Evansville Television

680 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD observers, clerks in the State office, the supervisory assistant for toll- line engineering, instructors, State and district, confidential stenogra- phers, professional employees, guards, the State secretary, the super- visory assistant in charge of routing supervisors, chief operators, assistant chief operators, night chief operators, and all other super- visors as defined in the Act [Text of Direction of Election'? omitted from publication ] x7 Intervenor CWA has not indicated that it is unwilling to appear on the ballot in the limited unit sought by Petitioner, and found above to be appropriate Accordingly, we shall include its mane on the ballot, with the right to withdraw upon notification to the Regional Director within 10 days to this Decision and Direction of Election Douglas H, McDonald, Trustee of Evansville Television, Inc., Debtor i and Radio and Television Broadcast Technicians Union, Local No. 1225, International Brotherhood of Electri- cal Workers, AFL-CIO, Petitioner. Case No 35-RC-1710 February 17, 1960 DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor -Relations Act, a hearing was held before George M Dick, hearing officer The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and hereby affirmed I Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three-member panel [Chairman Leedom and Members Rodgers and Jenkins]. Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds 1 The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act 2 The labor organization involved claims to represent certain employees of the Employer' 3 A 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 4 The Petitioner seeks to represent a unit of engineers, •cameramen, directors, floormen, projectionists, and film department employees, employed by the Employer at its television studio in Evansville, In- The name of the Employer appears as amended at the hearing The hearing officer referred to the Board the Employer 's request, joined in by the majority stockholder, that action be deferred on the petition because the Trustee's appoint- ment under chapter X of the Bankruptcy Act is now being challenged in court whether the challenge will be successful is speculative , therefore we conclude that its pendency does not warrant delaying an election a Ferris Traylor, majority stockholder and chief creditor was permitted to intervene at the hearing without objection of the other parties 126 NLRB No 88 D. H. McDONALD, TRUSTEE OF EVANSVILLE TELEVISION 681 diana, and at its transmitter at Chandler, Indiana. The Employer contends that only a unit of all program and engineer employees would be appropriate, and would include all announcers (including those who do some announcing in addition to other regularly assigned duties), all engineers, all part-time floormen and demonstrators; the traffic and continuity employees, cameramen, film technicians, the sec- retary to the programing chief, the artist, the promotion man, the director, the newsfilm man, and news writer. The Employer would also include the production, programing and film chiefs, and the chief engineer whom the Petitioner would exclude as supervisors.' The station operations are divided into four departments: sales, office, program, and engineering. Only the latter two are involved here. The program department, headed by the station manager, is subdivided, for organizational purposes, into three subdivisions: pro- duction, programing, and film. The production subdivision includes the production chief, the director, cameramen, floormen, and the artist. The programing subdivision includes the programing chief, the announcers, demonstrators, traffic, continuity promotion, and a secretary. The third subdivision-the film department-is comprised of the film chief, the film technicians, and the news film man and news writer. The other department involved herein, engineering, is staffed with engineers, including the chief engineer. Essentially the unit sought by the petitioner is one consisting of engineering and programing employees who contribute to the presen- tation of, but do not appear on, television programs. This, the Board has held, may be an appropriate unit.' Program Department Announcers : The Petitioner does not seek to represent those who appear regularly before the camera. We shall exclude the announcers as talent employees.' Floormen and demonstrators : The Employer employs no floormen or demonstrators as such but utilizes the services of other employees in these capacities when needed. Thus, June Hayes (secretary to the sales manager) may spend from 2 to 10 hours a week as a floorman or demonstrator, and Sue Roberts (a typist) and Guyora Fortner (a PBX operator) may similarly spend 1 hour and one-half hour a week, respectively. Although the record does not establish what per- centage of their time is devoted to floormen's work (a classification properly includible in the unit), it is clear that these employees do, not spend a substantial part of their time in programing and are 4 Except with respect to supervisory issues, there Is no dispute with regards to the inclusion in the unit of the film technicians , cameramen , engineers, and the director. Indiana Broadcasting Corporation, WANE-TV Division, 121 NLRB 111, 112. e Id. 682 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD primarily engaged in office work. Accordingly, we shall exclude them from the unit. We shall similarly exclude Grace Turner, the secretary to the programing chief as an office clerical employee.? Traffic: The traffic employees prepare the station schedule and contribute to the presentation of the television program. We shall include them in the unit." Continuity : The continuity employees prepare or rewrite all scripts used on the air except news script. In accordance with Board prece- dent, and since these employees contribute materially to the presenta- tion of the program, we will include them in the unit.' Promotion: The promotion man is in charge of writing and sched- uling, in combination with Traffic, all promotion announcements used on commercial and sustaining programs. Although this employee has taped some announcements for use on the air, it does not appear that he was doing this work at the time of the hearing. We shall include him. Artist: The studio artist does the art work in connection with the television shows. As he contributes to the presentation of the program and is an essential part of the program department, we shall include him in the unit.lo News film man : This employee is the Employer's news film pho- tographer, and he also photographs stills for promotion purposes. As his work is an integral part of the program department, we will in- clude him in the unit." Newswriter: The newswriter is in charge of the preparation and edition of all newscasts. This employee also does some announcing. The newswriting functions are properly in the unit but the record is not clear as to the extent of his announcing functions. Therefore, we will make no determination as to his status, but shall allow him to vote subject to challenge. Programing chief : The programing chief, in addition to his duties of ordering film, scheduling announcers, submitting promotional ideas, and occasionally directing, does an extensive amount of announcing. The record indicates that he does more announcing than any an- nouncer employed as such. We find, without passing on his super- visory status, that his interests are more closely allied with those of the talent employees and, accordingly, we shall exclude him from the unit." Film chief : The film chief is in charge of keeping records in the film department. He also serves as a cameraman and as a photog- 7 Cornhusker Television Corporation , 117 NLRB 1065, 1067. s Southern Radio and Television Equipment Company, Television Station WTVJ, 107 NLRB 216, 218. 0 Northwest Publications , Inc. 116 NLRB 157,8, 1579-1580 10 Radio & Television Station WFLA ( The Tribune Company), 120 NLRB 903. "Indiana Broadcasting Corporation, WANE-TV Division, 121 NLRB 111, 113. 12 Ibid. BROTHERHOOD OF PAINTERS, DECORATORS, ETC. 683 rapher. In addition to these duties he is the voice of Popeye on the station's own puppet show, and as such is the station's leading per- sonality. He receives a talent fee in addition to his regular salary. His interests are then more allied with those of the talent employees. We shall therefore exclude him from the unit without passing upon the question of his supervisory status.13 As to the production chief and chief engineer, the record contains insufficient evidence upon which to make a finding as to their super- visory status. We shall, therefore, permit these employees to vote subject to challenge. We find that the following employees of Douglas H. McDonald, Trustee of Evansville Television, Inc., Debtor, employed at the Em- ployer's studio in Evansville, Indiana, and at its transmitter at Chandler, Indiana, to constitute an appropriate unit for collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9(b) of the Act: All engineers, cameramen, directors, floormen, projectionists, traffic employees, continuity writers, promotion men, artists, and film depart- ment employees including news film men, newswriters, and film tech- nicians, employed at the Employer's television station, Evansville, Indiana, and transmitter, Chandler, Indiana, excluding all office clerical employees, salesmen, announcers, talent employees, profes- sional employees, guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act. [Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.] Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators, and Paper Hangers of America, Local No. 365, AFL-CIO and Southern Florida Hotel and Motel Association (Seville Hotel) Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators, and Paper Hangers of America, Local No. 365, AFL-CIO and Southern Florida Hotel and Motel Association ( Carillon Hotel ). Cases Nos. 12-CD-9 and 12-CD-10. February 17, 1960 DECISION AND DETERMINATION OF DISPUTE STATEMENT OF THE CASE This proceeding arises under Section 10(k) of the Act, which pro- vides that, "whenever it is charged that any person has engaged in an unfair labor practice within the meaning of paragraph (4) (D) of Section 8(b), the Board is empowered to hear and determine the dis- pute out of which such unfair labor practice shall have arisen . . . ." On October '5 and October 8, 1959, the Southern Florida Hotel and Motel Association, herein called the Association, filed, with the Re- 126 NLRB No. 92.