Florida Broadcasting Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 18, 1951

93 N.L.R.B. 1568 (N.L.R.B. 1951)

1 568 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
There is nothing in the record to justify a finding that the manual
employees requested by the Intervenor are craft employees. The
record discloses that their work is routine in nature and can be learned
in 15 to 30 minutes. The employees herein sought by the Intervenor
do not constitute a closely integrated departmental group of the type
the Board has held in the past may be appropriately severed from a
more inclusive established bargaining unit .2 There is, further, no
reasonable basis for sanctioning the segregation of the employees
selected by the Intervenor in a unit from which other manual em-
ployees with like interests and duties in this plant ,are excluded.
Moreover, the work of the clerical employees brings them in constant
contact with the manual employees in the plant, and their duties are
integrated with the flow of work of the manual employees, making
them essentially plant, rather than office clerical, employees. Further-
more, the Employer has had labor contracts continuously for the past
13 years covering the clerical and manual employees in its Central
News Company Division in the over-all unit herein sought by the
Petitioner.3
We find that all inside employees of the Employer at its Philadel-
phia, Pennsylvania, Central News Company Division, excluding out-
side stationery salesmen, garage employees, truck drivers, truck driver
helpers,' pensioners, and supervisors, constitute a unit appropriate for
the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section
9 (b) of the Act.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication in this
volume.]
2 American Bolling Mills Company , 76 NLRB 1209 ; Allis Chalmers Manufacturing
Company, 77 NLRB 719; Dazey Corporation, 77 NLRB 408. Although absent past
bargaining history, the Board has found appropriate units of shipping department
employees, it does not sever shipping department employees from a larger established
bargaining unit. C. T. Dearing Printing Company, 79 NLRB 1020; Marcellus M. Murdock,
67 NLRB 1426. Cf. Bronx County News Corporation, 89 NLRB 1567.
3 Even in the absence of bargaining history, plant clerical employees are included in
units of plant employees . Riverside Mills, 85 NLRB 172 ; Firestone Tire and Rubber
Company, 73 NLRB 246.
FLORIDA BROADCASTING Co. (WMBR-AM, WMBR-FM AND WMBR-
TV) 1 and ELECTRICIANS LOCAL UNION No. 177 , INTERNATIONAL
BROTHERHOOD or ELECTRICAL WORKERS, AFL, PETITIONER. Case No.
10-RC-1061. April 18,1951
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 James W. Mackle,
1 The Petition and other formal papers were amended at the hearing to show the
correct name of the Employer.
93 NLRB No. 260.
FLORIDA BROADCASTING CO. 1569
hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are
free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.2
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 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 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 consisting of all technical employees
at the Employer's studios and transmitters at Jacksonville, Florida,
who spend more than 50 percent of their time in technical operation of
broadcasting equipment. The Employer contends that there should
be two units of its employees, one consisting of TV and FM employees
and the other consisting of AM employees. In addition, the Employer
contends that radio announcer-control operators, TV announcer-con-
trol operators, and certain other employees 3 should be included in the
unit or units found appropriate.
The Employer is engaged in the operation of AM and FM radio
stations and a television station in the city of Jacksonville, Florida.
The Employer's AM radio studios and general offices are located in
one building in the city ; the Employer's television studios are located
in another building in the city; its FM radio and television trans-
mitters are located together at a third place in the city ; and its AM
transmitter is located outside the city limits. Because approximately
95 percent of its FM broadcasts consist of rebroadcasts of the AM
programs, the Employer does not maintain a separate FM studio.
The-Employer's first unit contention, as opposed to the Petitioner's
contention, would require the separation of the Employer' s technical
employees into two units, namely, a TV and FM unit and an AM unit.
The Employer's AM and FM radio activities are under the supervision
2 The hearing officer referred to the Board the Employer ' s motion to dismiss this
pi oceeding on the ground that it was not shown in the record that the Petitioner is in
compliance with the filing requirements of Section 9 (f), (g), and (h) of the Act The
Board has repeatedly held that compliance is a matter for administrative determination
and is not a litigable issue in iepiesentation proceedings Equitable Lije Insurance
Company, 90 NLRB No. 282, Leon Oil Company, 70 NLRB 505 Moreover, we are
administratively satisfied that the Petitioner is in compliance. Accordingly, the
Employer 's motion tb dismiss this proceeding is denied.
I Such employees are classified by the Employer as traffic and control operator
announcer and turntable , and program -music department and announcer.
943732-51-100
1570 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
of the Employer's president, whereas the Employer's television activi-
ties are under the supervision of the Employer's secretary-treasurer.
Separate staffs for sales, program planning, announcing, and techni-
cal operation are maintained for each of the activities. However, TV
technical personnel operate and monitor the FM equipment and broad-
casts concurrently with their operation of the TV equipment at the
transmitter. All technical personnel in both radio and television ac-
tivities are under the supervision of the Employer's chief engineer.
In addition, the record reveals that one employee divides her time
between doing maintenance work on the AM transmitter and main-
tenance on television cameras; that a regular part-time engineer works
on both AM and TV equipment; and that, in cases of necessity, TV
technical employees are transferred to AM operations. In view of
the foregoing, we find, in accordance with previous Board decisions 4
that an all inclusive unit consisting of all of the Employer's technical
employees engaged in its AM, FM, and TV operations is an appropri-
ate unit for the purposes of collective bargaining.
There remains for consideration the Employer's contention that
radio announcer-control operators, TV announcer-control operators,
and certain other employees should be included in the unit found
appropriate. The radio announcer-control operators spend most of
their time in preparing for and performing their announcing duties,
at which time they also operate turntables and regulate the volume
of the programs. Occasionally, they act as relief-operators at the
control panel. The TV announcer-control operators announce the
TV programs and station breaks and operate the TV audio
control equipment. The traffic and control operator is engaged almost
exclusively in handling the traffic problems at the Employers' radio
stations, but she is also available as an emergency or relief control
operator. An employee designated as "announcer and turntable" per-
forms the usual functions of a "disc-jockey," and an employee desig-
nated as "program-music department and announcer" arranges musi-
cal programs and acts as an announcer. Although in the operation
of control equipment announcers are subject to the direction of the
chief engineer, they are primarily engaged as announcers and as such
are under separate supervision.
Where a small radio station has no separate group of control-room
technicians and the announcers also perform all the functions of con-
trol-room technicians, we have sometimes found appropriate a unit
composed of announcer-technicians and transmitter technicians.5
+ The Fort Industry Company, 88 NLRB 527, Radio Station WLAV, WLAV-FM and
44'LAV-TV, 87 NLRB 1570.
6 Greater Erie Broadcasting Company, 92 NLRB 270; Associated Electronic Enter-
prises, Inc., 82 NLRB 295; Western Gateway Broadcasting Corporation, 77 NLRB 49.
FLORIDA BROADCASTING CO. 1571
Normally, however, announcers are excluded from bargaining units
of radio technicians , even though they operate certain equipment as
incidental to their announcing functions .a The same principle has
been applied to TV announcers .7 Although the Employer 's president
testified that it had been found desirable to have the person in charge
of the station 's traffic problems trained in control operation , it does
not appear to be essential that such an employee have technical train-
ing or operate technical equipment . The employee designated as
"program-music department and announcer " has no scheduled periods
for operation of the control boards. Accordingly , we find that the
employees designated as radio announcer-control operators, TV an-
nouncer-control operators , traffic and control operator , "announcer
and turntable ," and "program-music department and announcer"
should not be included in the unit on the basis of the work which they
normally perform."
We find that all technical employees at the Employer 's studios and
transmitters at Jacksonville , Florida, engaged in operation of radio
and television equipment , excluding radio announcer -control oper-
ators, TV announcer-control operators , the traffic and control opera-
tor, the "announcer and turntable ," the "program -music department
and announcer ," office clerical and professional employees , guards,
and supervisors as defined in the Act , constitute a unit appropriate for
the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section
9 (b) of the Act.
5. It appears that certain radio announcer-control operators 9 have
been assigned to regular periods of control operation , but are engaged
in such work for less than 50 percent of their time . Employees en-
gaged in technical operation of radio and television equipment for
less than 50 percent of their time are ineligible to vote in the election
directed herein.'0 However, in accordance with our usual policy, we
9 The Fort Industry Company, supra, footnote 4; Middlesex Broadcasting Corporation,
87 NLRB 1567; Radio Station KLEE, 87 NLRB 31; Trendle-Campbell Broadcasting Corp.,
86 NLRB 1240; The Fort Industry Company, 87 NLRB 1579.
7 The Fort Industry Company, supra, footnote 4. The Employer's chief engineer
testified that, whereas an announcer could learn to operate the TV audio control board
in 30 days, operation of the TV video controls was a technical engineer's job.
8 The Employer's president testified that, for reasons of economy, it contemplated
integrating the functions of announcers and control operators by assigning all control
operators to some announcing duties. However, the details of the plan, if any, for
integration of such functions do not appear in the record. We do not regard the
indefinite prospect that such functions will be combined to be sufficient cause for including
radio-control operators and other such employees in the unit. Cf. The Fort Industry
Company, 87 NLRB 1579; WDXB Broadcasting Station, 85 NLRB 752.
B E. g., Thos. B. Newson.
10 Ridson, Inc., Radio Station WDSM, 91 NLRB No . 59 ; Delaware Broadcasting Company,
82 NLRB 727. They nevertheless are included within such unit for the time they are
engaged in such work , and are to be represented insofar as such work is concerned by
the bargaining representative for that unit.
1572 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
find that the regular part-time engineer is eligible to vote in such
election."
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication in this,
volume.]
11 Radio Industries, Inc., 91 NLRB No. 124; Radson, Inc. Radio Station WVDSM, footnote
10, supra.
THE WILLIAM SCHLUDERBERG-T. J. KURDLE Co. and AMALGAMATED.
MEAT CUTTERS AND BUTCHER WORKMEN OF NORTH AMERICA, LOCAL
149, AFL, PETITIONER. Case No. 5-RC-796. April 18, 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 A. Lincoln Klaver, hearing
officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free
from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. For the reasons set
forth in paragraph numbered 4, below, the Employer's motion to dis-
miss the petition is denied.
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 Houston and Reynolds].
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 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 to represent 4 office janitors employed in the
Employer's Baltimore, Maryland, meat packing plant. It requests,
alternatively in order of preference, (1) that they be added to the
existing over-all production and maintenance unit (approximately
1,000 employees now represented by the Petitioner), without any elec-
tion, (2) that they be polled in a self-determination election for inclu-
sion in that unit, or (3) that they be placed in a separate bargaining
unit. The Employer opposes each of these requests, contending that
the office janitors do not have sufficiently distinctive interests to con-
stitute a separate unit, and yet are too unlike the employees in the pro-
duction and maintenance unit to be joined with them.
93 NLRB No. 266.