Hind-Clarke Dairy

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Sep 6, 1944

58 N.L.R.B. 99 (N.L.R.B. 1944)

In the Matter of ROBERT HIND , LIMITED , D/B/A HIND-CLARKE DAIRY
and DAIRY WORKERS UNION OF HAWAII, LOCAL 946, A. F. OF L.
Case No. 2 R-29.Decided September 6, 1944
Mr. Ryburn L. Hackler, for the Board.
Mr. Alfred L. Castle, of Honolulu , Hawaii, for the Company.
Mr. Arthur A. Rutledge , of Honolulu , Hawaii, for the Union.
Mr. Louis Cokin , of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION • OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon petition and amended petition duly filed by Dairy Workers
Union of Hawaii, Local 946, A. F. of L., herein called the Union,
alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the
representation of employees of Robert Hind, Limited, d/b/a Hind-
Clarke Dairy, Wailupe, Island of Oahu, Hawaii, herein called the
Company, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an
appropriate hearing upon due notice before Peter F. Ward, Trial
Examiner. Said hearing was held at Honolulu, Hawaii, on August
9, 1944. The Company and the Union appeared, participated and
were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-ex-
amine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues. The
Trial Examiner's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudi-
cial error and are hereby affirmed. All parties were afforded oppor-
tunity to file briefs with the Board.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Robert Hind, Limited, is a corporation doing business at Hind-
Clarke Dairy. Its main dairy and place of business is located at
Wailupe, Island of Oahu, Territory of Hawaii, where it is engaged
in producing, pasteurizing, selling, and distributing milk. The Com-
58 N. L. R. B., No. 17.
99
100 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
pany sells milk valued at about $67,500 monthly. The Company pur-
chases supplies valued at about $800 monthly. In addition to its
dairy operations the Company owns and operates a coffee company
and a ranch in Hawaii.
We find that the Company is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
Dairy Workers Union of Hawaii, Local 946, is a labor organization
affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, admitting to mem-
bership employees of the Company.
III. THE EMPLOYEES
The present controversy concerns the Company's employees engaged
in the bottling department at the Company's dairy at Wailupe, Island
of Oahu, Hawaii. The Company contends that these workers are ag-
ricultural laborers and are therefore not "employees" within the mean-
ing of Section 2 (3) of the Act. With reference to this contention, we
shall briefly describe the work of the employees and the operations
of the Company.
The Company's dairy consists of about 2,000 acres of land, 600 of
which are in forest reserve and about 100 acres in roughage crops.
Thirty to 50 acres are devoted to corrals, warehouses, minor buildings,
and the main dairy plant. The Company also controls about 1,004
acres of land about 40 miles away from its main operations where it
pastures its dry cows. The Company employs about 157 employees,
in its dairy operations, 107 of whom live on its premises. Thirteen
of the employees are classified as bottlers. The milking and bottling is
all performed in one building. After the cows are hand-milked, the
milker places the milk into a receiving vat, after which it is handled
by the bottlers. It is then taken up over coolers into vats where it is.
pasteurized. After the pasteurization process the milk is again cooled
and placed into a filler. The milk is mechanically bottled from the
filler and capped and placed into a cooling room. The bottlers operate
the bottle washers, filling machine, capping machine, stock milk in
cold storage, wash pipe lines and machinery, check outgoing and re-
turned unsold milk, and act as icehouse men. The bottling is per-
formed in rooms separated from the milking rooms. The work done
by the bottlers is on the whole incidental to the commercial activities
of the Company rather than incidental to its ranching operations. The
mere fact that employees are engaged in handling products produced
upon a farm does not in itself classify them as "agricultural laborers."
Instead they work only in the bottling plant and their services are
HIND-CLARK DAIRY 101
devoted entirely to the handling of milk as it is being prepared for
shipment to market. It is our conclusion that the services, which are
performed by bottlers are not "agricultural" in nature, but are per-
formed in connection with commercial packaging and shipping
enterprises.,
We find that the bottlers employed by the Company are not em-
ployed as "agricultural laborers" within the meaning of Section 2
(3) of the Act.
IV. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
During December 1943 the Union requested the Company to recog-
nize it as the exclusive collective bargaining representative of the
employees involved herein. The Company refused this request.
A statement of the Regional Director, introduced into evidence at
the hearing, indicates that the Union represents a substantial number
of employees in the unit hereinafter found to be appropriate.'
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Company, within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Union contends that all bottlers in the Company's dairy at
Wailupe, Island of Oahu, Hawaii, excluding supervisory employees,
constitute an appropriate unit. As we have noted above, the Com-
pany contends that all of its employees, the bottlers as well as the
remaining employees, are agricultural laborers. Other than this, the
Company made no objection to the unit described by the Union.
Evidence introduced at the hearing indicates that the employees
claimed by the Union constitute a well-defined homogeneous group.
We find that all bottlers at the dairy of the Company at Wailupe,
Island of Oahu, Hawaii, excluding supervisory employees with
authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect
changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend such
action, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining, within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
VI. THE DETERMINATION OP REPRESENTATIVES
We shall direct that the question concerning representation which
has arisen be resolved by means of an election by secret ballot among
' Matter of Tovrea Packing Company, 12 N. L. R. B. 1063 and Matter, of George G.
Averill, et al, 13 N. L. R B. 411.
2 The Regional Director reported that the Union presented 14 authorization of member-
ship application cards . There are approximately 13 employees in the appropriate unit.
102 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
the employees in the appropriate unit who were employed during the
pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of
Election herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in
the Direction.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
By virtue of an pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor
Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act,
and pursuant to Article III, Section 9 of National Labor Relations
Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, as amended, it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain represent-
atives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Robert Hind,
Limited, d/b/a Hind-Clarke Dairy, Wailupe, Island of Oahu, Hawaii,
an election by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but
not later than thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction, under
the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Twenty-
third Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor
Relations Board, and subject to Article III, Sections 10 and 11, of
said Rules and Regulations among the employees in the unit found
appropriate in Section V, above, who were employed during the pay-
roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction, includ-
ing employees who did not work during said pay-roll period because
they were ill or on vacation or temporarily laid off and including
employees in the armed forces of the United States who present them-
selves in person at the polls, but excluding any who have since quit or
been discharged for cause and have not been rehired or reinstated
prior to the date of the election, to determine whether or not they
desire to be represented by Dairy Workers Union of Hawaii, Local
946, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, for the purposes
of collective bargaining.