Illini-Swallow Lines

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Nov 12, 1948

80 N.L.R.B. 273 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

In the Matter of ILLINI COACH COMPANY, SWALLOW COACH LINES,
INC., SWALLOW COACH LINES , INC., OF INDIANA, AND AMERICAN
STAGES, INC., D/B/A ILLINI-SWALLOW LINES,' EMPLOYERS and DIvI-
SION #1211, AMALGAMATED ASSOCIATION OF STREET , ELECTRIC RAIL-
WAY AND MOTOR COACH EMPLOYEES OF AMERICA , AFL, PETITIONER
Case No. 13-RC-301.-Decided November 10, 1948
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
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 three-man panel consisting of the undersigned Board
Members.*
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employers, Illini Coach Company, herein called Illini; Swal-
low Coach Lines, Inc., herein called Swallow; Swallow Coach Lines,
Inc., of Indiana, herein called Swallow-Indiana; and American Stages,
Inc., herein called American, are, and each of them is, engaged in
commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
2. The labor organization named below claims to represent employ-
ees of the Employers.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the represen-
tation of employees of the Employers within the meaning of Section
9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The appropriate unit :
(a) Contention of the parties: The Employers and Petitioner agree
that the unit appropriate for employees of the Employers should in-
clude regular, regular-relief, and regular-extra bus drivers, and should
1The petition and other formal papers were amended at the hearing to show the correct-
names of the Employers.
* Chairman Herzog and Members Houston and Gray.
80 N. L. R. B., No. 56.
273
274 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
exclude part-time drivers,2 school bus drivers,3 ticket agents, me-
chanics, mechanics' helpers, dispatchers, janitors, washers, office and
clerical employees, guards, professional employees, and supervisors as
defined in the Act. The Employers contend that the drivers of each
Employer constitute a separate unit appropriate for collective bar-
gaining. The Petitioner contends that the drivers of the four Em-
ployers comprise a single unit appropriate for collective bargaining,
but is willing to proceed on the basis of four separate units if the
Board so decides.
(b) The operations of the Employers: Illini and its wholly owned
subsidiaries, Swallow, Swallow-Indiana and American, operating
under the single trade name of Illini-Swallow Lines, are bus trans-
portation companies. Illini, an Illinois corporation, furnishes regu-
lar bus service within the State of Illinois and, on special charter, bus
transportation from any point in Illinois to any point in the United
States. Swallow, also an Illinois corporation, furnishes regular bus
service in and between points in Illinois and Indiana. Swallow-
Indiana and American, both Indiana corporations, furnish regular
transportation between terminals in Indiana and way stops. Swallow,
Swallow-Indiana and American furnish charter services from any
point on their respective routes to any point in the United States.
To a marked extent, the same individuals serve as directors and
officers of the four companies, so that they are under common control.
The four companies employ the same general manager, and the same
superintendent of operations ; the same person is in charge of their
maintenance and sales promotions. E. R. Parkhill (who is a director
and officer of three of the companies) and W. T. Parkhill (who is also
a director and officer of three of the companies) handle labor relations
matters for all four companies, but must obtain the approval of the
Board of Directors of each company on major labor relations policies.
The four companies employ the same purchasing agent for major
supplies, such as tires and bus parts. The general office for the four
companies is located in Champaign, Illinois. A branch office located
in Danville, Illinois, does the bookkeeping for Swallow and Swallow-
Indiana. The four companies maintain separate pay rolls. They
employ the same auditor, but keep separate account books, and file sep-
arate tax returns. Dispatchers employed by the various individual
companies dispatch busses of the other companies whenever necessary.
2 Part-time bus drivers also hold other positions and are employed as drivers for only a
small percentage of their time . They are not qualified , as are the regular drivers, to
.operate all types of busses.
E School bus drivers also hold other positions and drive only part of each school day
during the 9 months of the school year.
ILLINI-SWALLOW LINES 275
Garages and shops are owned and operated by the individual com-
panies and provide services principally for that company, but these
shops furnish services to busses of all companies should an emer-
gency arise en route. Whenever a facility owned by one company ren-
ders services to equipment of any other company, charges are made
to the company receiving such services. Each company pays for its
proportionate use of storage space and bus terminals.
The duties of the drivers of the four companies are similar. The
Illini drivers are paid on a mileage basis, while the others are paid on
an hourly basis.4 However, their take-home pay is substantially the
same, with a small differential in hourly rates due in part to the differ-
ences in territories served. The hours, vacations, and seniority bene-
fits are substantially the same for drivers of the four companies.
There is no interchange of drivers among the four companies.5
(c) Past bargaining history: On March 26, 1947, pursuant to a
consent election, the Board certified International Brotherhood of
Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, Local
Union 798, AFL, herein called the Teamsters, as the collective bar-
gaining representative of Illini's bus drivers.° The present issue
respecting the conclusion of the bus drivers of the three subsidiary
companies was not raised in the earlier proceeding. On May 1, 1947,
Illini and the Teamsters entered into a contract for Illini's bus drivers
effective until May 1, 1948. There has been no past bargaining history
for bus drivers of the three subsidiary companies, and no Board deter-
mination as to the unit appropriate for them.
Under these circumstances, we are of the opinion that bus drivers
of Illini, Swallow, Swallow-Indiana and American may constitute
four separate units, or one single unit, appropriate for the purposes
of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the
Act. However, we shall make no final unit determination at this time,
but shall first ascertain the desires of the employees of each Employer
as expressed in the four separate elections hereinafter directed among
employees in the following separate voting groups :
All regular, regular-relief, and regular-extra bus drivers of Illini
Coach Company, Swallow Coach Lines, Inc., Swallow Coach Lines,
Inc., of Indiana, and American Stages, Inc., respectively, excluding
part-time drivers, school bus drivers, ticket agents, mechanics, me-
chanics' helpers, dispatchers, janitors, washers, office and clerical em-
ployees, guards, professional employees, and supervisors as defined in
'The difference in method of pay is based on the custom prevailing in the company
during November 1946, the time of purchase by Illini.
° One driver left the employ of one of the Employers and was later hired by another
of the Employers.
° Case No . 13-R-3969.
817319-49-vol . 86--19
276 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
the Act. If the employees in all the voting groups select the Peti-
tioner, they will be taken to have indicated their desire to constitute
a single unit.
DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purpose of collective bargaining with the Employers, four separate
elections 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,
as amended, among the employees in the four voting groups described
in paragraph numbered 4, above, who were employed during the pay-
roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction of Elec-
tions, 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 elections, 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 Division
#122, Amalgamated Association of Street, Electric Railway and
Motor Coach Employees of America, AFL.