Union Terminal Warehouse Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Aug 16, 1949

85 N.L.R.B. 703 (N.L.R.B. 1949)

In the Matter of UNION TERMINAL WAREHOUSE COMPANY, EMPLOYER
and TRUCK DRIVERS, WAREHOUSEMEN &Z HELPERS LOCAL UNION No.
512, INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS, CHAUFFEURS,
WAREHOUSEMEN & HELPERS OF AMERICA, AFL, PETITIONER
Case No. 10-RC-692.Decided August 16, 1949
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before Gilbert Cohen,
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 National Labor
Relations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with
this case to a three-member panel [Members Houston, Reynolds, and
Murdock].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer, a Delaware corporation, operates a terminal in
Jacksonville, Florida, for the leasing of storage space and for the stor-
age and distribution of dry merchandise. Its business is conducted
in a single building containing approximately 120,000 square feet of
space. The warehouse is serviced by trucking companies and by two
railroads, the Seaboard Air Line and the Southern, whose tracks run
on either side of the building. The Employer's only commercial ac-
tivity is to store or to deliver materials received. Among the items
handled are : cigarettes, stoves and ranges, peanut butter, chemicals,
canned meats, refrigerators, drugs, magazines, canned goods, soap
products, paper products, and glass ware. With the exception of
cigarettes, the Employer does not know the monetary value of the
products handled; in a typical month cigarettes worth $4,600,000 were
handled. More tha i 90 percent of all the materials handled by the
Employer originates from outside the State of Florida. Approxi-
mately 50 percent of the goods goes to national chain stores, such as
the Great Atlantic & Pacific. About 15 percent of final destination
85 N. L. R. B., No. 128.
703
704 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
deliveries are made by the Employer's trucks, and these are all in
Jacksonville only. The Employer transships 60 to 65 percent of the
freight to other carriers, either by truck companies or by railroad
which in turn make final delivery to other points throughout the
State. Only about 2 percent of the goods goes outside the State.
It is clear that the Employer is engaged in furthering the trans-
portation of goods and merchandise as they are being carried in inter-
state commerce. We find, contrary to the contention of the Employer,
that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National
Labor Relations Act.'
2. The labor organization involved claims to represent certain
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 following employees of the Employer constitute a unit appro-
priate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning
of Section 9 (b) of the Act:
All city pick-up and delivery drivers, truck helpers, delivery clerks,
checkers, dispatchers, dock men, loaders, and unloaders, excluding
all office employees, building mechanics, janitor and helper,2 guards,
professional employees, and all supervisors as defined in the 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 super-
vision of the Regional Director for the Region in which this case
was heard, and subject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of National
Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations, among the employees
in the unit found appropriate in paragraph numbered 4, above, who
were 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
1 Matter of United Warehouse d Terminal Corporation , 57 N. L. R. B. 1747.
2 From the record, it appears that the working conditions and interests of the janitor
and helper differ materially from those of the employees included in the unit. This
employee spends about half his time performing janitorial tasks about the building,
including that portion which is rented to other tenants , and the remaining half of his time
assisting the building mechanic. We shall exclude him from the unit.
UNION TERMINAL WAREHOUSE COMPANY 705
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 bar-
gaining, - by Truck Drivers, Warehousemen & Helpers Local Union
No. 512, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Ware-
housemen & Helpers of America, AFL.