Radio Station KHMO

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 21, 1951

94 N.L.R.B. 1416 (N.L.R.B. 1951)

1416 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
sters is permitted to continue and apply to the Ypsilanti employees. Accordingly,
it will be recommended that the Respondent withdraw recognition from the
Teamsters and cease giving effect to its contract with that Union or to any modi-
fication, extension, supplement, or renewal thereof insofar as the Respondent's
Ypsilanti employees are concerned, unless and until the Teamsters has been
certified by the Board as a representative of those employees. Nothing in these
recommendations shall be deemed to require the Respondent to vary or abandon
those wage, hour, seniority; or other substantive features of its relations with
said employees established in performance of such contract, or to prejudice the
assertion by the employees of any rights they may have under such agreement.
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and the entire record in the case,
I make the following :
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. International Union of United Brewery, Flour, Cereal, and Soft Drink
Distillery Workers of America, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organi-
zations, and International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen
& Helpers of America, AFL, Local No. 164, are labor organizations within the
meaning of Section 2 (5) of the Act.
2. By interfering with, restraining, and coercing its employees in the exercise
of the rights guaranteed in Section 7 of the Act, the Respondent has engaged in
and is engaging in unfair labor practices within the meaning of Section 8 (a) (1)
of the Act.
3. By dominating and interfering with the administration of the. International
Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen & Helpers of America,
AFL, Local No. 164, and contributing support thereto, the Respondent has engaged
in and is engaging in unfair labor practices within the meaning of Section S
(a) (2) of the Act.
4. The aforesaid unfair labor practices are unfair labor practices affecting
commerce within the meaning of Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
[Recommended Order omitted from publication in this volume.]
RADIO STATION KHMO and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELEC-
TRICAL WORKERS, LOCAL UNION # 1272, A. F . L., PETITIONER . Case
No. 14-RC-1331. June 21, 1951
Decision and Order
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, a hearing was held before William F. Trent, 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 [Chairman Herzog and Members Murdock and Styles].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds:
94 NLRB No. 207.
RADIO STATION KHMO 1417
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 as a unit a group of five em-
ployees who act as announcer-control room operators at the Employer's
radio station in Hannibal, Missouri. In the alternative, the Petitioner
requests that these employees be added to the unit of radio engineers it
currently represents. The Employer disagrees with the unit requests
of the Petitioner and contends that all employees with announcing
duties should be included in the same unit apart from any other
employees.
The Employer, a Missouri corporation, operates a radio station in
Hannibal, Missouri, with the call letters KHMO. Its facilities con-
sist of a broadcasting studio and transmitter station which are about
7 miles apart. The transmitter station is operated by four engineers
who are currently covered by a collective bargaining agreement entered
into between the Employer and the Petitioner in March 1949. These
employees are licensed by the Federal Communications Commission
and work under the supervision of the chief engineer. They devote all.
their time to operating, maintaining, and repairing transmitter equip-
ment. The employees whom the Petitioner here seeks to represent in
a separate unit or to add to the engineers unit are employed at the
broadcasting studio as combination announcers and control room
operators.
The record shows that all the employees who work as announcers
at the Employer's studio are required to spend a portion of their time
operating control room equipment. During the performance of their
control room duties, however, they also act as announcers on certain
of the programs then being broadcast. At the present time, there are
seven employees at the studio who perform these combination duties, of
whom five constitute the group here sought. These five employees are
Pat Harvey, Robert Hewitt, Warren Hewitt, J. C. Hildebrandt, and
Don Ross. The other two employees are George Allen 1 and Alexander
Kotkis.2 The requested employees each spend about 4 hours a day
in their roles as combination control room operator-announcers except
'The Petitioner's contention that Allen is a supervisor is hereby rejected as there is
nothing in the record which shows that he exercises supervisory functions.
'This list does not include the name of Gene Hoenes, who also serves as an announcer
and control room operator, because he exercises supervisory powers.
1418 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Hildebrandt who devotes about 7 hours a day to these dual activities.
The remainder of their time is devoted to preparing for broadcasts
and announcing from microphones in the studio. On the other hand,
Allen spends only about aii hour a day in the control room while Kotkis
who is a new employee testified that he had not yet been assigned any
duties in the control room but that it was his understanding that he
would receive such an assignment in the future. All the announcers
including the group here sought are supervised by the general manager
and are hourly paid. They work a 48-hour week with time and one-
half their regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40.
The Petitioner contends that the five employees it seeks to repre-
sent are essentially combination control room operator-announcers and
as such should either be established in a separate unit apart from the
other announcers or included in the same unit with the transmitter
engineers. We find no merit to these contentions. The work per-
formed by the requested employees at the control board does not re-
quire technical knowledge or training as does that of the transmitter
engineers. This work consists merely of throwing switches which
control tone and volume and operating the turntable. None of the
employees in question hold a license from the Federal Communications
Commission nor are they at any time subject to the supervision of the
chief engineer who is responsible for the maintenance and repair of
the control room equipment. Furthermore, the record clearly estab-
lishes that the principal job of the requested employees is announcing.
They are employed on the basis of their qualifications as announcers
and spend most of their time performing announcing duties. Under
these circumstances, we shall in accordance with previous Board de-
cisions not include the group here sought in the same unit with the
transmitter engineers.3 Nor do we believe that this group should be
established in a separate unit apart from the Employer's other an-
nouncers. The fact that they spend a greater proportion of their time
at the control board than do the other announcers is insufficient to
persuade us that they have separate work interests. Accordingly, we
find that the appropriate unit for the requested employees is one that
embraces all the announcers. As the Petitioner has not made a suffi-
cient showing of representation as to the announcers, we shall dismiss
the petition herein.
Order
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petition filed herein be, and it hereby
is, dismissed.
'Florida Broadcasting Company, 93 NLRB 1568; Middlesex Broadcasting Corporation,;
87 NLRB 1567 ; Radio Station KLEE, 87 NLRB 31.