Illinois Consolidated Telephone Co.

In the Matter of ILLINOIS CONSOLIDATED TELEPHONE COMPANY and ILLINOIS UNION OF TELEPHONE WORKERS Case No. 14-R-1114.-Decided April 9, 1945 Messrs. Sidney K. Schiff and Carl H. Urist, both of Chicago, Ill., and Mr. E. A. Purcell, of Mattoon , Ill., for the Company. Messrs. Edwin R. Hackett, C. E. Mitchell, K. M. McClosky, and Lou Stahl, all of Chicago, Ill., for the Union. Mr. Louis Monas, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF TILE CASE Upon a petition duly filed by Illinois Union of Telephone Workers, herein called the Union, alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Illinois Con- solidated Telephone Company, Mattoon, Illinois, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an appro- priate hearing upon due notice before Ryburn L. Hackler, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Mattoon, Illinois, on February 2, 1945. The Company and the Union appeared, participated, 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. All parties were afforded an opportunity to file briefs with the Board. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Illinois Consolidated Telephone Company, an Illinois corporation, with its principal office at Mattoon, Illinois, is engaged in the general telephone business. Messages destined for points within the State of Illinois, originating in the Company's central offices, are transmitted 61 N. L. R. B., No. 58. 447 448 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD over its own lines and those of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company and its affiliates, with which it has working relationships. Messages destined for points outside the State of Illinois, originating on the Company's lines, are routed over toll lines owned and operated by the American Telephone and Telegraph Company and its affiliates. Messages originating at points outside the State of Illinois, on other company lines, are transmitted to points within the State through the Company's operating facilities. During 'a representative 6-month period in 1944, the Company purchased equipment and material valued at approximately $33,000, more than 50 percent of which was shipped to it from points outside the State of Illinois. During the same period, its gross revenue amounted to $392,411.74, of which $117,583.06 was derived from toll charges. More than 5 percent of all toll mes- sages per month was transmitted to points outside the State of Illinois, or into that State from outside points, and the revenue therefrom amounted to more than 10 percent of the total toll revenue of the Company. The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED Illinois Union of Telephone Workers is an unaffiliated labor organi- zation, admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The Company has refused to grant recognition to the Union as the exclusive bargaining representative of certain of its employees until the Union has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit. A statement of a Board Field Examiner, introduced into evidence at the hearing, indicates that the Union represents a substantial num- ber. of employees in the unit hereinafter found appropriate? We find that a question 'affecting commerce has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Company, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. ' The Field Examiner reported that the Union submitted 221 application -for-membership cards, all of which bore names of persons on the Company 's pay roll of December 9, 1944, and that there are 281 employees in the unit alleged to be appropriate During the course of the hearing, the Union submitted 12 additional application cards to the Trial Examiner. His check of these cards against the same pay roll revealed that 9 bore signatures of persons employed in the general office at Mattoon , and 2 bore signatures of persons em- ployed in the commercial department. The Union's total showing of interest , by department, is as follows : Number in Number of cards Department : Department submitted Traffic----------------------------------------- 203 168 Plant--- --------------------------------------- 50 48 Commercial ------------------------------------- 16 7 General Office ----------------------------------- 12 9 ILLINOIS CONSOLIDATED TELEPHONE COMPANY IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT 449 The Union seeks a unit of all non-supervisory employees throughout the Company's entire system, consisting of the plant, traffic, commer- cial, and general office departments. The Company urges as appro- priate three separate departmental units, the plant, traffic, and com- mercial-general office departments. It argues that the dissimilarity of interests of the departmental groups, and the-lack of interchange among them, due to different wage schedules, conditions of work, required training, and type of personnel, militate against the propriety of a system-wide unit; it further contends that the employees of the plant department are comparable to a craft group because of their skills, and, therefore, should comprise a separate unit. The Company operates 28 central offices located in central Illinois.2 All offices are connected by toll lines. Although the central offices vary in size as to the number of subscribers served and the number of employees, the work performed at each central office is more or less identical. For operating purposes the Company is divided into 4 departments, namely, plant, traffic, commercial, and general office. The plant department constructs and maintains the Company's phy- sical equipment and facilities, and supervises the distribution of sup- plies. The traffic department operates the central office equipment required to furnish local and toll telephone service in the 16 non-dial central offices. The commercial department handles all public rela- tions, prepares and delivers telephone directories, solicits company business, collects bills, takes orders for changes, installations, and dis- continuance of service. The general office is in charge of the account- ing functions of the Company, keeps its books and records, handles all corporate matters, tax returns, government reports, and employees' pay. The nature of the work of the commercial and general office departments is comparable. Employees in all 4 departments are paid on an hourly basis, with plant department employees receiving generally higher hourly rates than the other 3 departments' employees. The commercial department employees' rate of pay is slightly higher than that of traffic department employees but is similar to that of the general office employees. The 4 departments of the Company are represented in most of the non-dial central offices. Of the 16 non-dial central offices, there are 10 principal and 6 smaller offices. In the 6 smaller offices, services are carried on as in the 10 larger offices, but on a smaller scale. Plant de- partment employees work out of the 10 principal central offices, but 2 Twelve of the twenty-eight central offices are automatic dial offices , are unattended, requiring no operating personnel, and are serviced by the plant employees working out of larger central offices. 450 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR.RELATIONS BOARD service all of the 28 central offices, non-dial and dial. The traffic department has employees working in all of the 16 non-dial central offices. The commercial department has its representatives in 7 of these 16 non-dial offices. In the other 9 of these offices, there is limited commercial department activity which is taken care of by the chief operator or other traffic department employee located there. The Company's executives and general office employees, as well as em- ployees of the other 3 departments, are located at the only general office in Mattoon, Illinois. The supervisory hierarchy of the Company is integrated on a system- wide basis. The president possesses ultimate administrative power under direction of the Board of Directors. Beneath him is the vice president who supervises the general plant manager in charge of plant department operations, and the general commercial manager who is in charge of the traffic and commercial departments. General super- vision is further subdivided in the plant, traffic, and commercial de- partments among two district plant managers who report to the general plant manager, and two district commercial managers who report to the general commercial manager. One of these district com- mercial managers is in charge of the traffic department and the other is in charge of the commercial department. The general office is administered by the general auditor, while subject to his authority are the auditor of receipts and the auditor of disbursement.3 In an industry where the primary goods are services to the public, it appears feasible that the various types of employees in the Com- pany's four departments may bargain successfully together. Clearly, each departmental group has a community of interest with the others in the rendition of services to the public. Inasmuch as the Company's operations are highly integrated 4 and interdependent, and since the only labor organization in this proceeding seeks a system-wide unit,5 having demonstrated a substantial interest among the employees in such unit, and among those in each of the Company's departments as well, we conclude that a unit embracing all four of the Company's departments is appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining.r, Controversy centers about the following categories, the Company urging their exclusion and the Union their inclusion : 3 Since the general commercial manager is in the military service, the general auditor has been in charge of the traffic and commercial departments , as well as the general office ' The Company conceded that its operations are of a highly integrated nature. 5 In 1929 there was a short -lived attempt at bargaining resulting in a contract with an unaffiliated labor organization covering telephone operators . This contract expired in 1932 and apparently the union involved has become defunct. Since 1932 the Company has had no collective bargaining relationships with any labor organization 6 See Matter of Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company, 55 N L. R. B. 1058 ILLINOIS CONSOLIDATED TELEPHONE COMPANY Plant Department 451 Wire Chiefs: There are five such employees located at the Mattoon, Taylorville, Charleston, Hillsboro, and Shelbyville central offices. They report directly to the district plant manager. They are in direct charge of the installation and maintenance of subscribers' telephone lines and equipment in a group of central offices. They have from one to three installer-repairmen working with them and supervise their work. Ex- cept in the case of the wire chiefs who do not receive the maximum rate, the pay differential between them and the highest paid installer- repairman is 71/2 cents per hour. We are persuaded, from the entire record, that wire chiefs may effectively recommend changes in the status of employees and are therefore supervisory. We shall exclude them. Equipment supervisor at Litchfield central office:, Installer-repairman at Pana central office: Combination men: The Company employs three equipment supervisors. It claims that only the one at the Litchfield central office is supervisory. This posi- tion is based on the fact that there is no wire chief at this central office, and that the equipment supervisor, the next highest classified and skilled plant employee, reporting directly to the district plant man- ager, has duties similar to the wire chiefs at the other central offices. He spends a substantial part of his time in actual manual work with electrical tools. He assigns work and job locations, and instructs and directs the one installer-repairman assisting him, receiving 71/2 cents per hour more than this helper. The Company employs 15 installer-repairmen. As with the equip- ment supervisor at Litchfield, it claims that only the installer-repair- man at the Pana central office is supervisory. At this office there is no wire chief because it is a smaller central office, and the most skilled employee in charge of installations and repairs, reporting directly to the district plant manager, is classified as an installer-repairman. He does no central office maintenance work and thus is not classified as an equipment supervisor. He spends substantially all of his time on manual work with electrical equipment, doing installing, construc- tion, and maintenance, and "receives the same rate of pay as the highest paid installer-repairman. He assigns work to, directs, and instructs the one installer-repairman assisting him, and receives 5 cents more per hour than this helper. The Company employs single plant employees classified as combina- tion men at five of its smaller central offices. Without any assistance, 452 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD they do installation and maintenance work and are responsible for the Company's equipment and operation at the central office assigned to. The combination man at the Arcola central office, until recently, be- lieved that his title was that of a wire chief . The Company considers them supervisory because they report directly to the district plant manager and have certain responsibilities to the public for the con- tinuance of the Company's telephone service. While the equipment supervisor at the Litchfield Central office, the installer-repairman at the Pana central office, and the combination men, perform the work of wire chiefs, the record indicates that they are not classified as such and do not appear to have the supervisory authority of wire chiefs. We shall, therefore, include these employees. Line foremen: The Company employs three such workers at its Mattoon, Taylor- ville, and Hillsboro central offices. They work with a usual crew of three linemen and one groundman , constructing and maintaining the outside physical equipment and facilities of the Company, as well as occasional installation work. They are hourly paid, receive 20 cents more per hour than the maximum rate of'those in their crew, assign and direct the work of their crewmen, and make effective recommenda- tions to their superiors regarding changes in the status of such employees. We shall exclude them. Traffic Department Chief Operators at Nokomis, Arcola, Morrisonville, Arthur, Raymond, Edinburg, Atwood, Stonington, and Mt. Auburn: The parties agreed that chief operators in the other central offices were to be excluded from the unit because of their supervisory status. The employees in dispute are responsible for all traffic operations in the central offices. From three to seven regular operators are employed under the chief operator in each of the central offices in question. The average hourly wage differential between these chief operators and the highest paid operator under them is 11 cents or less depending on the central office involved. They occasionally do actual operator's work when necessary and may initiate the training of new operators. In their absence regular operators , chosen by the chief operators, take over their duties, subject to instructions left by the chief operators. While the evidence indicates that most of their time in the smaller central offices is spent in actual switchboard work, their other duties are similar to those of the chief operators whom the parties agreed to exclude as supervisory. Since all chief operators have the power effectively to recommend changes in the status of employees , we shall exclude them. ILLINOIS CONSOLIDATED TELEPHONE COMPANY 453 Supervisors : There are one or more of such employees in the seven larger central offices, depending on the size of the office. The supervisor who testified indicated that, at the Mattoon central office, where she is one of four such employees, they all have substantially the same duties. They work under the direction of a chief operator. They direct the flow of traffic, and in the absence of the chief operator, are in charge of the personnel on duty at' the central office in which they are employed. They instruct and train new operators. Time permitting, they also, when in the opinion of the chief operator it is necessary, observe and monitor experienced, local and toll operators. They substitute for regular operators during relief periods and other absences, operate local and toll switchboards as necessary, and take care of customer complaints. They spend from 1 hour to 61/2 hours of each 8-hour tour, in regular operator's work, depending upon the tour of duty. They are hourly paid, earn 14 cents per hour less than the chief operator, and from 6 cents to 10 cents per hour more than regular operators, depending upon the length of service as supervisors. While they occa- sionally report the results of their monitoring of the experienced operators to the chief operator, they do not usually make factual prog- ress reports on the performance of new operators on their own initia- tive; when such reports are required to be submitted, the work of the new operator is discussed, without any opinion rendered by the super- visor concerning continuance in the Company's employ. Supervisors do not have the authority to hire, discharge, or effectively recommend changes in the status of employees. We shall include them. Junior Supervisors: These employees work in the same central offices where the super- visors are employed. They spend a substantial part of their time per- forming operator's work of a more skilled nature, occasionally observe and instruct other employees, and take the place of supervisors in their absence. They earn 21/2 cents more per hour.than regular opera- tors. Since their work is essentially the same as that of a regular oper- ator, and they have no supervisory authority, we shall include them. Commercial Department Cashiers : There are seven cashiers employed by the Company in the seven larger central offices, all in direct contact with the public. It is con- ceded that in the Mattoon and Taylorville central offices the cashiers have no supervisory power since the district commercial managers are stationed there. It is also evident that the cashier at the Shelbyville central office has no supervisory power since this person is the only 454 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD commercial employee there. In the remaining four central offices there are from one to two additional clerks assisting the cashier. The principal duties of cashiers are to collect bills, receive applications for new service, changes in or discontinuance of service, compile copy for telephone directories, and transmit funds to the general office. This is the same type of work performed by clerical employees in the com- mercial department of the various central offices. They are hourly paid, as are the other clerical employees in the commercial depart- ment, the differential in wages between them and clericals varying from 71/2 cents to 10 cents per hour. Since these employees neither make nor recommend changes in the status of others, we shall include them. General Office Secretary to the General Auditor: The Company would exclude her from the unit because of the confi- dential nature of her work. She is a part of the general office force and occupies a desk in that office. She is hourly paid on a comparable basis with other office workers. She does general bookkeeping, prepa- ration of tax returns, pay rolls and wage records. While she has access to certain information regarding the financial status of the Company which it regards as confidential, she does not participate in or have access to information gained by the general auditor in handling confi- dential labor relations of the general office. In view of this, we shall include her in the unit.' We accordingly find that all employees of the Company throughout its entire system, including the equipment supervisor at the Litchfield central office, the installer-repairman at the Pana central office, the com- bination men, supervisors, and junior supervisors, cashiers, secretary to the general auditor, and stenographer to the vice president and general plant manager," but excluding the secretary to the president, all wire chiefs, all line foremen, all chief operators, the general plant manager, general commercial manager, district plant managers, district com- mercial managers, general auditor, auditor of receipts, auditor of dis- bursement's, and all other supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend such action, con- stitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining \vitl).in the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. 'See Matter of Creamery Package Manufacturing Company (Lake Mills Plant), 34 N. L R. B. 108 8.This employee was originally placed in a disputed group, but subsequently the Com- pany conceded that she had no access to confidential labor relations information, and that her inclusion in the unit would not be opposed ILLINOIS CONSOLIDATED TELEPHONE COMPANY V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES 455 We shall direct that the question concerning representation which has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot among the em- ployees in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay- roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in the Direction. The eligibility to vote of the following part-time employees is questioned : High school student: This employee works regularly after school and on Saturdays as an office boy. Once monthly he collects the money in the public telephones He averages 18 hours work per week. Janitors: The Company presently employs 6 such workers, both male and female. They work regularly, averaging from 20 to 40 hours for each 2-week pay period, depending on the central office in which they are employed. Since it appears that the foregoing are regular part-time employees, they are eligible to vote.' Louis Weber: The record discloses that this employee was hired on a purely temporary basis . Consequently , he is not eligible to vote. DIRECTION OF ELECTION By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Rela- tions Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, as amended, it is hereby DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa- tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Illinois Consoli- dated Telephone Company, Mattoon , Illinois, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than thirty (30) days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Fourteenth Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article III, Sections 10 and 11, of said Rules and Regula- tions, among the employees in the unit found appropriate in Section IV, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately o ,itatter of Goodman Manufacturing Company, 58 N L R. B. 531. 456 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 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, and including employees in the armed forces of the United States who present themselves in person at the polls, but excluding any who have since quit or been discharged for cause and have not been rehired or reinstated prior to the date of the election, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by Illinois Union of Telephone Workers, for the purposes of collective bargaining.