Enid Co-Operative Creamery Association

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Aug 31, 1948

79 N.L.R.B. 444 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

In the Matter of ENID Co-OPERATIVE CREAMERY ASSOCIATION, EM-
PLOYER and GENERAL DRIVERS, CHAIIFFEuRS AND HELPERS, LOCAL
886, AFL, PETITIONER
Case No. 16-RC-106.-Decided August 31, 1948
DECISION
AND ,
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before a hearing
officer of the National Labor Relations Board. 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 National Labor
Relations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with
this case to a panel consisting of Board Members Houston, Gray, and
Reynolds.'
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the
Act.2
2. The labor organization named below claims to represent em-
ployees 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. The Petitioner seeks a unit of inside employees at the Em-
ployer's creamery and dairy plant, excluding employees in the egg
department, ice cream' manufacturing department, retail fountain
department, and garage, farm pickup drivers, and milk deliverymen,
office clerical employees, and supervisors. The Employer would in-
clude all its non-supervisory employees in the appropriate unit.
The Employer is a cooperative dairy association. It processes for
sale and shipment the milk, cream, and eggs received from its members.
1 Member Reynolds is not participating in this case.
2 For the reason set forth in our decision in an earlier proceeding concerning the Em-
ployer's operations , wherein the same jurisdictional issue was raised, we find without merit
the Employer 's contention that its milk -department employees are not subject to the provi.
sions of the Act. Matter of Enid Co-Operative Creamery Associatson, 58 N. L. R. B. 592.
79 N. L. R. B., No. 62.
444
ENID CO-OPERATIVE CREAMERY ASSOCIATION 445
In the earlier proceedings , noted above , the Board found appropriate
a production and maintenance unit similar to that which the Peti-
tioner now seeks . The Petitioner , however, presently desires to ex-
clude from the unit employees in the egg department . Since the issu-
ance of our decision in the earlier case, the Employer has enlarged the
scope of its operations by adding an ice cream manufacturing depart-
ment, a retail fountain department , a group of milk deliverymen, and
a garage. The Petitioner would also exclude from its proposed unit
employees in these added departments.
Egg department employees. The eight non-supervisory employees
in the egg department clean, grade , inspect, and crate for shipment all
eggs received by the Employer . Although these employees are located
in a building separate from other plant employees , they are subject
to the same supervision and general working conditions as other plant
employees . In the earlier case, the Petitioner sought, and the Board
found appropriate , the inclusion in the unit of employees in the egg
department . The record fails to disclose any grounds upon which
these employees should now be excluded. We find that employees
in the egg department constitute an integral part of the Employer's
plant-production operations , and we shall include them in the unit.
Ice cream manufacturing department employees . There are one ice
cream maker and three other workmen in this department. The only
work performed by these four employees is the making of ice cream
from the,products received by the Employer from its members. They
are located in the same building with the creamery-department em-
ployees, and are subject to the same supervision and working condi-
tions. We find that employees in the ice cream manufacturing depart-
ment are an integral part of the Employer's plant-production opera-
tions, and in the absence of any reason for their exclusion , we shall,
therefore , include them in the unit.
Retail fountain employees . The six non -supervisory employees in
this department are sales clerks in the Employer 's retail store, where
they sell ice cream, milk, and related plant products . We find that
the retail fountain employees possess interests dissimilar from those of
the plant-production and maintenance workers, and we shall, there-
fore, exclude them from the appropriate unit.
Garage . The two employees in the garage , one mechanic and one
helper, service the Employer's trucks. They work in the garage,
located in the same building with the other plant employees, and
are subject to the same supervision and general working conditions.
We shall include the garage employees in the unit.3
3 Matter of Mil- Co Gasoline Company, 74 N. L. R. B. 910.
446 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Farm pick-up truck drivers and milk deliverymen. Five farm
pick-up truck drivers pick up cream and milk from the Employer's
members. They spend their time away from the plant. These em-
ployees were excluded from the plant unit previously found appro-
priate, and no change has occurred in their working conditions. We
shall exclude them from the unit found appropriate herein.
Since the, issuance of the earlier decision, the Employer has added
1. 16 milk deliverymen; who deliver milk, ice cream, and other plant
products to the Employer's customers. Like the farm pick-up truck
drivers, they spend the majority of their time away from the plant,
and are basically truck drivers and driver-salesmen. We shall exclude
the milk deliverymen from the plant unit.
Office clerical employees. The four clerks in the production and
retail office and the eight clerks in the accounting office constitute the
non-supervisory office clerical workers. The record does not disclose
any duties performed by these employees that are not customarily per-
formed by office clerical employees in manufacturing plants. We ex-
cluded office clerical employees from the unit found appropriate in the
earlier proceeding. We find no reason to depart from that finding
and from the established principle of excluding clerical employees
from units of production employees in manufacturing industries. We
shall exclude office clerical employees from the plant unit.
We find, therefore, that all inside employees at the Employer's
creamery and dairy plant, including employees in the egg department,
the ice cream manufacturing department, and the garage, but exclud-
ing retail fountain employees, farm pick-up truck drivers and milk
deliverymen, office clerical employees, and all supervisors within the
meaning of the Act, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of
collective bargaining withiii the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
5. We shall direct an election among employees in the unit found
appropriate to determine whether the employees therein desire to be
represented by the Petitioner. If, however,.-She Petitioner does riot
desire to participate in an election among employees in the unit herein
found appropriate, which is larger than the unit sought in its instant
petition, the Petitioner may, upon proper application to the Regional
Director within 5 days after the issuance of this Decision and Direction
of Election , withdraw its petition.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining with the Employer, an election by secret
ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than 30 days
from the date of this Direction , under the direction and supervision of
ENID CO-OPERATIVE CREAMERY ASSOCIATION 447
the Regional Director for the Region in which this case was heard, and
subject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of National Labor Relations Board
Rules and Regulations, among the employees in the unit found appro-
priate in paragraph numbered 4, above, who were employed during
the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction of
Election, including employees who did not work during said pay-roll
period because they were ill or on vacation or temporarily. laid off, but
excluding those employees who have since quit^or been discharged,for
cause and have not been rehired or reinstated prior to the date of the
election, and also excluding employees on strike who are not entitled
to reinstatement, to determine whether or not they desire to be repre-
sented, for purposes of collective bargaining, by General Drivers,
Chauffeurs and Helpers, Local 886, AFL.