Milwaukee Publishing Company

In the Matter Of MILWAUKEE PUBLISHING COMPANY and MILWAUKEE NEWSPAPER GUILD (C. I. 0.) Case No. 8-953 SECOND SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION AND CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES April 3, 1939 On December 9, 1938, the National Labor Relations Board, Herein called the Board, issued a Decision and Direction of Elections 1 in the above-entitled proceeding. On March 2, 1939, the Board issued a Supplemental Decision, Certification of Representatives, and Sec- ond Direction of Election, 2 setting out the results of the balloting pursuant to the previous Direction and directing a further election among one group of employees because of the indecisive result of the ballot in that group. The Second Direction of Election provided that an election by secret ballot be held within fifteen (15) days from the date of the Direction, among employees of Milwaukee Pub- lishing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, employed in the advertis- ing, accounting, business, and inside circulation subdepartments, ex- cluding executives, who were on the pay roll of July 12, 1938, except those who had since resigned or had been discharged for cause, but including those who had since been permanently employed, to de- termine whether or not they desired to be represented by Office Workers' Union No. 16456 for the purposes of collective bargaining. Pursuant to the Second Direction of Election, an election by secret ballot was conducted under the direction and supervision of John G. Shott, Regional Director for the Twelfth Region (Milwaukee, Wisconsin), on March 13, 1939. On March 15, 1939, the Regional Director, acting pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 1, as amended, issued his Intermediate Report upon the secret ballot, copies of which were duly served upon the Company, the Office Workers' Union, and the Guild. No exceptions to the Intermediate Report have been filed by any of the parties to the run-off election. 1 10 N. L. R. B. 389. 211 N. L R. B. 892 12 N. L. R. B., No. 7. 54 MILWAUKEE PUBLISHING COMPANY 55 As to the balloting and its results, the Regional Director reported as follows : Number of employees eligible to vote------------------------- 109 Total number of ballots cast--------------------------------- 85 Number of votes counted ------------------------------------ 85 Number of votes for Office Workers' Union, Local No. 16456, A. F. of L------------------------------------------------ 46 Number of votes against Office Workers' Union, Local No. 16456, A. F. of L----------------------------------------- 39 Number of blank ballots------------------------------------ 0 Number of void ballots------------------------------------- 0 Number of challenged ballots-------------------------------- 0 Although the Guild was not a party to the election, so conducted, it filed with the Regional Director on March 16, 1939, a letter pro- testing the fact that some 20 employees who had been dismissed as a result of the discontinuance of publication of the evening news- paper on or about January 15, 1939, were, by a ruling of the repre- sentative of the Board who conducted the election, excluded from the list of employees eligible to vote. In support of its contention that the ruling was erroneous, the Guild stated that all such employees were paid a severance indemnity, which in some cases amounted to more than 2 months' salary, and that the Company has placed all dismissed employees on a 6 months' preferential rehiring list. The Regional Director has reported, in connection with the protest, that the dismissed employees have no definite expectation of reemploy- ment and that the only rehiring which might occur would be for the purpose of filling future vacancies. Having considered the matter, the Board, without deciding whether or not the Guild is in a posi- tion to object to the conduct of the election since it was not a party thereto, concludes that the ruling made by the representative of the Board in connection with the election was correct. Upon the basis of the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : SUPPLEMENTAL FINDING OF FACT We find that employees in the advertising, accounting, business, and inside circulation subdepartments, employed by Milwaukee Pub- lishing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, excluding executives, con- stitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining, and that said unit will insure to employees of the Company the full benefit of their right to self-organization and to collective bargain- ing and otherwise will effectuate the policies of the,Act. 56 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : SUPPLEMENTAL CONCLUSION OF LAW Employees in the advertising, accounting, business, and inside circulation subdepartments, employed by Milwaukee Publishing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, excluding executives, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining, within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act. CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the Act, and pursuant to Article III, Sections 8 and 9, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 1, as amended, IT Is HEREBY CERTIFIED that Office Workers' Union No. 16456 has been designated and selected by a majority of the employees in the advertising, accounting, business, and inside circulation subdepart- ments, employed by Milwaukee Publishing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, excluding executives, as their representative for the pur- poses of collective bargaining and that, pursuant to Section 9 (a) of the Act, Office Workers' Union No. 16456 is the exclusive representa- tive of all such employees for the purposes of collective bargaining in respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other conditions of employment.