Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 24, 1944

56 N.L.R.B. 1635 (N.L.R.B. 1944)

In the Matter Of METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY and AMERI-
CAN FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL AND ORDINARY INSURANCE AGENTS'
UNION #23253 (AFL)
In the Matter Of METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY and AMERI-
CAN FEDERATION'OF INDUSTRIAL AND ORDINARY INSURANCE AGENTS'
UNION #23371 (AFL)
Cases Nos. 8-R-1131 and 8-R-1370 respectively.Decided Jame 24,
1944
Mr. Frank L. Danello and Mr. John R. Hill, for the Board. .
Mr. Charles A. Horsky, of Washington, D. C., for the Company.
Mr. George L. Russ, of Washington, D. C., for the Federation and
its locals.
Gold and McCann, by Mr. Ray T. McCann, of Milwaukee, Wis., and
Mr. Donald J. Dimock, of Wausau, Wis., for the Independent.
Mrs. Augusta Spaulding, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
ORDER
STATEMENT OF 'rni CASE
Upon a petition duly filed in Case No. 8-R=1131 by Local 23253 of
American Federation of Industrial and Ordinary Insurance Agents'
Union, alleging that a question affecting commerce had 'arisen con-
cerning the representation of employees of Metropolitan Life Insur-
ance Company, New York City, herein called the Company, the Na-
tional Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing
upon due notice before James C. Batten, Trial Examiner. Said hear-
ing was held at Toledo, Ohio, on October 11, 1943. The Board, the
Company, Local 23253, and International Union of Life Insurance
Agents, an unaffiliated labor organization, herein called the Independ-
ent, appeared- and participated? All parties were afforded full op-
1 United Office and Professional Workers of America, affiliated with the , Congress of Indus-
trial ,Organizations , herein called the C. I . 0., also served with notice , did not appear at the
original hearing , nor at the further hearings hereinafter noted. Upon its request , the Trial
Examiner granted the C. I. O. permission to file a .brief in support of its contention with
respect to a unit appropriate for the Company 's employees.
56 N. L. R. B., No. 293.
1635
1636 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
portunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to
introduce evidence bearing on the issues. During the course of the
hearing, the parties signified their desire to enter into an agreement
for a,consent election among the Company's employees in a State-wide
unit, to be held in January 1944. The petition vas duly amended to
indicate that the parent body of Local 23253, herein called the Fed-
eration, was the real party in interest in the proceeding and the unit
described therein and limited to employees of the Company at Toledo,
bhio, was amended to-include employees of the Company in the State.
No consent election was,' however, thereafter held. On December 1,
1943, the Federation filed a motion to withdraw its petition as amended
at the hearing on October 11, 1943, and to reinstate the original peti-
tion filed by Local 23253. On December 3, 1943, the motion was
granted. On December 24, 1943, Local 23371 of the-Federation filed
a separate petition for investigation and certification of representa-
tives in Case No. 8-R-1370, alleging that a question had arisen con-
cerning the representation of employees of the Company at Akron,
Ohio.
Pursuant to notice, the Board provided for an appropriate con-
solidated hearing upon both petitions before Earl S. Bellman, Trial
Examiner. Said hearing was held at Cleyeland, Ohio, on January
17, 18, and 25, 1944. The Board, the Company, the ,Federation and its
locals, and the Independent appeared, participiated,' and were afforded
full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses,
and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues. The Trial Examiner's
rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are
hereby affirmed. -
On April 18, 1944, a hearing was held before the Board at Washing-
ton, D. C., for the purposes of oral argument.2 The Company and the
Federation appeared and presented argument. The Independent and
the C. I. O. did not appear. All parties were afforded opportunity to
file briefs with the Board.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, a New York corporation,
has its principal office and place of business, known as the hom'e'-Office,
in New York City. The Company is a mutual life insurance corpora-
2 For the purposes of oral argument, the representation cases in the instant proceeding
were consolidated with two other reprtsentation'cases involving employees of the Company
in Virginia . See Matter of Metropolitan ' Life Insurance Company, Cases Nos. 6-R-1369
and 5-R-1441, 56 N . L R. B. 1642. -
r
MIGTR0P0LITAN LIT;E INSURANCE 'COMPANY 1637
tion engaged in the business of selling and'servicing_life, health, and
accident insurance in every State in the United States 'and in-the
Dominion of Canada.
On December.31, 1942, the Company had approximately 40,300,000
policies of insurance in force, with a total face value of approximately
$26,800,000,000. These policies were held by some 29,700,000 policy-
holders, residing in every' State of the United States, in the District of
Columbia, and in Canada. Oh December 31, 1942, the Company's,
admitted assets, consisting of cash, Government bonds; stocks, mort-
gages on real estate, real estate and bonds, real estate and poliey
loans, and notes, totaled a little less than $6,000,000,000. All securities
purchased by the Company are delivered to, or are immediately trans-
ferred to, and kept in, its home office at New York City except those on
deposit with various Government agencies. The Company owns- the
real estate in New York upon which its home office is located, and other
real estate used in the administration of its business in the States of
New York, California, and Virginia, and in Ontario, Canada. The
Company has acquired and owns other real estate through mortgage
foreclosures, or conveyances in lieu of such foreclosures. On Decem-
ber 31, 1942, the Company owned, through such transactions, real
estate valued at approximately $259,000,000. During the 5-year period
from 1938 to 1942 the Company annually invested in bonds, stocks, and
mortgages approximately $635,500,000. In 1942 it so invested approx-
imately $807,500,000.
The Company is licensed to do business in 48 States, in the District.
of Columbia, and in most of the Provinces of Canada. On December
31, 1942, there were in the United States 9 agency divisions of the
Company's operations and 758 district offices. At this time, the Com-
pany had 28,378 employees, exclusive of 1r,853 agents selling insurance
and otherwise dealing with its policyholders.
During the calendar year 1942, the Company purchased for its oper-
ating requirements, furniture, fixtures, and mechanical equipment
valued at $991,456. Most of this equipment was shipped to the Com-
pany from points within the State of New York, and approximately
34 percent of such goods, originating in New York, was shipped to,
and used in, Canada and States other than the State of New York.
During the same period the 'Company purchased stationery supplies
valued at $1,502,092. Approximately, 25 percent of these supplies,
most of which ,originated in the State of New York, was shipped to
offices of the company located in other States and in Canada. During
the same period the' Company spent approximately $2,595,628 for
postage and telephone, telegraph, and express services, and spent
$2,558,724 for traveling expenses.
1638 DECISIONS OF NATIONAI. LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
We find that the Company's wide-spread financial and investment
activities have a direct and substantial effect upon commerce between
the several States and that the Company's various activities themselves
constitute commerce, within the meaning of the National Labor Rela-
tions Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
American Federation of Industrial and Ordinary Insurance Agents'-
Union and its Locals 23253 and 23371 are labor organizations affiliated
with the American Federation of Labor, admitting to membership
employees of the Company.
International Union of Life Insurance Agents is an 'unaffiliated
labor organization, admitting, to membership employees of the
Company.
III. THE ALLEGED APPROPRIATE UNITS
The Company's home office is at New York City, where its insurance
business is managed and directed by national directors and officers.
For administrative purposes in the United States, the Company pres-
ently groups its agents in 12 agency divisions or territories. Each
territory is under the direct control of a superintendent of agencies,
who is to all intents and purposes the effective executive presiding
over all district offices and office account agencies in that territory.
Each of the offices in Ohio is under the supervision and control of the
superintendent of agencies for territory G, which includes not only
Ohio,'but also Indiana and West Virginia. In territory G, as of
November 24, 1943, there were 67 district offices, of which 41 were in
Ohio. Of these, 2 are at Toledo, and 2 at Akron, Ohio.' Each office
is a small administrative unit under the charge of a manager directly,,
responsible to the superintendent of agencies in the territory. Im-
mediately under the manager are one ' or more assistant managers.
each office has a cashier and one or more other office employees.
Agents are authorized to solicit and write various types of in-
surance sold by the Company-ordinary, industrial, group and acT
cident and health insurance. Their fees and rates of commissions
are determined by the directors and officers of the Company at New
York City and are uniform throughout.the United States. All the
factors which affect the agents' work, such as selection, promotion,
compensation, working conditions, rules and regulations, supervision,
and termination of employment, are uniform throughout the State of
Ohio and territory G. At their request, agents are occasionally trans-
ferred from one district office to another within a territory. There
a
The Toledo offices include the office at Toledo and the. ofce at North Toledo. The
Akron offices include the Akron and Firestone offices.
METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY 1639
are approximately-1364 agents in territory G, of which 878 are em-
ployed in Ohio. Of this' number, 48 employees are assigned to the
offices at Akron, and 58 to the offices at Toledo, Ohio.
The Federation and its locals contend that separate bargaining
units limited to the agents of the Company at Akron and Toledo,
Ohio, respectively, constitute appropriate bargaining units. The
C. I. 0., which is also engaged in organizing the Company's employees
in Ohio, favors the city-wide units. The Company contends, and
the Independent agrees with its contention, that the proposed city-
wide units are not appropriate for bargaining, but that the appro-
priate unit for these employees should be State-wide in scope. '
The Federation has centered its organizational efforts among em-
ployees of the Company at Toleda and Akron; the Independent, at
Cincinnati, and the C. I. 0., at Cleveland. None of these organiza-
tions, desires to limit its organization of the Company's employees to
the centers at which they successfully maintain their headquarters.
None presently claims to represent a substantial number of employees
in the State-wide unit which they admit is an appropriate bargaining
unit for the Company's employees. The Federation and the C. I. 0.,
however, urge that the Board set up city-wide units, pending a broad
successful organizational campaign covering agents in a State-wide
unit by one of the organizations represented herein. Based upon
the extent of organization among employees of an employer, we have
frequently found appropriate for bargaining purposes small groups
of employees with a provision for revision of a unit upon a later
showing of broader organization. We believe, however, that the
principle upon which we have set up such units is not controlling
in the instant case. Organization among insurance agents is com-
paratively recent, but is steadily growing. The tendency of such
organization is toward State-wide units. Organization of em-
ployees of the Company and employees of the Prudential Insur-
ance Company of America, its principal competitor, is proceeding
along such lines. The Board found a State-wide unit appro-
priate for employees of the Company in Wisconsin 4 and, subse-
quently, State-wide units have been established by consent-
elections for employees of the Company in New Jersey, Minnesota,
Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Illinois,5 respectively. Organiza-
tion has also' progressed on a State-wide basis in the District of Co-
lumbia, in Massachusetts, and in California, although no bargaining
representative has yet been selected by employees in these units so
i
4 Matter of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, 43 N. L . R. B. 962; 44 N. L. R. B.
53,54.'
5Matter of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, Cases Nos. 2-R-4117 , 18-R-724,
4-R-1149, 1-R-1755, and 13-R-2046W.
1640 DECISIONS ,OF NATIONAL,LABBR RELATIONS BOARD
far as the record, discloses.6 On an extent-of-organization , theory,,
the Board found appropriate a city-wide unit for agents of the
Company at St. Louis and Clayton, Missouri,' and a 'petition has re-
cently been filed for a State-wide unit for agents of the Company in
Missouri by the same labor organization." The Board has found-
State-wide units appropriate for. employees of The Prudential In-,
surance Company of America in Maryland, in the District of Colum-
bia,9 and in Minnesota,10 and by consent elections State-wide units
have been established among agents of this employer in Delaware,.
Virginia, Michigan, Massachusetts, and New Jersey, respectively.,,,
For employees of The Prudential Insurance Company of America,'
the Board found a city-wide unit appropriate for agents at Toledo,
Ohio.12 Subsequently, other employees in the State were organized.
The Board within 6 months of its Toledo decision found appropriate
a State-wide unit covering agents of this employer in Ohio, exclud-
ing those at Toledo and certified a different labor organization as
their exclusive bargaining representative.:" Thus, the rapid growth
of union organization among insurance agents makes it clearly ap-
pear that provisional units less than State-wide in scope are, under
ordinary circumstances, unnecessary to make collective bargaining
reasonably possible for them if they desire it. Accordingly, we are
of the opinion that, in the absences of unusual circumstances, the
practice of setting up units for insurance agents smaller that State-
wide in scope should be avoided. In the instant case, since the Fed-
eration, the Independent, and the C. I. O. are all actively engaged in
a broad organizational program in Ohio, and since it may reasonably
be anticipated that one of these organizations may in the near future
extend its membership to State-wide proportions, we are of the
opinion that it will not effectuate the policies of the Act to set up-
city-wide units for employees ofthe Company in Ohio at this time.
We shall therefore dismiss without prejudice the petitions filed Herein.,
Since the units proposed in this consolidated proceeding are not
appropriate for 'the purposes of collective bargaining, we find that
no questions have arisen concerning the representation of employees
of the Company, within the meaning, of Section 9 (c) of the Act.
6 Matter of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, Cases Nos. 5-11-1340, I-R-1528, 20-
6-1015, wherein consent elections were held.
4 Matter of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, 54 N. L. R. B. 585
6 Matter of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, Case No. 14-11-977.
9 Matter of The Prudential Insurance Company of America, 49 N. L. R. B. 450.
10 Matter of The Prudential Insurance Company of America, 47 N. L. R. B. 1103.
"Matter of The Prudential Insurance Company of America , Cases Nos. 5-R-1194;
5-R-1253 ; 7-R-1007; 1-11-1148, and 2-11-3201.
12 Matter of The Prudential Insurance Company of America, 46 N. L. R. B. 430.
19 Matter of The Prudential Insurance Company of America, 50 N. L. R. B. 689; 52
N. L. R. B . 234 ; 53 N. L.S. B. 775.
METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
ORDER
1641
Upon the basis of the foregoing findings of fact, and upon the entire
Tecord•in this consolidated proceeding, the National Labor Relations
Board hereby orders that the petitions for investigation and certifica-
tion of representatives of employees of Metropolitan Life Insurance
Company, New York City, filed by Local 23253 and Local 23371 of
American Federation of Industrial and Ordinary Insurance Agents'
Union, respectively, be, and they hereby are, dismissed' without
prejudice.