National Broadcasting Co., Inc.Download PDFNational Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsAug 24, 195195 N.L.R.B. 1334 (N.L.R.B. 1951) Copy Citation 1334 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD has engaged in unfair labor practices within the meaning of Section S (a) (1) of the Act. 6. The aforesaid unfair labor practices are unfair labor practices affecting commerce within the meaning of Section 2 ( 6) and (7) of the Act. [Recommended Order omitted from publication in this volume.] NATIONAL BROADCASTING COMPANY, INC. and NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BROADCAST ENGINEERS AND TECHNICIANS, PETITIONER AMERICAN BROADCASTING COMPANY, INC. and NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BROADCAST ENGINEERS AND TECHNICIANS, PETITIONER. Gases Nos. R-RC-660 and 2-RC-950. August 24, 1951 Supplemental Decision Clarifying Certification On May 11, 1950, the Board issued its decision in the above-entitled case.' Thereafter, pursuant to the direction of election contained therein, an election by secret ballot was held among the employees in one of the units found appropriate consisting of all stage electricians, stage carpenters, and stage property men, excluding all other em- ployees and supervisors, at station WNBT, New York City, of the National Broadcasting Company, Inc. As a result of this election, Theatrical Protective Union No. 1, IATSE, herein called IATSE, was selected as the representative of the employees in the unit and was accordingly certified by the Board.2 On July 13,1951, IATSE, NABET, and the Employer, Herein called NBC, filed a joint petition requesting the Board to clarify the fore- going unit description by indicating whether or not in its decision the Board intended the classification "stage electricians" to be limited only to those employees bearing that title on the NBC payroll, or whether the Board also intended that NBC employees, regardless of their job titles, who regularly spend more than 50 percent of their time in the handling and placing of television lights should be included in the unit. In thus presenting the matter to be clarified, the parties are postu- lating a factual circumstance which did not appear in the record on which the Board based its decision. That record, as the decision specifically points out, revealed that two classifications of employees at NBC's television station WNBT were engaged in handling and placing television lights, namely stage electricians and lighting engi- neers, but that the engineers spent less than 50 percent of their time 1 89 NLRB 1289. 2 The Petitioner, herein called NABET, withdiew its name from the ballot in this elecilon. 1)) NLRB No. 181. NATIONAL BROADCASTING COMPANY, INC.. 1335 at these duties .3 The record, moreover, indicated that the engineers, according to the prevailing NBC practice, spent only a minor .portion of their time performing lighting work and devoted most of their time to performing engineering duties which were indisputably technical. In addition, because of the NBC practice of interchanging duties among the engineers, there were substantial periods during which these employees performed no lighting duties. - The.fact that the engineers spent only a minor portion of their time performing lighting duties and were not regularly. assigned to such duties was a dominant consideration in the determination of their unit placement. Without deciding whether or not handling and placing television lights was a technical engineering function, the Board felt that the limited time spent by engineers in the performance of this work did not in any event detract from their essential status as technical engineering employees, and that they belonged in the technical engineering unit historically represented by NABET. As to the stage electricians, the Board concluded that their. interests were inextricably interwoven with those of the stage carpenters and stage property men 4 The Board was further satisfied that these em- ployees constituted a group whose background,. skills, and interests clearly distinguished them from the engineers. Consequently, the Board concluded that they should constitute a separate unit, and accorded them a self-determination election so that they could choose their bargaining representative. , It is therefore apparent that on the facts then before it, the Board intended to include in the above-described unit those employees des- ignated as stage electricians and to exclude therefrom all engineers. It does not necessarily follow, however, that this result would have obtained had the facts revealed that certain engineers , despite their payroll classification, regularly devoted the major portion of their time to handling and placing television lights. It is evident from the delineation of lighting duties in the decision 5 that these duties, whether s According to a compromise then in effect between the unions herein and NBC, television lights were handled and placed by both engineers , members of NABET, and stage electri- cians , members of IATSE, at the NBC Radio City Studios. At NBC's 106th Street Theater and International Theater only stage electricians handled and placed television lights. ' N13C hires stage electricians as members of three-man crews which consist of a stage electrician , stage carpenter , and stage property man. Each crew member is more proficient in one duty than in others but capable of performing all duties , and at NBC, in accordance with the practice prevailing in theatrical and other amusement places where these indi- viduals customarily are employed, they frequently interchange in the performance of their duties. 5 These duties are related in the decision as follows : "Both the lighting engineers and the stage electricians rig or hang lights from gridirons or other structures installed in, the studios and direct these lights at proper angles to illuminate the set. They insert and change bulbs when necessary . They turn lights on and off by means of switches, push buttons , or by pulling plugs from walls, repair and maintain electrical equipment, 1336 DECISIONS-OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD carried out by stage electricians or engineers, do not bring into play -advanced electronic knowledge or skills acquired through higher learn ing or special training and experience .6 Having reconsidered the record on which the decision in this case was based, we are convinced that this work can be and is effectively being accomplished by the traditional stage electrician of the stage and amusement world. When an engineer ceases to perform such work as a mere incident to his all-around engineering functions, but regularly takes on these duties as his main operation, he thereby foresakes his special field and assumes the character of it stage electrician. Without modifying the above-stated unit description, we find, there- fore, that engineers or any other NBC employees, irrespective of their job designations, who regularly spend more than 50 percent of their time handling and-placing television lights in the manner set forth in the unit for which IATSE has been certified as exclusive bar- gaining representative. CHAIRMAN HERZOG and MEMBER STYLES took no part in the consid- eration of the above Supplemental Decision Clarifying Certification. PARSONS CORPORATION and INTERNATIONAL UNION, UNITED AUTO- MOBILE, •AIRCRAFT & AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT WORKERS OF AMER- ICA, CIO, PETITIONER . Case No. 7-RC-1336. August 04, 1951 Decision and Direction of Election Upon a. petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before Joseph Kulkis, hear- ing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of .the. Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three-member panel [Members Houston, Reynolds, and Murdock]. track down lighting failures, repair circuits, and do wiring. They also operate, maintain, and repair dimmer boards and switch boxes." The decision also indicates that "television lighting equipment in almost all respects is identical to lighting equipment used in motion picture and photography studios and on the theatrical stage. The same methods for rigging, fastening, and manipulating lights are used. Special lighting such as a flickering fireplace or moonbeams likewise are obtained through the use of standard theatrical equipment or by improvisation, just as it is done on the stage or in motion pictures." 6 NBC requires that its engineering department employees have a theoretical or practical knowledge of electronics and prefers to hire college graduates with degrees in electrical engineering or related technical fields. These employees receive formal instruction in New York City in several television engineering jobs, including lighting. 95 NLRB No. 173. Copy with citationCopy as parenthetical citation