Illinois Commercial Telephone Co.

In the Matter Of ILLINOIS COMMERCIAL TELEPHONE COMPANY and IN- TERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS, LOCAL #702, A. F. L. Case No. R-5559.-Decided July 10, 1943 Messrs. R. J. Sutherland and L. F. Shepherd, of Madison, Wis., for the Company. Mr. A. F. Wright, of Springfield, Ill., and Mr. J. 0 . Jones, of West Frankfort, Ill., for the Union. Miss Viola James, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE Upon petition duly filed by International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local #702, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, herein called the Union, alleging that a question affecting coin- Inerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Il- linois Commercial Telephone Company, Springfield, Illinois, herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before Ryburn L. Hackler, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held at Springfield, Illi- nois, on June 14, 1943. Both parties 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 opportunity to file briefs with the Board. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following 1 I A stipulation providing for a correction in the transcript of the record herein, entered into by the parties , is hereby made a part of the record , and the transcript is ordered cor- rected in accordance therewith. 51 N. L. R. B., No. 47. 207 208 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Illinois Commercial Telephone Company is an Illinois corpora- tion engaged in receiving and transmitting telephone messages within the State of Illinois and to and from States other than the State of Illinois. The Company also operates in connection with the Bell System Company and the long line departments of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company. The Company's gross revenue for 1942 aggregated $2,864,225, of which approximately 5 percent was derived from tolls on telephone messages originating from or transmitted to States other than the State of Illinois. We find that the Company is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local #702, affil- iated with the American Federation of Labor, is a labor organization admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION On April 14, 1943, the Union requested recognition as the exclusive bargaining representative of the operators and cashiers in the Mur- physboro and Harrisburg districts. The Company refused the re- quest in the absence of a certification by the Board. A statement, read into the record by the Trial Examiner, indicates that the Union represents a substantial number of employees in the unit hereinafter found to be appropriate.2 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. IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT The Union seeks a unit of telephone operators and cashiers in the ,Murphysboro and Harrisburg districts of the Company, exclusive of supervisors having the right to hire and discharge. The Company agrees that the two districts are a proper unit division, but disagrees as to the inclusion of chief operators, chief operator-cashiers, and cashiers, whom the Union would include. Both parties agree to exclude all employees of agency-operated exchanges. These are em- 2 The Trial Examiner reported that the Union submitted 201 membership cards, of which 155 bore the apparently genuine original signatures of pei sons on the Company 's pay roll of April 24 , 1943, which listed approximately 254 persons in the alleged unit. ILLINOIS COMMERCIAL TELEPHONE COMPANY 209 ployees who work in small exchanges set up by the Company under contracts providing for service to the Company. We shall exclude these employees, but in doing so we do not find that they are not employees of the Company.' The Company employs 10 chief operators, 5 in each of the 2 dis- tricts. Each chief operator has from 10 to 30 operators under her supervision, depending on the size of the exchange. The duties of the chief operators include the training of new operators and the arranging of work schedules. It is undisputed that they have the authority to recommend the hiring and discharging of employees. Under these circumstances, we find that the chief operators are super- visory employees, and we shall exclude them. In the smaller exchanges the position and function of chief opera- tors and • cashiers are combined. These employees are classified as chief operator-cashiers. There are five in the Harrisburg district and two in the Murphysboro district. As their supervisory duties are exactly the same as those of the chief operators in the larger exchanges, we shall likewise exclude the chief operator-cashiers. There are approximately 10 cashiers and 1 assistant cashier. They are employed in the exchange offices in which the positions of chief operator and cashier have not been combined. The Company's desire to exclude the cashiers is apparently based on the contention that the cashiers represent the Company in over-the-counter contacts with the public. The principal duties of the cashiers and the 1 assistant cashier are to collect, receive, and bank money due the Company for service, and make proper records thereof. They have no subordinate employees under their control, except on infrequent occasions when an operator is assigned to assist with clerical work. We find nothing in their duties to deprive them of the benefits of the Act. Accord- ingly, we shall include the cashiers and the assistant cashier in the unit.4 We find that all operators and cashiers of the Company, in the Murphysboro and Harrisburg districts, including the assistant cashier, but excluding all employees of agency-operated' exchanges, the' chief operators, the chief operator-cashiers, and all other employees, consti- tute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act. V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES We shall direct that the question concerning representation which has arisen be resolved by an election by secret ballot among the 3 See Matter of Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, or Mrs. Viola Berthold, Agent, 50 N. L R. B 713 4 See Matter of Southwestern Associated Telephone Company, 35 N. L R. B 84 210 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD employees 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. 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 Rela- tions Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is hereby DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa- tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with Illinois Com- mercial Telephone Company, Springfield, 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, Section 10, of said Rules and Regulations, among the employees in the unit,found appropriate 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, 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, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local #702, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, for the purposes of collective bargaining.