Great Trails Broadcasting Co.

In the Matter of GREAT TRAILS BROADCASTING COMPANY, EMPLOYER and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS, LOCAL UNION 1224, AFL, PETITIONER Case No. 9-R- 23.p^.-Decided April 14, 1947 Messrs. Estabrook, Finn dl McKee , by Mr. H. A. Estabrook , of Day- ton, Ohio, for the Employer. Mr. Freeman L. Hurd, of Washington, D. C., and Mr. James B. Mattox, of Cincinnati , Ohio, for the Petitioner. Mr. Abraham?, Frank, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION Upon a petition duly filed, hearing in this case was held at Dayton, Ohio, on December 10 and 11, 1946, before Max Rotenberg, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations . Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER Great Trails Broadcasting Company, an Ohio corporation, is en- gaged in the operation of a radio station at Dayton, Ohio, with the call letters WING, under license from the Federal Communications Commission. It is affiliated with the American Broadcasting Com- pany, and approximately 35 percent of the Employer's broadcasting time is devoted to programs broadcast on this national network. Its revenues from broadcasting exceed $100,000 annually, and its broad- casting programs have a reception range extending to parts of Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. The Employer admits and we find that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED The Petitioner is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, claiming to represent employees of the Em- ployer. 73 N L R. B, No. 76. 396 GREAT TRAILS BROADCASTING COMPANY III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION 397 The Employer refuses to recognize the Petitioner as the exclusive bargaining representative of employees of the Employer until the Petitioner has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit. We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Employer, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT The Petitioner seeks a single unit comprising all transmitter techni- cians, control room operators and remote control operators, including the transmitter supervisor, the engineering supervisor and the control room supervisor., The Employer contests the. appropriateness of a single unit, contending that the three groups should constitute three separate units, and would also exclude the three supervisors. The Employer's broadcasting facilities include a studio, a control room and a recording room at its main offices in Dayton, Ohio, and a transmitter station, which is located approximately 5 miles from the studio. The transmitter technicians work at the transmitter station, where their duties consist primarily of operating and maintaining the technical radio equipment. They are required to be licensed by the Federal Communications Commission. The control room operators handle all manual controls and switches in the control and recording rooms, acting on signals from the program producer. Remote control operators perform in the field substantially the same duties and receive the same rate of pay as the control room operators. Both groups are under the supervision of the engineering supervisor. Although the Federal Communications Commission does not require that these employees be licensed, two control room operators possessed Com- mission licenses at the time of their employment and, of these, one has been promoted to transmitter technician and the other remains as a control room operator. Further integration between the control room operators and transmitter technicians is indicated by the Em- ployer's policy of rotating the position of control room supervisor every 3 months among the four full-time transmitter technicians. While the duties of the transmitter technicians appear to be of a more technical nature and their hourly rate of pay correspondingly higher than that of the control operators, we are of the opinion that the close inter-relation of the functions of all groups, the similar condi- tions of employment, in the integration of personnel, and the general IOf the 14 employees involved , 5 are transmitter technicians , 4 are control room opera- tors , 2 are remote control operators , 3 are referred to as supervisors. 398 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD pattern of organization in the broadcasting industry 2 indicate a sufficient community of interest to warrant their inclusion in a single appropriate unit." Transmitter supervisor-L. House: This employee is the senior transmitter technician and constitutes the only continuous super- visory authority at the transmitter station. He does not work on a rotating shift, as do the other technicians, and is not required to sign an attendance record. His pay is 10 percent higher than that of the highest paid technician, and lie has the authority to discipline and recommend the discharge of employees within his departnient. We are of the opinion that lie is a supervisory employee; we shall exclude him. Engineering supervisor-W. Evenden: This employee's primary duties consist of checking and supervising the activities of the control room operators and the remote control operators. In the exercise of his authority, he has discharged one employee and effectively recom- mended a pay raise for another. He is paid at a rate substantially higher than that of the employees working under his supervision. We find that he comes within the Board's customary definition of super- visory employees; we shall exclude him. Control room supervisor-H. Ryan: This employee is the current rotating transmitter technician, who repairs radio equipment in the control room and directs routine activities of the control room opera- tors. He receives no additional remuneration during his 3-month shift at the control room, and the record reveals that he possesses no supervisory authority within the Board's accepted definition thereof. We shall include him. We find that all radio technician employees of the Employer, in- cluding transmitter technicians, control room operators, remote con- trol operators, and the control room supervisor, but excluding the consulting engineer, the engineering supervisor, the transmitter sup- ervisor, and all or any 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 within the meaning of Section .9 (b) of the Act. 2 The Employer has no history of collective bai gaining However, the Petitioner's inter- national representative testified that Petitioner at the time of the hearing had between 350 to 400 contracts with radio broadcasting companies, including 5 to 6 in the State of Ohio, and that in approximately 80 percent of these contracts employees performing duties sub- stantially the same as those performed by the employees herein involved are included in a single unit 3 See Matter of Louis C Baltimoi e, 57 N L R B 1611 ; and Matter of Atlanta Journal Company, 70 N L R B 1168. GREAT TRAILS BROADCASTING COMPANY V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES 399 We shall direct that the question concerning representation which has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in the Direction. The parties disagree as to the eligibility of three part-time employ- ees to vote in the election. The Employer is opposed to their partici- pation, whereas the Petitioner would permit them to vote. Transmitter technicians-Bright and 1TTymer: These employees work from 6 to 8 hours per week during the current installation of a new transmitting plant. Normally however, they are called upon only as substitute technicians when the regular employees are ill, on leave, or otherwise temporarily absent. We find that they do not have sufficient interest in the selection of a bargaining representative to entitle them to vote in the election. Control room operator-Hurley: This employee works 36 hours per week on a regular part-time basis. Inasmuch as his interests are sub- stantially the same as those of the regular employees, we find that he is eligible to participate in the election. DIRECTION OF ELECTION As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Great Trails Broadcasting Company, Dayton, Ohio, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than thirty (30) clays from the date of this Direction, under the direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Ninth Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Sections 203.55 and 203.56, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations- Series 4, among the employees in the unit found appropriate in Sec- tion IV, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period immedi- ately 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 those employees who have since quit or been dis- charged 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 International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers,, Local Union 1224, AFL, for the purposes of collective bargaining. MR. JOHN M. HOUSTON took no part in the consideration of the above Decision and Direction of Election. 739926-47-vol. 73-27