Royal Palm Ice Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Feb 18, 1949

81 N.L.R.B. 858 (N.L.R.B. 1949)

In the Matter of ROYAL PALM ICE COMPANY, EMPLOYER and INTER-
NATIONAL UNION, UNITED AUTOMOBILE, AIRCRAFT & AGRICULTURAL
IMPLEMENT WORKERS OF AMERICA, CIO, PETITIONER
Case No. 10-RC-385.-Decided February 18,1949
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing in this case was held before
a hearing officer of the National Labor Relations Board.' The hearing
officer's rulings made at the hearings 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 of this case, the Board finds :
1. The business of the Employer :
The Employer is a Florida corporation engaged in the manufacture
and distribution of ice and is a subsidiary of Southeastern Public
Service Company, a holding company. The Employer has 12 plants,
all located within the State of Florida, of which 3, in the Miami area,
are involved herein. Purchases of supplies and materials for all
12 plants are made through a central purchasing office and amount, in
value, to over $100,000 yearly. The Employer estimates that between
$75,000 and $100,000 of these supplies originate outside the State
although the orders are placed locally. The 3 plants concerned herein,
producing 20 percent or $500,000 of the Employer's total annual pro-
duction, sell to homes, hotels, bars, and other local private and com-
mercial customers. Three other plants, with 45 percent of the Em-
ployer's total production, are engaged solely in icing railroad cars
for use by fruit and vegetable growers. The Employer disclaims
knowledge of the destination of these shipments which are made over
'Subsequent to the filing of this petition, the International Union of Operating Engi-
neers petitioned to represent the engine room employees of the Employer's plants and was
notified to intervene in this proceeding . A representative of the Operating Engineers
appeared at the hearing , but declined to intervene.
* Houston, Reynolds , and Murdock.
81 N. L. R. B., No. 130.
858
ROYAL PALM ICE COMPANY 859
the Florida East Coast and Seaboard Railroads. Other plants of the
Employer also do car icing and several lease cold storage rooms to
packinghouses and other commercial and private users.
We find, contrary to the contention of the Employer, that the
Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National
Labor Relations Act.2
2. The labor organization named below claims to represent employ-
ees of the Employer.3
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 constitute an appropriate unit for pur-
poses of collective bargaining, within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of
the Act :
All employees of the Miami, Miami Beach, and Coconut Grove,
Florida, plants of the Employer, excluding office and clerical employ-
ees, route foremen, car icing foremen, platform foremen,4 chief engi-
neers, plant managers, and all other supervisors within the meaning of
the amended 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
supervision of the Regional Director for the Tenth Region, and sub-
ject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of National Labor Relations Board
Rules and Regulations-Series 5, as amended, among the employees in
the unit found appropriate in paragraph numbered 4, above, who were
2 See Matter of Crescent City Ice Manufacturing Co., Inc., 70 N. L. R B. 1090, Matter
of Puritan Ice Company , 74 N. L. R. B. 1311 ; Matter of Imperial Ice Division of California
Electric Power Company, 50 N. L. R B . 106; Matter of New York Steam Laundry, Inc.,
80 N. L R. B. 4. The Employer also contends that the three plants named in this petition
must each be found to be engaged in interstate commerce . These plants are a part of the
Employer 's complete operations with an integration evidenced by common purchasing and
clerical offices. We therefore find no merit in the contention . See Matter of Atlantic
Company, 65 N. L . R. B. 1274 ; Matter of Ford Motor Company, 64 N. L. R. B. 365.
8 The Employer maintains that Petitioner was not shown to be a labor organization and
that Petitioner' s claim to represent the employees of the Employer was not substantiated
by evidence introduced at the hearing. On the contrary , the constitution of the Petitioner
was received in evidence and shows the Petitioner to be a labor organization within the
meaning of the Act. As to the second argument , we have often held that the determina-
tion of whether a petitioner has made a sufficient showing of interest is solely an admin-
istrative matter not open to direct or collateral attack at the hearing. See Matter of
Mergentheler Linotype Company, SO N. L. R. B . 132; Matter of W. C. Nabors Co., 79
N. L. R B. 40; Matter of O. D. Jennings & Company, 68 N. L. R B. 516
4 While the inclusion of platform foremen was requested by the Petitioner , the record
shows that these employees can effectively recommend the hiring and discharge of sub-
ordinates and we shall therefore exclude them from the unit.
860 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
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
temporarily laid off, but excluding those employees who have since
quit or been discharged for cause and have not been rehired or rein-
stated 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 International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft & Agricultural
Implement Workers of America, CIO.