United States v. Central Motor Lines, Inc.

• Citation: 338 F. Supp. 532
• Decision Date: 23 December 1971
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 2521.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of North Carolina
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. CENTRAL MOTOR LINES, INC., a corporation, Defendants.

338 F. Supp. 532

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. CENTRAL MOTOR LINES, INC., a corporation, Defendants.

Civ. A. No. 2521.

United States District Court, W. D. North Carolina, Charlotte Division.

December 23, 1971.

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Stuart P. Herman, Harvey Knudson, Jr., Squire Padgett, David L. Rose, David Norman, U. S. Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., for plaintiff.

W. P. Sandridge and Charles F. Vance, Jr., Winston-Salem, N. C., Francis M. Fletcher, Jr., Charlotte, N. C., Hugh J. Beins, Washington, D. C., Marvin Gittler, Chicago, Ill., for defendants.

FINDINGS OF FACT

McMILLAN, District Judge.

I. Introduction and General Findings

1. This suit was instituted by plaintiff, United States of America, seeking relief for violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. ? 2000e et seq.

2. Central Motor Lines, Inc. (hereinafter "Central") is a corporation organized under the laws of the State of North Carolina, with corporate offices in Charlotte, North Carolina. Central is engaged in the business of local, intrastate and interstate transportation of goods and merchandise by truck. Central maintains and operates terminals in Charlotte and Greensboro, North Carolina.

3. Defendant Central is an employer engaged in an industry affecting commerce within the meaning of Section 701 (b) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. ? 2000e(b).

4. At Central's Greensboro, North Carolina terminal, Local Union No. 391, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America (hereafter referred to as Local 391) represents the following employees as their exclusive collective bargaining representatives in the following collective bargaining units (hereafter referred to as bargaining units) and under the following collective bargaining contracts (hereafter referred to as contracts):

(a) The East Line road drivers under the National Master Freight Agreement and the Carolina Freight Council Over-the-Road Supplemental Agreement (hereafter referred to as Carolina Road Agreement) effective from April 1, 1970 to June 30, 1973, in a nationwide multi-employer ?€” multi-union collective bargaining unit of road and city employees in the trucking industry.

(b) The city and peddle drivers, switchers and checkers, under the National Master Freight Agreement and the Carolina City Cartage Supplemental Agreement (hereafter referred to as Carolina City Agreement), effective from April 1, 1970 to June 30, 1973, in a nationwide multi-employer ?€” multi-union collective bargaining unit of road and city employees in the trucking industry.

(c) Maintenance employees under the Carolina Automotive Maintenance Agreement (hereafter referred to as Maintenance Agreement) until July 1967, when the maintenance work was moved to Central's Charlotte terminal.

(d) Office clerical employees under a contract between Central and Local 391, effective from May 1, 1971 to July 31, 1974, in a bargaining unit limited to Central's Greensboro office.

5. Local 391 is a labor organization engaged in an industry affecting commerce within the meaning of Section 701 (d), (e) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. ? 2000e(d), (e).

6. At Central's Charlotte, North Carolina terminal, Local Union No. 71 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America (hereafter referred to as Local 71) represents the following employees as their exclusive collective bargaining representative in the following bargaining units and under the following contracts:

(a) The East Line road drivers under the same Agreements as Local 391.

(b) The city and peddle drivers, switchers and checkers, under the same Carolina City Agreement as Local 391.

(c) Maintenance employees under the Maintenance Agreement effective from April 1, 1970 to June 30, 1973, in a multi-employer ?€” multi-union bargaining unit of maintenance employees in the trucking industry in the States of North and South Carolina.

(d) Terminal office employees under a contract between Central and Local 71, effective from May 1, 1971 to July 31, 1974, in a bargaining unit limited to Central's Charlotte terminal office.

7. Local 71 is a labor organization engaged in an industry affecting commerce, within the meaning of Section 701(d), (e) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. ? 2000e(d), (e).

8. Local Union No. 710 International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America (hereafter referred to as Local 710) is the bargaining representative for all west-board over-the-road drivers employed by Central at its Greensboro and Charlotte terminals. Local 710's headquarters is in Chicago, Illinois.

9. Local 710 is a labor organization engaged in an industry affecting commerce, within the meaning of Section 701 (d), (e) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. ? 2000e(d), (e).

10. The only employees of Central represented by Local 710 are the west-board over-the-road drivers who are covered by the National Master Freight Agreement and the Central States Area Over-the-Road Supplemental Agreement (hereinafter referred to as Central States Agreement) effective from April 1, 1970 to June 30, 1973. The Central States Agreement was negotiated between Local 710 and unionized trucking companies with facilities in Chicago including Central.

11. Central employs over-the-road drivers at its Greensboro and Charlotte terminals. The drivers are divided into two groups, those that run East, primarily to New York, and those that run West, primarily to Chicago. The East Board also includes 13 shuttle drivers, ten in Charlotte and three in Greensboro, who carry loads between the terminals in the Carolinas.

12. Central operates two-man sleeper cab trucks for all its over-the-road operation except shuttle drivers. In the sleeper operations one man drives approximately four hours and rests four hours. A Chicago run takes approximately 24 hours one way and a New York run 17 hours one way. All of Central's sleeper teams are domiciled either in Charlotte or Greensboro.

13. Shuttle drivers operate as a single-man operation, but are part of the East Board over-the-road driver seniority grouping and drive the same equipment as over-the-road drivers.

14. Prior to July 1967, the vast majority of Central's East and West line drivers were domiciled in Greensboro; since that date, the majority of both East and West line drivers have been domiciled in Charlotte.

15. Central also employs city or pickup and peddle drivers at its Charlotte and Greensboro terminals. A city or pickup driver is one who picks up or makes deliveries within a 15 mile radius of the home terminal. A peddle driver is one whose runs are within a radius of 75 miles of the home terminal but whose round trip cannot exceed 150 miles.

16. Central also employs checkers and switchers at its Charlotte and Greensboro terminals. A checker is a dock worker who checks, stacks, loads and unloads freight at the terminals. A switcher moves trucks to and from the dock but operates equipment only on company property.

17. Central currently operates a Maintenance Shop at its Charlotte terminal for the purpose of repair and maintenance on all trailers, rolling and powered equipment operated by the Company. Prior to July 1967, Central operated maintenance shops in both Greensboro and Charlotte.

18. Central employs mechanics, mechanic helpers, stock or parts clerks and garagemen at its Maintenance Shop. A mechanic is an employee who is capable of building, rebuilding, repairing and maintaining all parts of automotive or trailer equipment. A helper is an employee who works under the direction of a mechanic in the performance of his duties. He also fuels, greases, changes oil, and inspects vehicles. A stock or parts clerk is an employee who issues parts, receives parts and keeps a maintenance and parts inventory. A garageman is an employee who is engaged in tire work and washing and cleaning.

19. Central also employs office and clerical personnel, mainly billing and rate clerks, at its Charlotte and Greensboro terminals. These office and clerical employees are covered by union contracts. The Company also employs a larger number of clerical employees at its Charlotte general office. The clerical employees at the general office are non-union.

20. Central in its absolute discretion determines which individuals will be employed and in what job classification. Locals 71, 391 and 710 are not involved in the hiring process in any way. All employees except for supervisory personnel at the Charlotte and Greensboro terminals, are represented for collective bargaining purposes by one of the defendant locals.

21. Local 391 represents and has some 7500 members, of which less than 100, including blacks and whites, are employed by Central at its Greensboro, North Carolina terminal. Some 15 to 20 per cent of Local 391's members are of the black race. All of Central's employees represented by Local 391 at its Greensboro, North Carolina terminal are members of Local 391. Local 71 represents and has some 4300 members, of which some 300, both blacks and whites, are employed by Central at its Charlotte, North Carolina terminal. Some 16 to 18 per cent of Local 71's members are of the black race. All of Central's employees represented by Local 71 at its Charlotte, North Carolina terminal are members of Local 71.

22. All employees represented by Local 71, Local 391 and Local 710, regardless of race, receive the wages, hours and conditions of employment as provided for in the collective bargaining agreement for the job classification in which they are employed.

23. At the time this lawsuit was filed, and at all previous times relevant to this action, the applicable collective bargaining agreements in Findings 4, 6 and 10 did not give any employee the right to transfer between classifications or contracts. Such transfers...