Tom Zweifel, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Mar 29, 1954

108 N.L.R.B. 102 (N.L.R.B. 1954)

102 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
ultimately sold, shipped or slaughtered by the feeder" that is,
the employer who operated both the feeding lots and the packing
plant. In the situation you now present the employees are en-
gaged in feeding, fattening, and caring for sheep for from 40 to
90 days prior to slaughter at pens located about a block from
the employer's slaughter house. You wish to know whether the
proximity of the feeding pens to the slaughter house and the
shorter period of time involved are sufficient to change the
conclusions set forth in our prior opinion.
As indicated in our letter of April 1, 1953 the feeding and
care of livestock over a brief period of a few days pending its
sale, shipment, or slaughter cannot reasonably be characterized
as the "raising of livestock" within the definition. It would ap-
pear, however, that the 40 to 90 day period for feeding, fatten-
ing, and caring for sheep is comparable to the 80 to 150 days
in which the employees were engaged in raising cattle under the
facts of our prior letter. It is my opinion that the employees
here involved are engaged in "agriculture" within the meaning
of section 3(f) of the Act even though the feeding, fattening and
care of the sheep take place about a block from the packing
house.
Very truly yours,
Stuart Rothman
Solicitor of Labor
TOM ZWEIFEL, INCORPORATED and AUTOMOTIVE ME-
CHANICS LODGE NO. 510, INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION
OF MACHINISTS, and TRUCK DRIVERS AND ALLIED IN-
DUSTRIES LOCAL 257, INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD
OF TEAMSTERS, Jointly, Petitioner. Case No. 13-RC-3693.
March 29, 1954
AMENDED DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION
The Petitioner filed a petition seeking an election in a unit
of the Employer's service and parts employees. On December
31, 1953, the Board issued its Decision and Direction of
Election' in which it included new- and used-car salesmen
and office clerical employees in the appropriate unit. On
January 7, 1954, the Petitioner filed a motion with the Board
to reconsider its unit finding, and requested oral argument, 2
contending that the new- and used-car salesmen and office
iNot reported in printed volumes of Board Decisions and Orders.
2 The Petitioner's request for oral argument is hereby denied because in our opinion
the record and the motion to reconsider adequately present the issues and the position
of the parties.
108 NLRB No. 20.
GUIDRY'S AUTO SERVICE 103
clerical employees should be excluded from the unit. The
Employer takes no position.
In Bogalusa Motors,' the Board reexamined its decisional
pattern with respect to units in automobile retail and service
establishments . It noted in its decision that many automobile
dealers maintain small and closely knit establishments in
which the relationship between the salesmen and the mechanics
is as close as that between the salesmen and the office clerical
employees. It concluded that a unit comprising all employees,
including salesmen and clerks, is appropriate in such es-
tablishments.
In the instant case, however , the facts indicate that the basis
on which the finding in Bogalusa Motors was predicated does
not exist . The establishment of the Employer herein is sub-
stantially larger than even the largest establishment in
Bogalusa Motors, and it is reasonably clear that it is not
closely knit nor is there the kind of relationship among the
service employees , salesmen, and clerks which the Board
contemplated in its rationale in that case. Here the Employer
has approximately 59 employees, about 37 of whom are
service and parts employees.
In these circumstances , we shall amend our previous unit
finding herein and find that the following employees con-
stitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bar-
gaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act: All of the
Employer's service and parts employees , excluding new- and
used-car salesmen , office clerical employees , professional
employees , guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act.
[Text of amended Direction of Election omitted from pub-
lication.]
Member Beeson took no part in the consideration of the
above amended Decision and Direction of Election.
3Bogalusa Motors, Inc., 107 NLRB 97.
LAWRENCE GUIDRY d/b/a GUIDRY'S AUTO SERVICE and
PINE TREE LODGE 1983, INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION
OF MACHINISTS, AFL, and LOCAL UNION NO. 5, INTERNA-
TIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS, CHAUFFEURS,
WAREHOUSEMEN AND HELPERS OF AMERICA, AFL, Joint
Petitioners . Case No. 15-RC-967. March 29, 1954
SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION AND CERTIFICATION
OF REPRESENTATIVES
On December 4, 1953, pursuant to a Decision and Direction
of Election of the National Labor Relations Board, ' an election
1 The Decision and Direction of Election was based upon a consolidated hearing involving
this and eight other auto dealers in the city of Bogalusa, Louisiana . Bogalusa Motors, Inc.,
et al., 107 NLRB 97. This case is hereby severed for the purposes of this decision.
108 NLRB No. 25.