New York Telephone Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Oct 6, 1952

100 N.L.R.B. 1374 (N.L.R.B. 1952)

1374 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
V. THE EFFECT OF THE UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES UPON COMMERCE
The activities of the Respondent set forth in section IV, above, occurring in
connection with the operations of the Respondent described in section I, above,
have a close, intimate, and substantial relation to trade, traffic, and commerce
among the several States, and tend to lead to labor disputes burdening and
obstructing commerce and the free flow of commerce.
VI. THE REMEDY
Having found that the Respondent has engaged in unfair labor practices, it
will be recommended that it cease and desist therefrom and take certain affirma-
tive action designed to effectuate the policies of the Act.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. Textile Workers Union of America, CIO, and United Textile Workers of
America, AFL, 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. The Respondent has not engaged in any unfair labor practices within the
meaning of Section 8 (a) (3) 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.
[Recommendations omitted from publication in this volume.]
NEW YORK TELEPHONE COMPANY and RADIO & TELEVISION BROADCAST
ENGINEERS UNION, LOCAL 1212, INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF
Er nc'rRICAL WORKERS, AFL, PETITIONER . Case No. 2-RC-4378.
October 6, 1952
Decision and Order
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, a hearing was held before Sidney Danielson, 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 Peterson].
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 em-
ployees of the Employer.
100 NLRB No. 225.
NEW YORK TELEPHONE COMPANY 1375
3. No 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, for the following
reasons:
The Petitioner seeks to represent all employees in the Employer's
downstate area plant department, who are assigned "a major portion
of their working time to the operation, installation, maintenance and
repair of video equipment in the field." The Employer and the Inter-
venor (United Telephone organizations) contend that the unit sought
is not appropriate. In effect, the Petitioner is requesting the Board
to sever an alleged craft group from a broader unit which has a 15-year
bargaining history.
The Employer's operations are divided into a down-State and up-
State area. Within each area , there is a plant department 1' whose
employees install, maintain, and repair the Employer's communica-
tion facilities. Some of the job classifications within the plant depart-
ment are apparatus servicemen, powermen, repeatermen, radiomen,
cable placers, cable splicers, and switchmen. The Petitioner seeks to
represent a group of 45 employees classified as switchmen, who are
also referred to as video men. Since 1937, all of the down-State area
plant department employees, including the group of 45 video men,
have been represented for purposes of collective bargaining in a single
unit.,
In addition to its usual telephone operations, the Employer fur-
nishes facilities to television broadcasting companies which enables
the latter to bring programs emanating from outside the studio for
ultimate broadcast to the public. The Employer's responsibility is to
transmit the video (picture) and audio (sound) from the point of
origin to the master control boards of the broadcasting companies.
The video function is performed by either of two methods depending
on the availability of circuit facilities. One is called the cable or land
line circuit; the other is microwave. As described in the record, an
example of the cable operation is demonstrated by a television broad-
cast of a boxing match from New York City's Madison Square Garden.
A terminal is installed at the Garden by an installation man of the
Employer. The video man, who is stationed at that point, conducts a
test with a switchman, who is stationed at a central office. They
eliminate video interference and after a proper test is made, the
switchman relays the video portion to the master control board of the
1 There are three other major departments : accounting , commercial , and traffic.
2 On December 7, 1951, the Employer and the Intervenor entered into a contract effec-
tive from November 5, 1951, to November 4, 1952. This contract was executed prior'to
the expiration of a preceding contract which was for a term from October 2 , 1950, to
April 2, 19552. The petition herein was filed on January 14, 1952. In view of our.dis-
position of this case, we find it unnecessary to rule upon the contention of the Employer
and the Intervenor that the latest contract constitutes a bar to this proceeding. -
1376 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
broadcasting company, where another video man of the Employer is
stationed. The microwave or broad band frequency operation is
generally performed by video men, without the aid of a switchman at
the central office. Using the boxing match site as an example, the test
is made between the Garden and the Empire State Building and the
master control board of the broadcasting company. Switchmen are
used in microwave color television operations. The record shows
that cable or land-line facilities are used for most television programs.
The audio portion of the program is transmitted by another crew of
the Employer's employees called radio men, who are under separate
supervision. It is clear that the video and audio portions must be
properly synchronized.
The Petitioner contends that the video men possess and use spe-
cialized skills which entitle them to separate craft representation and
therefore they may properly be severed from the existing plant
department unit. The record is clear that the video men constitute
a technical group of employees who perform certain specialized and
skilled work, under separate supervision. However, it appears that
there are also employed other technical groups who exercise compar-
able skills. The skills used by the video men are substantially the
same as those required by other employees who are engaged in cable
or microwave operations with respect to the Employer's teletype-
writer service, mobile radio communication system, over-water radio
relay facilities, the furnishing of Muzak (canned music), and public
address systems. The record also indicates that the video men use
specialized equipment similar to that used by certain central office
switchmen and audio men, and that all of these employees receive
comparable technical training from the Employer. The audio group
works simultaneously with the video men on all outside locations,
so that the end product of sound and picture are properly synchronized
for transmission. The license requirement of the Federal Commun-
ications Commission is applicable not only to the video men, but also
to about 30 additional employees among the switchmen and audio
men.
Under all the circumstances, we are satisfied that the video men
constitute only a segment of the Employer's technical employees and
therefore the unit sought by the Petitioner is inappropriate.3
Accordingly, we shall dismiss the petition.
Order
Upon the basis of the entire record in this proceeding, the Board
hereby orders that the petition herein be, and it hereby is, dismissed.
8 See Kaiser-Frazer Corporation, 93 NLRB 892; Greater Erie Broadcasting Company,
92 NLRB 270 ; Philco Television Service, Inc., 86 NLRB 899.