Colgate Palmolive Peet Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Sep 21, 1951

96 N.L.R.B. 311 (N.L.R.B. 1951)

COLGATE PALMOLIVE PEET CO. 311
clean. In addition they directly assist the operators by preparing
materials used by the operator, and subject to the direction of the lat-
ter, keeping all equipment sterilized.
It is true that the licensed personnel, unlike the receptionist and
maids, are required to complete a certain period of training pursuant
to State law. But we do not believe that this fact creates a sufficient
disparity between their employment interests and those of the recep-
tionist and maids with whom they work so closely to warrant exclud-
ing the latter from the unit. Nor is there merit to the Petitioner's
contention that the receptionist and maids should be excluded because
the Petitioner's bylaws restrict union membership to licensed per-
sonnel. This Board has often held that a union's jurisdictional limi-
tation on membership is not a valid reason for excluding employees
from a unit, who would otherwise be included.5
We find therefore that all employees employed in the San Francisco
1. Magnin & Co. beauty salon of Charles of the Ritz Operating Corpo-
ration, excluding supervisors as defined in the Act, constitute a unit
appropriate for the purpose of collective bargaining within the mean-
ing of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication in this
volume.]
6 Denton's Inc ti e The Robinson - Schwcenn Store, 83 NLRB 35.
COLGATE PALMOLIVE PEET Co. and GREMIO DE PRENSA, RADIO Y TEATRO
DE PUERTO Rico, PETITIONER . Case No. 24-RC-153. September
21, 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 Philip Licari, 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 Styles].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
1 The name of the Petitioner appears as amended at the hearing.
96 NLRB No. 41.
312 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
2. The labor organization involved claims to represent certain em-
ployees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9
(c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The Petitioner seeks a unit of actors, actresses, and narrators em-
ployed by the Employer on its four Puerto Rico radio programs. The
Employer primarily contends that these individuals are independent
contractors and not employees within the meaning of the Act.
The Employer is a Delaware corporation with its principal office in
Jersey City, New Jersey, where it is engaged in the manufacture of
.soaps and related products. The Employer maintains a branch office
in Puerto Rico, where its annual sales approximate three million dol-
lars. The Puerto Rico branch is the only branch involved in this
proceeding.
The Employer advertises its product in Puerto Rico through four
radio programs or dramas which appear daily under the titles of
Fab Drama, 2:00 to 2: 30 p. m.; Octagon Drama, 2:30 to 3:00 p. in.;
Palmolive Theatre, 6: 30 to 7: 00 p. in.; and Colgate Theatre, 9: 00 to
9: 30 p. in. In order to guarantee top talent for these four programs,
the Employer maintains within its organization -a Radio Artists De-
partment, complete with director, actors, actresses, sound-effects men,
recorders, and others needed to produce full programs without outside
help. Regular or fixed actors receive a weekly salary, depending upon
the number of times they appear on the different programs. They
receive a minimum of $7 per program when they work, and $5 when
they are not required to appear. Nonfixed actors are paid only for
the times they are actually required to appear on the program. Some
of the actors who appear on the Employer's programs also work for
other sponsors and radio stations, but they may not appear on any
program sponsored by a competitor of the Employer or within 15
minutes before or after one of the Employer's programs. At all times,
when they are in -the Employer's service, they are subject to the
immediate direction of the Employer's program director. There is
no indication that the radio station has any control over any of the
persons appearing on the Employer's programs. The record does not
indicate any bargaining history for these employees.
Under the foregoing circumstances, we are of the opinion that
actors, actresses, and narrators who perform on the Employer's four
radio programs are not, in their relationship to the Employer, inde-
pendent contractors, but are employees of the Employer within the
meaning of Section 2 (3) of the Act.' We further find that they may
2 The Fuller Automobile Company d /b/a The Fuller Automobile Company and Fuller
Manufacturing & Supply Company, 88 NLRB 1452, 1456.
COLGATE PALMOLIVE PEET CO. 313
constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining.3
Subject to these contentions of the Employer, the parties agree that
actors, actresses, and narrators should be included in the unit. They
further agree that commentators, commercial announcers, and record-
ers should be excluded from the unit. They disagree as to the unit
placement of sound-effects men, master of ceremonies or disk jockey,
nonfixed actors, and the program director.
Two sound-effects men simulate sounds such as walking, opening
doors, breaking glass, or whatever the acting situation requires.
Sometimes they use mechanical devices to accomplish the desired
results. The master of ceremonies, or disk-jockey in this case, tells
jokes and anecdotes and plays records whenever called for. He also
transmits news at various points in the program, and presents other
persons such as guests. The nonflxed actors, as indicated earlier, per-
form the same duties as regular actors, except that they are part-time
employees who are paid only when needed. ' From the foregoing, we
conclude that the interests and duties of the sound-effects men, the
master of ceremonies or disk-jockey, and the nonfixed actors are suffi-
ciently similar to those of regular or fixed actors and actresses to war-
rant their inclusion in the same unit 4.
The program director is responsible for the rehearsal and direction
of each program, and sees that it is transmitted over the air in a well
integrated manner. He receives a regular salary of approximately
$200 a week. He may request certain actors or actresses for certain
parts on the programs, and usually his recommendations are followed.
He may not discharge an actor, but his recommendations carry con-
siderable weight. We find that the program director is a supervisor
within the meaning of the Act, and we shall exclude him from the
unit .5
We find that all actors, actresses, and narrators employed by the
Employer at its Puerto Rico branch office, including nonfixed actors,
sound-effects men, master of ceremonies, and disk-jockey, but exclud-
ing commentators, commercial announcers, recorders, all other em-
ployees, the program director, and other supervisors, constitute a unit
appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the mean-
ing of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
8 Television Film Producers Association , et al., 93 NLRB 929.
We likewise find no merit in the Employer's further contention that actors, actresses,
and narrators are professional employees. Although actors and actresses must, of necessity,
have certain talent in order to properly perform their parts, there is no showing that any
of the persons involved herein have received specialized training . Moreover, their work is
performed under the direction of the Employer's program director and is generally of a
routine nature which does not involve the "consistent exercise of discretion and judgment
in its performance ." West Central Broadcasting Company, 77 NLRB 366; Section 2 (12)
(1i) of the Act.
* The Valley Broadcasting Company, 87 NLRB 1144 ; Cf. KMTR -Radio Corporation
(KLAC-TV), 85,NLRB 99.
a Neptune Broadcasting Company, 94 NLRB 1052 ; WWEZ Radio , Inc., 91 NLRB 1518.
314 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
5. The Petitioner would permit any employee in the unit who has
worked one full day or 8 hours for the Employer during the past year
to vote in the election. The Employer takes no position on this matter.
Although the periods of employment afforded many of the nonfixed
actors involved herein are relatively brief, we believe that a single
day's employment is too casual to establish the collective bargaining
interest of a prospective voter. We shall therefore adopt a 2-day elig-
ibility requirement. All employees within the appropriate unit shall
be eligible to vote who have had 2 or more days or 16 hours of employ-
ment during the 12 months immediately preceding the date of this
Decision and Direction of Election.6
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication in this
volume.]
6 Cf. Television Film Producers Association, et al., supra.
AUTOMATIC ELECTRIC COMPANY and ENGINEERS, DRAFTSMEN AND
TECHNICIANS ASSOCIATION, LOCAL 144, INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION
OF TECHNICAL ENGINEERS, ARCHITECTS AND DRAFTSMEN'S UNIONS,
AFL, PETITIONER. Case No. 13-RC-20,5. September 21, 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 Irving M. Friedman, hearing
officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free
from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
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 labor organizations involved claim to represent certain
employees of the Employer.
3. The Intervenor, Technical Engineers, Architects and Drafts-
men's Association, Local 90-A, which was certified by the Board on
January 17, 1950, claims that its contract with the Employer of Janu-
ary 25, 1950, with supplements executed January 27, 1950, November
2, 1950, and November 28, 1950, and automatically renewed for 1 year
on March 2, 1951, is a bar to this petition. The Petitioner disagrees,
alleging that a schism exists. The Employer is neutral.
The Intervenor is a so-called amalgamated local, having members
among employees in various plants, including the Employer's. The
Intervenor has organized its members in the Employer's plant as
Chapter 8, which chapter elects its own officers and holds regular meet-
ings for the conduct of its affairs in relation to the Employer.
96 NLRB No. 45.