Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 24, 1944

56 N.L.R.B. 1642 (N.L.R.B. 1944)

In the Matter of METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY and TH>i
INDUSTRIAL AND ORDINARY INSURANCE AGENTS' UNION #2294`(,
A. F. of L.
In the Matter Of METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY and THE
INDUSTRIAL AND ORDINARY INSURANCE AGENTS' UNION #23488,
A. F. OF L.
Cases Nos. 5-R-169 and 5-R-14.41, respectively. Decided
June 24,'1944
Mr. Charles A. Horsky, of Washington, D. C., for the Company.
Mr. George L. Russ, of Washington, D. C., for the Unions.
Mrs. Augusta Spaulding, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
ORDER
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon separate petitions duly filed by Local 22947 and by Local
23488 of The Industrial and Ordinary Insurance Agents' Union;
herein collectively called the' Unions, each alleging that a question
affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of em-
ployees of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, New York City,
herein called the Company, the National Labor Relations Board pro-
vided for an appropriate consolidated hearing upon due notice before
Colonel C. Sawyer, Trial Examiner. Said hearing was held'at Wash-
ington, D.' C., on January 25, 1944. The Company and the Unions
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 April 18, 1944, a hearing was held before the Board at Wash-
ington, D. C., for the purposes of oral argument.' The Company and
For the purposes of oral argument , the representation cases in the instant proceeding
were consolidated with two other representation cases involving employees of the Company
in Ohio. See Matter of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, 56 N. L. R. B 1635
56 N. L. R. B., No. 294.
1642
METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY 1643
the Unions appeared and presented argument. All parties were
afforded opportunity to file briefs with the Board.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, a New York corporation,
has its principal office and place of business, known as the home office,
in New York City. The Company is a mutual life insurance corpo-
ration, engaged in the business of selling and servicing life, health,
and accident insurance in every State in the United States and in the
Dominion of Canada.
On December 31, 1942, the Company had approximately 40,300,000
policies of insurance in force, with a total face value of approximately
$26,800,000,000. These policies were held by some 29,700,000 policy-
holders, residing in every State.of the United States, in the District
of Columbia, and in Canada. On December 31, 1942, the Company's
admitted assets, consisting of cash, Government bonds, stocks, mort-
gages on real estate, real estate and bonds, real estate and policy loans,
and notes, totaled a little less than $6,000,000,000. All securities
purchased by the Company are delivered to, or are immediately
transferred to, and kept in, its home office at New York City except
those on deposit with various Governmental agencies. The Company
owns the real estate in New York upon which its home office is located,
and other real estate used in the administration, of its business in
the States of New York, California, and Virginia, and in Ontario,
Canada. The Company has acquired and owns other real estate
through mortgage foreclosures, or conveyances in lieu of such fore-
closures. On December 31, 1942, the Company owned, through such
transactions, real estate valued, at approximately $259,000,000. Dur-
ing the 5-year period from 1938 to 1942 the Company annually in-
vested in bonds, stocks, and mortgages approximately $635,500,000.
In 1942 it so invested approximately $807,500,000. ,
The Company is licensed to do business in 48 States, in the District
of Columbia, and in most of the Provinces of Canada. On December
31, 1942, there were in the United States 9 agency divisions of the
Company's operations and 758 district, offices. At this time, the Com-
pany had 28,378 employees, exclusive' of 17,853 agents selling insur-
ance and otherwise dealing with its policyholders.
During the calendar year 1942, the Company purchased' for its
operating requirements, furniture, fixtures, and mechanical equip-
ment valued at $991,456. Most of this equipment was shipped to
the Company from points within the State of New York, and approxi-
-1644 , DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
mately 34, percent of such goods, originating in, New York, was
shipped to, and used in, Canada and States other than the 'State of
New York. During the same period the Company purchased sta-
tionery supplies valued at $1,502,092. Approximately 25 percent of
these supplies, most of which originated in the State of New York,
was shipped to offices of the Collipany located in other States and in
Canada. During the same period the Compitny spent approximately'
$2,595,628 for postage and telephone, telegraph, and express services,
and spent $2,558,724 for traveling expenses.
We find that the Company's widespread financial and investment
activities have a direct and substantial effect upon commerce between
the several States and that the Company's various activities themselves
constitute commerce, within the meaning of the National Labor
Relations Act.,
H. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
Local 22947 and Local 23488 are labor organizations chartered by
The Industrial and Ordinary Insurance Agents' Union and affiliated
with the American Federation of Labor, admitting to membership
employees of the Company.
III. THE ALLEGED APPROPRIATE UNITS
The Company's hone 'office is at New York City, where its insur-
ance business is managed and directed by national directors and offi-
cers. For administrative purposes in the United States, the Com-
pany presently groups its agents in 12 agency divisions or territories.
Each territory is under the direct control of a superintendent of agen-
cies, who is to all intents and purposes the effective executive-presiding
over all district offices and office account agencies in that territory.
Each of the offices in Virginia is under the supervision and control of
the superintendent of agencies for, territory B, which includes not only
Virginia, but also Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Caro
lira. In territory B, as of November 24, 1943, there were 47 district
offices, of which 11 were in Virginia. Of these offices, 2 are at Rich-
mond 2 and 1 at Lynchburg, Virginia. Each office is a small admin-
istrative unit under the charge of a manager directly responsible to
the superintendent of agencies in the territory. Immediately under
the manager are one or more assistant managers. Each office has a
cashier and one or more other office employees.
Agents are authorized to solicit and write various types of insur-
ance sold by the Company-ordinary, industrial, group, and accident
and health insurance. Their fees and rates of commissions are de-
termined by the directors and officers of. the Company at New York
2 The Richmond offices include the Lee and Richmond offices.
METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY 1645
City' and are uniform throughout the United, States-. • All the factors
which affect the agents' work,;such as selection, promotion, compensa-
tion, working conditions, rules and regulations, supervision, ,and ter-
mination of employment, are uniform throughout the State of, Vir=
ginia and territory B. At their request, agents are occasionally trans-
ferred,from one district office to another,within a territory. There are
approximately 200 agents of the Company working in the- several of-
fices in Virginia. Of this number, 10 are assigned to the Lynchburg
office and 47 to the offices at Richmond.
The Unions contend that separate bargaining units limited to
the agents at Lynchburg and Richmond, respectively, con-
stitute appropriate, separate bargaining units. The Company con-
tends that the proposed units are not appropriate for bargaining and
that the appropriate unit for these employees should be State-wide in
scope.
The Unions admit that the parent body with which they are affili- ,
ated is presently engaged in organizing agents at other offices in Vir-
ginia; that State-wide units are preferable to smaller units for bar-
gaining purposes; and that organization among the Company's agents
generally is successfully progressing on a State-wide basis from Con-
necticut to California. The Unions, however, contend that bargain-
ing on a State-wide basis is not an immediate possibility for the Com-
pany's agents in,Virginia; that the Company's agents at Lynchburg
and Richmond have manifested a desire for bargaining; and that
these agents should not be deprived, of the right of collective bargain-
ing, pending completion of a successful organizational campaign cov-
ering agents in that State.3 Based upon the extent of organization
among employees of an employer, we have frequently found appro-
priate for bargaining purposes small groups of employees with a pro-
vision for revision of the unit upon a broader organizational showing
at a later time' We believe, however, that the principle upon which
we have set up such provisional units is not controlling in the instant
case. Organization among insurance agents is comparatively recent,
but steadily progressing. The tendency of organization of agents,
both those of the Company and those of The Prudential Insurance
Company of America, its principal competitor, Is admittedly toward
State-wide units.5 Since the entire record herein does not convince us
that a State-wide bargaining unit for agents of the Company in Vir-
-In support of their claim to have organized the 10 agents at Lynchburg and the 47
agents at Richmond, the Unions submitted 7 cards and 16 cards, respectively , all purporting
to bear signatures of agent 's at these cities in the order named. The dates upon the cards
indicate that organization began in the summer of 1943.
4 Matter of Mine Safety Appliances Co., 55 N. L. R. B. 1190.
G See Matter of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, cited in footnote 1, supra.
587784-45--vol. 56-105 1
1646; DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
ginia is improbable in the near future, we are of the opinion that the
limited city-wide units proposed by the Unions herein are not appro-
priate bargaining units at this time. We shall therefore dismiss with-
out prejudice the petitions filed herein.
Since the units proposed in this -consolidated proceeding are not
appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining, we find that no
questions have arisen concerning the representation of employees of
the Company, within the meaning of Section 9- (c) of the Act.
ORDER
Upon the basis of the foregoing findings of fact, and the entire rec-
ord in this proceeding, the National Labor Relations Board hereby,
orders that the petitions for investigation and certification of repre-
sentatives of employees of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company,
New York City, filed by Local 22947. and Local 23488 of The Industrial
and Ordinary Insurance Agents' Union, respectively, be, and they
hereby are, dismissed without, prejudice.