uniformity
of working conditions, we are of the opinion that all 7 corporations
constitute a single employer within the meaning of Section 2 (2)
of the Act, and that a unit limited to 1 of the corporations is inap-
propriate. As the Petitioner has not made a sufficient showing of
interest in a unit coextensive with the operation of the corporations,
we shall dismiss the petition.
[The Board dismissed the petition.]
Hirsch Broadcasting Company and International Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers, AFL-CIO, Petitioner. Case No. 14-RC-
3052. December 14, 1956
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, a hearing was held before Thomas C. Hendrix, hearing
officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free
from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds:
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
i The Employer contends , in effect, that as Versatile was not given notice of the hearing
herein, did not appear at the hearing , and was not a party thereto , no basis exists for in-
cluding its employees in the unit sought by the Petitioner. In the circumstances of this
case we find no'merit in this contention . While it appears that no formal notice of hear-
ing was given Versatile , its president was present and gave testimony concerning its op-
erations and those of Hirsch , including the relationship of Versatile to Hirsch. Further,
full opportunity was afforded to litigate the status of Versatile after the Petitioner placed
the Employer on notice that it contended Hirsch and Versatile constituted a single employer
and this matter and the duties of Versatile 's employees were in fact litigated. Accord-
ingly, we perceive no basis for the contention that the rights of Versatile wine prejudiced.
116 NLRB No. 262.