The Western Union Telegraph Co.

In the Matter of THE WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH COMPANY and LOCAL 91, COMMERCIAL TELEGRAPHERS' UNION, AFFILIATED WITH THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR Case No. R-3433.-Decided January 26, 1942 Jurisdiction : telegraph industry. Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: re- fusal to accord union recognition until certified by the Board ; election necessary Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all employees of the Company work- ing in or from Sioux City, Iowa, under the jurisdiction of the superintendent at Sioux City, excluding employees having the exclusive right to hire and discharge ; messenger boys engaged exclusively in the handling of errand service and/or distribution service, delivery manager, late night chief operator, and confidential clerk to chief operator. Mr. Edward C. Ziesel, of Chicago, Ill., for the Company. Mr. Howard IV. Brandon, of Lincoln Neb., and Gladys A. Swaby, of Sioux City, Iowa, for the Union. Mr. Louis Cokin, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE On October 2, 1941, Local 91, Commercial Telegraphers' Union, herein called the Union, filed with the Regional Director for the Eighteenth Region (Minneapolis, Minnesota) a petition alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the represen- tation of employees of The Western Union Telegraph Company, Sioux City, Iowa, herein called the Company, and requesting an investigation and certification of representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449., herein called the Act. On November 24, 1941, the National Labor Relations Board, herein called the Board, acting pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the Act and Article III, Section 3, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, ordered an investi- gation and authorized the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice. 38 N. L R. B., No. 112 595 536 D'E'CI'SIONNS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD On December 9, 1941, the Regional Director issued a notice of hear- ing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company, the Union, and upon American Communications Association, herein called the A. C. A. Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held on January 5, 1942, at Sioux City, Iowa, before Henry W. Lehmann, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Chief Trial Examiner. The Company and the Union were represented and participated in the hearing. The A. C. A. did not appear at the hearing. Full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bear- ing on the issues was afforded all parties. The Trial Examiner granted motions of the Union during the hearing to amend the petition as to formal matters. During the course of the hearing the Trial Examiner made several rulings on other motions and on objections to the ad- mission of evidence. The Board has reviewed these rulings and finds that no prejudicial errors were committed. The rulings are hereby affirmed. 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'Ne* York corporation with its principal office at New York City. It is engaged throughout the United States and in various foreign countries in the receiving and transmission by telegraph and cable of intrastate, interstate, and international communications . In the operation of its national and international communications system, the Company operates 211,530 miles of pole lines, 4,070 miles of land-line cable, 1,776,876 miles of wire, 30,324 nautical miles of ocean cable, and 19 ,543 telegraph offices. At the close of 1940, the Company employed approximately 43,500 persons. The Company maintains offices at Sioux City , Iowa, with which we are here concerned . It admits that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act. II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED Local 91, Commercial Telegraphers' Union, is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, admitting to mem- bership employees at the Sioux City, Iowa, offices of the Company. III., THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION The Company refuses to recognize the Union as the exclusive repre- sentative of its employees at the Sioux City office until such time as it is certified by the Board. A statement of the Trial Examiner during THE WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH COMPANY 537 the hearing shows that the Union represents a substantial number of employees in the unit which it alleges is appropriate.' We find that a question has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Company. IV. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION UPON COMMERCE We find that the question concerning representation which has arisen, occurring in connection with the operations of the Company described in Section I above, has a close, intimate, and substantial relation to trade, traffic, and commerce among the several'States and tends to lead to labor disputes burdening and obstructing commerce and the free flow of commerce. V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT The Union and the Company agree that all employees of the Com- pany working in or from Sioux City, Iowa, under the jurisdiction of the superintendent at Sioux City, excluding employees having the exclusive right to hire and discharge and messenger boys engaged in the handling of errand service and/or distribution service, constitute an appropriate unit. The only controversy with respect to the unit concerns the delivery manager, late night chief operator, and confi- dential clerk to chief operator. The delivery manager is in complete charge of the delivery depart- ment. The Company contends that he should be excluded from the unit because he is a- supervisory employee and the Union urges his inclusion. He has the authority to hire and discharge employees working under him and assigns their tours of duty. We shall exclude the delivery manager from the unit. The late night chief operator is in charge of the traffic department, from midnight to 7 a. in. The Company urges that he be excluded from the unit and the Union that he be included. This employee normally has one person working under him but on frequent occasions his staff is increased to three employees. It appears that he has the authority to discipline persons in his department and may send them home for cause. We shall exclude the late night chief operator from the unit. The confidential clerk to chief operator handles all confidential correspondence in the Sioux City office. The Company urges that she be excluded from the unit and the Union that she be included. In addition to her duties in handling confidential correspondence, she 1 The Trial Examiner stated that the Union presented an authorization petition signed by 45 persons who appear on the Company 's pay roll for the Sioux City office . There are approximately 75 employees at the Sioux City office. 538 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD makes up the pay roll for the Sioux City office. We shall exclude the confidential clerk to chief operator from the unit. We find that all employees of the Company working in or from Sioux City, Iowa, under the jurisdiction of the superintendent at Sioux City, excluding employees having the exclusive right to hire and dis- charge, messenger boys engaged exclusively in the handling of errand service and/or distribution service, delivery manager, late night chief operator, and confidential clerk to chief operator, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining and that such unit will insure to employees of the Company the full benefit of their right to self-organization and to collective bargaining and otherwise will effectuate the policies of the Act. VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES We find that the question concerning representation which has arisen can best be resolved by the holding of an election by secret ballot. The Union urges that the pay roll of December 14, 1941, be used to determine eligibility to vote. No reason appears, however, why a current pay roll should not be used for that purpose. We shall direct that the employees of the Company eligible to vote in the election shall be those in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay- roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election herein, subject to the limitations and additions 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. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre- sentation of employees of The Western Union Telegraph Company Sioux City, Iowa, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act. 2. All employees of the Company working in or from Sioux City, Iowa, under the jurisdiction of the superintendent at Sioux City, ex- cluding employees having the exclusive right to hire and discharge, messenger boys engaged exclusively in the handling of errand service and/or distribution service, delivery manager, late night chief oper- ator, and confidential clerk to chief operator, 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 ELECTION By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations THE WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH COMPANY 539 Act and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National Labor Rela- tions Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is hereby DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation ordered by the Board to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with The Western Union Telegraph Company, Sioux City, Iowa, an election 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 direction and supervision of the Regional Director for the Eighteenth 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 of the Company working in or from Sioux City, Iowa, under the jurisdiction of the superintendent at Sioux City who were employed during the pay-roll period imme- diately 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 employees having the exclusive right to hire and discharge, messenger boys engaged exclu- sively in the handling of errand service and/or distribution service, delivery manager, late night chief operator, confidential clerk to chief operator, and employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by Local 91, Commercial Telegraphers' Union, affiliated with the Amer- ican Federation of Labor, for the purpose of collective bargaining.