Dow Jones & Co., Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Oct 19, 1951

96 N.L.R.B. 993 (N.L.R.B. 1951)

DOW JONES,& COMPANY,,,INC, 993,
of the collective bargaining principle. Accordingly, the undersigned will recom-
mend that this allegation be dismissed.
Upon the basis of the foregoing findings of fact, and upon the entire record
in the case, the undersigned makes the following :
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
.1. The operations of Respondent affect commerce within the meaning of -Sec-
tion 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
2. Western Mechanics Local 700, International Union of Mine, Mill & Smelter
Workers, is a labor organization, within the meaning of Section 2 (5) of the
Act.
3. All hourly rated production and maintenance employees of Respondent's
Los Angeles Tube Mill, including mill or production clerks and inspectors, but
excluding foremen, assistant foremen, supervisors, technical and engineering
employees, timekeepers, watchmen, guards, and office and clerical employees
other than mill or production clerks, constitute a unit appropriate for purposes
cf collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
4. Since March 14, 1946, and at all times thereafter, Western Mechanics Local
700, International Union of Mine, Mill & Smelter Workers, has been and now is
the representative of a majority of the employees in the above-described appro-
priate unit for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of
Section 9 (a) of the Act.
5. Respondent has not refused to bargain collectively with Western Mechanics
Local 700, International Union of Mine, Mill & Smelter Workers, and has not
engaged in unfair labor practices within the meaning of Section 8 (a) (5) and
(1) of the Act.
Recommendation
In view of the foregoing findings of fact and conclusions of law, the under-
signed will recommend that the instant complaint be dismissed in its entirety.
In the event no exceptions are filed, as provided by the Rules and Regulations
of the Board, Series 6, the findings, conclusions, and recommendations herein
contained shall, as provided in said Rules and Regulations, be adopted by the
Board and become its findings, conclusions, and order, and all objections thereto
shall be waived for all purposes.
Dow JONES & COMPANY, INC . and Dow JONES EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION
OF NEW YORK, INC., PETITIONER . Case No. 13-RC-2094. October
19,1951
Decison and Direction of Elections
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, a hearing was held before Edward T. M islanka, hear-
ing 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 Styles].
96 NLRB No. 147.
994 DECISIONS • OF' NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
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. 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 all employees of the Employer at
its Chicago, Illinois, Journal of Commerce Branch, excluding em-
ployees in the mechanical departments, circulation salesmen, and su-
pervisors. This unit would comprise employees in the news and edi-
torial department, circulation department, advertising department,
general and administrative department, ticker maintenance depart-
ment, and ticker salesmen. The Employer agrees generally with the
Petitioner's unit request. Chicago Newspaper Guild, the Intervenor
herein, relying upon a history of collective bargaining, contends that
the only appropriate unit for editorial employees is a unit confined to
employees in the editorial and news department, which the Board, on
two previous occasions prior to the Employer's acquisition of the Chi-
cago Journal of Commerce, found appropriate." The Intervenor as-
serts, as its alternative position, that in the event the Board finds that
a plant-wide unit may be appropriate, a self-determination election
should be conducted among the editorial and news department em-
ployees to determine whether or not they desire to remain a separate
bargaining unit, or become a part of the more comprehensive unit re-
quested by the Petitioner.
The Employer is a Delaware corporation with headquarters in New
York City, and branches in Chicago, Illinois; Dallas, Texas; San
Francisco, California; and 15 other cities in the United States and
other countries. The Employer's Chicago branch is the only branch
involved in this proceeding. The Employer is engaged in the publica-
tion and distribution of various commercial publications, chief of
which are 4 geographical editions of the Wall Street Journal. It also
operates the Dow Jones News Services.
On January 1, 1951, the Employer purchased Chicago Journal of
Commerce, hereinafter referred to as the Journal, and immediately
changed the operations of the Journal to constitute a Chicago edition
of its Wall Street Journal to conform with the New York edition.
Former employees of the Journal were employed by the Employer, but
at the present time only approximately 55 of the original 120 em-
ployees remain. New employees or transfers from the Employer's
1 Chicago Journal of Commerce, Inc., 73 NLRB 1213 and 85 NLRB 842 . There has been
no substantial change in working conditions among these employees which would impair
the Board ' s earlier unit finding , so far as the instant record discloses.
DOW JONES & COMPANY, INC. 995
other branches have brought the total number of nonmechanical em-
ployees in this office up to approximately 105.
_ The Employer's Chicago operations are located in a four-story build-
ing at 12 East Grand Avenue, and a part of the Board of Trade
Building which is several miles away from the Grand Avenue location.
The Grand Avenue location houses the news and editorial department
on the third floor; the advertising department on the fourth floor;
the circulation department and the general and administrative de-
partment on the first floor; the composing room on the second floor;
and the building maintenance department in the basement. The ticker
maintenance department is located in the Board of Trade Building.
The news and editorial department consists of approximately 60
employees. The head of this department is the managing editor who
has two assistant managing editors. Under the first assistant man-
aging editor there are 15 to 20 reporters, 1 statistician, 2 department
assistants, 5 quotation clerks, and 2 copy boys. Under the second
assistant managing editor is a news editor, 8 copy readers, 4 tele-
typists, 2 department assistants, and .2 copy boys. This department
is devoted to the gathering and editing of news. The bulk of the
news printed in the Chicago plant originates from the Employer's
other offices, chiefly the New York office. All news originating from
these offices is transmitted to the Chicago location by wire. The news
and editorial department is under the direct supervision of the man-
aging editor, who is, in turn, directly responsible to the Employer's
executive director, whose office is located in New York City. There
is no interchange of personnel between the news and editorial de-
partment employees and other departments of the plant.
The circulation department consists of approximately 15 em-
ployees, including clerks, stenographers, mail clerks, and a telephone
operator. In addition, there are approximately 15 circulation sales-
men, who are excluded from the requested unit. This department is
concerned exclusively with the deliveries and circulation of the Em-
ployer's publication, and there is no interchange of employees between
the circulation department and other departments.
The advertising department consists of approximately 24 employ-
ees, including 12 advertising salesmen and 12 production people, con-
sisting of stenographers, secretaries, clerks, messengers, and office
boys. Employees in this department obtain advertising copy from
outside sources as well as the Employer's New York office. Sales-
men sell advertising spaces for the Chicago publication, and, if pos-
sible, for all of the Employer's four other editions. The production
employees in this department handle the printing of the advertise-
ments, take orders, and see that they appear properly in the publi-
cation. The advertising department is under the direct supervision
of the advertising manager , who, in turn, is directly responsible to
996 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR- RELATIONS BOARD
the advertising manager in New -York. There is no interchange of
personnel between the advertising department and other departments..
The general and administrative department consists of one auditor,
one bookkeeper, one purchasing agent, and one secretary, in addition
to a supervisor and a mechanical superintendent who is in charge of
the maintenance department. This department is responsible for
the maintenance of the Employer's records and books, supplies, pay-
roll, etc. The mechanical superintendent in this department is also
the supervisor of the maintenance department. All payments of
payroll and large payments are made from the New York office;
small payments come from the Chicago office's petty cash fund. There
is no interchange of employees between this department and other
departments of the plant.
The maintenance department consists of six or seven employees.
These employees include janitors and employees who do repairing,
painting, etc., throughout the building. One of these employees is a
full-time electrician who does the electrical work throughout the build-
ing, but does not work on the Employer's wire service equipment. This
department is under the direct supervision of an engineer who, in
turn, is responsible to the mechanical superintendent of the general
and - administrative department. There is no interchange of em-
ployees between this department and other departments of the plant.
The ticker maintenance department consists of three ticker main-
tenance employees and a ticker salesman. This department, as indi-
cated earlier, is located in the Board of Trade Building which is
several miles away. The ticker salesman, however, has his office
at the Grand Avenue location. The employees in this department
service and repair the Employer's ticker equipment, which is' located
in the Board of Trade Building. They also service the Employer's.
wire service equipment at the Grand Avenue plant. This depart-
ment is under the direct supervision of the. Employer's New York
office. The ticker salesman, located at the Grand Avenue office, is
also under the supervision of the New York 'office.
Although there is no usual interchange of employees between de-
partments, the record discloses that there is considerable cooperation
and coordination between departments to meet deadlines and obtain
the desired result. The number of pages of the Employer's publi-
cation is directly dependent upon the number of pages of advertise-
ments secured. The advertising and news departments are closely
coordinated because of this fact. The general and administrative
department and the mechanical superintendent are closely coordinated
with the advertising department and the news department for the
purpose of meeting publication deadlines. Reporters who are sent
out for news items are expected, in connection with their assignment,.
DOW JONES & COMPANY, INC. 997
to solicit advertising and to furnish the advertising department with
leads on advertising prospects. Similarly, advertising solicitors are
called upon to submit news items which they may obtain while so-
liciting advertising. In addition, there is some exchange of views
between the employees of these two departments on mutual problems.
It is significant, however, that despite this close relationship, the
editorial and news department and the other so-called commercial
departments are essentially and primarily engaged in different func-
tions.
On August 29, 1950, following a Board election, prior to the Em-
ployer's acquisition of the Journal, the Intervenor and the Employer's
predecessor entered into a contract covering editorial and news depart-
ment employees. This contract expired on August 31, 1951, and is not
urged as a bar to this proceeding. About the same time, the Employ-
er's predecessor entered into another contract with Chicago Journal
of Commerce Employees Association covering the employees of the
circulation, circulation sales, business, advertising, and maintenance
or so-called commercial departments. This contract expired on Sep-
tember 29, 1951. When the Employer purchased the Journal on
January 1, 1951, it assumed and apparently honored both of these
contracts.
The employees in the editorial and news department and employees
in the commercial departments are separately supervised ; they are
essentially engaged in different duties; they comprise clearly identi-
fiable and separate groups; and they have been bargain for in sepa-
rate units in the past. On the other hand, the advertising department
works in close cooperation with the editorial and news department;
the employees in all departments work to a great extent under the
same conditions and are subject to the same personnel policies; and
the publication of a newspaper requires the joint efforts of all
departments.
Under these circumstances, we believe that either a single multi-
department bargaining unit as requested by the Petitioner, or separate
units for employees in the news and editorial department and for em-
ployees in the so-called commercial departments, as urged by the
Intervenor, may be appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining?
We shall, accordingly, direct self-determination elections among the
employees in the two voting groups described below :
(1) All editorial and news department employees of the Employer
at its Chicago Journal of Commerce branch, excluding executives,
other supervisors, and all other employees;
(2) All remaining employees of the Employer at its Chicago Jour-
2 Journal of Commerce Corporation , 74 NLRB 1376 ; Record Publishing -Company, 91
NLRB No. 215, and cases cited therein.
974176-52-vol. 96-64
998 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
nal of Commerce branch, including the full-time electrician,3 but
excluding circulation salesmen,4 employees in the mechanical depart-
ments, and all supervisors.
We shall at this time make no final determination of the appropriate
unit or units. Such determination will depend in part upon the de-
sires of the employees involved as expressed in the elections. If a
majority of employees in the news and editorial department select
the Intervenor as their bargaining representative, they will be taken
to have indicated their desire to constitute a separate appropriate unit.
[Text of Direction of Elections omitted from publication in this
volume.]
S We find no merit in the Employer's contention that the full-time electrician should be
excluded from the proposed unit. As a full -time employee , he is entitled to union repre-
sentation , and no other organization seeks to represent him in a separate unit.
4 We find no merit in the contention urged in the Intervenor 's brief that the exclusion of
the 15 circulation salesmen would cause the Petitioner 's requested unit to become inappro.
priate. There was no issue raised at the hearing with respect to the exclusion of circula.
tion salesmen and apparently the parties were then agreed with respect to their exclusion.
SAFEWAY STORES, INCORPORATED 1 and AMALGAMATED MEAT CUTTERS
AND BUTCHER WORKMEN OF NORTH AMERICA, LOCAL 202, AFL,
PETITIONER. Case No. 16-RC-7110. October 19, 1951
Decision and Direction of Election
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, hearings were held before Lewis A. Ward and Willis
C. Darby, Jr., hearing officers. The hearing officers' rulings made at
the hearings 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-mem-
ber panel [Chairman Herzog and Members Houston 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 labor organization involved claims to represent certain em-
ployees of the Employer.
3. A 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.
4. The Petitioner seeks a unit consisting of all meat department em-
ployees of the Employer's stores that are within the Employer's ad-
i Employer's and Petitioner 's names appear as amended at the hearing.
96 NLRB No. 140.