Snowflake Bakery Corp., of Hawaii, Ltd.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Oct 12, 1954

110 N.L.R.B. 324 (N.L.R.B. 1954)

324 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
tions and steam heating plants from the stores and telephone divi-
sions, but excluding all gas production employees,1e electric and gas:
transmission and distribution employees, service employees," profes-
sional employees, employees covered by existing collective-bargain-
ing agreements'18 clerks, guards, and supervisors as defined in the-
Act, constitute a unit appropriate for the purpose of collective bar-
gaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.]
MEMBER MURDOCK took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Direction of Election.
Employer 's substations have been placed under SOD rather than under T&D, this has been
the result of a historical accident which has little to do with functional aspects of the
Employer's operations. Nevertheless , we find that employees employed in the 9 substa-
tions adjacent to the generating stations properly belong in the unit because , unlike T&D
or other SOD substation employees, they are part of the physically identifiable group work-
ing within the generating station enclosures and remain in constant touch with generat-
ing station personnel with whom they have a stronger community of interest than with,
any other groups of employees
19 Maintenance personnel from the maintenance division of SOD who are attached to
the gas plants are likewise excluded from the unit because their interests are more closely
allied to those of gas department employees than to those of electric department employees.
17 This exclusion refers to service employees other than stores and telephone divisions
employees stationed within the electric and steam heating plants
1s As a result of a 1951 Board -directed election , the Petitioner herein was ceFtified as
the bargaining representative of all production and maintenance employees at the Em-
ployer 's Chester generating station See Philadelphia Electric Company, supra
SNOWFLAKE BAKERY CORPORATION OF HAWAII, LIMITED and INTERNA-
TIONAL LONGSHOREMEN AND WAREHOUSEMEN UNION, LOCAL 142,
PETITIONER '
SNOWFLAKE BAKERY CORPORATION OF HAWAII, LIMITED and HAWAII
TEAMSTERS AND ALLIED WORKERS, LOCAL 996, AFL, PETITIONER.y
Cases Nos. 37-RC-247 and 37-RC-248. October 12, 19541
Decision and Direction of Elections
Upon separate petitions duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the Na-
tional Labor Relations Act, a consolidated hearing was held before
David Karasick, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made
at'the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in these cases, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain
employees of the Employer.
1 Herein called ILWU.
2 Herein called Teamsters.
110 NLRB No. 42.
SNOWFLAKE BAKERY CORPORATION OF HAWAII, LIMITED 325
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9
(c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The appropriate unit :
The Employer operates 2 bakeries located about 3 miles apart in
-Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii. The Employer also has a separately
located warehouse where 1 employee is stationed. All parties agree
that a companywide unit (or units) is appropriate here. However,
the Teamsters seeks to represent in 2 separate units at the plants,
the driver-salesmen, truckdrivers, and warehouseman on the one hand,
and the employees in the bakery shops and stores on the other. The
Employer and the ILWU contend that only a single unit including
both of the foregoing groups is appropriate here.' The parties also
disagree as to the unit placement of certain employees.
Driver-salesmen: The Employer manufactures, distributes, and
-sells bakery products. Each of the 7 driver-salesmen employed by
the Employer has his own wholesale route. A driver-salesman drives
a truck in which he delivers the Employer's products to customers on
his route, makes collections, and solicits new business. He receives
It guaranteed' monthly salary plus commissions. The driver-sales-
men are supervised by the route supervisor who also is in charge of
the truckdrivers as well as other employees. There is no interchange
,of work and virtually no contact between the driver-salesmen and the
employees in the bakery shops and stores.
Upon the basis of the foregoing, and upon the entire record in
the case, we find that the driver-salesmen are a homogeneous group
of employees whose duties and interests are clearly identifiable and
distinguishable from the employees in the bakery shops and stores,
and that they constitute a separate appropriate unit for purposes of
,collective bargaining.'
Truckdrivers: All parties agree that the 1 full-time truckdriver
should be included in any unit found appropriate for the driver-
salesmen. The full-time truckdriver's primary duty is to deliver
products between the Employer's 2 plants. He also delivers products
occasionally to customers, but does not solicit new business.
The Employer contends that the 2 regular part-time truckdrivers
should be excluded from any unit found appropriate.,' The Team-
sters and the ILWU contend that they should be joined with the
driver-salesmen. The 2 part-time truckdrivers work only on Sun-
day, delivering the Employer's products to customers. We find that
3 Both unions are willing to represent the employees in whatever unit or units the Board
finds to be appropriate . The Teamsters was permitted to intervene in Case No. 37-RC-247,
,upon a showing of interest.
4 Wells Dairies Cooperative, 107 NLRB 1445; Royal Crown Bottling Company of Puerto
Rico, 102 NLRB 309; Carnation Company o f Texas, 78 NLRB 4519.
5 A third part-time truckdriver is normally employed as a driver -salesman.
326 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
as these truckdrivers regularly work part time they should be in-
cluded in the unit and that they are eligible to vote in the election
directed herein. We also find, as the parties agree to their combina-
tion, that all the truckdrivers may be included in the driver-sales-
men unit .6
Warehouseman: There is 1 warehouseman whose headquarters are
at the Employer's warehouse, located apart from the 2 bakeries.
The Employer and the Teamsters assert that the warehouseman
should be included in the driver-salesmen unit, while the ILWU con-
tends that he belongs in the bakery shops and storee unit. He is the
only employee who works at the warehouse. Besides taking care of
the warehouse, he also drives a truck, bringing supplies to the ware-
house and also later delivering them to the two plants. Occasionally
the warehouseman delivers finished products to the Employer's cus-
tomers. The record does not indicate the percentage of time he spends.
driving a truck.
We find that the warehouseman has a greater community of inter-
ests with the truckdrivers and driver- salesmen than with the employ-
ees in the bakery shops and stores. We shall, therefore, include him_
in the former unit.
Order clerk : The Employer and the ILWU would exclude the
order clerk as either a supervisor, a confidential employee, or an office
clerical employee. The Teamsters contends that she should be in-
cluded in the bakery shops and stores unit as a plant clerical em-
ployee. The order clerk works in the administrative office of the-
Employer which is located in one of the two plants. She occupies
the same room as the Employer's president, route supervisor, and
plant maintenance engineer. Her duties include receiving telephone-
orders from customers which are later either delivered by her in per-
son to the production department or are called for by someone from
that department. She also computes the production sheets of the-
driver-salesmen and receives money from them which she places in
the company safe and makes out cash reports.'
The order clerk receives her instructions primarily from the presi-
dent but she is also supervised by the secretary-treasurer, route super-
visor, and the plant maintenance engineer, respectively.
In view of the foregoing, and upon the record as a whole, we find
that the order clerk is an office clerical employee and we shall, there-
fore, exclude her from either unit.
Accordingly, we find that the following employees of the Employer
constitute two separate units appropriate for the purposes of collec-
tive bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act:
6 Holsum Baker's Inc, 102 NLRB 1495; Chesty Foods, Inc, 98 NLRB 1185.
7 About 1 hour per day she substitutes for the sales clerk in the retail store located at
the plant.
WASHINGTON METAL TRADES, INC . 327
1. All driver-salesmen, truckdrivers, and the warehouseman, ex-
cluding all other employees and supervisors within the meaning of
the Act.
2. All employees of the Employer, including all bakers, bakers'
helpers, cake decorators, sales clerks, packaging and packing employ-
ees, and janitors, but excluding the driver-salesmen, truckdrivers,
warehouseman, order clerk, office clerical employees, and all super-
visors within the meaning of the Act.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.]
WASHINGTON METAL TRADES , INC. ON BEHALF OF ISAACSON IRON WORKS,
PACIFIC CAR & FOUNDRY CO. (SEATTLE STRUCTURAL PLANT ), LECK-
ENBY STRUCTURAL STEEL CO., AND LINK BELT COMPANY and SHOP-
MEN'S UNION LOCAL 506 , INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BRIDGE,
STRUCTURAL AND ORNAMENTAL IRON WORKERS, PETITIONER
ISAACSON IRON WORKS and BOILERMAKERS UNION LOCAL 104, INTERNA-
TIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF BOILERMAKERS , IRON SHIP BUILDERS,
BLACKSMITHS , DROP FORGERS AND HELPERS, AFL , PETITIONER. Ca8eS
Nos. 19RC 1463 and 19-RC-1478. October 13,1954
Decision, Order, and Direction of Elections
Upon separate petitions duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the Na-
tional Labor Relations Act, a consolidated hearing was held before
Robert E. Tillman, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made
at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Boilermakers Union Local 104, International Brotherhood of Boiler-
makers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Drop Forgers and Helpers,
AFL, herein called the Boilermakers, and Welders Union Local 541,
International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders,
Blacksmiths, Drop Forgers and Helpers, AFL, herein called the Weld-
ers, moved to dismiss the petition in Case No. 19-RC-1463 on the
grounds that the petition was not timely filed and that the unit sought
is inappropriate. Shopmen's Union Local 506, International Associa-
tion of Bridge, Structural and Ornamental Iron Workers, herein called
the Ironworkers, and Washington Metal Trades, Inc., herein called the
Association, moved to dismiss the petition in Case No. 19-RC-1478 on
the grounds that the unit sought is inappropriate and that no question
concerning representation exists between the Boilermakers and Isaac-
son Iron Works because that company has no employees engaged in
boilermaking duties. For reasons hereinafter stated, we deny the mo-
tion to dismiss the petition in Case No. 19-RC-1463, and we grant the
motion to dismiss the petition in Case No. 19-RC-1478.
110 NLRB No. 44.