Budget Rent A Car Systems

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 26, 2002

337 N.L.R.B. 884 (N.L.R.B. 2002)

884 DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Budget Rent A Car Systems, Inc. and Local 283, In­
ternational Brotherhood of Teamsters, AFL–
CIO, Petitioner. Cases 7–RC–22199 and 7–RC–
22207
July 26, 2002
DECISION ON REVIEW AND ORDER
BY CHAIRMAN HURTGEN AND MEMBERS LIEBMAN
AND COWEN
On April 12, 2002, the Regional Director for Region 7
issued a Decision and Direction of Elections finding that
the petitioned-for single-facility units at the Employer’s
Warren and Southfield stores in the Detroit, Michigan
area are appropriate. Thereafter, in accordance with Sec­
tion 102.67 of the National Labor Relations Board’s
Rules and Regulations, the Employer filed a timely re-
quest for review, arguing that the only appropriate unit is
a multifacility unit of all of the Employer’s five Detroit-
area local market stores. By Order dated May 8, 2002,
the Board granted the Employer’s request for review.
The National Labor Relations Board has delegated its
authority in this proceeding to a three-member panel.
Having carefully reviewed the entire record, we re-
verse the Regional Director’s finding that the petitioned-
for units are appropriate. As explained below, we find
that the petitioned-for stores have been effectively
merged into a larger unit. Therefore, we find that the
petitioned-for single-facility units are inappropriate.
I. FACTS
The Employer rents cars and trucks to the public. It
operates five Detroit-area local market stores in the cities
of Southfield, Warren, Livonia, Waterford, and Birming-
ham1 and two Detroit-area airport locations in Romulus
and Grand Rapids. The Petitioner seeks to represent all
customer service coordinators (CSCs), service agents,
and mechanics at the Employer’s Southfield store and a
separate unit of all customer service coordinators and
service agents at the Employer’s Warren store.2 There are
four mechanics, five CSCs, and two service agents in the
petitioned-for Southfield unit and four CSCs and no ser­
vice agents or mechanics in the petitioned-for Warren
unit. There are a total of eight additional CSCs and two
additional service agents employed at the Livonia, Wa-
1 The distance between each of the five facilities averages about 15
to 20 minutes by car or approximately 10 miles. The two facilities that
are farthest apart are about 40 minutes apart by car.
2 T he Petitioner currently represents service, maintenance, and park­
ing lot employees at the Employer’s Detroit Metropolitan Airport facil­
ity in Romulus. This facility is administratively distinct from the De­
troit -area local market, with separate supervision, wage scales, benefits,
and work policies. No party proposes that the Grand Rapids location be
included in the appropriate unit or units in this case.
terford, and Birmingham stores. There are no mechanics
at these three stores.
The functions, duties, and required skills of each posi­
tion are the same at all of the Employer’s locations. Ser­
vice agents service and prepare vehicles for rental; the
CSCs rent vehicles to customers, as well as service and
prepare vehicles for rental; and the mechanics maintain
and repair the rental trucks and prepare the trucks for
rental.
The five local market stores are locally managed by
three branch managers.3 Each of the petitioned-for stores
share a branch manager with another of the Employer’s
five local market stores. In this regard, Michelle Las­
kowski manages CSCs and service agents at both Warren
and Birmingham, and Darrel Whitby manages CSCs and
service agents at both Southfield and Waterford.4 They
spend about 75 percent of their time in Warren and
Southfield, respectively.
The branch managers report to District Manager Elisa
Bannon, who oversees operations at all five local market
stores. The mechanics report directly to Maintenance
Manager Thomas Ayers. The district manager and the
maintenance manager, in turn, report to General Manager
Richard Sudy, who works out of the Detroit Metropolitan
Airport facility.
Branch managers do not have the authority to make
decisions concerning hiring, merit wage increases, tem­
porary or permanent transfers, authorization of overtime,
terminations, or serious discipline. All such decisions
concerning the CSCs and the service agents are made by
the district manager, sometimes in consultation with the
human resources regional manager (whose area of re­
sponsibility includes, but is not limited to, the five-store
Detroit local market) or the general manager. In the
process of carrying out her responsibilities, the district
manager visits each store at least once a week. Mainte­
nance Manager Thomas Ayers has the same responsibili­
ties with regard to the mechanics that the district man­
ager has with regard to the CSCs and the service agents.
Branch managers prepare evaluations, which are then
used by the district manager to determine merit wage
increases. They also set employee schedules, approve
time off, and handle day-to-day operations, such as en-
forcing work rules or dealing with customer service is-
sues.
The wage scale (which applies until the employees are
eligible for merit increases after 3 years of service),
benefits, incentive program, and work policies are uni-
3 The parties stipulated that the branch managers are 2(11) supervi­
sors.
4 Before April 1, 2002, Michelle Laskowski managed only the War­
ren store and Brian Osterman managed both Livonia and Birmingham.
337 NLRB No. 147
BUDGET RENT A CAR SYSTEMS 885
form throughout the five-store local market and are de­
termined by corporate policy. Personnel records, other
than daily attendance cards, for all five stores are kept at
the Detroit Metropolitan Airport facility in Romulus,
where the general manager and the administrative assis­
tant are located. The hours of operation for all locations
are the standard corporatewide hours, which vary based
on whether the store rents both trucks and cars, as most
do, or just cars. The uniforms are the same at all five
local market stores, though varied according to position.
Training of employees at all five stores is conducted at
the Southfield store.
None of the five stores has its own dedicated fleet of
cars or trucks. Their vehicle inventory is from the Detroit
pool, which covers the whole Detroit region. Cars and
trucks move from location to location many times a day.
The CSCs contact their counterparts at other local stores
three or four times a day to check on vehicle availability
and otherwise coordinate operations.
The four mechanics at the Southfield store service all
the rental trucks for the five local market stores.5 There
are no mechanics at any of the other local market stores.
Some trucks are brought to the Southfield location for
service; other trucks are serviced at Warren, Livonia, and
Waterford.6 Mechanics from Southfield visit the other
three stores on a daily basis to service trucks.
Six employees in the petitioned-for classifications
were permanently transferred between local market
stores in the last year. Temporary transfers occur “a cou­
ple” of times per month, when employees from other
stores cover vacant positions or employee absences. The
Employer’s witness provided specific evidence of four
employees temporarily working at other stores, from
several hours to several days, during the first few months
of 2002. All transfers to date have been voluntary, al­
though the district manager has the authority to mandate
either permanent or temporary transfers. Employees at
other locations are given preference when there is an
opening at one of the five stores, although the Company
does not maintain a seniority system for this or any other
purpose.
There is no bargaining history concerning these five
stores. The Petitioner has indicated that it is willing to
proceed to an election in any unit the Board finds appro­
priate.
5 The petitioned-for mechanics do not service the car inventory used
by the five stores; the cars are serviced by mechanics at the Detroit
Metropolitan Airport, along with cars from the Employer’s other De­
troit -area locations.
6 T he Birmingham location does not rent trucks.
II. ANALYSIS
A single-facility unit is presumptively appropriate,
unless the single facility has been effectively merged into
a more comprehensive unit, or is so functionally inte­
grated with another unit that it has lost its separate iden­
tity. R & D Trucking, 327 NLRB 531 (1999). To deter-
mine whether the single-facility presumption has been
rebutted, the Board looks at such factors as the similarity
of employee skills, functions and training, the distance
between the facilities, the functional coordination in op­
erations of the facilities, common supervision, central­
ized control of operations and labor, contact between
employees at different facilities, employee interchange
(particularly temporary transfers) between facilities,
common wages, benefits, and terms and conditions of
employment, and bargaining history, if any. See Waste
Management Northwest, 331 NLRB 309, 309 (2000);
New Britain Transportation Co., 330 NLRB 397, 397
(1999).
Contrary to the Regional Director, we find that the
Employer has rebutted the single-facility presumption.
The petitioned-for stores have no separate local man­
agement, as each shares a branch manager with another
local market store. Moreover, the branch managers have
little or no input into hiring, terminations, serious disci­
pline, transfers, wage scales, merit wage increases, bene­
fits, or other terms and conditions of employment. While
the branch managers schedule employees, their authority
to do so is limited by the fact that they cannot schedule
overtime without specific authorization from the district
manager. Control of labor relations is centralized under
the authority of the district manager, the maintenance
manager, the general manager, and corporate policy.
We also find that there is a significant amount of func­
tional integration and employee contact among the five
local market stores. Specifically, the lack of a separate
fleet inventory at each store results in a substantial de­
gree of coordination and contact between unit employees
from all five stores. Further, the fact that the Southfield
truck mechanics are responsible for servicing all local
market trucks, and the frequency with which they travel
to other stores to do so, provides further evidence of em­
ployee contact and functional integration between the
five stores. Lastly, there is some evidence of both temp o­
rary and permanent transfers among the five local market
stores.
Moreover, job functions, required skills, starting
wages, benefits, the incentive bonus program, uniforms,
and all other terms of conditions of employment are
identical from store to store. Job training of employees
from all five stores is centralized at one location.
886 DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Under these circumstances, we find that the evidence
presented establishes that the Southfield and Warren
stores have been so effectively merged into the other
Detroit area local market stores, and are so functionally
integrated with these stores, that they have lost their
separate identities such that the Employer has rebutted
the presumptive appropriateness of the petitioned-for
units. See Waste Management Northwest, supra.
ORDER
The Regional Director’s Decision and Direction of
Elections is reversed. This proceeding is remanded to the
Regional Director for further appropriate action consis­
tent with this decision.