Oklahoma Publishing Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Feb 23, 1949

81 N.L.R.B. 932 (N.L.R.B. 1949)

In the Matter of OKLAHOMA PUBLISHING COMPANY, EMPLOYER and
OKLAHOMA CITY SPECIALTY WORKERS' UNION No. 452, SUBORDINATE
TO THE INTERNATIONAL PRINTING PRESSMEN AND ASSISTANTS' UNION
OF NORTH AMERICA, A. F. OF L., PETITIONER
Case No. 16-RC-265.-Decided February 23, 1949
DECISION
AND
ORDER
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before a hearing officer
of the National Labor Relations Board. The hearing officer's rulings
made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby
affirmed.
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the National Labor Relations Act.
2. The Petitioner is a labor organization claiming to represent cer-
tain employees of the Employer.
3. No question affecting commerce exists concerning the represen-
tation of employees of the Employer, within the meaning of Section
9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act, for the following
reasons:
The Petitioner seeks a unit of all employees of the Employer in
charge of city substations at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, used for the
distribution of newspapers,' excluding all route carriers and assistants,
all other employees, office and clerical employees, and guards, profes-
sional employees and supervisors, as defined in the Act. The Em-
ployer moved to dismiss the petition on the grounds that the designated
station managers were, within the meaning of Section 2 (11) of the
Act, supervisors not entitled to the protection of the Act.
The Employer's circulation department is composed of a number
of divisions, 2 of which, City North Zone and City South Zone, have as
their function the city home delivery of the Employer's newspapers.
Each city zone is further subdivided into 13 districts, each in charge
of a station manager. The station managers are responsible for the
delivery of the Employer's newspapers to the homes of subscribers
I Herein referred to as station managers.
81 N. L. R. B., No. 141.
932
OKLAHOMA PUBLISHING COMPANY 933
residing within their respective districts, and are paid a salary for
their services.
The Employer's papers are delivered to the subscribers' homes by
route carriers, who are high school students and whom the Employer
alleges to be independent contractors. There are approximately 20
carriers in each district. The carriers are selected by the station
managers. Although the Independent Distributor Agreement, exe-
cuted by each carrier, his parents, and the station manager, is not con-
sidered binding until accepted by the Employer's circulation manager,
such acceptance is given by the circulation manager as a matter of
course. Likewise, unless clearly arbitrary, the station manager's judg-
ment in terminating an Agreement is accepted by the Employer.
Each station manager is assisted by an assistant station manager 2
who, with minor exceptions, is also a route carrier. His duties, in addi-
tion to servicing his route, are to assist in the maintenance of the
station and in checking papers out to the other carriers, to substitute
for the station manager on his off day, and to deliver evening papers
to subscribers who were missed by their regular carriers. An assistant
station manager spends approximately 12 hours per week performing
such duties, and receives $10 per week from the Employer in addition
to his route earnings. The station managers have acknowledged au-
thority to select and discharge their assistants and have in fact exer-
cised that authority to the extent of selecting assistants.
As it is conceded, and we find, that the assistant station managers
are, in the performance of their duties of assisting the station man-
agers, at least regular part-time employees of the Employer within
the meaning of the Act, and as the station managers have authority,
in the interest of the Employer, to hire and discharge their assistant
station managers, we find that the station managers are supervisors
-within the meaning of the Act .3 Accordingly, we shall dismiss the
petition.
ORDER
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petition herein be, and it hereby is,
dismissed.
2 Sometimes referred to in the record as head carriers.
In view of our findings with respect to the assistant station managers , we find it unneces-
sary to determine whether the route carriers are employees or independent contractors
within the meaning of the Act.