Gulf Oil Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 31, 1950

90 N.L.R.B. 1067 (N.L.R.B. 1950)

In the Matter of GULF OIL CORPORATION, EMPLOYER and INTERNA-
TIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS, CHAUFFEURS, WAREHOUSEMEN
AND HELPERS OF AMERICA, LOCAL 559, AFL, PETITIONER
In the Matter of GULF OIL CORPORATION, EMPLOYER and FOOD, BEVER-
AGE AND EXPRESS DRIVERS, LOCAL UNION #145, AFFILIATED WITH
INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS, CHAUFFEURS, WARE-
HOUSEMEN AND HELPERS OF AMERICA, AFL, PETITIONER
Cases Nos. 2--RC-2296 and 2-RC-2097.-Decided July 31, 1950
DECISION, DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS, AND ORDER
Upon separate petitions duly filed, a consolidated hearing was held
before I. L. Broadwin, hearing 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 National Labor
Relations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with
these cases to a three-member panel [Chairman Herzog and Members
Reynolds and Styles].
Upon the entire record in these cases, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the National Labor Relations Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim 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. The appropriate units :
' Near the close of the hearing , the Employer moved to dismiss the petition in ease No.
2-RC-2296 filed by International Brotherhood of Teamsters , Chauffeurs , Warehousemen
and Helpers of America , Local 559, AFL, herein called Local 559, on the ground that
Local 559 had failed to appear at the hearing . The bearing officer reserved ruling on the
motion for the Board . As Local 559 was properly served with notice of bearing and de-
faulted in its appearance , and it appears that no other party will be. prejudiced by the
dismissal of its petition , the motion is -hereby granted.
90 NLRB No. 214.
1607
1608 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
The Contentions of the Parties
Food, Beverage and Express Drivers Local Union #145, affiliated
with International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Ware-
housemen and Helpers of America, AFL, the petitioner in Case No.
2-RC-2097, herein called Local 145, seeks to represent two separate
plant units composed of all shipping clerks, first grade mechanics,
second grade mechanics, helpers, washers and greasers, watchmen, oil
burner servicemen, and clerical employees employed in the Employer's
South Norwalk and Danbury, Connecticut, plants, respectively.2 Oil
Workers International Union, C. I. 0., Local No. 472, herein called
Local 472, although not objecting to the composition of the units pro-
posed by Local 145, contends that the only appropriate unit is a lnulti-
plant unit consisting of the South Norwalk and Danbury plants
together with four other plants that, at the time of the hearing, were
covered by a master agreement between the Employer and Local 4:72.3
The Employer contends that separate units should be established for
the clerical, employees at each of the two plants, South Norwalk and
Danbury, plus separate units for the operating employees at each of
these two plants.
The Employer's Operations
The Employer, a Pennsylvania corporation, is engaged in the pro-
duction, refining, distribution, and sale of petroleum products. Its
national distribution and sales organization consists of 7 divisions.
We are here concerned with the bulk plants, or substations, located at
New Haven, South Norwalk, Devon, Waterbury, Danbury, and Port-
land, Connecticut, that are used for storage, and distribution purposes.
All these plants form a part of the New York Sales Division. This
division is subdivided into 13 districts embracing the entire New York
State area, northern New Jersey, and western Connecticut. The New
Haven, South Norwalk, Devon, Waterbury, and Danbury substations
constitute the New Haven District. The Portland substation together
with similar plants at Hartford and Canaan, Connecticut, constitute
the Middletown District. The Hartford and Canaan substations,
however, are operated by private distributors. Each substation is
headed by a station supervisor who reports to a district manager.
The latter, in turn, is responsible to a division manager.
2In the alternative, Local 145 is willing to represent all these employees in a single
two-plant unit. p
3 This agreement expired May 26, 1950. No party asserts that it is a bar to this pro-
ceeding.
GULF OIL CORPORATION
Bargaining History
1609
In 1942, following a consent election held among separate units
composed of all employees at its (a) South Norwalk and Danbury,
(b) Devon, (c) Portland, and (d) Waterbury plants, the Employer
recognized Local 472 as the bargaining representative of these em-
ployees. On February 18, 1944, the Employer executed its first col-
lective bargaining agreement with Local 472 covering all the operat-
ing and clerical employees employed at these plants. In 1946, the
Employer acquired its New Haven plant and in November 1947, fol-
lowing a consent election, Local 472 was certified by the Regional
Director (First Region) as bargaining representative of all drivers,
mechanics, warehousemen, shippers, watchmen, order clerks, and stock
ledger clerks at that plant, excluding all other clerical and office em-
ployees, oil burner department employees, executives, and supervisors.
Although the *1944 contract was not renewed, the parties continued to
operate under its provisions until May 27, 1.949, the date the last agree-
ment was executed. This contract was to remain in effect for a term
of 1 year and provided for automatic renewal for further yearly
periods in the absence of written notice given 60 days before any
anniversary date. The 1949 agreement covered the same employees
embraced within the 1944 contract and, in addition, the employees at
the New Haven plant included within the Regional Director's certifi-
cation mentioned above. On March 15, 1950, Local 472 notified the
Employer of its intention to amend the 1949 contract.
Conclusion
The single-plant units comprising the employees at the South Nor-
walk and Danbury plants, respectively, are generally appropriate for
the purposes of collective bargaining, unless these two plants have
been effectively merged with the four other plants covered by the
1949 master contract to form a single multiplant unit which is appro-
priate under Section 9 (b) of the amended Act' We therefore must
determine whether or not the six plants covered by Local 472's con-
tract constitute an appropriate bargaining unit.
4Ilt/Drade Food Products Corporation, 85 NLRB 841. See also Standard Brands, Incor-
porated, 75 NLRB 394, 399.
Section 9 ( b) reads, in pertinent part, as follows : "The Board shall decide in each case
whether , in order to assure to employees the fullest freedom in exercising the rights
guaranteed by this Act, the unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining shall
be the employer unit, craft unit, plant unit , or subdivision thereof.. . .
1610 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
The Master Contract
The preamble of the 1949 master contract, to which the Employer
and Local 472 are the only signatory parties, recites that Local 472
has been separately certified as the collective bargaining representa-
tive of certain of the Employer's employees in each of the six plants
involved therein. The recognition clause further states that "the
employees covered by this contract are all of the employees at the
particular Plant within the classifications accepted by the ... Board
as comprising an appropriate unit ... according to the certifications
mentioned above." The 1949 contract provides for plant seniority,
except in the case of layoff. Under the agreement, grievances are
handled initially at the plant level before they reach the second (dis-
trict) or third (division) levels. Indeed, practically all grievances
are processed and adjusted at the plant level.5
In view of the express language of the recognition clause, it is clear
that the 1949 contract retains the identity of the plant units as they
were certified. Moreover, the record in this proceeding negates any
inference that the historical collective bargaining was designed to
achieve a consolidation of the single-plant units. Accordingly, we
find that the parties did not intend to effect a consolidation of the orig-
inal plant units, thereby destroying the separate identity of each .6
Furthermore, the employees in the six plants covered by Local 472's
contract appear to have no special community of interest that sets them
apart from all other employees of the Employer employed in the other
plants within the New York Sales Division. There is virtually no
interchange of employees-among any of the Employer's plants con-
cerned herein. Employee seniority rights depend upon length of
service in a single plant. Although the record is silent as to the estab-
lished national bargaining pattern of this Employer and other em-
ployers in the industry, it is clear that in at least one other similar plant
of the Employer in the New York Sales Division bargaining proceeds
in a single-plant unit' Because of all the foregoing, we find no merit
in Local 472's contention that a broad, multiplant unit composed of
employees in the South Norwalk, Danbury, New Haven, Devon, Water-
bury, and Portland plants is here appropriate.
We note that Local 145 seeks separate plant units of the employees
employed at the South Norwalk and Danbury substations. We also
6 Pursuant to both the 1949 and the 1944 agreements, there has been substantial uni-
formity among all plants covered with respect to the grievance procedure and the wages,
hours, and other working conditions and benefits of the employees.
6 See Hygrade Food Products Corporation, supra; Aluminum Company of America and
Carolina Aluminum Company, 61 NLRB 225; Aluminum Company of America, 61 NLRB
251. Cf. Bethlehem Fairfield Shipyard Incorporated, 58 NLRB 579 ; Lone Star Producing
Company, 85 NLRB 1137.
7 Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, plant.
GULF OIL CORPORATION 1611
note that the employees in these two plants constituted a two-plant unit
for the purposes of the 1942 consent election. However, the South
Norwalk and Danbury plants are located 25 miles apart. The em-
ployees in these two plants were initially grouped together because the
Employer was planning at that time to close its Danbury plant and
time has been operated independently of the South Norwalk plant;
though the Danbury plant appears in fact to have been closed, it was
reopened approximately 8 months before the hearing, and since that
time has been operated independently of the South Norwalk plant;
accordingly we perceive no cogent reason why the employees in these
two plants should be grouped together in a two -plant unit.
We cannot, however, accede to Local 145's request that clerical em-
ployees be included in the units composed of operating employees
Hereinafter established at the South Norwalk and Danbury plants. It
appears that the clerical employees 'sought to be represented are pri-
marily office clerical employees who perform duties such as bookkeep-
ing, stock accounting, typing, stenography, and other general office
clerical work. They work under the direct supervision of the station
supervisors. There is no interchange between the clerical and operat-
ing employee groups. We shall therefore follow our customary prac-
tice and establish the clerical employees in separate units at the South
Norwalk and Danbury plants 8
The parties are in disagreement as to the following classifications
of employees, whom Locals 145 and 472 would include, and the Em-
ployer would exclude.
Substation clerk: The Employer asserts that L. Comstock, a sub-
station clerk employed at the South Norwalk substation, is a con-
fidential employee and should be excluded from the unit. As the
record does not disclose that the substation clerk assists or acts in a
confidential capacity to any person exercising managerial functions
in the field of labor relations, we shall include this employee in the
unit of clerical employees established at the South Norwalk plant .9
Dispatchers: The Employer contends that its two shipping clerks,
or dispatchers, employed at the South Norwalk plant are supervisors.10
They have charge of the transportation of the Employer's products
to consumers and dispatch approximately eight delivery salesmen,
or drivers, to delivery points. Dispatchers determine the daily driver
personnel needs of the plant and arrange the working hours of de-
liverymen in order to fill those requirements. Their merit ratings
'Foster, Wheeler Corporation , 89 NLRB 926 ; Buckeye Rural Electric Co-Operative,
Inc., 88 NLRB 196.
"Ford Motor Company, 66 NLRB 1317 ; Chrysler Corporation, 84 NLRB 516; Phillips
Chemical Company, 90 NLRB 401.
10 No dispatchers are employed at Danbury because of the small size of that operation.
1612 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
of drivers are utilized by the Employer for the purpose of promo-
tions. Dispatchers report instances of minor infractions of Employer
rules by drivers and may effectively recommend discipline therefor.
In flagrant cases, they have authority to discipline drivers. Although
they have authority to recommend the discharge of deliverymen,
it appears that such authority has never been exercised. In all these
circumstances, we find that the dispatchers are supervisors within
the meaning of the Act. We shall exclude them from the unit.h1
We find that-the following groups of employees constitute separate
units appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the
meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act:
. 1. All first grade mechanics, delivery salesmen, warehousemen,
second grade mechanics, helpers, washers and greasers, and oil burner
servicemen at the Employer's South Norwalk, Connecticut, plant,
excluding all office and clerical employees, guards'12 dispatchers, and
all other supervisors as defined in the Act.
2. All clerical employees at the Employer's South Norwalk, Con-
necticut, plant, including the substation clerk, but excluding all super-
visors as defined in the Act.
3. All first grade mechanics, delivery salesmen, warehousemen, sec-
ond grade mechanics, helpers, washers and greasers, and oil burner
servicemen at the Employer's Danbury, Connecticut, plant, exclud-
ing all office and clerical employees, guards'13 and all supervisors as
defined in the Act.
4. All clerical employees 14 at the Employer's Danbury, Connecticut,
plant, excluding all supervisors as defined in the Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS 15
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining with the Employer, separate elec-
tions 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 the Regional Director for the Region in which
this case was heard, and subject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of Na-
n Phillips Chemical Company, supra.
'2 As the Employer's watchmen perform the usual duties of such category, we find that
they are guards within the meaning of the.Act and shall therefore exclude them from the
unit. -
Ibid.
14 The record is silent as to the number of clerical employees employed at the Danbury
plant. In the event the Regional Director's investigation in connection with this election
discloses that, in f ct,.there is only one employee in this category, he is directed to report
this fact to the Board and not to conduct any election in this unit.
15 Either participant in the elections directed herein may , upon its prompt request to,
and approval thereof by, the Regional Director, have its name removed from the ballot.
GULF OIL CORPORATION 1613
tional Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations, among the
employees in the units found appropriate in paragraph numbered
4, above, who were employed during the payroll period immediately
preceding the date of this Direction of Elections, including employ-
ees who did not work during said payroll period because they were
ill or on vacation or temporarily laid off, but excluding those employ-
ees who have since quit or been discharged for cause and have not
been rehired or reinstated prior to the date of the elections and also
excluding employees on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement,
to determine whether they desire to be represented, for purposes of
collective bargaining, by Food, Beverage and Express Drivers Local
Union #145, affiliated with International Brotherhood of Teamsters,
Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, AFL, or by Oil
Workers International Union, C. I. 0., Local No. 472, or by neither.
ORDER
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petition in Case No. 2-RC-2296 be,
and it hereby is, dismissed.