Booth Radio Stations, Inc.

In the Matter of Boom RADIO STATIONS , INC., EMPLOYER and DETROIT CHAPTER OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BROADCASTING ENGINEERS ,AND TECHNICIANS „ PETITIONER Case Nos. 7-RC-118 and 7-RC-$5..-Decided September 23, 1948 DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS Upon separate petitions duly filed,' hearings were held before a hearing officer of the National Labor Relations Board. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearings are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the National Labor Relations 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 this case, the Board finds : 1. The Employer owns and operates two federally licensed radio stations, one situated at Detroit, Michigan, under the call letters WJLB and WJLB (FM), and the other in Flint, Michigan, under the call letters WBBC.2 Radio station WBBC has a maximum directional range of 50 miles, the area serviced being Flint, Michigan, and its environs. It is an affiliate of the Mutual Broadcasting Company, a national network. Forty percent of WBBC's broadcasts originate with Mutual and 60 percent in the Flint station. The sponsors of the Mutual programs are principally national advertisers, whereas sponsors of the local broadcasts are local advertisers. Sixty percent of the local programs consist of transcription broadcasts, the records coming from outside the State of Michigan. WBBC's gross revenues are approximately $9,000 per month. Radio station WJLB and WJLB (FM) has a maximum radius of 25 miles, the area serviced being Detroit, Michigan, and a small section of Ontario, Canada. It is an independent station not affiliated ' Since the issues in the two cases are closely related, we hereby consolidate them for the purpose of decision *Chairman Herzog and Members Murdock and Gray. 2 The Employer has been granted a permit for construction of station WBBC (FM). 79 N. L. R. B., No. 118. 964 BOOTH RADIO STATIONS, INC. 965, with any national or State network. It broadcasts the Detroit Tigers baseball games, including those played in other States. Approxi- mately 92 percent of all broadcasts originate in Detroit, the remainder being remote pick-ups. Of the broadcasts originating in Detroit, 80 percent are transcription broadcasts, the transcription recordings being obtained outside the State of Michigan. Of all its advertising less than 10 percent is sponsored by out-of-State business firms. WJLB's annual gross revenue is $400,000. We find that the Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act.3 2. The labor organization named below claims to represent the employees of the Employer. 3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the represen- tation of employees of the Employer, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. 4. The following employees of the Employer constitute units appro- priate for purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act: (a) All full-time, licensed technicians at Station WBBC, Flint, Michigan, excluding the chief engineer, the assistant chief engineer '4 and all other supervisors as defined in the Act. (b) All full-time, licensed radio engineers and technicians at Sta- tion WJLB and WJLB (FM), Detroit, Michigan, including the trans- mitter supervisor,5 but excluding the chief engineer, the assistant chief engineer, and all other supervisors as defined in the Act. DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the pur- poses of collective bargaining with the Employer, elections by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than 30 days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Seventh Region, and subject to Sec- tions 203.61 and 203.62 of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 5, as amended, among the employees in the units found appropriate in paragraph numbered 4, above, who were em- ployed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction of Elections, including employees who did not work dur- a Matter of Tes;as Star Broadcasting Company, 67 N. L. R. B. 1033 ; Matter of Ashbacher Radio Corporation, 60 N. L. R. B. 1003; Matter of KMOX Broadcasting Station, 10 N. L. R. B. 479. 4 The record shows that an assistant chief engineer is not employed at present , but the employer contemplates hiring one in the near future. 5 The transmitter supervisor is primarily a supervisor of equipment rather than of per- sons. He does not have the power effectively to recommend a change in the status of other employees We find that he is not a supervisor within the meaning of the Act. 809095-49-vo]. 79-62 966 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD ing said pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or tempo- rarily 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 elections, and also excluding employees -on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented, for purposes of collective bar- gaining, by Detroit Chapter of the National Association of Broad- casting Engineers and Technicians.