Nlrb Sides With Rinker On Teamsters Election

The National Labor Relations Board, Region 10, Atlanta, ruled last month that an election designating Teamsters Local 518 the bargaining agent for Rinker

CP STAFF

The National Labor Relations Board, Region 10, Atlanta, ruled last month that an election designating Teamsters Local 518 the bargaining agent for Rinker Materials’ South Central Region/East Tennessee Concrete staff should include balloting at four plants around Knoxville, plus four additional Tri-Cities area sites about 75 miles away. An election scheduled for early December was to involve 108 employees, including mixer and tank truck drivers, loader and plant operators, and mechanics and maintenance staff. Local 518 had petitioned for an election confined to 47 mixer drivers based at the Knoxville operations. The scope of the proposed bargaining unit was expanded per Rinker’s motion, as NLRB officials determined that the East Tennessee Concrete Division is highly integrated; has employees whose functions are interchangeable; and, switches staff and equipment from location to location when needed. Local 518, Knoxville, does not have mixer drivers among its current members.