Navajo Freight Lines, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Sep 13, 1951

96 N.L.R.B. 156 (N.L.R.B. 1951)

156 DECISIONS,OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
NAVAJO FREIGHT LINES, INC. and JOHN H. ANDERSON, PETITIONER and
TEAMSTERS, CHAFFEURS, WAREHOUSEMEN AND HELPERS.OF AMERICA,
LOCAL 492, OF THE INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS,
CHAUFFEURS, WAREHOUSEMEN AND HELPERS OF AMERICA, AFL:'
Case No. 33-RD-15. September 13, 1951
Decision and ft.der
Upon a petition for decertification duly filed, a hearing was held
before Lewis A. WVard, 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 [Members Houston, Reynolds, and Murdock].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
2. The Petitioner, an individual employed by the Employer, filed
a petition to decertify the Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and
Helpers of America, Local 492, under Section 9 (c) of the Act, as
the bargaining representative for the lubricators, tire men, and wash
and steam rack men employed at the Employer's Albuquerque, New
Mexico, operations.
3. No question affecting commerce exists concerning the represen-
tation of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9
(c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act, for the following
reasons:
On July 15, 1950, the Intervenor and Employer executed a contract
covering all pickup and delivery drivers, checkers, loaders, and dock-
men employed at the Employer's operations in Albuquerque, New
Mexico. During 1950 also, the Employer recognized the Interna-
tional Association of Machinists as the collective bargaining repre-
sentative of its auto mechanics at the Albuquerque operations. On
January 15, 1951, the Intervenor and Employer extended the cover-
age of their contract to include the remaining employees of the Em-
ployer at its Albuquerque operations who were not represented for
collective bargaining purposes. This latter group consisted of pump
men, lubricators, tire men, and wash and steam rack men 2
i Teamsters, Chauffeurs , Warehousemen and Helpers of America , Local 492, of the Inter-
national Brotherhood of Teamsters , Chauffeurs , Warehousemen and Helpers of America,
AFL, was permitted to intervene on the basis of contractual interest.
9 There remain two stock clerks who have not been included in the coverage of any of the
bargaining units.
96 NLRB No. 25.
BE'LKNAP HARDWARE AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY 157
The Petitioner now seeks to decertify the. Intervenor as the collective
bargaining representative of a group of employees consisting of lubri-
cators, tire men, and wash and steam rack men.
The record in this proceeding indicates that the group of employees
designated in the petition for decertification are under common super-
vision with the auto mechanics who perform maintenance work. In
effect, therefore, the group of employees among whom the Petitioner
seeks a decertification election constitutes an arbitrary segment of the
Employer's maintenance department, at the Albuquerque operations.
The Board will not find such a segment of a department an appro-
priate unit.' Furthermore, there is no evidence that these employees
possess any special characteristics or separate interests that could serve
as a basis for distinguishing them from the other employees with
whom they work and making a determination that they constitute
an appropriate unit by themselves. Nor does the record indicate
that they possess any special skills acquired by long training or
through apprenticeship programs which would permit a finding
that they constitute a separate craft group which could be found to
be an appropriate unit.
We find, therefore, that the unit proposed by the Petitioner is not
appropriate and accordingly we shall dismiss the petition 4
Order
IT IS HEREBY oJDERnD that the petition herein be, and it hereby is,
dismissed.
3 See, D. B. Thornton Co., 94 NLRB 1188.
4In view of our disposition of the petition it becomes unnecessary to discuss the question
of contract bar, raised by the Intervenor's motion to dismiss the petition , or the question of
the validity of the union -security clause, found in the Intervenor 's contract with the
Employer, raised by the Petitioner's contentions.
BELKNAP HARDWARE AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY and INTERNA-
TIONAL UNION, UNITED AUTOMOBILE WORKERS OF AMERICA, REGION
No. 4, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR, PETITIONER. Case No.
9-RC-1168. September 13, 1951
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 Lloyd R. Fraker,
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 Reynolds and
Murdock].
96 NLRB No. 19.