Hannaford Bros. Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Aug 5, 1948

78 N.L.R.B. 869 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

In the Matter of HANNAFORD BROS. Co., EMPLOYER and TRUCK DRIVERS,
WAREHOUSEMEN cC HELPERS, LOCAL No. 340, AFL, AFFILIATED WITH
I. B. OF T. C. W. & H. OF AMERICA, PETITIONER
In the Matter of HANNAFORD BROS. Co., EMPLOYER and TRUCK DRIVERS,
WAREHOUSEMEN & HELPERS, LOCAL No. 340, AFL, AFFILIATED WITH
I. B. OF T. C. W. & H. OF AMERICA, PETITIONER
Cases Nos. 1-RC-271 and 1-RC-207, respectively.-Decided August 5,
19/8
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
Upon separate petitions duly filed, a hearing in the above-consoli-
dated cases 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 three-man panel consisting of the undersigned Board
Members. *
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the National Labor Relations Act.
2. The labor organization named below claims to represent em-
ployees of the Employer.
3. Questions affecting commerce exist concerning the representation
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 :
Case No. 1-RC-271
We find, in accordance with the agreement of the parties, that all
truck drivers and truck drivers' helpers of the Employer at its Port-
"Chairman Herzog and Members Houston and Reynolds
78 N. L. R B., No. 118.
798767-49-col 78-56 869
870 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
land, Maine, plant, excluding executives, office and clerical employees,
watchmen, guards, professional employees, and 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.
Case No. 1-RC-272
The Petitioner seeks a unit of warehouse employees, including ship-
pers and receivers, selectors, warehouse laborers (classified as ordinary
employees by the Employer), egg candlers, employees in the cash and
carry and frozen foods departments, and working foremen. The du-
ties of all these employees are concerned with the receiving, storing,
packing, selling, and shipping of merchandise. The Employer, who
is engaged as a wholesaler in the purchase and sale of fruit, produce,,
and groceries, agrees substantially with the Petitioner as to the com-
position of the unit, but would exclude the egg candlers and would in-
clude employees in the meat department and salesmen.
The egg candlers: The record reveals that these female employees
are engaged- in grading, cleaning, and repacking eggs. The work
they perform is substantially the same as that done by the other ware-
house employees. The Employer would exclude them from the pro-
posed unit solely because of their sex. In view of the similarity in,
duties of the egg candlers and the other warehouse employees and the
fact that difference in sex is not alone a proper basis for exclusion,,.
we shall include the egg candlers in the unit hereinafter found appro-
priate.
The meat department employees: These employees perform funda-
mentally the.same functions as the other warehouse employees. There
is nothing in the record to indicate that they are skilled workers and
their duties are apparently confined to storing, packing, and receiving.
The Petitioner desires that they be excluded from the proposed unit
solely because of its claim that they are within the jurisdiction of
another AFL union, not here involved. There is no evidence that this
other union presently represents these employees or that they so desire
to be represented. We believe that in view of the similarity of interests
and duties of the meat department employees and those of the other
warehouse employees, the assertion by the Petitioner that they are
under the "jurisdiction" of another union is not sufficient to warrant
their exclusion.2 Accordingly, we shall include the employees of the
meat department in the unit hereinafter found appropriate.
I Matter of United States Printing and Lithograph Company, 58 N. L. R. B. 453; Matter
of North American Creameries, Inc., 57 N. L. R. B. 795; Matter of The H. W. Wilson Com-
pany, 48 N. L R. B. 317.
2 Matter of Wells Lamont Corporation, Elsberry, Missouri, Plant, 48 N. L. R. B. 535;
Matter of American Bakeries Company, 74 N. L. R. B. 399.
HANNAFORD BROS. CO. 871
The salesmen: There are 22 salesmen working for the Employer.
Fifteen of them are always on the road soliciting customers and ob-
taining orders. Because of the fact that they spend practically all
their time away from the warehouse, they are apparently subject to
little supervision and rarely come in contact with the warehouse em-
ployees. Unlike the latter employees they are paid on a salary and
commission basis. As it appears that the interests and working condi-
tions of these salesmen differ from those of the warehouse employees,
we shall exclude them from the unit.'
Three of the remaining 7 salesmen work both on the road and in
the warehouse. They are paid on the same basis as the 15 salesmen
who are always on the road. The record does not show that they
spend a substantial amount of their time in the warehouse. We are
persuaded that there is little community of interest between them
and the warehouse employees and, in view of the difference in their
working conditions, we shall exclude them from the unit.
The remaining four salesmen work exclusively in the warehouse.
They are paid on an hourly basis as are all other warehouse em-
ployees. They work on the main floor of the warehouse, waiting on
customers and receiving orders for merchandise. It would appear
that they are required to pull stock to fill orders for the customers.
In view of the situs of their employment and the similarity in the
work they perform to that of the other warehouse employees, we are
persuaded that they have a substantial community of interest with
the warehousemen 4 We shall include them in the unit hereinafter
found appropriate.
We find that all warehouse employees of the Employer, including
shippers and receivers, selectors, warehouse laborers (ordinary), egg
candlers, employees in the cash and carry, frozen foods and meat de-
partments, the four salesmen who work exclusively in the main ware-
house, and working foremen,5 but excluding salesmen who work any
portion of their time outside the warehouse, executives, office, and cleri-
cal employees, guards, watchmen, professional employees, and super-
visors as defined in the Act, constitute a unit appropriate for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of
the Act.
8 Matter of Olindo Galluccio , d/b/a Preferred 0sl Company , 77 N. L. R. B. 770.
* Matter of Cash Wholesale Company, Inc., & Sterling Stores Company , Inc., 73 N. L. R. B.
699; Matter of Chatfield Paper Company , 72 N. L. R. B. 73.
8 The parties agree that these working foremen do not have authority to hire or discharge
employees , nor can they make effective recommendations . They spend 95 percent of their
time performing manual labor.
872 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
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 National
Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 5, among the
employees in the units found appropriate in Section 4, above, who
were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the
date of this Direction, including employees who did not work during
said pay-roll period because they were i11 or on vacation or tempo-
rarily 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
the employees in the unit found appropriate in Case No. 1-RC-271
desire to be represented by Truck Drivers, Warehousemen & Helpers,
Local No. 340, AFL, affiliated with I. B. of T. C. W. & H. of America,
for the purposes of collective bargaining; and to determine whether
or not the employees in the unit found appropriate in Case No. 1-RC-
272 desire to be represented by Truck Drivers, Warehousemen & Help-
ers, Local No. 340, AFL, affiliated with I. B. of T. C. W. & H. of
America, for the purposes of collective bargaining.