Hawthorne Dairy Products Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 19, 1949

85 N.L.R.B. 260 (N.L.R.B. 1949)

In the Matter of HAWTHORNE DAIRY PRODUCTS COMPANY, EMPLOYER
and GENERAL DRIVERS, WAREHOUSEMEN AND HELPERS LOCAL No. 534,
AFFILIATED WITH THE INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS,
CHAUFFEURS, WAREHOUSEMEN AND HELPERS OF AMERICA, AFL,
PETITIONER
Case No. 17-RC-376.-Decided July 19, 1949
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before William J.
Scott, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hear-
ing 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 [Chairman Herzog and Members
Reynolds and Gray].
Upon the entire record in this case the Board finds :
1. The Employer, a Missouri corporation, has its principal place
of business in Windsor, Missouri, where it is engaged in the manu-
facture of cheddar cheese. During the calendar year ending Janu-
ary 31, 1949, it purchased raw milk worth $253,745.50, all within the
State of Missouri. During the same period it sold cheese valued at
$299,838.02, of which $239,128.23 was received for sales delivered to
the Cudahy Packing Company, at its Neosho, Missouri, plant. Cudahy
in turn mixed the cheese with its processed products, of which more
than 50 percent was shipped to points outside the State. The Em-
ployer sold cheese in smaller quantities to other dairy companies, some
of which also shipped a portion of this cheese, reprocessed, to points
outside the State. During the same year, the Employer purchased
equipment of out-of-State origin, valued at $8,625.48, from local
dealers.
We find, contrary to the contention of the Employer, that it is
engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor.
Relations Act.'
I Matter of Washington Tobacco Company , 83 N. L. R. B. 437 ; Matter of Fort Worth
Rendering Company, 69 N. L. R. B. 1305.
85 N. L. R. B., No. 46.
260
HAWTHORNE DAIRY PRODUCTS COMPANY 261
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) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The following employees of the Employer constitute a unit ap-
propriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning
of Section 9 (b) of the Act:
All production and maintenance employees at the Employer's Wind-
sor, Missouri, plant, including truck drivers 2 and regular part-time
employees,3 but excluding all other employees, professional employees,
guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
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 su-
pervision of the Regional Director for the Seventeenth Region and
subject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of National Labor Relations
Board Rules and Regulations 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 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 they
desire to be represented, for purposes of collective bargaining, by
General Drivers, Warehousemen and Helpers Local No. 534, affiliated
with International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Ware-
housemen and Helpers of America, A. F. L.
2 Contrary to the Employer 's contention , the Petitioner would exclude John Renfro, a
truck driver, on the ground that he is primarily an office worker . Renfro spends 50
percent of his time driving a truck and the remainder doing clerical work in the office,
handling complaints of farmer -customers , and soliciting new accounts . We believe that
Renfro has a sufficient community of interest with the production and maintenance
employees to warrant his inclusion in the unit. Matter of John P. Jeike Company,
83 N. L. R. B. 442.
8 The Petitioner would also exclude Ray Berry , who operates a truck in the morning
as an independent contractor doing business with the Employer and is employed as a
direct production worker in the afternoon . As Berry is clearly a regular part-time
employee, he is included in the unit . Matter of Cocoline Products , Inc., 79 N. L. R . B. 1426.