Milwaukee Publishing Company

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 3, 1939

12 N.L.R.B. 54 (N.L.R.B. 1939)

In the Matter Of MILWAUKEE PUBLISHING COMPANY and MILWAUKEE
NEWSPAPER GUILD (C. I. 0.)
Case No. 8-953
SECOND SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION
AND
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 3, 1939
On December 9, 1938, the National Labor Relations Board, Herein
called the Board, issued a Decision and Direction of Elections 1 in
the above-entitled proceeding. On March 2, 1939, the Board issued
a Supplemental Decision, Certification of Representatives, and Sec-
ond Direction of Election, 2 setting out the results of the balloting
pursuant to the previous Direction and directing a further election
among one group of employees because of the indecisive result of
the ballot in that group. The Second Direction of Election provided
that an election by secret ballot be held within fifteen (15) days
from the date of the Direction, among employees of Milwaukee Pub-
lishing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, employed in the advertis-
ing, accounting, business, and inside circulation subdepartments, ex-
cluding executives, who were on the pay roll of July 12, 1938, except
those who had since resigned or had been discharged for cause, but
including those who had since been permanently employed, to de-
termine whether or not they desired to be represented by Office
Workers' Union No. 16456 for the purposes of collective bargaining.
Pursuant to the Second Direction of Election, an election by secret
ballot was conducted under the direction and supervision of John
G. Shott, Regional Director for the Twelfth Region (Milwaukee,
Wisconsin), on March 13, 1939. On March 15, 1939, the Regional
Director, acting pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 1, as amended, issued
his Intermediate Report upon the secret ballot, copies of which were
duly served upon the Company, the Office Workers' Union, and the
Guild. No exceptions to the Intermediate Report have been filed
by any of the parties to the run-off election.
1 10 N. L. R. B. 389.
211 N. L R. B. 892
12 N. L. R. B., No. 7.
54
MILWAUKEE PUBLISHING COMPANY 55
As to the balloting and its results, the Regional Director reported
as follows :
Number of employees eligible to vote------------------------- 109
Total number of ballots cast--------------------------------- 85
Number of votes counted ------------------------------------ 85
Number of votes for Office Workers' Union, Local No. 16456,
A. F. of L------------------------------------------------ 46
Number of votes against Office Workers' Union, Local No.
16456, A. F. of L----------------------------------------- 39
Number of blank ballots------------------------------------ 0
Number of void ballots------------------------------------- 0
Number of challenged ballots-------------------------------- 0
Although the Guild was not a party to the election, so conducted,
it filed with the Regional Director on March 16, 1939, a letter pro-
testing the fact that some 20 employees who had been dismissed as
a result of the discontinuance of publication of the evening news-
paper on or about January 15, 1939, were, by a ruling of the repre-
sentative of the Board who conducted the election, excluded from the
list of employees eligible to vote. In support of its contention that
the ruling was erroneous, the Guild stated that all such employees
were paid a severance indemnity, which in some cases amounted to
more than 2 months' salary, and that the Company has placed all
dismissed employees on a 6 months' preferential rehiring list. The
Regional Director has reported, in connection with the protest, that
the dismissed employees have no definite expectation of reemploy-
ment and that the only rehiring which might occur would be for the
purpose of filling future vacancies. Having considered the matter,
the Board, without deciding whether or not the Guild is in a posi-
tion to object to the conduct of the election since it was not a party
thereto, concludes that the ruling made by the representative of the
Board in connection with the election was correct.
Upon the basis of the entire record in the case, the Board makes
the following :
SUPPLEMENTAL FINDING OF FACT
We find that employees in the advertising, accounting, business,
and inside circulation subdepartments, employed by Milwaukee Pub-
lishing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, excluding executives, con-
stitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining,
and that said unit will insure to employees of the Company the full
benefit of their right to self-organization and to collective bargain-
ing and otherwise will effectuate the policies of the,Act.
56 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and upon the entire
record in the case, the Board makes the following :
SUPPLEMENTAL CONCLUSION OF LAW
Employees in the advertising, accounting, business, and inside
circulation subdepartments, employed by Milwaukee Publishing
Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, excluding executives, constitute a
unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining, within
the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act.
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National
Labor Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the Act, and pursuant to
Article III, Sections 8 and 9, of National Labor Relations Board
Rules and Regulations-Series 1, as amended,
IT Is HEREBY CERTIFIED that Office Workers' Union No. 16456 has
been designated and selected by a majority of the employees in the
advertising, accounting, business, and inside circulation subdepart-
ments, employed by Milwaukee Publishing Company, Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, excluding executives, as their representative for the pur-
poses of collective bargaining and that, pursuant to Section 9 (a) of
the Act, Office Workers' Union No. 16456 is the exclusive representa-
tive of all such employees for the purposes of collective bargaining
in respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other
conditions of employment.