Cablecom-General Inc.

506 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Cablecom-General Inc. and Cablecom-General of Modesto, Inc. and Local Union 1245, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL-CIO,' Pe- titioner. Case 20-RC-9628 May 25, 1971 DECISION, DIRECTION OF ELECTION, AND ORDER REMANDING TO THE REGIONAL DIRECTOR FOR FURTHER HEARING BY CHAIRMAN MILLER AND' MEMBERS FANNING AND BROWN Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9(c) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended , a hearing was held before Hearing Officer Helen A . Phillips on November 10, 1970. Following the hearing , pursuant to Section 102.67 of the National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations and Statements of Proce- dure, Series 8, as amended, this case was transferred to the National Labor Relations Board for decision. Thereafter, briefs were filed by the Employer and Peti- tioner. 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. The Board has reviewed the Hearing Officer 's rulings made at the hearing and finds that they are free from prejudicial error . The rulings are hereby affirmed. Upon the entire record in this case, including the briefs, the Board finds: 1. Cablecom-General Inc., is an Oklahoma corpora- tion' with its headquarters in Denver, Colorado. It is engaged in the development and construction of com- munity television antenna systems, and also operates a CATV system in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Its mode of operation is to form a local corporation in a locale where CATV is feasible; to secure for it an FCC license and permits from municipalities or counties; to con- struct an antenna system for the local operation which will retain the ownership thereof; and to assist the local corporation in its management . Currently the Okla- homa corporation operates in 40 locations in 9 different States. This case involves its operations at Modesto, California, where it employs the construction workers involved herein in the construction of a cable system. Cablecom-General of Modesto, Inc.,' is a California corporation which was established by the Oklahoma corporation and owns and operates a tower and a cable The names of the parties appear as amended at the hearing This case was originally consolidated with Case 20-RC-9603 How- ever, at the hearing on the consolidated cases, the petitioner in Case 20-RC- 9603, another labor organization, withdrew its petition whereupon the Re- gional Director severed that case and approved the withdrawal Hereinafter referred to as the Oklahoma corporation Hereinafter called the Modesto corporation system, under permits and licenses from the FCC and the county and city governments. With the assistance of the Oklahoma corporation, it operates the Modesto area CATV system and employs the installers and tech- nicians involved in this area. The Oklahoma corporation owns 80 percent of the stock of, and has some officers and directors in com- mon with, the Modesto corporation. It also has a man- agement contract with the Modesto corporation wherein the Oklahoma corporation prepares the Tat- ter's payroll, performs its bookkeeping functions, han- dles its receipts, and gives necessary engineering assis- tance. The Oklahoma corporation also administers an employee benefit program for its own employees and for employees of all of its subsidiaries, including Modesto. In view of the facts set forth above, we find that the Oklahoma corporation and the Modesto corporation are a single integrated enterprise, as well as a single employer of the installers and technicians, and that jurisdiction may be asserted on the basis of their com- bined operations.' The Modesto corporation had been in operation for less than 1 year at the time of the hearing and, based upon a projection of its current revenues, will have yearly revenues in excess of $100,000. Purchases of items other than capital expenses across state lines have exceeded $5,000. The Oklahoma corporation has an annual gross volume of business in excess of $500,000 and makes purchases across state lines in excess of $50,000. We find no merit in Modesto's contention that be- cause the Modesto CATV receives signals broadcast by only California stations,' the Board does not have legal jurisdiction over its operations. The operations of the Modesto corporation, together with or separately from those of Oklahoma, meet the Board's standard for ass- ertion of jurisdiction over CATV operations.' In these circumstances, we find that it will effectuate the policies of the Act to assert jurisdiction herein. 2. The Petitioner is a labor organization claiming to represent certain employees of the Employer. 3. Questions affecting commerce exist concerning the representation of certain employees of the Employer within the meaning of Sections 9(c)(1) and 2(6) and (7) of the Act. The Employer further takes the position that the petition should be dismissed as to the construction workers as they are employed by the Oklahoma corpo- ration, which was not named as employer in the origi- ' Perfect T V Inc, 134 NLRB 575 In view of our decision herein, we find it unnecessary to decide at this time whether these two corporations are a single employer of the construction workers Three of these have national network affiliation General Telephone and Electronics Communications , Inc, 160 NLRB 1192 190 NLRB No. 90 CABLECOM-GENERAL INC. 507 nal petition in this case , was not served with the notice of hearing and did not enter an appearance . The record shows that the Oklahoma corporation was mailed a copy of the notice of consolidated hearing with copies of the petitions attached ; the petition herein clearly indicates in the unit description that construction em- ployees are sought ; the petition was amended at the hearing to add the Oklahoma corporation as employer; and one of the officers which Modesto and Oklahoma have in common but who is paid only by Oklahoma appeared and testified at the hearing . In these circum- stances we find the Oklahoma corporation received due notice and had actual knowledge of this proceeding. The motion to dismiss as to the construction workers is therefore denied. 4. The Petitioner seeks a unit of all installers , techni- cians, and construction employees. The Employer does not dispute the inclusion in any unit found appropriate of installers and technicians, but contends that con- struction employees should be excluded from any such unit . If the Board finds that exclusion proper , the Peti- tioner seeks an election in a separate unit of construc- tion employees. From the Employer's tower in Modesto, lines are run on poles owned by other utilities throughout Modesto. Customers desiring to use the Employer's services sub- scribe to them for a monthly fee. The Employer's in- stallers then run lines from the customer's television set in his residence to its line system . Its technicians and technician trainees investigate complaints , check and make repairs and adjustments on the system , and deter- mine whether the customer's television set is function- ing properly . The technician checks and adjusts equip- ment, such as amplifiers , in a room adjoining the office. There are also electronic installers who check on and assemble amplifiers to be placed at point of tapping into the line. These six employees, along with the two office clerical employees and the general manager and his assistant whom the parties have agreed to exclude, con- stitute the entire employee complement of the Modesto corporation. In hiring technicians and installers, the Employer seeks employees with backgrounds in television repair or electronics . All were hired locally , for permanent employment . The six requested employees are all sala- ried, work similar hours, are uniformed , drive company vehicles, and work under the supervision of the general manager and his assistant. They report to the office daily to receive their instructions. Also involved in this case are 12 employees engaged in construction . These employees are employed directly by the Oklahoma corporation and have their own supervisor. They work out of a warehouse located in Modesto . Their construction plans have been for- mulated by engineers employed by the Oklahoma cor- poration . The construction work consists of running a steel cable and feeder line throughout the Modesto area using existing poles . The skills needed are similar to those of linemen employed by utility companies. Their contact with the Modesto corporation is limited to problems that arise in connection with the initial con- struction which they repair or reconstruct. The Oklahoma corporation has construction crews operating throughout the country . It has had construc- tion in progress in several locations in the northern California area, under the same supervisor as the one Who supervises its construction employees in Modesto. When construction began in Modesto , the Oklahoma corporation had just completed a job in Bernecia, Cali- fornia. It had a seven-man crew there . Three of the seven came to Modesto . The other nine construction employees were hired locally. During the course of the Modesto operation three construction employees moved on to Oklahoma's operations in San Pablo. Construction employees are hourly paid. At the time of the hearing it was estimated construction should be completed in Modesto by May 1971 . Although the Modesto corporation has a permit to operate in other areas of the county , the record is not clear as to what will happen to the construction crew after their Modesto work is finished . The Oklahoma corporation might move them into other areas of the same or else- where, or it might lay them off. Based upon the fact that the Modesto corporation has little, if any, control over these construction em- ployees; their separate location and supervision; the difference between the function performed by the con- struction employees on the one hand and the techni- cians and installers on the other ; the lack of contact between the two groups; the temporary nature of the construction crew's work and the permanency of the technicians' and installers' work, we find a single unit of all employees of both groups to be inappropriate! We find, however, that the installers , electronic install- ers, technicians, and technician trainees are a stable, homogeneous group with common interests which con- stitutes a separate appropriate unit for the purposes of collective bargaining. However, we are unable to determine from this record whether the construction crew is an appropriate unit. Thus, there is no evidence as to the present state of, and any definite plans regarding , construction at Modesto and elsewhere in Stanislaus County; any other construction which may be in progress in this area of California in which members of this crew or other crews are or will be engaged; the relationship and inter- change between crews engaged in construction in other areas, as well as California , by the Oklahoma corpora- tion; and the relationship of those employees to the ' McCann Steel Company, Inc., 179 NLRB No. 105, Burns Mills, Inc., 116 NLRB 384 508 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD employees of the construction crew at Modesto, if any. Accordingly, we make no unit finding at this time relat- ing to the construction crew at Modesto, but remand this aspect of the proceeding to the Regional Director for further hearing as to this issue, with due notice to the parties, including the Oklahoma corporation. We find that the following employees constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargain- ing within the meaning of Section 9(c) of the Act:' All installers, electronic installers, technicians and technician trainees at the Employer's Modesto, California, location; excluding office clerical em- ployees, construction employees, guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act. ORDER It is hereby ordered that this case be and it hereby is remanded to the Regional Director for the purpose ' Since the unit found appropriate herein is different from that sought and as the Petitioner's showing of interest therein is not clear , the Regional Director is instructed not to proceed until he shall have determined that the Petitioner has an adequate showing of interest among the employees in the unit found appropriate of conducting a further hearing on the appropriateness of a unit of construction employees. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that with respect to the proposed unit of construction employees, the Iffegional Director be, and he hereby is, directed to issue early notice of hearing, and that posthearing procedures shall be governed by Section 102.67 of the Rules and Regulations of the National Labor Relations Board, Series 8, as amended. [Direction of Electionis omitted from publication.] 10 In order to assure that all eligible voters may have the opportunity to be informed of the issues in the exercise of their statutory right to vote, all parties to the election should have access to a list of voters and their ad- dresses which may be used to communicate with them Excelsior Underwea Inc, 156 NLRB 1236, NLRB. v Wyman-Gordon Co, 394 U S 759 Accordingly, it is hereby directed that an election eligibility list, containing the names and addresses of all the eligible voters, must be filed by the Employer with the Regional Director for Region 20 within 7 days of the date of this Decision and Direction of Election The list may initially be used by the Regional Director to assist in determining an adequate showing of interest The Regional Director shall make the list available to all parties to the election when he shall have determined that an adequate showing of interest among the employees in the unit found appropriate has been estab- lished No extension of time to file this list shall be granted by the Regional Director except in extraordinary circumstances Failure to comply with this requirement shall be grounds for setting aside the election whenever proper objections are filed