King Features Syndicate, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Nov 2, 1942

45 N.L.R.B. 302 (N.L.R.B. 1942)

In the Matter of KING FEATURES SYNDICATE, INC. and CHICAGO NEWS-
PAPER GUILD LOCAL 71 OF THE AMERICAN NEWSPAPER GUILD, AFFILI-
ATED WITH THE C. I. O. '
In the Matter ' of KING FEATURES SYNDICATE, INC. (INTERNATIONAL
-NEWS SERVICE) and PHILADELPHIA-CAMDEN NEWSPAPER GUILD, AFFIL-
IATED WITH THE AMERICAN NEWSPAPER GUILD
In the Matter of KING FEATURES SYNDICATE, INC. (INTERNATIONAL
NEWS SERVICE) and HARRISBURG NEWSPAPER GUILD, AFFILIATED WITH
THE AMERICAN NEWSPAPER GUILD
In the Matter of KING FEATURES SYNDICATE, INC. (INTERNATIONAL
NEWS SERVICE) and PITTSBURGH NEWSPAPER GUILD, LOCAL No. 61,
AFFILIATED WITH THE AMERICAN NEWSPAPER GUILD
In the Matter Of KING FEATURES SYNDICATE, INC. (INTERNATIONAL
NEWS SERVICE) and SAN FRANCISCO-OAKLAND NEWSPAPER GUILD
AFFILIATED WITH THE AMERICAN NEWSPAPER GUILD
In the Matter of KING FEATURES 'SYNDICATE, INC. (INTERNATIONAL
NEWS SERVICE ) and Los ANGELES NEWSPAPER GUILD, AFFILIATED WITH
THE AMERICAN NEWSPAPER GUILD, CIO
Cases Nos. B-3890 through R-3895, respectively. Decided
November 2,194.
Jurisdiction : news gathering and transmitting industry.
Practice and Procedure : petition dismissed where there was no appropriate unit
within its scope; separate units comprising editorial employees at each of
several bureaus of Company held inappropriate in view of history of organiza-
tion of Company employees on a broader basis.
Messrs. Thomas A. Brennan and E. M. Gundy, of New York City, for
the Company.
Isserman, Isserman ct Kapelsohn, by Mr. Abraham J. Isserman, of
Newark, N. J., for the Guild.
Mr. Robert E. Tillman, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
ORDER
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon petitions duly filed by the Chicago, Philadelphia-Camden,
Harrisburg , Pittsburgh, San Francisco-Oakland, and Los Angeles lo-
45 N. L. R. B., No. 46.
302
KING FEATURES - SYNDICATE, INC,, - 303
cals of the American Newspaper Guild; affiliated with the . C.: I. O.,
herein collectively called the Guild , alleging that questions affecting
commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of
King Features Syndicate , Inc., herein called the Company , in its Inter-
national News Service bureaus in Chicago , Illinois ; Philadelphia,
Harrisburg , and Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania ; and San Francisco and
Los Angeles , California , the National Labor Relations Board con-
solidated the cases and.provided for an appropriate hearing upon due
notice before Lester Asher , Trial Examiner . Said hearing was held
at Chicago , Illinois, on May 26, 27, and 28, 1942. The Company and
the Guild appeared , participated , and were afforded full opportunity
to be heard , to examine and cross -examine witnesses , and to introduce
evidence bearing on the issues . The Trial Examiner 's rulings made
at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
On June 26 , 1942, the parties , with the approval of the Regional
Director for the Thirteenth Region ( Chicago, Illinois ), filed a stipula-
tion with the Board correcting the record. This stipulation is hereby
approved and is accordingly made part of the record.
On July 31 and August 1, 1942 , respectively , the Company and the
Guild filed briefs which the Board has considered.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
King Features Syndicate, Inc., is a wholly owned subsidiary 'of the
Hearst Corporation and has its principal offices and place of business
in New York City. The Company consists of three major divisions,
namely, the Features Service, the' International News Photos, and
the International News Service. The International News Service,
which alone is involved in these proceedings, gathers and transmits
news from and to all parts of the world. The division has its own
executives and maintains physically separated offices in New York
City and throughout the rest of the country'
The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
Chicago Newspaper Guild, Local 71, Philadelphia-Camden News-
paper Guild, Harrisburg Newspaper Guild, Pittsburgh Newspaper
Guild, Local No. 61, San Francisco-Oakland Newspaper Guild, and
' By stipulation of the parties , these facts regarding the business of the Company are
based upon the record and decision in Matter of` King Features Syndicate , Inc, and
American Newspaper Guild, et at , 23 N L R. B. 1174
304 DECISIOSTS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Los Angeles Newspaper Guild, are all affiliated with the American
Newspaper Guild, which in turn is affiliated with the Congress of
Industrial Organizations. Each local Guild admits to membership
employees of the Company.
III. THE ALLEGED APPROPRIATE UNITS
The Guild requests that separate units be established in the follow-
ing International News Service bureaus of the Company : Chicago,
Illinois, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and
San Francisco and Los Angeles, California. The Guild would include
in each unit all the editorial employees 2 in the local office of the Inter-
national News Service,, excluding the bureau manager, the division
manager, if any, sales personnel,, Hearst wire men, part-time employees
working regularly less than 20 hours a week, and, temporary em-
ployees. The Company stipulated to the categories of employees
included in and excluded from the units, but contends that its entire
International News Service system should constitute a single
appropriate unit.
The Company maintains International News Service bureaus in
29 cities in the United States, which are connected by telegraph wires
leased from the American Telephone and Telegraph Company. Seven
of the bureaus are centralized relay points through which news to and
from outlying bureaus must pass to gain the fullest distribution. Such
relay stations sort out the incoming news, edit it and condense it in
many instances, and determine what is to be relayed and where it is
to be relayed, Of the 6 bureaus involved in these proceedings, the
Chicago, Philadelphia, and San Francisco bureaus are relay stations.
The Chicago bureau is the principal relay station of the entire system,
being situated, as it were, in the center of the web. All International
News Service news from the East to the West passes' through the
Chicago bureau, and vice versa, and_all news from the Southeast and
Southwest is relayed through Chicago.
The Philadelphia bureau is a minor relay station connecting, a Penn-
sylvania State wire circuit to the national circuit. All International
News Service news to and from Pennsylvania passes through the Phil-
adelphia bureau. The Harrisburg and Pittsburgh bureaus are sta-
tions on the Pennsylvania State wire and are not otherwise connected
with the national wire hook-up. The San Francisco bureau is likewise
a` minor relay station. _It connects the East-West trunk wire with a
line running from Seattle, Washington, down the Pacific Coast to
Southern California. Ordinarily, International News Service news
1, 2 The parties agreed that "all the editorial employees" excludes all employees in jobs
which render them eligible to join the Commerical Telegrapheis Union.
KING FEATURES SYNDICATE, INC. 305
to and from the Pacific Coast passes through the San Francisco bureau.
The Los Angeles , bureau is one of the stations located on the Pacific
Coast wire. I
At the time of the hearing , the Chicago bureau employed 22 editorial
employees within the unit requested by the Guild, the Philadelphia
bureau 4, Harrisburg 3, Pittsburgh 3, San Francisco 9, and Los
Angeles 7.
The affairs of the International News Service are managed from
New York City. This is evidenced by the fact that each bureau sends
its expense accounts and pay rolls to New York City where checks are
issued. New'personnel is hired at the local bureaus only after consent
of the New York City office in the person of Barry Faris, editor-in-
chief of the International News Service , and after his approval of the
bureau nominee. Faris determines the salary, hours, and working con-
ditions of the employees in the bureaus . The Chicago bureau manager
testified that his recommendations to Faris on hiring were usually
followed . In the case of discharging , the bureau manager has the
power to remove an employee , but final authority to discharge rests
upon the New York City office . The bureau manager recommends to
New York City any disciplinary action. The Chicago bureau mana-
ger testified further that he made recommendations for wage increases,
but that , these recommendations were not generally followed. It is
clear from the record that requests for raises are,expected to be made
through the bureau manager. Likewise , grievances usually pass
through the bureau manager to New York City, although some em-
ployees take them directly to New York . Matters of 2 or 3 days'
leave are also taken up with that office. -
The history of collective bargaining relations between the Guild
and the Company extends back to 1936 , when the Guild first began
negotiating on behalf of International News Service and International
News Photos employees . In April 1937 the Company set up a unilat-
eral statement of policy covering International News Photos employees
throughout the country , commonly referred to as the bulletin board'
agreement . Negotiations continued thereafter , and the bulletin board
agreement was extended by the Company . The Guild ultimately re-
fused to sign a contract for International News Photos employees un-
less the Company would also sign a nation-wide contract for Interna-
tional News Service employees.
In May 1938 the Guild and the Company entered into a consent
election agreement which provided for an election in which employees-
of all three divisions of the Company , excluding telegraphers, would
be eligible to vote. The Guild lost this election , and thereafter, in
December 1938, the Company refused to bargain for the employees
of the International News Photos 'separately , contending that the
493508-43-vol 45-20 '
306 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
consent election had fixed a company-wide unit, as apart from a sys-
tem-wide unit, as appropri ate for collective bargaining purposes. The
Guild then petitioned the Board for a nation-wide International News
Photos unit, and the Board found such a unit to be appropriate.' The
Guild was subsequently certified as the collective bargaining represen-
tative of International News Photos employees, and now has a contract
covering them 4
In September 1941 the Guild petitioned the Board for a nation-wide
International News Service unit, but this petition was withdrawn on
November 12, 1941, with the Board's consent. The Guild now admits
not only that it has sought to represent all editorial employees of the
International News Service and in the past has taken the position that
a nation-wide International News Service unit was appropriate, but
admits that a nation-wide International News Service unit would,
under certain circumstances, still be appropriate. It asserts, however,
that it does not at present command a majority of all the editorial em-
ployees of International News Service, and that collective bargaining
should be 'made an immediate possibility for the employees in those
bureaus in which it claims a majority, namely, the six bureaus here
involved.
The foregoing facts distinguish this case from'our decision in Mat-
ter of Associated Press and The American Newspaper Guild, 5 N. L.
R. B. 43. There we found individual bureau units to be appropriate,
resting our decision in part upon the extent of employee self-organiza-
tion. That principle is not applicable here where the Guild has organ-
ized one system of the Company, the International News Photos, on a
nation-wide basis, has attempted to organize the International News
Service upon a similar basis, has taken part in one nation-wide elec-
tion, and having failed in its attempt to organize the entire Interna-
tional News Service system, now seeks to carve out several smaller -
units. Under all the circumstances, we find that the units requested
by the Guild are inappropriate for the purposes of collective bar.
gaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
IV. THE ALLEGED QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
Since, as stated in Section III, above, the bargaining units sought
to be established by the petitions are not appropriate, we find that no
question concerning the representation of employees of the Company
8 Matter o f King Features Syndicate , Inc, and American Newspaper Gerold, et at, 23
NLRB 1174
41n the same proceeding, the Board also found that the employees of the Features
division constituted an appropuate unit Thereafter . Kingsyn Employees Association, an
unaffiliated labor organization , was certified as the collective bargaining representative of
employees in this unit, after an election in which it alone participated It now has a.
contract covering employees in this unit.
KING FEATURES SYNDICATE, INC. 307
in an appropriate unit, has arisen within the meaning of Section 9 (c)
of the Act.
ORDER
Upon the basis-of the foregoing findings of fact, the National Labor
Relations Board hereby orders that the petitions for investigation and
certification of representatives of employees of King Features Syndi-
cate, Inc., filed by the Chicago, Philadelphia-Camden, Harrisburg,
Pittsburgh, San Francisco-Oakland, and Los Angeles locals of the
American Newspaper Guild, affiliated with the C. I. 0., be, and they
hereby are, dismissed.
MR. GERARD D. REILLY took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Order. -