Hagerstown Broadcasting Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Oct 7, 1942

44 N.L.R.B. 853 (N.L.R.B. 1942)

In the Matter Of HAGERSTOWN BROADCASTING COMPANY and ASSOCIATED
BROADCAST TECHNICIANS UNIT OF INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF
ELECTRICAL WORKERS (AFL)
Case No. C-2347. -Decided October9,194.
Jurisdiction : radio broadcasting industry.
Settlement : stipulation providing for compliance with the Act:
Remedial Orders : entered on stipulation.
Mr. Jacob Blum, for the Board.
Mr. Robert McCauley, for the respondent.
Mr. Lawrence F. Daly, for the Union.
Mr. A. Sumner Lawrence, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
ORDER
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon amended charges duly filed by Associated -Broadcast Tech-
nicians' Unit of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers,
A. F. L., herein called the Union, the National Labor Relations
Board, herein called the' Board, by the Regional Director for the
Fifth Region. (Baltimore, Maryland), issued its complaint dated
July 27, 1942, against Hagerstown Broadcasting Company, Hagers-
town, Maryland, herein called the respondent, alleging that the
respondent had engaged in and was engaging in unfair labor prac-
tices affecting commerce, within the meaning of Section 8 (1), (3) and
(5) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act,
herein called the Act. Copies of the complaint, amended charge and
notice of hearing were duly served upon the respondent and the
Union.
Concerning the unfair labor practices, the complaint alleged in
substance (1) . that the respondent discouraged membership in the
Union by discharging from its employ William F. Jones on or
about January 1, 1942, and Melvin Ward on or about January 24,
1942, and by thereafter refusing to reinstate them, because they had
joined and assisted the Union;. (2) that on or about June 25, 1942,
and at all times thereafter the respondent refused to bargain collec-
44 N. L. R. B., No. 168.
853
854 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
tively with the Union as the exclusive bargaining representative of
all its employees in the appropriate unit, although the Union had
been duly designated by a majority of the employees in the unit as
their bargaining' representative; (3) that by the foregoing and other
specified acts, the respondent interfered with, restrained, and coerced
its employees in the exercise of rights guaranteed in Section 7 of
the Act. On August 8, 1942, the respondent filed an answer denying
the allegations of unfair labor practices in the complaint.
On August 13, 1942, after the opening of the scheduled hearing
in the case, the respondent, the Union, and counsel for the Board
entered into an Agreement of Settlement subject to the approval of
the Board, which agreement was subsequently amended. The Agree-
ment of Settlement as amended provides as follows :
Agreement, Made this 13th day of August, A. D., 1942, by and'
among the following parties : Hagerstown Broadcasting Com-
pany, hereinafter referred to as the "Employer"; Associated
Broadcast Technicians' Unit of International Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers (AFL), hereinafter referred to as the
"Union";'and Jacob Blum, Attorney, National Labor Relations
Board ;
A. Whereas, A third amended charge was duly filed by the
Union on July 22, 1942, with the Regional Director of the Fifth
Region for the National Labor Relations Board, hereinafter
referred to as the "Board"; and
B. Whereas, The complaint based upon said charge was there-
after duly issued by said Regional Director on July 27, 1942; and
C. Whereas, A hearing was duly commenced before Will
Maslow, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Chief Trial
Examiner; and
D. Whereas, The parties desire amicably to dispose of all the
issues in this proceeding; and
E. Whereas, The employer does not admit that it has violated
the National Labor Relations Act, hereinafter referred to as the
"Act", or any other law of the land ;
Now therefore it is mutually agreed,
1. The parties agree that the statements set forth in the Ap-
pendix A I attached hereto are facts and that the employer is
engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act and is sub-
ject to the jurisdiction of the Board.
2. The Union is a labor organization within the meaning of
the Act.
3. The parties agree that the Employer has offered immediate
reinstatement to their former positions without prejudice to
I The statements are set forth as Appendix "A" to.this Decision and Order.
HAGERSTOWN BROADCASTING COMPANY 855,
their seniority or other rights and privileges enjoyed by them
in full compliance with the Act to William J. Jones and Melvin
Ward, who have each declined and expressly refused to accept
such reinstatement.
4. The parties agree that in order to insure to employees the
full benefit of the right to self-organization and to collective
bargaining, and otherwise to effectuate the policies of the Act,
all the broadcast technicians employed by the Employer at its
radio station in Hagerstown, Maryland, exclusive of supervisors,
shall constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining. The Union on November 22, 1941, was the repre-
sentative for the purpose of collective bargaining of a majority
of the employees within the said unit and was therefore on
November 22, 1941, and at all times thereafter the exclusive
representative of all the employees in said unit for the purpose
of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (a) of
the National Labor Relations Act.
5. The parties hereby waive further proceedings by or before
the Board and specifically waive the making of findings of fact
and conclusions of law by the Board based upon the issues in
this proceeding:
6. The third amended charge, the complaint, the notice of
hearing, together with proof of service thereof upon all the
parties, the answer, and this-agreement of settlement shall con-
stitute the entire record in this case and may be filed with the
Acting Chief 'Trial Examiner -of the Board in Washington,
D. C.
7. The parties agree to the entry by the Board without further
proceedings or notice of an order in substantially the form set
forth in Appendix B 2 attached hereto.
8. The parties consent to the entry by an appropriate United
States Circuit Court of Appeals of a decree enforcing the terms
of the proposed Board's order set forth in Appendix B upon
application of the Board and without notice to any party pro-
vided that the Employer shall be served with a copy of the decree,
after its entry.
9. The parties agree that this agreement of settlement shall
not be deemed to admit or be evidence of a violation of the Act
in any future proceeding:
10. The entire agreement among the -parties is contained within
this instrument and there is no oral agreement of any kind which
alters, adds to, or varies the terms of this agreement.
2 The Order in Appendix B is set forth as the Order in the present decision.
856 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
11. This entire agreeement is subject to the approval of the
Board and shall become effective immediately as soon as the
Employer receives written notice that the Board has approved
this agreement.
On September 28, 1942, the Board issued an Order approving the
above Agreement of Settlement, as amended, making it a part -of the
record, and pursuant to Article II, Section 36, of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, trans-
ferring the proceeding to the Board for the purpose of entering a
decision and order pursuant to the provisions of the Agreement of
Settlement as amended.
On the basis of the above Agreement of Settlement and upon the
entire record in the case, the Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE RESPONDENT
Hagerstown Broadcasting Company, a Maryland corporation, has
its principal office and place of business in Hagerstown, Maryland,
where it is engaged in the operation of a radio broadcasting station,
identified by the call letters WJEJ. The respondent broadcasts 17
hours daily into an area of 30 square miles with a potential listening
audience of 365,000, of whom about 70 percent are located in States
ether than the State of Maryland. About 25 percent of the programs
broadcast by the respondent are network programs which originate
outside the State of Maryland and are transmitted in interstate
commerce to its station in Hagerstown. The respondent broadcasts
radio programs, news and entertainment from its station in Hagers-
town to and through nearby States other than the State of Maryland.
The respondent admits that it is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the Act. We find that the above-described operations
of the respondent constitute a continuous flow of trade, traffic, and
commerce among the several States.
- ORDER
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact, the Agreement of
Settlement, and the entire record in the case, and pursuant to Section
10 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, the National Labor Re-
lations, Board hereby orders that :
The respondent Hagerstown Broadcasting Company, its officers,
agents, successors, and assigns :
HAGERSTOWN BROADCASTING COMPANY 857
1. Shall not
(a) Discourage membership in the Associated Broadcast Tech-
nicians' Unit of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
(AFL) or any other labor organization of its employees, by dis-
criminating in regard to hire or tenure of employment or any term
or condition of employment;
(b) 'Refuse to bargain collectively with 'the Associated 'Broadcast
Technicians' Unit of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
(AFL) as the exclusive representative of its broadcast technicians
at its radio. broadcasting station in Hagerstown, Maryland, exclu-
sive of supervisors.
(c) In any other manner interfere with, restrain, or coerce its
employees in the exercise of the right to self-organization, to form,
join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through
representatives of their own choosing,, and to engage in concerted
activities, for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual
aid or protection, as guaranteed in Section 7 of the National Labor
Relations Act.
2. Shall take the following affirmative action to effectuate the
policies of the Act :
(a) Make whole Melvin Ward and George H. Brewer for any
loss of pay each may have suffered by payment to each of the sum
of Two Hundred and Twenty-five Dollars ($225.00).
(b) Upon request bargain collectively with the Associated Broad-
cast Technicians' Unit of International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers (AFL) as the exclusive representative of its broadcast
technicians at its radio broadcasting station in Hagerstown, Mary-
land, exclusive of supervisors, with respect to rates of pay, hours
of employment, and other conditions of employment; and if an un-
derstanding is reached on such matters embody such understanding
in a written signed agreement.
(c) Post immediately notices to its employees in conspicuous places,
throughout its offices and radio station in Hagerstown, Maryland, and
maintain such notices for a period of at least sixty (60) consecutive
days from the date of -posting stating that the employer will not
engage. in the conduct which it has been ordered to refrain from
in Paragraphs 1 (a), 1 (b), and 1 (c) hereof, and will take the
affirmative action set forth in Paragraphs 2 ' (a) and 2 (b) hereof,
and that its employees are free to become or remain members of
the Associated Broadcast Technicians' Unit of International Broth-
erhood of Electrical Workers (AFL) or any other labor organiza-
tion without fear of discrimination.
(d) Notify the Regional Director in writing within ten (10) days
after the issuance of this order what steps have been taken to com-
ply therewith.
858 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
.
APPENDIX A
1. Hagerstown Broadcasting Company, herein referred to as-the
"employer", is and has been since 1932 a Maryland corporation hav-
ing its principal office in Hagerstown, Maryland.
2. The employer is continuously engaged at Hagerstown in the
'operation of a radio broadcasting station, identified by the call let-
ters WJEJ.
3. The employer is affiliated with the Mutual Network of the
Mutual Broadcasting Company.
4. The employer broadcasts by Station WJEJ into an area of
thirty square miles with a potential listening audience of 365,000, of
whom about seventy percent are located in States other than the
State of Maryland.
5. The employer broadcasts seventeen hours daily.
6. About twenty-five per cent of the programs broadcast by the
employer are network programs which originate outside the State
of Maryland and are transmitted in interstate commerce to its, sta-
tion in Hagerstown.
7. The employer broadcasts radio programs, news and entertain-
ment from its station in Hagerstown to and through nearby States
other than the State ' of Maryland.
8. The employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.