Wm. F. Crome & Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Nov 30, 1948

80 N.L.R.B. 986 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

In the Matter of WM. F. CROME & Co ., EMPLOYER and GENERAL DRiv-
ERS, WAREHOUSEMEN AND HELPERS , LOCAL UNION No. 534, INTER-
NATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS , CHA1I1 FEURS, WAREHOUSE-
MEN AND HELPERS OF AMERICA , A. F. L., PETITIONER
Case No. 17-RC-151.--Decided November 30, 1948
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before a hearing of-
ficer of the National Labor Relations Board. 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-man panel consisting of the undersigned Board
Members.*
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is a family corporation conducting a wholesale
grocery in charge of one brother, and a Coca-Cola bottling, soft drink,
and beer distributing business in charge of another brother, in ad-
jacent buildings at Clinton, Missouri. Total grocery purchases for
1947 were approximately $800,000, of which 80 to 90 percent originated
outside the State, 40 to 50 percent of the total being made through
Missouri brokers and warehouses. The Employer received at least
37 car lot purchases via interstate commerce. Sales amounted to
$922,000, all of which were made within the State. The 1947 purchases
for the bottling business were about $100,000, including $80,000 worth
of Budweiser and Falstaff beer, ordered from St. Louis where manu-
factured, and $13,000 worth of Coca-Cola syrup ordered through
Chicago but manufactured in St. Louis; sales were about $150,000, all
'The Petitioner's motion at the hearing to amend its petition to include Employer's
grocery employees except salesmen was referred to the Board. We find the amendment
proper inasmuch as the Employer had full opportunity to litigate all unit issues raised by
the amended petition. Matter of Ekco Products Co., 72 N. L. R. B. 1058.
*Rouston , Reynolds , and Murdock.
80 N. L. R. B., No. 148.
986
WM. F. CROME 3c CO. 987
within the State. In accordance with our rulings in Matter of Dr.
Pepper Co ., 78 N. L . R. B. 1261 , and Matter of Providence Public
Market Co., 79 N. L. R. B. 1482, we find that the Employer is en-
gaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Re-
lations Act.
2. The labor organization named below claims to represent em-
ployees of the Employer.
3. A question of representation exists concerning the representation
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 2
appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning
of Section 9 (b) of the Act :
All grocery warehouse employees and truck drivers, all bottling
plant employees , the Coca-Cola truck drivers and the beer truck driver
of Wm . F. Crome & Co ., Clinton, Missouri , excluding grocery sales-
men,3 office and clerical employees , and 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-Series 5, as amended, 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 quit or been discharged for cause and have not been rehired
2 Although there has been no shifting of employees from the grocery to the bottling
business and only occasional shifts from the bottling to the grocery business, and although
the corporation keeps separate ledger sheets and checking accounts for the 2 operations, we
find a combined unit appropriate because the ownership and personnel policies are unified,
the 13 employees in the unit have no particular skills, and they necessarily have some
community of interest by reason of the relatively small size, proximity , and close alliance of
the enterprises.
Grocery salesmen furnish their own cars, pay their own traveling expenses , and are
paid a commission . All other employees are now paid a salary, and the truck drivers use
the Employer 's trucks.
4 We find that the shipping clerk in the grocery warehouse and the foreman in the
bottling plant are not supervisors . They make no recommendations with respect to hiring,
disciplining , or wages, and active supervision of both businesses is supplied by the two
Crome brothers.
988 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
or reinstated 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 General Drivers, Warehousemen and Helpers, Local
Union No. 534, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs,
Warehousemen and Helpers of America, A. F. L.