Associated Electronic Enterprises, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Nov 12, 1948

80 N.L.R.B. 295 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

In the Matter of ASSOCIATED ELECTRONIC ENTERPRISES , INC. and RADIO
BROADCAST ENGINEERS , LOCAL #1281, INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD
OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS, AFL
Case No. 1-RC-279.-Decided November 12, 1948
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before a hearing
officer of the National Labor Relations Board. The hearing officer's
rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are
hereby affirmed.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the National Labor
Relations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with
this case to a three-man panel consisting of the undersigned Board
Members.*
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the National Labor Relations Act.
2. The labor organization named below claims to represent certain
employees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of certain employees of the Employer, within the meaning of
Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The appropriate unit :
The Petitioner seeks a unit of all radio broadcast technicians 1 em-
ployed at the Employer's radio station WWON located in Woonsocket,
Rhode Island, excluding the chief engineer. The Employer contends
that a more comprehensive unit, which would include its announcer
technicians, is appropriate at this small radio station.
Radio station WWON consists of a transmitter station and a broad-
cast studio separately located in the city of Woonsocket, Rhode Island.
The radio broadcast technicians are employed at the transmitter sta-
tion while all other employees, including announcer technicians, work
* Houston , Reynolds , and Murdock.
1 Sometimes referred to in the radio broadcast industry as transmitter engineers , trans-
mitter technicians , or transmitter operators.
80 N. L. R. B., No. 61.
295
296 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
at the studio. The radio broadcast technicians, of whom -there are
four, operate and maintain the radio transmitting equipment. They
are required to be licensed by the Federal Communications Commis-
sion. Although the six announcer technicians are employed primarily
for quality of voice and announcing ability, they divide their work-
ing time equally between announcing programs and performing vari-
ous technical functions in conjunction therewith, such as operating
various devices to control the tone and sound mixture of their pro-
grams. When on duty, they are constantly in direct communication
with the transmitter station for purposes of technical coordination.
During "live shows," which comprise about 25 percent of WWON's
programs, two announcer technicians are on duty, one performing all
the announcing work and the other performing the technical duties.
However, only one announcer technician is required for other types
of programs. The radio broadcast technicians and the announcer
technicians have substantially the same general working conditions,
including wage rates, vacations, and sick leave.
The station-wide unit, as urged by the Employer, would contain a
total of 10 employees. Despite the physical separation of the trans-
mitter station from the main studios, the record is clear that all of the
employees at the Employer's radio station operate as a small, closely
knit group with common interests and conditions of employment. We
believe, therefore, that this group should not be fractionalized for
collective bargaining purposes.2 Moreover, it appears that the Peti-
tioner has in fact organized the Employer's announcer technicians
and, as an alternative, has indicated at the hearing that it would
participate in an election should we find appropriate the more com-
prehensive unit urged by the Employer.' On the basis of the fore-
going, we find that the appropriate unit should include all the
Employer's radio broadcast technicians and announcer technicians
The remaining question to be decided is whether or not to include in
the unit George Travis, who the Petitioner alleges is a supervisor.
This individual is the brother-in-law of the Employer's president. He
was originally employed as the station's chief engineer and in such
position exercised supervisory authority. However, shortly prior to
the filing of the petition herein, Travis was "demoted" to the position
of radio broadcast technician. Notwithstanding this alleged demo-
tion, the Petitioner asserts that Travis continues to perform the same
8 Matter of Federated Publications, Inc., 74 N . L. R. B. 1054 ; Matter of Fairchild Adver-
tising, Inc., 72 N . L. R. B. 1082.
8 The Petitioner has made a sufficient showing of interest with respect to this broader
unit.
4 Matter of Western Gateway Broadcasting Corporation, 77 N. L. R. B. 49. Our finding
herein renders moot the parties ' dispute as to the field engineer whom the Petitioner sought
to exclude as an announcer technician.
ASSOCIATED ELECTRONIC ENTERPRISES, INC. 297
duties he performed as chief engineer. The record discloses that
Travis is paid the same fixed weekly salary of $70 which he received
as chief engineer, although the Employer indicated that his work week
is regularly in excess of 50 hours. The other technicians are paid on
an hourly basis and earn less than $50 for a 48-hour week. In addition
to his regular duties as a radio broadcast technician, Travis maintains
and repairs studio and transmitter equipment and performs various
odd jobs at the station. Under all the circumstances in the case, includ-
ing his close family relationship to the Employer's president,5 we shall
exclude George Travis as having diverse interests from those of other
employees in the unit.
Accordingly, we find that all radio broadcast technicians and an-
nouncer technicians of the Employer at its Woonsocket, Rhode Island,
radio station WWON, including the field engineer, but excluding all
supervisors, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining with the Employer, an election by secret
ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than 30
days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and super-
vision of the Regional Director for the Region in which this case was
heard, and subject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 5, as amended, among
the employees in the unit found appropriate in paragraph numbered
4, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately
preceding the date of this Direction of Election, including employees
who did not work during said pay-roll period because they were ill or
on vacation or temporarily laid off, but excluding those employees who
have since quit or been discharged for cause and have not been rehired
or reinstated prior to the date of the election, and also excluding
employees on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to determine
whether or not they desire to be represented, for purposes of collective
bargaining, by Radio Broadcast Engineers, Local #1281, Interna--
tional Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL.
See Matter of Superior Bakery, 78 N. L. It. B. 1172.