Railways Ice Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Dec 23, 1941

37 N.L.R.B. 883 (N.L.R.B. 1941)

In the Matter of RAILWAYS ICE COMPANY and STEEL WORKERS
ORGANIZING COMMITTEE, C. I. O.
Case No. R-3290.-Decided December 03, 1941
`Jurisdiction : ice manufacturing and sales industry.
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: re-
fusal to accord union recognition unless certified by the Board; election
necessary.
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all production and maintenance
employees'at both the Nonconnah and Yale plants of the Company at Memphis,
Tennessee, excluding clerical and supervisory employees, held to constitute an
appropriate unit notwithstanding contention of Company that the employees
at each plant should constitute a separate unit, where the plants are only
nine miles apart, they are both under one local manager, production and
maintenance employees at each are paid at approximately the same hourly
rate, and in view of the fact that the petitioner admits to membership and
has organized employees at both plants, and there are no other labor organiza-
tions seeking to represent employees in either plant.
Mr. John Vorder Br uegge and Mr. Vincent Vorder Bruegge, of
Memphis, Tenn., for the Company.
Mr. Will Watts, of Memphis, Tenn., for the Union.
Mr. William H. Bartley, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE'
On August 23, 1941, Steel Workers Organizing Committee, C. I. 0.,
herein called the Union, filed with the Regional Director for the
Tenth Region (Atlanta, Georgia) a petition alleging that a question
affecting commerce has arisen concerning the representation of the
employees of the Railways Ice Company, Memphis, Tennessee, and
requesting an investigation and certification of representatives pur-
suant to Section 9 (c) of,the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat.
449, herein called the Act. On October 29, 1941, the National Labor
Relations Board, herein called the Board, acting pursuant to Section
9 (c) of the Act and Article III, Section 3, of National Labor Rela-
tions Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, ordered
37 N. L. R. B, No. 143. -
883
884 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
an investigation and authorized the Regional Director to conduct it
and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice.
On November 4, 1941, the Regional Director issued a notice of
hearing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company and
the Union. Pursuant to notice, a hearing wa's held on November 13,
1941, at Memphis, Tennessee, before John C. McRee, the Trial Ex-
aminer duly designated by the Chief Trial Examiner. The Company
and the Union were represented and participated in the hearing.
Full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses,
and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues was afforded all
parties. During the course of the hearing, the Trial Examiner made
rulings on motions and on objections to the admission of evidence.
The Board has'reviewed the rulings of the Trial Examiner and finds
that no prejudicial errors were committed. The rulings are hereby
affirmed.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF'THE COMPANY
Railways Ice Company is a Delaware corporation with its principal
office in Chicago, Illinois. It is engaged in the manufacture and
sale of ice in numerous plants in large cities throughout the United
States. In Memphis, Tennessee, the Company operates two plants,
the Nonconnah and Yale plants, which are involved in this proceed-
ing. During the first eleven months of 1941, the Yale plant sold
12,000 tons of ice for resale or private consumption within Memphis,
1,777 tons to the Rock Island and Frisco railroads for local use,
8,580 tons to railroads for air conditioning of passenger cars used
within and outside -the State of Tennessee, and 2,218 tons to the
Frisco railroad for the refrigeration of freight cars used in the trans-
portation of goods to points outside the State of Tennessee. Dur-
ing the same period, the Nonconnah plant sold 7,999 tons of ice to
the Yale plant, 7,346 tons to railroads for the refrigeration of freight
cars used in the transportation of goods outside the State of Tennessee,
2,694 tons to railroads for local use, 6,283 tons to dealers and private
consumers in Memphis, Tennessee, and 882 tons to various customers
for use outside the State of Tennessee. The Company sold the ice ,at
wholesale prices varying between $3.50 to '5.00 per ton and at -retail
prices of approximately 50 cents per hundred pounds. The Com-
pany purchases annually 2,000 pounds of ammonia for the Nonconnah
plant and 1,200 to 1,500 for the Yale plant, almost all of which is pur-
chased from outside the State of Tennessee; 65 tons of salt for the two
plants, most of which is purchased in the States of Kansas and Louisi-
ana; and 2,000 tons of coal produced outside the State of Tennessee.
RAILWAYS ICE COMPANY
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
885
Steel Workers Organizing Committee is a labor organization affili-
ated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to
membership employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Company has refused to recognize the Union unless the Board
certifies it as the bargaining representative of the Company's em-
ployees. A. statement of the Regional Director introduced in evidence
shows that the Union represents a substantial number of employees in
the unit hereinafter found appropriate.'
We find that a question has arisen concerning the representation
of employees of the Company.
IV. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION UPON
COMMERCE
We, find that the question concerning representation which has
arisen, occurring in connection with the operations of the Company
described in Section I above, has a close, intimate, and substantial
relation to trade, traffic, and commerce among the several States and
tends to lead to labor disputes burdening and obstructing commerce
and the free flow of commerce.
V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Union desires a unit of all production and maintenance em-
ployees and truck drivers at the Nonconnah and Yale plants, exclud-
ing clerical and supervisory employees. The Company contends that
the employees at each plant should constitute a separate bargaining
unit. The plants are nine miles apart. The Nonconnah plant is
located on ground leased from the Illinois Central Railroad and
the Yale plant is on ground owned by the Company. The plants
are under one local manager, who determines labor policies, although
each plant has its own superintendent. The Nonconnah plant pro-
duces a substantial amount of ice for transfer by book sales to the
Yale plant during the summer months; the Yale plant produces
ice for sale to the Nonconnah plant during the winter. The common
laborers engaged in production and maintenance work at each plant
are paid approximately the same hourly rate. Employees at both
plants are eligible to membership in the Union. There are no other
3 The Regional Director 's statement shows that the Union has presented 61 application
cards with apparently genuine signatures, 12 of which bear the names of persons on the
Nonconnah pay roll of October 20 , 1941, and 29 of persons on the Yale pay roll for the
same date ' There were then approximately 19 persons at Nonconnah and 50 at Yale within
the unit hereinafter found to be appropriate.
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886 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
labor organizations seeking to represent employees in either plant,
and the Union introduced evidence indicating that it had organized
employees at both plants. Under all the circumstances we are of the
opinion that the employees in the two plants should constitute a
single bargaining unit.
The Company and the Union agree that clerical and supervisory
employees, should be excluded from the unit.2 The Company con-
tends, however, that A. M. Vick, retail platform clerk at the Non-
connah plant should be included in the unit. The Union asserts
that Vick is a' clerical employee, and desires his exclusion. Vick
spends approximately two hours each day doing office work and ap-
proximately six hours in waiting on customers. He is paid by the
month. We are of the opinion that Vick is a clerical employee
and should be excluded from the unit.
We find that all production and, maintenance employees and truck
drivers at the Nonconnah and Yale plants of the Company, exclud-
ing clerical and supervisory employees, constitute a unit appro-
priate for the purposes of collective bargaining and that such unit will
insure to employees of the Company the full benefit of their right to
self-organization and to collective bargaining and otherwise will
effectuate the policies of the Act.
VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We find that the question concerning representation which has
arisen can best be resolved by an election by secret ballot.
The Company desires the use of a current pay roll in determining
eligibility to vote in the election. The Union contends that an
August 1941 pay roll should be used. In support of its contention,
the Union points out that both plants reach their peak business in
August and that the number of production employees at the Non-
connah plant has fallen from 34 in August to 17 at the present time.
At the Yale plant the number of production and maintenance em-
ployees remains approximately the same throughout' the year. The
record indicates that the employees whose services with the Company
have been terminated since August either quit voluntarily or were'
discharged and that in all probability they' will not be reemployed.
Under all these circumstances, we see no reason for using the August
2 The Company and the Union agreed at the hearing that the superintendent , chief engi-'
veer, night foreman, and assistant engineers at the Nonconnah plant and the superintend-
ent, chief engineer , foreman, assistant engineers , sales manager , assistant sales manager,'
retail foremen , and clerks at the Yale plant should be excluded as supervisory or clerical
employees. The parties also agreed that C L. Boehm, ,who has charge of the retail garage,
should be excluded as a supervisory , employee. The.parties took no specific positions re-
garding M . B Burnette, assistant to Boehm , but the record shows that Burnette has the
power to discharge garage employees and is paid a monthly salary. We are of the opinion
he is a supervisory employee and should be excluded from the, unit.
RAILWAYS ICE COMPANY' 887
pay-roll date. We shall direct that those eligible to vote in the elec-
tion shall be the employees in the appropriate unit who were' em-
ployed by the Company during the pay-roll period immediately pre-
ceding the Direction of Election herein, subject, to, the limitations
and additions set forth in the Direction. ' .
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and upon the entire
record in the case, the Board makes the following :
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the rep-
resentation of employees in the Nonconnah and Yale plants of Rail-
ways Ice Company, Memphis, Tennessee, within the meaning of
Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Re-
lations Act.
2. All production and maintenance employees and truck drivers
in the Nonconnah and Yale plants of the Company, excluding cler-
ical and supervisory employees, constitute a unit appropriate for
the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section
9 (b) of the Act.
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 Rela-
tions Act, 49 Stat. 449, and Article III, Section 8, of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it
is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation authorized by the Board
to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargain-
ing with Railways Ice Company, Memphis, Tennessee, at its Non-
connah and Yale plants, an election by secret ballot shall be con-
ducted as early as possible but not later than thirty (30) days from
the date of this Direction, under the direction and supervision of
the Regional Director for the Tenth Region, acting in this matter
as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to
Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and Regulations, among all
production. and maintenance employees and truck drivers in the Non-
connah and Yale plants of the Company at Memphis, Tennessee,
who are employed by the Company during the pay-roll period im-
mediately preceding the date of this Direction, including employees
who did not work during such pay-roll period because they were ill or
on vacation or in the active military service or training of the United
States, or temporarily laid off, but excluding clerical and supervisory
employees and employees who have since quit or been discharged,for
888 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
cause, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by
Steel Workers Organizing Committee, C. I. 0., for the purposes
of collective bargaining.
MR. GERARD D. REILLY took no part in the consideration of the
above Decision and Direction of Election.