The Western Union Telegraph Co.

In the Matter of THE WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH COMPANY and LOCAL 40, DIVISION 2, COMMERCIAL TELEGRAPHERS' UNION, AFFILI- ATED WITH THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR Cases Nos. R-0753 to R-2768, inclusive. Decided September 8, 1941 Jurisdiction : telegraph and cable communications industry. Investigation and Certification : existence of question: Company refused to ac- cord union recognition until it is certified by the Board; election necessary. Units Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : separate units: all employees of the Company employed at each of several cities in the State of Washington, namely : the Port Angeles, Hoquiam, Ellensburg, Chehalis, Bellingham, Aber- deen, Wenatchee, Tacoma, Olympia, Longview, Everett, and Yakima offices respectively, but excluding managers, the plant department employee in the Yakima office, and specifically named individuals ; Practice and Procedure : petitions of union dismissed where proposed units are each composed of one employee ; petition of union dismissed where it made an inadequate showing of representation among employees in a proposed unit. Mr. Patrick H. Walker, of Seattle, Wash., for the Board. Mr. M. T. Cook, of Piedmont, Calif., Mr. R. E. Peters, of Portland, Oreg., and Mr. G. S. Paul, for the Company. Mr. C. E. Hughes, of Seattle, Wash., for the C. T. U. Mr. Robert S. Fousek, of counsel to the Board. DECISION ORDER AND DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS STATEMENT OF THE CASE On February 17 and March 25, 1941, respectively, Local 40, Divi- sion 2, Commercial Telegraphers' Union, affiliated with- the American Federation of Labor, herein called the C. T. U., filed with the Re- gional Director for the Nineteenth Region (Seattle; Washington) petitions and amended petitions alleging that questions affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of The Western Union Telegraph Company,'- herein called the Company, 1 At the hearing there was introduce(] a stipulation correctly designating the Company as set forth above. 35 N. L. R. B , No. 52. 251 252 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD employed in the Company's offices at Wenatchee, Vancouver, Tacoma, Olympia, Longview, Everett, and Bremerton, all located in Wash- ington, and requesting investigations and certifications of representa- tives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On March 25, 1941, the C. T. U. filed similar petitions concerning the representation of the Company's employees at Yakima, Toppenish, Port Angeles, Hoquiam, Ellensburg, Chehalis, Centralia, Bellingham, and Aberdeen, Washington. On June 30, 1941, the National Labor Relations Board, herein called the Board, acting pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the Act and Article III, Section 3 and Section 10 (c) (2), of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, ordered a con- solidation of the cases and an investigation and authorized the Re- gional Director to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice. On July 7, 1941, the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company, the C. T. U., and the American Communications Association. Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held on July 17 and 18, 1941, at Seattle, Washington, before Henry J. Kent, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Chief Trial Examiner. The Board, the Company, and the C. T. U. were represented and participated in the hearing. Full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues was afforded all parties. During the course of the hearing the Trial Examiner made several rulings on motions and on objections to the admission of evidence. The Board has reviewed the rulings of the Trial Examiner and finds that no prejudicial errors were committed. The rulings are hereby affirmed. At the hearing the C. T. U. requested that its petition be dismissed as to the Vancouver office as that unit is covered by a petition apply- ing to the Portland office. The petition will be dismissed. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following: FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY The Western Union Telegraph Company is a New York corpora- tion with its principal office in New York City. It is engaged in the receiving and transmission by telegraph and cable of intrastate, interstate, and international communications. The Company main- tains a vast system of wire networks throughout the United States. In the operation of its national and international communications system the Company owns and/or operates 211,530 miles of pole lines, 4,070 miles of land line cable, 1,776,876 miles of wire, 30,324 nautical WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH COMPANY 253 miles of ocean cable, and 19,543 telegraph offices. This proceeding involves the following 16 offices, all located in Washington, where the Company employs approximately 109 employees : Wenatchee, Van- couver, Tacoma, Olympia, Longview, Everett, Bremerton, Yakima, Toppenish, Port Angeles, Hoquiam, Ellensburg, Chehalis, Centralia, Bellingham, and Aberdeen. The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act. II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED Local 40, Division 2. Commercial Telegraphers' Union, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, is a labor organization admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTIONS CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The Company was requested to recognize the C. T. U. as the exclu- sive bargaining representative for the Company's employees in each of the named offices. The Company refused until such time as the C. T. U. secured certification by the Board. A statement of the Field Examiner introduced in evidence at the hearing shows that the C. T. U. represents a substantial number of employees in each of the above-named offices with the exception of Bremerton 2 Because of the inadequate showing in Bremerton, the petition with reference to that office will be dismissed. Only one non-supervisory employee is employed by the Company in both the Centralia and Toppenish offices. The principle of col- lective bargaining presupposes that there is more than one eligible person who desires to bargain. The Act does not empower the Board to certify where only one employee is involved, although it does not prevent a single employee from designating a representative to act for him. The petitions for investigation and certification of representa- I See the following table: Listed by Listed by Nons u- Non Company Nonsu. Company and Signed and Signed s employ- signed cards but pervisory employ- signed but not C^ty ees listed member- but not City ees listed member- cards by the ship or listed by by the ship or listed by Com an authors- Company Company authori- Company p y ration zation cards cards Bremerton------ 9 2 1 Bellingham ----- 6 5 __________ Everett ......... 6 5 1 Centralia------- 1 2 ---------- Longview------- 4 3 1 Chelais_________ 2 2 ---------- Olympia -- ------ 9 6 3 Ellensburg------ 2 1 ---------- Tacoma-------- 25 23 3 Hoquiam _______ 2 _ 2 ---------- Vancouver- ----- 4 3 _ Port Angeles- __ 2 3 ---------- Wenatchee _ 11 10 1 Toppemsh ___-__ 1 1 ---------- Aberdeen ------- 5 2 __________ Yakima________ 20 17 __________ 254 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD fives of employees of the Toppenish and Centralia offices will therefore be dismissed We find that questions have arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Company in the ' Everett, Longview, Olympia, Tacoma, Wenatchee, Aberdeen, Bellingham, Chehalis, Ellensburg, Hoquiam, Port Angeles, and Yakima offices. IV. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTIONS CONCERNING REPRESENTATION UPON COMMERCE ` We find that the questions concerning representation which have arisen, occurring in connection with the operations of the Company described in Section I above, have a close, intimate, and substantial relation to trade, traffic, and commerce among the several States and tend to lead to labor disputes burdening and obstructing commerce and the free flow of commerce. V. THE APPROPRIATE UNITS The C. T. U. alleges that all employees in each office, excluding managers in offices employing five or more persons, and the plant- department employees in the Tacoma and Yakima offices, constitute an appropriate bargaining unit. The Company urges the exclusion of all managers but takes no position upon the exclusion of members of the plant departments. Office managers in offices employing less than five employees have numerous duties and spend a preponderantly greater amount of their time performing duties not strictly of a managerial nature. • How-, ever, all managers exercise supervisory authority, including the au- thority to hire and discharge, over employees in their offices. We shall exclude all managers from the unit. At the hearing it was disclosed that clerks Hoffman and Rudeen, in the Tacoma and Yakima offices, have supervision over the delivery department with power to hire and discharge messengers. Appar- ently the C. T. U. would include these employees in the units. Be- cause of the clear supervisory function which these clerks perform, we find that they are supervisors and that Hoffman and Rudeen should be excluded from the appropriate units. No reason was assigned by the C. T. U. for the request that plant- department employees in the Tacoma and Yakima offices be excluded. While there are no plant-department employees in any of the other offices considered in this proceeding, we have frequently included plant-department employees in city units 4 We have recently ex- 8 Matter of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and Motion Picture Producers Ass'n., et al. and Screen Writers' G2uild, Inc, 8 N. L R. B. 858. 'Matter of Western Union Telegraph Company and American Federation of Labor, Com- mercial Telegraphers' Union, 30 N L R. B. 1169. WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH COMPANY 255 eluded the plant-department employees in the Tacoma office from a unit of plant-department employees in a geographical area in a pro- ceeding arising upon a petition by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.5 In the same proceeding, however, we included the plant-department employee in the Yakima office in a unit with other plant-department employees in a geographical district. Under all the circumstances, we shall include the plant-department employees in the unit with other employees in the Tacoma office in this proceeding and shall exclude the plant-department employee in the Yakima office from the unit of other Yakima office employees. We find that all employees of the Company employed at the Port Angeles, Hoquiam, Ellensburg, Chehalis, Bellingham, Aberdeen, Wenatchee, Tacoma, Olympia, Longview, Everett, and Yakima offices respectively, but excluding managers, the plant-department employee in the Yakima office, and Hoffman and Rudeen, each constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining, and that such units will insure to employees of the Company the full benefit of their right to self-organization and to collective bargaining and other- wise effectuate the policies of the Act. VI. TIIE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES We find that the questions concerning representation which have arisen can best be resolved by elections by secret ballot. The parties took no position as to the date to be used to determine eligibility. In accordance with our usual practice, we find that the employees of the Company eligible to vote in the elections shall be those employees in the appropriate units who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Elections herein, subject to such limitations and additions as are set forth in the Direction. Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following: CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. Questions affecting commerce have arisen concerning the repre- sentation of employees of The Western Union Telegraph Company, employed in the offices in Port Angeles, Hoquiam, Ellensburg, Che- halis, Bellingham, Aberdeen, Wenatchee, Tacoma, Olympia, Long- view, Everett, and Yakima, Washington, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act. 5 Matter of The Western Union Telegraph Company and Commercial Telegraphers' Union and Matter of The Western Union Telegraph Company and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, 34 N. L. R. B. 579. 256 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 2. All employees of the Company employed at the Port Angeles, Hoquiam, Ellensburg, Chehalis, Bellingham, Aberdeen, Wenatchee, Tacoma, Olympia, Longview, Everett, and Yakima offices respectively, but excluding managers, the plant-department employee in the Yakima office, and clerks Hoffman and Rudeen, each constitute a unit appro- priate for the purposes of collective bargaining, within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act. DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the 'National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National Labor Relations Board_ Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is hereby DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation authorized by the Board to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with The Western Union Telegraph Company at its Port Angeles, Hoquiam, Ellensburg, Chehalis, Bellingham, Aberdeen, Wenatchee, Tacoma, Olympia, Longview, Yakima, and Everett offices, elections 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 direc- tion and supervision of the Regional Director for the Nineteenth Region, acting in this matter as agent for the National Labor Rela- tions Board and subject to Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and Regulations, among all employees in each office who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction, including employees who did not work during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or in the active military service or training of the United States, or temporarily laid off, but excluding managers, the plant-department employee in the Yakima office, clerks Hoffman and Rudeen, and employees who have since quit or been discharged, for cause, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by Local 40, Division 2, Commercial Tele- graphers' Union, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, for the purposes of collective bargaining. ORDER IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petitions for investigations and 'cer- tifications of representatives of employees in the Vancouver, Bremer- ton, Centralia, and Toppenish offices of The Western Union Company, filed by Local 40, Division 2, Commercial Telegraphers' Union, affili- ated with the American Federation of Labor, be, and they hereby are, dismissed. ' I -