Hearst Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Nov 27, 1972

200 N.L.R.B. 475 (N.L.R.B. 1972)

LOS ANGELES HERALD-EXAMINER 475
Los Angeles Herald- Examiner , Division of the Hearst
Corporation and Package & General Utility
Drivers Local 396, International Brotherhood of
Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen & Helpers
of America, Petitioner. Case 21-RC-12698
No, ember 27, 1972
DECISION AND ORDER
By MLMBt.RS 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 Hearing Officer Douglas F.
Ohns Following the hearing , this case was trans-
terred to the National Labor Relations Board in
Washington, D C , for decision pursuant to Section
102 67 of the National Labor Relations Board Rules
and Regulations and Statements of Procedure, Series
8. as amended. Thereafter, the Petitioner and the
Employer filed beefs
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 Hewing Officer's rulings made at the hearing
aie tree from prejudicial error and are hereby
atfii med
Upon the entire record in this case , including the
hiiefs, the Board finds-
I The Employer is engaged in commerce within
the meaning of the Act, and it will effectuate the
purposes of the Act to assert jurisdiction herein.
2 The labor organizations involved claim to
i epresent certain employees of the Employer.
3 For seasons set forth below , we conclude that
no question affecting commerce exists concerning
the representation of employees of the Employer
%sithin the meaning of Section 9(c)(1) and Section
2(6) and (7) of the Act.
4 The Petitioner seeks to sever from the existing
unit of all employees in the editorial , circulation, and
advertising departments, including office clerical
employees. excluding professional employees,
guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act,
cur rently represented by the Intervenor , Los Angeles
\ev spaper Guild, Local 69, American Newspaper
Guild, AFL-CIO-CLC, a unit of local circulation
di n ers which constitutes the circulation or transpor-
tation department The Employer and the Intervenor
oppose the requested severance , on the grounds that
the only appropriate unit is the existing unit of the
combined editorial and advertising departments
described above, which includes the circulation
drivers.
The Employer, located in Los Angeles, California,
is engaged in the business of publishing a daily
newspaper and is a division of the Hearst Corpora-
tion, a part of the Hillbro Newspaper Printing
Company. Both the Employer and Hillbro maintain
their principal place of business at Los Angeles,
California, and both also maintain a printing plant at
Buena Park in Orange County, California.
The work of the approximately 45 truck (circula-
tion) drivers begins after the printed newspapers are
bundled and sent by chute to the loading dock. The
newspapers are loaded on the truck by the drivers
and then delivered to the Employer's various local
branch offices. The Drivers spend approximately 25
percent of their work day in the plant, wherein they
help load the truck and do related work. They
generally take a half-hour lunchbreak in the Employ-
er's cafeteria which is used by employees in other job
classifications. The circulation drivers are given
dispatch sheets which inform them of the number of
papers to be delivered to each location and they load
their trucks accordingly. Depending upon the desti-
nation of the newspapers, circulation drivers make as
few as one trip per day or as many as a half dozen
trips.
The only job requirements for circulation drivers
are that they be high school graduates, have valid
California driving licenses, good health, and clean
work background. Through advertisements or refer-
rals, prospective circulation drivers initially apply at
the Employer's employment office, which services all
departments. After completing the appropriate
forms, the prospective applicants are sent to a driver-
testing center for a driving test. If the preliminary
screening is satisfactory, they are interviewed by the
transportation manager, who is in charge of the
circulation department, or, in his absence, by the
assistant circulation manager or one of the approxi-
mately seven dispatchers.
The circulation drivers operate 1 ton or 1-1/2 ton
leased trucks which are parked in the Employer's
main parking lot. They are hourly paid and punch
the same timeclocks as the Employer's other hourly
paid employees. There is no significant history of
work interchange with employees in other depart-
ments. As a result of past collective-bargaining
agreements, which included the circulation drivers in
the overall unit, the drivers have identical benefits
with all the editorial, advertising, promotion, circula-
tion, and clerical and stenographic employees.
Originally, in the 1930s, there were two newspapers
operated by the Employer in the Los Angeles area:
The Los Angeles Herald Express, a morning newspa-
per, and the Los Angeles Examiner, and evening
newspaper. The employees in the unit of combined
editoral, advertising and circulation departments,
200 NLRB No 79
476 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
including the truckdrivers, on the Express were
always represented by the Intervenor, while the
Exanunct's truckdrivers up until 1956 were inde-
pendent contractors. In February 1956, the Examiner
terminated its independent contractor relationship
w rth It truckdrivers and entered into a contract with
the Petitioner covering the periods 1958-60 and
1960- 62 111 1962, the two newspapers were consoli-
dated into the current Los Angeles Herald-Examiner,
an afternoon paper, with the Intervenor continuing
to represent the overall editorial, advertising, and
circulation department, including truckdrivers.
Soon after the merger, the Petitioner filed a petition
for a unit of truckdrivers (Case 21-RC-7769), but the
unit was held inappropriate by the Regional Director
on the basis that it did not include all the drivers
doing related work, namely, distributors, and the
petition was dismissed.
The Employer negotiated contracts with the
Intervenor for periods of May 1962 to November
1963, November 1963 to November 1965, and
January 1966 to November 1967, for a unit including
the editorial department, the circulation department
which includes truckdrivers, the advertising depart-
ment, and the stenographic department.
Prior to the negotiation of the January 1966
contract the Petitioner filed a petition to sever a unit
of truckdrivers and distributors in the circulation
department Pursuant to a Stipulation for Certifica-
tion Upon Consent Election an election was held and
the Intervenor was certified in a unit including "all
regular full time and part time drivers and distribu-
tors in the circulation department" on February 2,
1966 (Case 2l-RC-9851).
On December 15, 1967, a strike by various labor
organizations, including the Intervenor, commenced
at the Employer's business and is still continuing as
of the date of the hearing. In September 1968, the
Intervenor and other labor organizations involved in
the strike filed representation petitions for various
units of the Employer's employees. In the election
held for the employees in the overall unit of editorial,
advertising, and circulation departments including
truckdrivers (Case 21-RC-10989), the Intervenor
was certified. The Petitioner was not on the ballot or
otherwise involved in that proceeding.
Since the 1967 strike, the Employer and Intervenor
have been engaged in continuous negotiations. From
the commencement of the strike and through 1968,
the parties have met two to three times a week-in
1969 once a week, 1970 once per month, and in 1972
semimonthly. The record indicates that there have
been no changes in the circulation department
during the 4-1/2 years of the strike.
We note that the drivers in issue are local drivers
who spend approximately 25 percent of their time at
the Employer's main location loading their trucks
and performing related functions, regularly use the
same cafeteria, punch the same timeclock, and in
most respects have common benefits and working
conditions as other employees.
As for the bargaining history, the record shows that
the Intervenor has consistently represented the
drivers in the overall unit since the 1930's. While for
4 years, 1968-62, the Petitioner represented the
drivers separately while they worked for the Los
Angeles Examiner, that paper went out of business in
1962 and the truckdriver unit was then merged with
the Employer's overall bargaining unit. Significantly,
in the only petition for a election to sever the
truckdrivers, in 1967, pursuant to a stipulation by the
parties, the truckdrivers voted against severance, and
as recently as 1969 the Intervenor was certified to
represent the employees in the overall unit including
truckdrivers pursuant to a Decision and Direction of
Election. Although since 1967 the Intervenor, as well
as most of the unions representing the Employer's
other employees, has been on strike, there appears to
be no bargaining impasse and the parties continue to
meet regularly in an attempt to reach a collective-
bargaining agreement.
From the foregoing and the record as a whole we
find that the local truckdrivers in the Employer's
circulation department which the Petitioner seeks to
sever and represent in a separate unit have a clear
history of bargaining on a broader basis. Moreover,
they have a community of interest with other
employees in the overall unit. Accordingly, we
conclude that the local truckdrivers involved herein
do not constitute a homogeneous, functionally
distinct group such as the Board has traditionally
accorded the right to self-determination.' We shall,
therefore, dismiss the petition.
ORDER
It is hereby ordered that the petition be, and it
hereby is, dismissed.
' See mete-Portland Flour Mills, Inc, 186 NLRB No 99, Cf Wright City Inc, 187 NLRB No 45, Downington Paper Co, a Division of Sonoco
Displai Manufacturing Co, A Subsidiary of Permaneer Corporation ( Dela- Products Company, 192 NLRB No 42
Kare), 183 NLRB No 86, Western Pennsylvania Motor CarriersAs ociation,