Pennsylvania Truck Lines, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Oct 10, 1972

199 N.L.R.B. 641 (N.L.R.B. 1972)

PENNSYLVANIA TRUCK LINES , INC. 641
Pennsylvania Truck Lines, Inc. and International
Brotherhood of Teamsters , Chauffeurs, Warehouse-
men & Helpers of America , Local 470, Petitioner
Pennsylvania Truck Lines, Inc. and Railroad Yardmas-
ters of America , AFL-CIO, Petitioner. Cases 4-
RC-9777 and 4-RC-9795
October 10, 1972
DECISION AND ORDER
BY MEMBERS JENKINS , KENNEDY, AND, PENELLO
Upon petitions duly filed under Section 9(c) of
the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, a
hearing was held before Hearing Officer Donald M.
Spooner. Thereafter, pursuant to Section 102.67 of the
National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regula-
tions, Series 8, as amended, and by direction of the
Acting Regional Director for Region 4, this case was
transferred to the National Labor Relations Board for
decision. The Employer and the Petitioner filed briefs.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the Na-
tional Labor Relations Board has delegated its au-
thority in this proceeding to a three-member panel.
The Board has reviewed the rulings of the Hear-
ing Officer made at the hearing and finds that they are
free from prejudicial error. They are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record is this case, the Board
finds:
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within
the meaning of the Act and it will effectuate the poli-
cies of the Act to assert jurisdiction herein.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to rep-
resent certain employees of the Employer.
3. No question affecting commerce exists con-
cerning the representation of employees of the Em-
ployer within the meaning of Section 9(c)(1) of the
Act, for the following reasons:
The Teamsters, Petitioner in Case 4-RC-9777,
seeks a unit of dispatchers and strip supervisors at the
Employer's six terminals in the Philadelphia area. The
Yardmasters, Petitioner in Case 4-RC-9795, seeks a
unit of dispatchers and strip supervisors at all of the
approximately 30 terminals of the Employer where
such individuals are employed.' The Employer con-
tends that all strip supervisors and dispatchers are
supervisors.
The Employer, a wholly owned subsidiary of the
Penn Central Transportation Company, an interstate
1 At some of the Employer's smaller terminals, the terminal manager, who
is concededly a supervisor , performs the functions of strip supervisors and
dispatchers in addition to the duties performed by terminal managers at
larger terminals.
rail carrier, provides terminal and trucking services
for Penn Central and other customers at more than 40
terminals throughout the Eastern United States. Each
terminal has a "yard" adjacent to the railroad right-
of-way. In the yard, employees of the Employer re-
move trailers from flatcars on incoming trains. Yard
drivers, using yard tractors, then move the trailers to
another part of the yard, where street drivers with
tractors take the trailers and deliver them, with any
loads contained therein, to consignees. The street
drivers return to the terminal with empty or loaded
trailers picked up from the consignees, and the yard
drivers move these trailers to the railroad track, where
they are loaded on flatcars, to be transported in "pig-
gyback" fashion by Penn Central.
Strip supervisors oversee activity in the yard.
They determine, from a loading slip given to them by
Penn Central, where a trailer in the yard is to be sent
and which block of cars on an outgoing train is head-
ed for the same destination as the trailer. Factors such
as height limitations must be taken into account in
determining which trailers are to be placed on which
cars within a block. The strip supervisor then gives a
yard driver a slip of paper telling him what trailer is
to be picked up, where in the yard it is located, and
on what flatcar in the train it is to be placed. The
loading is actually performed by yardmen; the same
individuals may perform the functions of yard drivers
on one occasion and those of yardmen on another.
The strip supervisor checks to make sure that each
trailer is loaded properly onto the proper car . He also
oversees the unloading of incoming trains.
The relationship of dispatchers and street drivers
is similar to that of strip supervisors and yard drivers.
When a street driver reports for work, the dispatcher
gives him a timecard to punch and tells him what load
to deliver and where to deliver it. When the driver has
finished loading or unloading a trailer at the
consignee's place of business, he calls the dispatcher
to give him the time, then returns to the terminal for
another assignment . When the driver punches out at
the end of the day, the dispatcher fills out his time-
card, indicating, for each load hauled, the trailer used,
the weight of the load, and the time and distance
involved. At the end of each day, a dispatcher at each
terminal in a city calls the Employer' s central office
in that city and indicates how many drivers will be
needed the next day and at what times . The central
office then calls the drivers, in order of seniority, and
tells them where to report. At some terminals, when
there are several loads to be hauled at the same time,
the drivers reporting at that time decide, in order of
seniority, which load each will deliver. At other termi-
nals, the dispatcher assigns loads to drivers, but this
is essentially a routine function; it makes no differ-
ence which load is given to which driver, except that
199 NLRB No. 123
642 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
heavy loads must be given to drivers with tandem axle
trailers . If additional drivers are needed at a terminal,
the dispatcher informs the central office, which then
asks the dispatchers at other terminals whether they
can spare any drivers. If they have any drivers who are
not working, these drivers are sent to the terminal
where they are needed.
Strip supervisors and dispatchers file written re-
ports of poor job performance or violations of work
rules with the Employer's main office, which sends a
warning letter to the driver involved and copies there-
of to the strip supervisor or dispatcher and to the
driver's bargaining representative2 and the steward.
In a few cases of serious misconduct, such as drunken-
ness or refusal to perform assigned work, a strip su-
pervisor or dispatcher has discharged a driver on the
spot. If a grievance is filed concerning a discharge or
disciplinary action, the strip supervisor or dispatcher
does not discuss it directly with the employee, but
meets with the terminal manager and the steward and
describes the events leading to the discharge or impo-
sition of discipline. If the matter goes to arbitration,
he may be called as a witness.
A strip supervisor or dispatcher may require driv-
ers to continue working beyond the end of their shift,
thereby obligating the Employer to pay the drivers for
overtime; this is sometimes done without prior ap-
proval by the terminal manager . Similarly, the dis-
patcher or strip supervisor may require drivers to
work through their lunch hour; drivers receive extra
pay for this.
Strip supervisors and dispatchers normally report
to the terminal manager. When he is not there-usual-
ly at night or on weekends-a strip supervisor or dis-
patcher may be in charge of the terminal. If an
emergency arises, the terminal manager or assistant
2 The drivers at each terminal are represented by the Teamsters local
terminal manager can be called at home.
Strip supervisors and dispatchers are salaried,
whereas drivers are hourly paid. They do not receive
overtime pay, but may take unlimited sick leave with-
out loss of pay, whereas drivers, under the Teamsters
contracts, are not paid for time lost due to illness,
although they may receive health and welfare bene-
fits. Dispatchers and strip supervisors receive the
same fringe benefits, including life insurance and pay-
ment of medical and surgical benefits, as other per-
sonnel not covered by Teamsters contracts.
On the basis of the foregoing facts, we conclude
that the strip supervisors and dispatchers are supervi-
sors, rather than employees, within the meaning of the
Act. We note in particular that they have, on several
occasions, exercised the authority to discharge drivers
for serious misconduct, and that in sending drivers to
other terminals and requiring them to work overtime
or during their lunch periods, the strip supervisors and
dispatchers exercise independent judgment in assign-
ing and directing their work. Furthermore, if strip
supervisors and dispatchers were found to be nonsu-
pervisory, there would be no more than three supervi-
sors-the terminal manager, the assistant terminal
manager, and the operations manager-at any of the
Employer's terminals, some of which have as many as
100 drivers, and there would be no supervisors at the
terminals on weekends, when a dispatcher or strip
supervisor is in charge.3
Accordingly, as we have found that the individ-
uals sought herein are supervisors rather than "em-
ployees" within the meaning of Section 2(3) of the
Act, we shall dismiss these petitions.
ORDER
It is hereby ordered that the petitions filed herein
be, and they hereby are, dismissed.
having jurisdiction over the area in which the terminal is located They are 3 The fact that these individuals are in charge of the terminal on weekends
covered by the National Master Freight Agreement of the International is itself evidence of supervisory status. See Consolidated Frerghtways Corpora-
Brotherhood of Teamsters and by local supplements in each area . lion of Delaware, 196 NLRB No. 124, and cases cited in fn. 4 therein.