Harrisburg Railways Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 28, 1949

84 N.L.R.B. 678 (N.L.R.B. 1949)

In the Matter of HARRISBURG RAILWAYS COMPANY, EMPLOYER and
AMALGAMATED ASSOCIATION OF STREET, ELECTRIC RAILWAY AND
MOTOR COACH EMPLOYEES OF AMERICA, A. F. OF L., PETITIONER
Case No. 4-RC-330.-Decided June p28, 1949
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing in this matter was held before
Harold Kowa], 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
this case to a three-member panel '[Members Houston; Reynolds, and
Murdock].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer, a Pennsylvania corporation, is a common carrier
operating motor busses wholly within the limits of Dauphin County,
Pennsylvania. It serves the city of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and
the immediately adjacent areas. The population of the areas served
by the Employer is approximately 125,000. The Employer holds a
certificate of convenience for each of its 13 routes from the Public
Utilities Commission of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; its oper-
ations are not licensed by the Interstate Commerce Commission.
During 1948, the Employer carried 29,998,767 revenue passengers
and its gross income was in excess of $2,000,000. During the same
period, its purchases of supplies and equipment amounted to $360,-
953.44, of which at least 5.41 percent was received directly from points
outside the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Some of its supplies
and equipment, including five motor busses 1 were ordered from local
dealers, but were manufactured outside the Commonwealth. In addi-
tion, during the same period, the Employer paid to General Tire
Rubber Company approximately $50,000 in rental fees for tires, many
of which were manufactured outside the Commonwealth.
I The Employer operates 151 busses , 146 of which were manufactured within the Com-
monwealth of Pennsylvania.
84 N. L. R. B., No. 81.
678
HARRISBURG RAILWAYS COMPANY 679
The Employer is the only common carrier furnishing local trans-
-portation within the area of its operations. Testimony at the hearing
-shows that the Employer regularly transports to and from work em-
ployees of enterprises engaged in interstate commerce, including
among others, employees of Harrisburg Steel Corporation, Bethlehem
Steel Company, and Central Iron and Steel Company.2 Moreover, the
Employer's bus routes pass close by the stations of two interstate
railroads and a United States Army Air Depot.
On these facts, we find, contrary to the Employer's contention, that
it is engaged in activities affecting commerce within the meaning of
the Act.3 The Employer's motion to dismiss the petition on the ground
that the Board does not have jurisdiction of this case is hereby denied.
2. The labor organizations named below claim to represent employees
of the Employer.
3. The Intervenor, Harrisburg Railways Employee Association, con-
tends that its current agreement with the Employer is a bar to this
proceeding. The Intervenor and the Employer executed a contract
effective from July 1, 1947, until June 30, 1949, with provision for
automatic renewal from year to year unless and until either party gives
notice in writing to the other, at least 60 days prior to the 'date of
expiration, of its intention to amend or terminate the agreement. How-
ever, pursuant to a wage reopening clause contained in the agreement,
the parties on July 16, 1948, amended the 1947 agreement with respect
to wages and also extended its term until December 31, 1949. The
Petitioner filed its amended petition on February 2,1949. The petition
having been filed prior to the operative date of the automatic renewal
clause in the contract of July 1, 1947, was timely with respect to the
original expiration date of the agreement. The petition is not barred
by the 1948 amendment extending the termination date from June
30 to December 31, 1949, because the amendment, having been
executed during the term of the 1947 contract, -was a premature
extension of that agreement.'
We find that a question affecting commerce exists concerning repre-
sentation of employees of the Employer, within the meaning of Section
'9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
2 A questionnaire conducted among the employees of Central Iron and Steel Company
showed that 570 of approximately 1,800 employees normally use the Employer ' s busses as
their regular method of transportation to and from work. A survey, conducted by the
Employer , indicates that about 10 to 15 percent of the employees of Bethlehem Steel Com-
pany and Harrisburg Steel Corporation, which employ approximately 5,800 and 1,100 per-
sons, respectively , use the Employer' s busses to go to and from work.
3 Matter of Gate City Transit Lines , Inc., 81 N. L. R B. 79; Matter of City Transporta-
tion Company , 80 N. L R. B. 270; Matter of El Paso-Ysleta Bus Company, Incorporated,
79 N L R. B. 1068; Matter of Amarillo Bus Company , 78 N. L. R. B. 1103.
'Matter of United States Finishing Company, 79 N. L. R. B. 699; Matter of U. S. Pipe
,and Manufacturing Company, 78 N. L . R. B. 15.
680 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
4. In accordance with the written stipulation of the parties; we find
that the fallowing employees of the Employer constitute a unit appro-
priate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning
of Section 9 (b) of the Act: All operators and maintenance employees,
including bus operators, checkers, bus cleaners, cleaners, cleaner and
janitor, cleaner-paint shop, cleaner-paint and body shop, inspector's
helper, cleaner's helper, painter's helper, mechanic's helper, helper-
body shop, repairman's helper, helper-paint shop, first grade repair-
man, second grade repairman, body repairman second class, special
repairman, special repairman-body shop, painter, and bus starter, but
excluding office employees, guards, watchmen, and supervisors as
defined in the Act.
P,
DIRECTION OF ELECTION 5
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes 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 super-
vision 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, as amended, among
the employees in the unit found appropriate 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 ex-
cluding employees on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement,
to determine whether they desire to be represented, for purposes of
collective bargaining, by Amalgamated Asociation of Street, Electric
Railway and Motor Coach Employees of America, A. F. of L., or by
Harrisburg Railways Employee Association, or by neither.
5 Any 'participant in the election directed herein may , upon its prompt request to and
approval thereof by the Regional Director, have its name removed from the ballot.