News Syndicate Co., Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 11, 1941

33 N.L.R.B. 339 (N.L.R.B. 1941)

In the Matter of NEws SYNDICATE Co., INC. and NEWSPAPER AND
BUILDING GUARDS AssoCIATION, UNAFFILIATED
Case No. R-2613.--Decided July 11, 1941
Jurisdiction : newspaper publishing industry.
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of, question: re-
fusal to accord union recognition until it is certified by the Board ; election un-
necessary : Company agreeable to certification without an election ; pay roll and
union application cards compared.
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all armed guards employed by the
Company at its New York plants, including regular substitutes, excluding su-
pervisory employees known as captains, lieutenants and sergeants ; stipulation
as to.
Mr. George T. Townley, of New York City, for the Company.
Mr. George A. Brenner, of New York City, for the Association.
Mr. Ralph S. Clifford, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On March 31, 1941, Newspaper and Building Guards Association,
herein called the Association, filed with the Regional Director for the
Second Region (New York City) a petition alleging that a question
affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of em-
ployees of News Syndicate Co., Inc., New York City, herein called the
Company, and requesting an investigation and certification of repre-
sentatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations
Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On May 10, 1941, the National
Labor Relations Board, herein called the Board, acting pursuant to
Section 9 (c) of the Act and Article III, Section 3, of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, ordered
an investigation and authorized the Regional Director to conduct it
and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice. '
On May 13, 1941, the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing,
copies of which were duly served upon the Company and the Associa-
tion. On May 17. 1941, the Regional Director issued a notice of
33 N. L. R. B. No. 69
339
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340 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL -LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
postponement, copies of which were duly served upon the Company
and the -Association.' Pursuant to notice and notice of postpone-
ment, a hearing was held on June 4, 1941, at New York City,
before Daniel R. Dimick, the Trial-Examiner duly designated by
the Chief Trial Examiner. The Company was represented by coun-
sel and the Association by its representative; both participated in
the hearing. Full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-
examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues
was afforded all parties. No objections to the introduction of evi-
dence or the rulings of the Trial Examiner were made by any of the
parties. The Board has reviewed the rulings of the Trial Examiner
and finds that no prejudicial errors were committee. The rulings
are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
News Syndicate Co., Inc., a New York corporation, having its
offices in New York City, is the owner and publisher of a daily
and Sunday newspaper known as the "Daily News" and the "Sun-
day News," respectively. The Company maintains a branch office
in Chicago, Illinois, for the solicitation of advertising, and a news
office in Washington, D. C. The Company also maintains a coma
bined office and printing plant at 220 East 42nd Street in New York
City, herein called the New York plant, and a printing plant at 700
Pacific Street, Brooklyn, New York.
Approximately 84.6 per cent of the raw materials used in the New
York plant are purchased and shipped to the Company from out-
side the State of New York. Approximately 50 per cent of the
issues of the "Sunday News" and approximately 15 per cent of the
issues of the "Daily News" are circulated outside the State of New
York . Some 250 correspondents, approximately 20 per cent of whom
reside outside the State of New York, furnish news items to the
Company on a free-lance, space-rate basis. The Company uses the
following wire and picture services : Associated Press, A. P. Photos,
Wire Photos, United Press, Acme News Pictures, Chicago Tribune
News Service, Standard News Association. These services through
their offices located in New York City, sell to the Company news
and photographs which such services gather from within and with-
out the State of New York.
1 Notice of bearing and postponement was served on the Special Officers and Guards Union,
No. 177 , Building Service International Union , A. F. of L., but it failed to appear or take
part in the proceedings.
NEWS SYNDICATE CO., INC.
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
341
Newspaper and Building Guards Association is a labor organiza-
tion admitting to membership all armed guards. employed by News
Snydicate Co., Inc., at its plants located at 220 East 42nd Street, New
York City, and at 700 Pacific Street, Brooklyn, New York. The
Association is not affiliated with any other labor organization.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Association claims that a majority of the Company's em-
ployees in the alleged appropriate unit has chosen the Association
as their exclusive collective bargaining agent. The Company has
declined to recognize the Association's claim until it has been cer-
tified by the Board.
We find that a question has arisen concerning the representation
of employees of the Company.2
IV. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
UPON COMMERCE
We find that the question concerning representation which has
arisen, occurring in connection with the operations of the Com-
pany described in Section I, above, has a close, intimate, and sub-
stantial relation to trade, traffic, and commerce among the several
States and tends to lead to labor disputes burdening and obstructing
commerce and the free flow of commerce.
V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The parties stipulated, -and we find, that all armed guards em-
ployed by the Company including regular substitutes, excluding
supervisory employees known as captains, lieutenants, and sergeants
constitute an appropriate unit for the purposes of collective bar-
gaining. We find further that said unit will insure to employees
of the, Company the full benefit of the right to self-organization and
to collective bargaining and otherwise effectuate the policies of the
Act.
VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
At the hearing the Company and the Association agreed that in
event the Board found the stipulated unit to be appropriate it might
certify the Association as the exclusive collective bargaining repre-
sentative for all the employees in such unit without an election. At
the hearing the Trial Examiner reported that 43 application cards
in the Association, 39 dated during the months of March and April
1941, and 4 undated, all with apparently genuine original signatures,
2 The evidence with respect to the Association 's claim to represent a majority of the
employees in the alleged appropriate unit is set forth in Section VI, infra.
342 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
had been submitted, to him. At the hearing comparison was made
between the signatures on the 43 application cards and the signatures
on the Company's May 29, 1941, pay roll, which listed 58 employees
within the appropriate unit, and the Company admitted and certified
that the Association represented a majority of the employees in the
appropriate unit.
On the basis of the foregoing, we find that the Association has
been designated and selected by a majority of persons employed by
the Company in the unit herein found to be appropriate as the
representatives of such persons for the purposes of collective bar-
gaining. It is 'therefore the exclusive representative of all the em-
ployees in such unit for the purposes of collective bargaining, and
we will so certify.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre-
sentation of employees of News Syndicate Co., Inc., within-the mean-
ing of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National
Labor Relations Act.
2. All armed guards, employed by the Company, including regular
substitutes, excluding supervisory employees known as captains,
lieutenants, and sergeants constitute a unit appropriate for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b)
of the National Labor Relations Act.
3. Newspaper and Building Guards Association is the exclusive
representative of all the employees in such unit for the purposes of
collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (c) of the
National Labor Relations Act.
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National
Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (a) of the National Labor
Relations Act and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National
Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended,
IT Is HEREBY cFRTIFIED that Newspaper and Building Guards
Association has been designated and selected by a majority of armed
guards employed by the Company, including regular substitutes,
excluding supervisory employees known as captains, lieutenants, and
sergeants as their representative for the purposes of collective bar-
gaining, and that, pursuant to the provisions of Section 9 (a) of the
Act, Newspaper and Building Guards Association is the exclusive
representative of all such employees for the purposes of collective
bargaining with respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employ-
ment, and other conditions of employment.