De Hart Motor Lines, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Mar 30, 1955

111 N.L.R.B. 1252 (N.L.R.B. 1955)

1252 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Upon the entire record herein, we find that it would not effectuate
the purposes of the Act to assert jurisdiction over the Employer's
operations because it does not meet the $3,000,000 gross receipts
standard for public transit systems.' We shall, therefore, dismiss the
petition.
[The Board dismissed the petition.]
1 The Greenwich Gas Company and Fuels, Incorporated, 110 NLRB 564; Charleston
Transit Company, 111 NLRB 1214. Member Murdock has already dissented from the
adoption of this standard in the Greenwich Gas case and its application in Southwest
Mississippi Electric Power Association, 110 NLRB 1884.
DE HART MOTOR LINES , INC. and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF
TEAMSTERS , CHAUFFEURS , WAREHOUSEMEN , AND HELPERS OF AMER-
ICA, LOCAL 71, AFL, PETITIONER . Case No. 11-RC-703. March 30,
1955
Decision and Order
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, a hearing was held before Lewis Walberg, hearing offi-
cer. 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 represen-
tation of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section
9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act, for the following
reasons:
The Petitioner seeks to represent a unit of over-the-road truck-
drivers. The Employer contends that the drivers are not its employ-
ees but either those of another company, De Hart Brothers, from whom
it leases trucks, or employees of various individuals from whom De
Hart Brothers, in turn, leases some trucks.
The Employer, a North Carolina corporation, is engaged in the
transportation of freight by motor vehicles. It is licensed as a com-
mon carrier by the Interstate Commerce Commission, and has ter-
minals in several eastern States.
The Employer does not own any of the trucks that it uses in its
business, but leases them from De Hart Brothers, a partnership, which
in turn leases some of its vehicles from various individuals.' When-
1 Although the record is not clear, it appears that the Employer may occasionally lease
vehicles from private owners.
111 NLRB No. 201.
HOME CURTAIN CORP. 1 1253
ever it has a load of freight ready for shipment, the Employer notifies
De Hart Brothers to provide a truck. _The two_brot4ers wb'o comprise
the partnership are also employed by the Employer as managers 2 and
are paid a weekly salary. They do not own any stock in the Employer.
The record does not show any connection between the two companies-
neither interrelated character of operations, common control of labor
relations, nor common ownership.
The Employer pays the "truckowners" a percentage of the gross
revenue received for each individual load.' Liability and cargo insur-
ance are purchased by the Employer. The truckowners pay all mainte-
nance and operational expenses. The owners hire their own drivers
but they are subject to the Employer's approval insofar as necessary
to meet safety regulations. The record does not indicate any control
over the truckdrivers by the Employer 4
Each truckdriver is paid in accordance with his individual agree-
ment with the truckowner, the wages being computed either by the
trip or the mile. Although the Employer keeps the records for the
truckdrivers on behalf of the owners-paying their wages and deduct-
ing social security, workmen's compensation, and unemployment in-
surance, the total expenses incurred by the Employer are subtracted
from the percentage of the gross revenue that it pays the truckowners.5
Truckdrivers do not receive any benefits from the Employer and their
paid vacations are contributed by the truckowners.
In view of the foregoing, and upon the record as a whole, we find
that the over-the-road truckdrivers are not employees of the Em-
ployer.6 Accordingly, we shall dismiss the petition.
[The Board dismissed the petition.]
2 One brother is general manager.
8 The record does not indicate the specific payment arrangements when the Employer
uses a truck received from De Hart Brothers which the latter leased from a private owner.
The record merely states that the "truckowner " receives a percentage of the gross revenue
for each truckload.
4 The truckdrivers also transport freight for other companies.
s The Social Security Administration has ruled that for its purposes the truckdrivers are
not employees of the Employer.
6 Cement Transport Co , 111 NLRB 175.
HOME CURTAIN CORP., REX CURTAIN CORP., SUPERBA PLASTICS CORP.
and GREATER NEW YORK JOINT BOARD , TEXTILE WORKERS UNION OF
AMERICA, CIO, PETITIONER. Case No. 2-RC-6700. March 30, 1955
Order Denying Motion for Reconsideration
On January 27, 1955, the Board issued its Decision and Order in
the above-entitled proceeding, finding that, on a nationwide basis as
111 NLRB No. 200.