Kerrville Bus Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Mar 14, 1945

60 N.L.R.B. 1192 (N.L.R.B. 1945)

In the Matter of KERRVILLE Bus COMPANY and BROTHERHOOD OF
RAILROAD TRAINMEN
Case -No. 16-R-1142.-Decided, March 14, 1945
Mr. Harold E. Mueller, of Fort Worth, flex., for the Company.
Mr. F. K. Fisk, of Cleveland, Ohio, for the Union.
Mr. Harold M. Humphreys, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon a petition duly filed by Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen,
herein called the Union, alleging that a question affecting commerce
had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Kerrville
Bus Company, Kerrville, Texas, herein called the Company, the
National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hear-
ing upon due notice before Elmer Davis, Trial Examiner. Said
hearing was held at Fort Worth, Texas, on January 30, 1945. The
Company and the Union appeared and participated. All parties
were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-
examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues.
The Trial Examiner's rulings made at the hearing are free from
prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. All parties were afforded
an opportunity to file briefs with the Board.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Kerrville Bus Company is a Texas corporation having its principal
offices at Kerrville, Texas. It is engaged in the transportation of
passengers within the State of Texas, operating lines between-Hous-
ton and Austin; Victoria and Austin; Kenedy, Quero and LaGrange;
College Station and Austin; Austin and Kerrville; San Antonio and
GO N L R. B, No. 202.
1192
KERRVILLE BUS COMPANY 1193
Big Springs via Brady; Brady and Abilene; and San Antonio and
Pecos via Kerrville.
The Company publishes and maintains connections with Bowen
Bus Lines, Southwestern Greyhound Lines and Texas, Oklahoma and
New Mexico Coaches. It also-makes direct connections with South-
western Greyhound Lines, Bay Shore Bus Line, and Texas Bus Lines
at Houston, Texas; with Bowen Bus Lines, Robertson Brothers Bus
Lines, and Arrow Coach Line at Austin, Texas; with the Union Bus
Company, Painter Bus Company, and Southwestern Greyhound at
San Antonio, Texas; with Southwestern Greyhound and Southwest-
ern,CoRches at Abilene, Texas; with Texas, New Mexico and Okla-
homa Coaches, and Southwestern Greyhound at Big Springs, Texas;
with Southwestern Greyhound and New Mexico Transportation
Company at Pecos, Texas; and with New Mexico Transportation
Company, Oil Field Bus Lines and Bowen Bus Lines at San Angelo,
Texas.
The Company sells through tickets for trips from points along its
lines to any destination within the United States, and it honors
through tickets sold by other companies for trips from points outside
the State of Texas to or through points along its lines. The Company
operates under an Interstate Commerce Commission permit.
During the year 1944, the Company's gross revenue amounted to
$2,232,875.14, and it transported 2,456,477 passengers. Of the passen-
gers it transported, approximately 1 percent traveled in interstate
commerce and approximately 3 to 5 percent of its gross revenue was
derived from this source.
The Company now operates approximately 89 busses, whose ca-
pacities range from 24 to 41 passengers.
We find that the Company is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen is an unaffiliated labor organ-
ization admitting to membership employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Company has refused to grant recognition to the Union as
the, exclusive bargaining representative of certain of its employees
until the Union has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit.
A statement of a Board agent, introduced into evidence at the hear-
ing, indicates that the Union represents a substantial number of
employees in the unit hereinafter found appropriate.'
' The Field Examiner reported that the Union submitted 71 authorization cards, and that
the names of 69 persons appearing on the cards were listed on the Company's pay roll,
which contained the names - of 99, employees,,in the alleged appropriate 'unit.
1194'` DECISIONS OF" NATIONAL LABOR, RELATIONS BOARD"
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Company, within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The parties are in agreement that the appropriate unit should con-
sist-of all employees of the Company engaged as bus drivers, including
extra drivers, but excluding administrative, clerical, and supervisory
employees. However, they are in -disagreement concerning dis-
patchers. The Union would exclude these employees, whereas the
Company would include them.
The Company has a supervisor in charge of each of its two divisions.2
Immediately below the supervisors are dispatchers, whose principal
duties are dispatching regularly scheduled and additional busses and
drivers. They are paid on an hourly basis, while drivers are paid
by the trip. Since the nature of their employment and their working
conditions differ from those of the drivers, we shall exclude them in
accordance with the desire of the sole labor organization involved
herein.
We find that all employees of the Company engaged as bus drivers,
including extra drivers, but excluding clerical and administrative em-
ployees, dispatchers, and all supervisory employees with authority to
hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the
status of employees, or effectively recommend such action, constitute
a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within
the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
The Company employs approximately 11 part-time drivers .3 With
the exception of R. C. Keller, they drive busses between Camp Swift
and Austin, and Bergetrom Field and Austin, on Saturday and Sun-
day of each week ; they are employed elsewhere for the remainder of
the week. All drivers, including part-time drivers, are paid on the
same basis and on the same date, and they work under the same, rules
and regulations. R. C. Keller is employed as a part-time driver solely
on those week ends when additional busses are necessary because regu-
larly scheduled busses cannot accommodate all passengers. His serv-
ices are required infrequently. All part-time drivers, except Keller,
shall be eligible to vote in the election hereina:-fter-directed.
We shall direct that the question concerning representation which
has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot among the em-_
' The Kerrville and Austin divisions.
Part-time drivers are distinguishable from extra drivers.
KERRVILLE BUS COMPANY 1195-
ployees in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay-
roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Elec-
tion herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth -in the
Direction.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor
Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations
Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Rela-
tion Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, as amended, it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain represent-
atives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Kerrville Bus
Company, Kerrville, Texas, an election by secret ballot shall be con-
ducted as early as possible, but not later than sixty (60) days from
the date of this Direction; under the direction and supervision of the
Regional Director for the Sixteenth Region, acting in this matter as
agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article
III, Sections 10 and 11, of said Rules and Regulations, among the
employees in the unit found appropriate in Section IV, above, who
were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the
date of this Direction, including employees who did not work during
the said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or tem-
porarily laid off, and including employees in the armed forces of the
United States who present themselves in person, at the polls, 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, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by
Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, for the purposes of collective
bargaining. -