Radio & Television Broadcast Engineers Union

594 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Upon the basis of the foregoing findings of fact , and upon the entire record„ the Trial Examiner makes the following: CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The operations of W. H. Condo, J. J. Altman & Company, and Smith Brennan. Pile Company occur in commerce within the meaning of Section 2 (6) of the Act. 2. Local 169, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, AFL- CIO, and Hod Carriers Local 454, are labor organizations within the meaning of Section 2 (5) of the Act. 3. The Respondent has not engaged in unfair labor practices as alleged in the complaint, within the meaning of Section 8 (b) (4) (A) of the Act. [Recommendations omitted from publication.] Radio & Television Broadcast Engineers Union , Local 1212, In- ternational Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL-CIO and Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. Case No. 2-CD-146, November 25, 1957 DECISION AND DETERMINATION OF DISPUTE On April 26, 1957, Columbia Broadcasting System, The., herein called CBS, filed a charge with the Regional Director for the Second Region, alleging that Radio & Television Broadcast Engineers Union, Local 1212, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL-CIO, herein called Local 1212, had engaged in and was engaging in certain unfair labor practices within the meaning of Section 8 (b) (4) (D) of the Act. Thereafter, pursuant to Section 10 (k) of the Act and Sections 102.71 and 102.72 of the Board's Rules and Regulations, the Regional Director investigated the charge and provided for an appropriate' hearing upon due notice. The hearing was held at New York, New York, on various dates between June 19 and 25, 1957, before I. L. Broadwin, hearing officer. All parties appeared at the hearing and were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross- examine witnesses, and to adduce evidence bearing on the issues." The rulings of the hearing officer made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed .2 Briefs have been filed by CBS and Local 1; none was filed by Local 1212. 1 The hearing officer granted a motion to intervene, made by Theatrical Protective Union No. 1, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Moving Picture Machine, Operators of the United States and Canada , AFL-CIO, herein called Local 1. 2 The hearing officer rejected, as irrelevant and not bearing on the issues , Local 1212's offer of evidence that CBS' custom or practice was to assign to it the disputed work, more particularly described below. The ruling was proper. International Longshoreman's Association, Inc., Local 976 etc, (Abraham Kaplan, at al. ), 116 NLRB 1533, 1536; Local 675, etc. (Port Everglades Terminal Company ), 116 NLRB 27, 37-38. See also Local 16, etc (Denali-McCray Construction Company), 118 NLRB 109, Radio & Television Broadcast Engineers Union, Local 1212, etc. (CBS ), 114 NLRB 1354, 1358. 119 NLRB No. 71. RADIO & TELEVISION BROADCAST ENGINEERS UNION 595 Upon the entire record in this case, the Board 8 makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT 1. CBS is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act. 2. Local 1212 and Local 1 are each labor organizations within the meaning of the Act. 3. On February 14, 1952, Local 1212 was certified as the statutory representative of all technicians in certain departments of CBS, ex- cluding lighting directors and special visual effects employees in New York City, and also excluding stagehands. The certification does not expressly mention the work here in dispute, which is the operation of lights on remote television pickups. On June 23, 1955, CBS entered into an agreement with Local 1, which represents the stagehands, to remain in effect up to and includ- ing December 31, 1957. The agreement includes in its coverage stage electricians and stage and front light men operating spotlights and other lighting devices used in connection with television perform- ances at New York City stages or shops and at other mutually agreed- on theaters and spot locations. In the negotiations CBS, unable to obtain agreement between Local 1 and its rival Local 1212 on the assignment of the work of remote lighting, had refused Local 1's de- mands to include remote lighting in the coverage of the agreement, and the parties in fact agreed that the issue of remote lighting assign- ments remained unresolved. On May 1, 1956, CBS entered into a no-strike union-security agree- ment for an initial term to and including January 31, 1958, with International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL-CIO, herein called IBEW, for and in behalf of Local 1212 and other locals not here involved. The agreement, generally covering the technical em- ployees, includes in its coverage the operation of television equipment and apparatus by means of which electricity is applied in the trans- mission, transference, production or reproduction of vision with and/or without ethereal aid. In the negotiations IBEW had de- manded inclusion of the setup and operation of lighting equipment used on field or remote pickups. As with Local 1, CBS had refused this demand, on the ground that the rival locals had failed to agree on the resolution of this jurisdictional dispute over remote lighting. The question of remote lighting assignments accordingly remained unresolved in this agreement as well. On or about April 9, 1957, CBS first advised Local 1212 that it intended to assign to its stagehands, in Local l's unit, the work of set- ting up and operating the lights for the Antoinette Perry Awards scheduled for telecast on April 21. This telecast was to originate 3 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-member panel (Chairman Leedom and Members Bean and Jenkins]. 596 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD -on the stage of the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, in connection with other acts to be staged by the American Theater Wing. The work assignment was pursuant to the belief of CBS that it was not contractually bound to assign this remote lighting work to either labor organization. On April 18 , Local 1212 Business Manager Calame protested to CBS Vice President Fitts, who was in charge of labor relations, and threatened "trouble" if CBS insisted on assigning the work to Local 1. At about the same time , IBEW International Representative Lighty and Local 1212 Business Representative Pantell, who was Calame's .assistant, called on Fitts, insisted that Local 1212 was entitled to the work, and again threatened that there would be trouble if the work was not done by Local 1212. In the afternoon of April 21, after the stagehands had carried out CBS ' instructions to install the necessary lights for the stage show in the Grand Ballroom, the technicians proceeded to install duplicate lights, without any instructions from CBS. When Local 1212 Representative Pantell was asked why, he replied in the pres- ence of the technicians, "This is an IBEW job. If we don 't use our lights we are not doing the show." Later that afternoon, CBS Representative Levin definitely advised Pantell that Local 1 would operate the necessary lights, and ordered the technicians to remove the duplicate lights. Bell, as spokesman for the technicians, re- fused. Pantell, who was present at the time, then called a meet- ing of the technicians to discuss the jurisdictional dispute, and as a result advised the CBS representatives again that if Local 1 's lights were used, Local 1212 would not operate the cameras and the neces- sary incidental equipment even if its duplicate lights were also used. The technicians accordingly refused to complete the installation of the necessary microphones, refused to make pictures, and refused to report for the scheduled rehearsal between 6 and 7 p. m. Unwill- ing to accede to Local 1212's ultimatum to reassign the work to it, CBS at first ordered its technicians to remove the telecasting equip- ment, and some of it was in fact removed . Later, CBS counter- manded its order, and instructed the technicians to reset the equip- ment. However, the technicians refused to do so. Once again at about 10: 30 or 11 p. in., CBS Representative Levin asked the tech- nicians to make pictures, and was again refused. As a result of the foregoing activity by Local 1212, the scheduled program was not telecast. CONTENTIONS OF THE PARTIES CBS contends that the disputed work was not covered either by Local 1212's certification or by its agreement , and that Local 1212 was therefore not entitled to strike for the disputed work. RADIO & TELEVISION BROADCAST ENGINEERS UNION 597 Local 1212, although afforded ample opportunity to file a brief with the Board, did not do so. At the hearing, however, it con- tended that it had not engaged in a strike, and that in any event the work was covered by its certification or contract. Local 1 has not been charged with any violation of the Act, and makes no contention that it was entitled to the work except by virtue of CBS' assignment in this instance. APPLICABILITY OF THE STATUTE Based on the foregoing evidence, we find reasonable cause to be- lieve (1) that Local 1212 engaged in, and induced and encouraged CBS employees to engage in, a strike or a concerted refusal in the course of their employment to perform services for CBS, with an object of forcing or requiring CBS to assign the disputed work to technicians who are its members rather than to stagehands and other CBS employees who are members of Local 1; and (2) that Local 1212 thereby violated Section 8 (b) (4) (D). We further find that the dispute out of which the charge arose is properly before us for determination under Section 10 (k) of the Act. MERITS OF THE DISPUTE It is well established that an employer is free to make work assign- ments without being subject to strike pressure by a labor organization seeking the work for its members, unless the employer is thereby fail- ing to conform to an order or certification of the Board, or unless the employer is bound by an agreement to assign the disputed work to the claiming union .4 Local 1212 has no such order, and its certification does not include the work of operating lights on remote telecasts s There remains for consideration Local 1212's contention that it had a right to the disputed work by virtue of its agreement with CBS. As noted above, however, Local 1212 had demanded that the agreement should assign the disputed work to it, but CBS did not yield to this demand, and the agreement was silent on the point as a consequence. Local 1212 has thus failed to establish any contractual right to the disputed work. We therefore find that Local 1212 is not entitled, by means pro- scribed by Section 8 (b) (4) (D), to force or require CBS to assign the disputed work to its members. However, we are not by this action to be regarded as "assigning" the work in question to Local 1, as we are not called upon to pass on that question. Local 16, etc. (Denali-MoCray Construction Company ), 118 NLRB 109. 5 The certification expressly excludes "lighting directors and special visual effects em- ployees in New York City." 598 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD DETERMINATION OF DISPUTE On the basis of the foregoing findings of fact and the entire record in this case, the Board makes the following determination of dispute, pursuant to Section 10 (k) of the Act : 1. Radio & Television Broadcast Engineers Union, Local 1212, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL-CIO, and its agents are not and have not been entitled, by means proscribed by Sec- tion 8 (b) (4) (D) of the Act, to force or require Columbia Broadcast- ing System, Inc., to assign the work of setting up and operating light- ing equipment on remote telecasts to its members rather than to other CBS employees, who are members of Theatrical Protective Union No. 1, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Moving Picture Machine Operators of the United States and Canada, AFL-CIO. 2. Within ten (10) days from the date of this Decision and Deter- mination of Dispute, Local 1212 shall notify the Regional Director for the Second Region, in writing, whether or not it will refrain from forcing or requiring CBS, by means proscribed by Section 8 (b) (4) (D) of the Act, to assign the disputed work to its members rather than to other employees of CBS, who are members of Theatrical Protective Union No.1. Standard Oil Company and Oil Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union, AFL-CIO, Petitioner. Cases Nos. 30-RC- 1326 and 30-RC-1327. November 25, 1957 DECISION AND ORDER Upon petitions duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before Allison E. Nutt, hearing of- ficer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. Upon the entire record in these cases, the Board finds : 1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act. 2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain em- ployees of the Employer.' 3. No question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa- tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act. 'Central States Petroleum Union National, Local 124, herein called the Local, inter- vened on the basis of a contract interest. The parent union is referred to as National. 119 NLRB No. 72.