Tuscaloosa Truck and Tractor Co., Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Dec 14, 1950

92 N.L.R.B. 706 (N.L.R.B. 1950)

In the Matter of TUSCALOOSA TRUCK AND TRACTOR COMPANY, INC.,'
.EMPLOYER and TEAMSTERS , CHAUFFEURS , WAREHOUSEMEN AND
HELPERS, LOCAL UNION No. 936, PETITIONER
Case No. 10-RC-953.-Decided December 14,1950
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, a hearing was held before John C. Carey, Jr., hearing
officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from
prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the Act, the Board
has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three-member
panel [Chairman Herzog and Members Murdock and Styles].
Upon,the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer, an Alabama corporation with a place of business
in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, is engaged in selling and servicing auto-
mobiles and farm equipment under franchises from the Packard Motor
Company and International Harvester Company, respectively. Dur-
ing the year preceding the date of the hearing, the Employer's pur-
chases totalled more than $450,000, of which more than 75 percent
was obtained from points outside the State. During the same period,
the Employer's sales totalled more than $500,000, of which less than
1 percent represents sales to customers outside the State.
We find, contrary to the contention of the Employer, that it is
engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act. In view of
Board policy, as recently announced in Baxter Bros.,2 to assert juris-
diction over franchised automobile dealers, we find that it will effec-
tuate the policies of the Act to assert jurisdiction in this case.
2. The Petitioner is a labor organization claiming to represent
employees of the Employer.
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 parties agree that a unit composed of all the Employer's
service department employees, including mechanics, helpers, laborers,
',The Employer 's name appears as amended at the hearing.
2 91 NLRB 1480.
92 NLRB No. 133.
706
TUSCALOOSA TRUCK AND TRACTOR COMPANY, INC. 707
clean-up men , the janitor , and the deliveryman is appropriate. There
is disagreement as to the -inclusion of the salesmen , the salesman-
collector , and parts department employees , the Employer contending
that they should be included and the Petitioner urging their exclusion.
The salesmen and the salesman-collector.-There are six salesmen
and one salesman -collector in the Employer 's employ. The salesmen
devote practically all their time to selling the Employer 's products.
They are paid on a salary plus commission basis and are answerable
to the Employer 's vice president and general manager. The salesman-
collector divides his time between selling activities and calling on
customers to collect overdue accounts . As the salesmen and the sales-
man-collector do not have duties and interests in common with those
of the service department employees, all of whom are manual workers,
we shall exclude them .3
The parts department employees .-There are three employees at-
tached to the Employer 's parts department which is separated from
the service department by counters . These employees receive, sell,
and keep records of automobile parts and accessories . They also
disburse parts and accessories to the mechanics in the service depart-
ment and frequently install equipment in the automobiles of customers
with or without the assistance of a mechanic . In view of these cir-
cumstances and the fact that the parts employees and the service
department employees together constitute the Employer 's physical
employees , as distinct from the office and clerical employees and
salesmen , we shall include the employees in the parts department ."
There remains for consideration the question of determining
whether the parts manager and the service manager should be ex-
cluded as supervisors.
The parts manager.-This individual is the most experienced worker
in the parts department. His duties are substantially the same as
those of the regular parts department employees except that , in addi-
tion, he places orders for equipment and sees that the stock is properly
kept and inventoried . He does not have authority to hire, discharge,
discipline , or effect changes in the status of the parts department'
employees or effectively recommend such action . On the basis of
these facts and the entire record, we are of the opinion that the parts
manager ' is not a supervisor within the meaning of the Act.' We
shall therefore include him in the unit.
The service manager.-This person is in charge of the Employer's
service department . He receives the automobiles that are brought
' Duplap Chevrolet Company, 91 NLRB 1115; Reslink and Wiggers Motors, 87 NLRB
126.
'Rowan Motor Company, 90 NLRB No. 156.
1 Gold Medal Dairies, Inc ., 84 NLRB 426 ; The Austin Company, 77 NLRB 938.
708 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
to the department for repairs and servicing, makes out job tickets,
and assigns the work to the mechanics. He has the authority effec-
tively to recommend changes in the status of the employees under
him. We find that. .theservicee manager is a supervisor and. we shall
therefore exclude him.
We find that all the employees in the Employer's service and parts
departments, including mechanics, helpers, laborers, clean-up men,
the janitor, the deliveryman, the parts manager, but excluding sales-
men, the salesman-collector, the service manager, and all other super-
visors as defined in the Act, constitute a unit appropriate for purposes
of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of
the Act.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication in this
volume.]