Animated Film Producers Association

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Nov 27, 1972

200 N.L.R.B. 473 (N.L.R.B. 1972)

ANIMATED FILM PRODUCERS 473
Animated Film Producers Association for its Members
and Associated Companies ' and Writers Guild of
America , West, Inc., on behalf of itself and its
affiliate Writers Guild of America, East, Inc.,
Petitioner . Case 3l-RC-2054
November 27, 1972
DECISION AND ORDER
BY MEMBERS JENKINS, KENNEDY, AND
PENELLO
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9(c) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, a
hearing was held before Raymond M. Norton,
Hearing Officer of the National Labor Relations
Board. At the close of the hearing, this case was
transferred to the Board for decision, pursuant to
Section 102.67 of the National Labor Relations
Board's Rules and Regulations and Statements of
Procedure, Series 8, as amended. Thereafter, the
Employer, the Petitioner, and the Intervenors2 filed
briefs, and the Petitioner filed a reply brief.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the
National Labor Relations Board has delegated its
authority in this proceeding to a three-member panel.
The Hearing Officer's rulings made at the hearing
are free from prejudicial error and are hereby
affirmed.;
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds
that no question affecting commerce exists concern-
ing the representation of employees of the Employer
within the meaning of Sections 9(c)(1) and 2(6) and
(7) of the Act, for the following reasons:
For at least the last 20 years, Animated Film
Producers Association has bargained on a multiem-
ployer basis on behalf of the producers of animated
films, or cartoons, in the Los Angeles area, with
IATSE and Local 839. IATSE and Local 839 have
represented. apparently jointly, the production em-
ployees of the companies associated with the Produc-
ers Association Among these production employees
are writers, known in the industry as "storymen."4
During the past 20 years, these respective representa-
tives of the employers and production employees in
the industry have successfully negotiated a continu-
ous series of collective-bargaining agreements, of
which the latest package of agreements is currently in
effect .5 The Petitioner herein seeks to sever the
writers or "storymen" from the existing production
unit of the Employer's employees represented by
IATSE and Local 839, and to represent them in a
separate unit or units.
Assuming, for the purposes of this case, that
animation storywriting as described in the record
constitutes a true craft within the meaning of Board
decisions, as asserted by Petitioner, and that the
Petitioner is adequately qualified to be a bargaining
representative for persons employed in this craft, an
evaluation of all relevant considerations does not
convince us that it will effectuate the policies of the
Act to allow severance of such a unit on a craft, or
any other basis.6
The recent history of collective bargaining with the
employer group involved here is set forth above and,
to the extent that a pattern for collective bargaining
exists in the animated film industry as a whole, it
appears to follow the same pattern. In fact, a number
of animated film producers not formally associated
with the Producers Association have separately
subscribed and adhered to the most recent collective-
bargaining agreements between the Employer and
the Intervenors. The continuous series of collective-
bargaining agreements and the absence of strikes for
over 20 years, in an industry which experienced a
series of strikes in the 1940's prior to the establish-
ment of the existing pattern of representation,
indicates that the existing pattern is relatively
productive of stability in labor relations.
Consideration of the degree of integration of the
production processes involved shows that the story-
men write scripts of dialogue and scene directions
which are converted into picture form and finally
I The members and associated companies set forth in the petition are
DePa tie-Freleng Enterprises, Inc , Filmation Associates, Hanna-Barbera
Production , Inc Metro-Goldwyn- Mayer, Inc , U P A Pictures , Inc , Walt
Disney Productions , Inc , Walter Lantz Productions, Inc , and Warner
Bros , inc At the hearing , the last five were stipulated out of the unit sought
2 International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Moving
Picture Machine Operators of the United States and Canada , AFL-CIO
(herein called "IATSE"), and its affiliate , Motion Picture Screen Cartoon-
ists, Local 839 ( herein called Local 839), were permitted to intervene in the
proceeding as the recognized bargaining agents of the employees in the unit
sought
3 We find no merit in the Employer's contention that the Hearing Officer
exceeded his authority by subpenaing witnesses on his own behalf See The
Bendix Corporation, Kansas City Division , 150 NLRB 718 In view of our
disposition of the case , infra, we regard as moot the Employer's motion to
reopen the record for the purpose of receiving evidence not in the record
because of the Hearing Officer's refusal to grant an adjournment
4 Cameramen, sound technicians , projectionists, and film editors
employed by the associated companies are not included in the unit of
production employees They are represented by IATSE, but are in separate
local units and are not represented by Local 839
5 Our disposition of the unit question herein makes it unnecessary to
pass on the contentions that our contract -bar doctrine may be applicable to
the instant petition, that Writers Guild of America, east, Inc , is not a proper
party, or that the petition should be dismissed for other reasons
a See Mallinckrodt Chemical Works, Uranium Division, 162 NLRB No
387, 397-399
200 NLRB No. 77
474 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
into animated cartoons by the artists and other
production employees.? The writers' work necessi-
tates a certain amount of consultation with nonwriter
unit employees, but not on any regular basis, and
usually only when clarification, or changes for
reasons of technical difficulties, are requested by
other production employees. At the same time,
despite some testimony to the contrary,8 it is evident
on the record as a whole that' normally the prod-
uction process is dependent on the writers' work; and
that the employees in the middle and later stages of
production would soon exhaust the materials on
which they work if the writers ceased to supply them.
Concerning the maintenance of a separate identity
by the writers while being included in the broader
unit, there are disputed assertions of fact in the
record. These need not be resolved inasmuch as it is
clear that the separate identity of these employees,
whether they have been called writers or storymen,
has never seriously been questioned. However,
insofar as collective bargaining is concerned, the
writers have participated in the representation by
IATSE and Local 839 rather than dealing with the
Employer separately as a group.9 While there is no
evidence of writers' participation prior to the
negotiations for the most recent contracts, writers
actively participated in the latter negotiations,
vigorously presented the interests of writers as a
7 Traditionally, the storymen drew their own pictures and presented their
rough products in the form of "story boards" to be reviewed and refined at
later stages of the production process Currently, however , for reasons of
economy and the unavailability of sufficient writers with drawing facility,
most, if not all , stories are presented in script form Writers also prepare
brief outlines of story and cartoon series ideas for presentation to television
networks
a The manager of labor relations at Walt Disney Productions , Inc, an
employer which was stipulated out of the unit sought, expressed his belief
that if the writers were severed from the existing unit and went on strike,
group, and were successful in obtaining significant
concessions in recognition of their interests. In
addition, the "storyman" classification has enjoyed
over the years one of the highest minimum pay scales
in the unit. 10
Also entitled to some weight in support of the
existing pattern of representation is the fact that
some of the writers who have skills in other aspects
of cartoon production are assigned to other classifi-
cations during slack periods for wnters. This modest
degree of interchange not only suggests a certain
community of interests at least between some writers
and the other production employees, but also
portends some unnecessary inconvenience for the
parties should these writers have to transfer in and
out of bargaining units every time they accept a
different assignment.
In all the circumstances, we find that Petitioner has
not established that a separate unit, or units, of
writers should be severed from the existing multiem-
ployer production unit.ii We shall therefore dismiss
the petition.
ORDER
It is hereby ordered that the petition herein be, and
it hereby is, dismissed.
production could continue in their absence Later he testified that in certain
circumstances production would be shut down
9 That individual writers have bargained for overscale pay contracts
through their own agents or personally is a recognized facet of the labor
relations in the industry and does not reflect on the Intervenors ' status as
the writers ' representatives for collective bargaining
to Currently, virtually all writers are being paid overscale rates
ii In view of our decision on this issue , we also find it unnecessary to
consider the other issues raised by the parties with respect to the scope and
composition of the appropriate unit