Martin Theatres of Georgia, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

May 29, 1967

164 N.L.R.B. 1175 (N.L.R.B. 1967)

MARTIN THEATRES OF GA. 1175
Martin Theatres of Georgia , Incorporated
and International Alliance of Theatrical
Stage Employees and Motion Picture
Machine Operators , Local No. 225,
AFL-CIO, Petitioner . Case 10-RC-6936.
May 29,1967
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION
BY CHAIRMAN MCCULLOCH AND MEMBERS BROWN
AND JENKINS
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9(c) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, hearings
were held before Murray F. Bahm and Scott P.
Watson, Hearing Officers. The Hearing Officers'
rulings made at the hearings are free from
prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. The
Employer and the Petitioner have filed briefs.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the
National Labor Relations Board has delegated its
powers in connection with this case to a three-
member panel.
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board
finds:
1. The Employer is a Georgia corporation
engaged in operating motion picture theaters in
Georgia and several other States. It has annual gross
volume of sales in excess of $500,000. It annually
rents films valued in excess of $50,000 from the
Georgia branch offices of film companies which ship
such film to such branch offices from out-of-State.
We find that the Employer is engaged in
commerce within the meaning of the Act and that it
will effectuate the policies of the Act to assert
jurisdiction herein.'
2. The labor organization involved claims to
represent certain employees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists
concerning the representation of employees of the
Employer within the meaning of Sections 9(c)(1) and
2(6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The Petitioner seeks to represent a unit of
motion picture theater projectionists at five theaters
of the Employer in the Marietta-Smyrna, Georgia,
area. Two of the theaters are enclosed theaters, and
three are drive-in theaters. The Employer contends
that a unit limited to projectionists and excluding
other theater employees such as cashiers, doormen,
ushers, concession attendants, and porters is not
appropriate. There is no bargaining history at any of
these theaters.
The projectionists are the most highly skilled and
the highest paid employees in the theaters. They are
not considered fully competent until they have
worked in a projection room for at least 2 or 3 years.
In contrast, other theater employees are unskilled.
Although there is no bargaining history at the
theaters involved, the parties do have collective-
bargaining contracts for separate units of
projectionists at five theater locations in Atlanta,
Georgia. There is also uncontradicted testimony that
it is customary in both enclosed and drive-in theaters
throughout the United States for motion picture
projectionists to be bargained for in separate units.
In view of the bargaining practice in the industry and
at other theaters of the Employer, and the disparity
in skills and interests between projectionists and
other theater employees, we find that a unit limited
to motion picture projectionists is appropriate.
Accordingly, we find that the following employees
constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of
collective bargaining within the meaning of Section
9(b) of the Act.
All motion picture projectionists at the
Employer's Marietta, Georgia, theaters and the
Employer's Belmont Hills Theatre and Smyrna
Drive-In Theatre located in Smyrna, Georgia,
excluding all other employees, office clerical
employees, guards, and supervisors as defined
in the Act.
[Text of Direction of Election2 omitted from
publication.]
i Chicago Theatrical Protective Union Local No 2, LA T.S E
(Midwest News Reel Theatres, Inc), 149 NLRB 424.
2 An election eligibility list, containing the names and
addresses of all the eligible voters, must be filed by the Employer
with the Regional Director for Region 10 within 7 days after the
date of this Decision and Direction of Election. The Regional
Director shall make the list available to all parties to the election
No extension of time to file this list shall be granted by the
Regional Director except in extraordinary circumstances. Failure
to comply with this requirement shall be grounds for setting aside
the election whenever proper objections are filed Excelsior
Underwear Inc , 156 NLRB 1236
164 NLRB No. 150