Pacific American Shipowners Association

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Nov 22, 1948

80 N.L.R.B. 622 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

In the Matter of PACIFIC AMERICAN SHIPOWNERS ASSOCIATION, EM-
PLOYER AND PETITIONER and AMERICAN RADIO ASSOCIATION, CIO,
PETITIONER and RADIO OFFICERS UNION, MARINE DIVISION, COM-
MERCIAL TELEGRAPHERS UNION, A. F. OF L., PETITIONER and MARINE
RADIO OPERATORS, LOCAL 1593, IBEW, A. F. OF L., INTERVENOR
Case Nos. 1O-RM-18, 20-RM 19, °20RC-L88 through 20-RC-297, and
20-RC-305.-Decided November 22, 1948
DECISION
AND
ORDER
Upon petitions duly filed, transferred and consolidated,' 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 these cases, the Board finds :
1. The Employers involved herein are engaged in commerce within
the meaning of the Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent employees
of the Employers herein concerned.
3. The alleged appropriate unit :
No question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of employees of the Employers herein involved, within the mean-
ing of Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act, for the
following reasons :
The Pacific American Shipowners Association (hereinafter referred
to as the Association), a non-profit California corporation, is an
' Pacific American Shipowners Association filed the petitions in Cases Nos . 20-RM-18,
20-RM-19, with the Board ' s San Francisco Office on June 28, 1948. The two petitions
filed by the Radio Officers Union, Marine Division, Commercial Telegraphers Union, AFL,
with the Board 's Seattle Office were transferred by order of the General Counsel to San
Francisco on July 28 , 1948, and there renumbered as Cases Nos. 20-RC-288 and 20-RC-
289. Similarly , on the same date, the 9 petitions filed by the American Radio Association,
CIO with the Board's New York office were transferred by order of the General Counsel to
San Francisco and there renumbered as Cases Nos . 20-RC-290 to 297 , inclusive , and 20-
RC-305. All of the above cases were on August 27, 1948, consolidated pursuant to Section
203 64 ( b) of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 5, as amended.
80 N. L. R. B., No. 108.
622
PACIFIC AMERICAN SHIPOWNERS ASSOCIATION 623
association of steamship companies operating vessels between Pacific
Coast ports of the United States and various other ports of the United
States, its territories and possessions, and foreign ports. The Asso-
ciation's articles of incorporation and by-laws empower it to act with
binding effect on behalf of its members in labor relations matters, in-
cluding the negotiation and execution of collective bargaining agree-
ments.
For the past 13 years, the Association and its predecessor trade
association have bargained collectively with unions representing
marine radio operators employed on member companies' vessels in
the offshore, intercoastal, Alaska and tanker trades.2 Similarly, dur-
ing the past 12 years, the Association and its predecessor have bar-
gained with respect to radio operators employed in its member com-
panies' coastwide or "steam schooner" trade.
In its petitions, the Association sought separate multiple-employer
units for radio operators employed by the member companies in the
offshore, intercoastal, Alaska and tanker trades, and the coastwide
trade, respectively. Similar multiple-employer units were also sought
by the American Radio Association, CIO 8 (hereinafter referred to as
A. R. A.) 4
However, the Association, on November 15, 1948, and the A. R. A.
on November 17, 1948, moved to withdraw their respective petitions.5
These motions are granted.
What remains after these petitions are withdrawn is the petition
of Radio Officer's Union, Marine Division, Commercial Telegraphers
Union, A. F. L. (hereinafter referred to as C. T. U.). This union
took alternative positions on the unit issue. It urged as its first
choice that the Board find a single appropriate unit of radio operators
employed by the three member companies of the Association engaged
primarily in the trade between Puget Sound and Alaska (the "Alaska
2 The first of such agreements was entered into by the Association and the American
Telegraphers Association on May 7, 1935. The same parties again contracted on February
4, 1937. Thereafter , successive contracts were entered into by the Association and the
American Communications Association , Marine Division , CIO, on July 13, 1940 , November
18, 1941, and September 18, 1945. The last agreement would have expired on June 15, 1948,
but its terms were extended by a U. S. District Court until September 2, 1948
8 The intervenor , Marine Radio Operators , International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers, Local 6, Marine Division , succeeded by Local 1593 of the same union , had con-
tended for the same multi -employer units sought by the Association and the A. It. A. By
virtue of a decree entered on October 13, 1948, in the Superior Court of California , City and
County of San Francisco , No. 388,281 , and a stipulation of similar date beta een this inter-
venor and the A. R. A. filed with this Board, the intervenor no longer claims rights to
represent any of the employees involved and has relinquished all such rights to the A It. A.
4In the alternative , the A. R A. contended that if the Board should find separate com-
pany units in the Alaska trade, it should then also find separate company units for each
of the 9 companies for whom A . R A had filed separate petitions.
8 On November 16, the C. T. U . filed objections to the granting of the Association 's motion
to withdraw its petitions.
624 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
trade"), namely, the Alaska Steamship Company, the Northland
Transportation Company, and the Alaska Transportation Company.
In the alternative it seeks separate units for the tw- companies for
whom it filed petitions, the Alaska Steamship Company and the North-
land Transportation Company.
The three employers who are engaged in the Alaskan trade are all
members of the Association. During the past 11 years these employers
have been included in the Association-wide bargaining together with
the other Association members. The record demonstrates that the
radio operators in the Alaska trade as distinguished from the other
operators require no special skills to perform their regular duties;
that the ships of three companies in the Alaska trade frequently go
into the other trades; and that when they shift to another trade, they
use the same radio equipment and operators. The Board has fre-
quently held multiple-employer units of employees in the maritime
industry on the Pacific Coast appropriate for collective bargaining
purposes. Interchangeability of employees, similarity of work in
each locality, the existence of an employers' association, and, of
course, a history of collective bargaining on a multiple-employer
basis-factors all present here-have been considered compelling rea-
sons for holding a multiple-employer unit to be appropriate.'
Under these circumstances, and, especially in view of the well estab-
lished history of collective bargaining between all Association mem-
bers and radio operators on a multiple-employer basis, we see no
justification for severing the Alaskan group from the existing mul-
tiple-employer unit. Accordingly, we find the proposed units
requested by the C. T. U. inappropriate and shall order that their
petitions be dismissed.
ORDER
Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations
Board orders that the petitions filed in the instant proceeding by the
Radio Officers Union, Marine Division, Commercial Telegraphers
Union, A. F. of L., be, and they are, dismissed.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the motions of Pacific American Ship-
owners Association, and American Radio Association, CIO, to with-
draw their petitions in this proceeding be, and they are, granted.
See, for example , Matter of Waterfront Employers of the Pacific Coast, 71 N. L R. B.
80; Matter of Federated Fishing Boats , Inc., 15 N L. R . B. 1080.