Columbus-Celina Coach Lines

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Dec 28, 1951

97 N.L.R.B. 777 (N.L.R.B. 1951)

COLUMBUS-CELINA COACH LINES 777
man, the doorman,7 but excluding the office clerical employees, ap-
prentices, guards, professional employees, the top ticket man in the
weave department, the electrician foreman, the head storekeeper, the
traffic manager, the head purchasing agent," and all other supervisors,
,constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargain-
ing within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication in this
volume.]
7 The record shows that the Employer employes a doorman who spends about one-third
,of his time as a watchman and the remainder performing janitorial work. Under these
circumstances , we find that the doorman is not a guard within the meaning of the Act,
and therefore , have included in the unit. Sylvania Electric Products Inc., 89 NLRB 398.
8 The Employer admitted that the traffic manager and the head purchasing agent were
supervisors.
HAZEL M. CLUFF, AN INDIVIDUAL, D/B/A COLUMBUS-CELINA COACH
LINES, AND COLUMBUS-MARYSVILLE Bus COMPANY, A CORPORATION
and TRUCK DRIVERS UNION LOCAL No. 413, INTERNATIONAL BROTHER-
HOOD OF TEAMSTERS, CHAUFFEURS, WAREHOUSEMEN AND HELPERS OF
AMERICA, A. F. L., PETITIONER. Case No. 9-RC1?90. December
.8,1951
Decision and Direction of Election
Upon-a petition duly filed a hearing was held before Robert Cohn,
hearing officer. The hearing officer's ruling made at the hearing are
free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the Act, the Board
has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three-member
panel [Chairman Herzog and Members Reynolds and Styles].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer moved to dismiss the instant petition alleging that
the two Employers named above are not the joint employers of the
employees involved in this proceeding, that the companies whether
considered individually or together are not subject to the Board's
jurisdiction, and that in any event it would not effectuate the policies
of the Act to assert jurisdiction in this case.
Hazel M. Cluff operates the Columbus-Celina Coach Lines as an
individual proprietorship. She also owns all the stock in the Colum-
bus-Marysville Bus Company, an Ohio corporation, the other company
involved herein. Her son, John C. Cluff, is the general manager of
the Columbus-Celina Coach Line and the assistant treasurer of the
Columbus-Marysville Line.
Both companies share the same offices and the office employees of
both Employers receive the same rate of pay. At this same address,
97 NLRB No. 132.
778 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
but separate from the business offices, both companies operate mainte-
nance facilities for their busses. They also use the same facilities in
another section of Columbus for the storage of their busses. Mrs.
Cluff also owns and operates the Columbus Bus Station located in the
city of Columbus proper. This station is used by both lines, and a
manager of the station performs bookkeeping and clerical functions
for both Employers. He is carried on the Columbus Celina payroll,
but the Bus Station (Mrs. Cluff) reimburses the Line for his services.
Apart from the foregoing there is some evidence of occasional inter-
change of employees between the two companies; the wages, hours,
and working conditions of the employees of both companies are the
same and it is apparent that Mrs. Cluff, because of her ownership of
both companies, exercises effective control over the labor relations
policy of both. Under all the circumstances we find that both com-
panies constitute a single Employer for the purposes of this proceed-
ing.) -
Both companies have certificates of public convenience issued by
the Ohio Public Utility Commission, and operates only within the
State of Ohio. Columbus-Celina operates 20 busses, and hauls ap-
proximately 3,000 passengers per day and has a daily revenue of about
$600. Included in its 132-mile daily bus route is service to the Lock-
bourne army air base, situated about 10 miles south of the city of
Columbus, to which about 18 round trips per day are made, carrying
about 290 passengers, comprising both army and civilian personnel.
In addition, the line also carries passengers to the Turnsted Division
of General Motors, located in the western part of the city of Columbus.
Columbus-Marysville operates nine busses, carries approximately 300
passengers per day over a 180-mile route, deriving a daily revenue of
approximately $233. Among the communities it serves is Camp
Alfred Wilson, an army radar station, located outside of Bellefontaine,
Ohio.
The total purchases of both companies for the 1951 fiscal year were
in excess of $135,000, all of which, except for $45,000 expended on the
purchase of new busses, were made within the State of Ohio. Gaso-
line and oil, in the amount of $40,000 was purchased from the
Socony-Vacuum Corporation in Columbus, Ohio.
Upon the foregoing facts, and in accordance with the Board's
announced policy of asserting jurisdiction over public utilities and
transit systems whose operations are more than de minimis, we find
that the Employer's operations affect commerce within the meaning of
the Act, and that it will effectuate the policies of the Act to assert
jurisdiction in this case.2 -
1 Rite Rate Cab Co., Inc., 95 NLRB 1302.
2 Local Transit Lines, 91 NLRB 623 ; Gastonia Transit Company, 91 NLRB 894.
NATIONAL PERISHABLE INSPECTION SERVICE, INC. 779,
2. The labor organization involved claims to represent certain
employees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9,
(c) (1) and Section 2 ( 6) and (7) of the Act.
4. We find that all bus drivers , and relief drivers employed by the
Columbus -Celina Coach Company and the Columbus-Marysville Bus
Company excluding mechanics , clerical and office employees , guards,
watchmen , and all supervisors as defined in the Act, constitute a unit
appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the
meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act .3
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication in this
volume.]
8 Although the Petitioner alternatively indicated its willingness to include the mechanics,
the parties agree that a unit confined to the drivers is, as the Board has often found,
an appropriate one. One of the bus drivers involved herein spends half of his time as a
mechanic . He is included in the unit and is eligible to vote. Ocala Star Banner, 97 NLRB
384.
NATIONAL PERISHABLE INSPECTION SERVICE, INC., and LODGE 840,
BROTHERHOOD OF RAILWAY AND STEAMSHIP CLERKS, FREIGHT HAN-
DLERS, EXPRESS AND STATION EMPLOYEES, AFL, PETITIONER. Case
No. I -RC-2388. December 28, 19,51
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 Robert S. Fuchs, hear-
ing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free
from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the Act, the Board
has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three-
member panel [Members Houston, Murdock, and Styles].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is a Massachusetts corporation engaged in the
business of inspecting fruits and vegetables shipped to the Boston
Market Terminal via railway and truck. During the calendar year
1950, the Employer received over $57,000 in revenue for these serv-
ices. The Employer does business with a total of 82 companies, some
of which are members or associate members of the Boston Market
Terminal, and others independent operators. Subsequent to the
hearing the parties stipulated for the record that during the year
1950 the Employer performed services valued at $54,996 for 31 com-
panies, each of which annually sells at least $25,000 worth of merchan-
97 NLRB No. 139.