Wisconsin Telephone Co.

In the Matter of WISCONSIN TELEPHONE COMPANY, EMPLOYER and WISCONSIN' TELEPHONE CLERICAL UNION (INDEPENDENT), PETITIONER Case No. 131V-R-03.-Decided January 229, 1948 Mr. Francis J. Hart, of Milwaukee, Wis., for the Employer. Mr. Edwin R. Hackett , of Chicago , Ill., for the Petitioner. Mr. Donald J. Martin., of Milwaukee, Wis., for the Intervenor. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION Upon a petition duly filed, hearing in this case was held at Mil- waukee, Wisconsin, on August 12, 1947, before Gustaf B. Erickson, 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-man panel consisting of the undersigned Board`members.* Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER The Wisconsin Telephone Company, a Wisconsin corporation with 95 telephone exchange offices in Wisconsin, is engaged in the business of furnishing local and long distance telephone communication service. It is a wholly owned subsidiary and associate of the American Tele- phone and Telegraph Company. The Employer annually purchases more than $1,000,000 worth of materials and equipment, of which 50 percent is obtained from points outside the State of Wisconsin. The Employer's annual operating revenue exceeds $25,000,000, of which more than 10 percent is obtained from furnishing interstate service. The Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. *Chalrma.n Herzog and Members Reynolds and Murdock. 45 N. L. R. B, No. 120. 993 994 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD II. THE LABOR ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED' Wisconsin Telephone Clerical Union, herein called the Petitioner, is an unaffiliated labor organization, claiming to represent employees of the Employer., Communications Workers of America, Division ' 23, herein called the Intervenor, is an unaffiliated labor organization, claiming to repre- sent employees of the Employer. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The Employer refused to recognize either the Petitioner or the Intervenor as the exclusive bargaining representative of employees of the Employer until one of these labor organizations has been certi- fied by the Board in an appropriate unit. The Intervenor contends that this proceeding should be dismissed because the employees sought herein are covered by an existing con- tract between the Employer and the predecessor of the Intervenor, the Telephone Guild of Wisconsin, herein called the Guild 2 The contract was for the term commencing July 8, 1945, aild ending May 6, 1947, and-was to "continue in full force and effect after such period of time unless terminated by sixty (60) days' notice in writing from either party to the other." On February 28, 1947, the Guild notified the Employer by letter of its "intention to terminate the present agreement as of May 6, 1947." The letter also stated that the Guild would submit a new contract to the Employer prior to March 20, 1947, and if no agreement on the-proposals could be reached by the termination date of the earlier contract, it would be "willing to con- tinue on a day to day basis provided a memorandum of agreement is filed by the company which will insure our members retroactivity to the termination date of our present contract." No new contract was submitted to the Employer .and no memorandum of agreement, such as is mentioned in the letter, was ever executed. On April 30, 1947, the Petitioner filed the petition herein. On July 15, .1947, the Intervenor advised the Employer by letter that it was the "legal suc- cessor" to the Guild. 'Notwithstanding the contrary contentions of the parties, we find that the Petitioner and the Intervenor are labor organizations within the meaning of the Act inasmuch as both organizations were established for the purpose of representing employees of'the Employer with respect to wages, hours, and other conditions of employment . Sde Matter of National Foundry of New York, Inc . 78 N L R. B 16 2 The Guild was served with notice of the hearing but did not appear . The record shows that this organization had been an affiliate of the National Federation of Telephone Workers, herein called the N. F T W. In June 1947, the membership of the N F T W. adopted a new constitution and changed its name to the Communications Workers of America At the same time , the Guild's name was changed to that of the Intervenor. WISCONSIN TELEPHONE COMPANY 995 We are of the opinion that the contract does not prevent a, current determination of representatives. The Guild's letter of February 28, 1947, was.adequate in form to terminate the contract on May 6, 1947. • Even assuming, as the Intervenor contends, that that letter was merely, a declaration of the Guild's intention to terminate the contract in, the future, the contract would not be a bar, inasmuch as after May 6, 1947, it became one terminable at will.3 Accordingly, we find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Employer, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT We find, in accordance with the agreement of the parties, that all the employees in the Employer's accounting department in the classi- fications listed in "Appendix A" attached hereto, but excluding stenog- raphers or typists in the office of the chief accountant, the auditors of disbursements, the auditors of receipts, the-reports clerks in the pay- roll unit, the staff clerks whose duties are of a confidential nature, the personnel supel:visor, and iill other supervisors; constitute a unit ap- propriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. V. TIIE I)ETERM[NATION OF REPRESENTATIVES The Employer contends that no election 'should be directed until disposition has been made of unfair labor practice charge filed by the Petitioner against the Employer.' Inasmuch as the Petitioner has filed a waiver of any right or privilege to urge any of the matters con- tained in this charge as the basis for objections ;to alit' election, or to the results thereof, we perceive no valid reason for delaying a pres- ent determination of representatives.5 DIRECTION OF ELECTION As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Wisconsin Telephone Com- pany, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, an election by secret ballot shall be con- ducted as early as possible , but not later than thirty (30) days from ' lfat'ter of Fairbanks, Morse.& Co, 66 N L R B 67$. Case No. 13M-C-14 . Matter of National Electric Instrument Co , Inc, 65 N. L R B. 427. In this connection, we note-that after the close of the hearing, the Intervenor filed with the Board an unfair labor practice charge against the Employer. Like the Petitioner, however, the Intervenor has also filed a waiver of the right to protest any election that might be ordered in this proceeding. 766972-48-vol 75-64 996 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD the date of this Direction, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Thirteenth Region, and subject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regu- lations-Series 5, among the employees in the unit found appro- priate in Section IV, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction, including employees who did not work during said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or temporarily laid off, but excluding those employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause and have not been rehired or reinstated prior to the date of the election, to de- termine whether they desire to be represented by Wisconsin Telephone Clerical Union (Independent) or by Communications Workers of America, Division 23, or by neither, for the purposes of collective bargaining. APPENDIX A Message Rate Ticket Clerk 'Office Messenger Pay Station Toll Ticket Sorter Toll Ticket Sorter Card File Clerk Cash Clerk Coin Box Record Clerk Collect Ticket File Clerk File Clerk . Order Checking Clerk Order File Clerk Toll Analysis Clerk Addressograph Clerk Average Price Ledger Clerk Class "C" Ledger Clerk Collect Ticket Clerk Customers' Accounts Clerk Estimate Posting Clerk Information a n d Adjustment Clerk Job Order Ledger Clerk Key Punch Operator (less, than one year's Key Punch experi- ence) ' , Machine Billing Clerk Machine Billing File Clerk Payroll Machine Operator Property Unit Comparison Clerk Review Clerk-Gasoline Tickets Service Order Record Clerk Tabulating Code Clerk Tax Clerk Toll Billing Typists Toll Order Clerk Toll Rate Clerk Toll Reports Clerk Toll Statement Adding Clerk Toll Ticket Receipt Clerk Typist ,Adjustment Voucher Clerk Advance Payment Clerk Connecting Company Accounts Clerk Exchange Statistics Clerk Final Accounts Clerk - - Government Toll Clerk Key Punch Operator Miscellaneous Billing Clerk WISCONSIN TELEPHONE COMPANY Pay Station Accounts Clerk Payroll Posting Clerk Reviewing Clerk-Material Re- ports Reviewing Clerk-Work Reports ;Settlement Clerk Special Toll Billing Clerk Station Tabulation Clerk 'Stenographer Tax Control- Clerk Toll Ticket Recording Clerk Trial Balance Clerk Verification Clerk A. T. & T. Company Settlement Clerk Assignment Clerk Connecting Company Controlling Record Clerk ,Controlling Record Clerk Custom Billing Clerk Deposit and Special Billing Clerk 997 Estimate Ledger Clerk General Ledger Clerk Invoice Clerk Measurements Record Clerk Miscellaneous Accounts Clerk Payroll Computation and Classi- fication Clerk Payroll Deduction Clerk Plant Accounting Summarization Clerk 'Property Cost Record Clerk Replacement Clerk Reports Clerk Reviewing Clerk-W. E. Bills and Credits Service Order Clerk Staff Clerk Statistical Clerk Tabulating Machine Operator Voucher Classification and Review Clerk