Seattle Times Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Aug 31, 1942

43 N.L.R.B. 823 (N.L.R.B. 1942)

In the Matter Of SEATTLE TIMES COMPANY and SEATTLE NEWSPAPER
GUILD LooAL 89, AMERICAN NEWSPAPER GUILD (CIO)
Case No. C-5293.-Decided August 31, 194
Jurisdiction : newspaper publishing industry.
Settlement : stipulation- providing for compliance with the Act.
Remedial Orders: entered on stipulation.
Practice and Procedure : pursuant to stipulation, complant" dismissed 'insofar-
as it related to a named employee
Mr. _William A. Babcock, Jr., and Mr. Vern Countryman 'for the
Board. .
Todd, Holman, Sprague cp Allen, by Mr. Lucien F. Mdrion, of
Seattle, Wash., for the respondent.
Mr. W. B. Sparks, of Seattle, Wash., for the Guild.
Mr. Charles P, Moriarty, of, Seattle, Nash., for. the. United.
Mr. David Karasick, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
ORDER,
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon an amended charge duly filed by Seattle Newspaper Guild
Local 82, American Newspaper Guild, affiliated with the Congress of
Industrial Organizations, herein called the Guild, the National Labor
Relations Board, herein called the Board, by the Regional Director for
the Nineteenth Region (Seattle, Washington), issued its complaint,
dated July 10, 1942, against Seattle Times Company, Seattle, Wash-
ington, herein called the respondent, alleging that the respondent had
engaged in and was engaging in unfair labor practices affecting com-
merce within the meaning of Section 8 (1), (2), and (3) and Section
2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein
called the Act. Copies of the complaint, accompanied by notice of
hearing, were duly served upon the respondent, upon the Guild, and
upon United Newspaper Employes, i labor organization alleged in
the complaint to have been interfered with, dominated, and "supported
by the respondent.
43 N. L. R. B'., No. 133.
823
I
824 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
With, respect to the unfair labor practices, the complaint alleged
-in substance : (1) that the respondent by various specific acts and
-statements opposed the membership of its employees in the Guild and
threatened its employees with discharge or other discrimination if
ithey became or remained members of the Guild; (2) that the re-
spondent, from about December 1936 until about May 1941, dominated
and interfered with the formation and administration of, and con-
tributed support to, Seattle Times Editorial Employes Association,
herein called the Editorial Association; (3) that in May and June
1937, the respondent dominated and interfered with the formation
,of the Seattle Times Advertising Employes Association, herein called
-the Advertising Association, Seattle Times Business Office Employes
Association, herein called the Business Association, and Association
of Advertising, Circulation, and Business Employes of the Seattle
Times, herein called ACBEST, a labor organization formed in May
or June.1937 as the result of a consolidation of the Advertising Asso-
ciation and the Business Association, and that at all times since June
1937, the respondent has dominated and interfered with the admin-
istration of, and contributed support to, ACBEST and'United-News-
paper Employes of the Seattle Times, herein called the United, a
labor organization which became the successor to, or continuation of,
the,Editorial Association and ACBEST on or about May 20, 1941;
(4) that on or about February 1, 1938, and January 10, 1940, respec-
tively, the respondent and ACBEST entered into agreements with re-
spect to wages, hours of employment, and other conditions of employ-
ment for the employees in the advertising, circulation, and business
'departments, and on or about May 20, 1941, supplemented and ex-
-tended the agreement of January 10, 1940, to cover employees in the
.editorial and information departments and that on or about July 31,
-1941, the respondent and the United entered into a similar agreement
covering the employees in the advertising, circulation, editorial, in-
formation, and business departments; (5) that on or about April 16,
1941,- the respondent discharged, and since that date has, refused
to reinstate or reemploy, Robert McClelland, an employee at its
Seattle plant, because of his activities- in behalf of the Guild and
his opposition to ACBEST; and (6) that the respondent had, by
the foregoing and other acts, interfered with, restrained, and coerced
its employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in Section
7 of the Act. '
On July 17, 1942, the respondent filed a motion for a bill of partic-
ulars, a motion to, strike certain allegations set forth in the coin-
-plaint,l and a motion for continuance of the hearing. On July 18,
1942, the United filed a motion to intervene in the proceeding. , On
' The motion for a bill of particulars and the motion to strike were subsequently with-
*,drawn, as noted in the stipulation hereinafter set forth.
SEAT'TLE TIMES COMPANY 825. ,
July 20, 1942, the Regional Director issued and duly served upon the
parties an order postponing hearing, and designating place of hear-
ing and also an order referring to the Trial Examiner the motion
for intervention which had been filed by the United.
On July '25, 1942, the respondent filed an answer which denied
the allegations of unfair labor practices charged in the complaint
and set forth certain affirmative averments by way of defense.
Pursuant to notice of hearing and order postponing hearing, a-
hearing was held from July 27 to 31, 1942, at Seattle, Washington,-
before Will Maslow, the Trial Examiner ' duly designated by the
Chief Trial Examiner. On July 27, 1942, the attorney for the Board
filed a motion to amend the complaint by adding thereto the names'
of certain supervisory and confidential employees of the respondent
who were alleged to have committed acts of domination and inter-
ference with respect to the Advertising Association, the Business-
Association, ACBEST, and the United. On July 28, 1942, the,re-
spondent filed an amended answer which denied the unfair labor
practices alleged in the amended complaint and again set forth the
affirmative defenses averred in its original answer.
On August 4, 1942, before the conclusion of the hearing, the
respondent, the Guild, the United, and counsel for the Board entered=
into a stipulation in settlement of the case, subject to the, approval
of the Board. The stipulation provides as follows:
THIS AGREEMENT made and entered into by and be-
tween SEATTLE TIMES COMPANY, hereinafter called Re-
spondent; SEATTLE NEWSPAPER GUILD LOCAL 82,
AMERICAN NEWSPAPER GUILD, affiliated with the Con-
gress of Industrial Organizations, hereinafter called the Guild ; -
UNITED NEWSPAPER EMPLOYES, hereinafter called
United; and WILLIAM A. BABCOCK, • JR, and VERN-
COUNTRYMAN, Attorneys for the National Labor Relations-
Board,
WITNESSETH :
WHEREAS, an Amended Charge was duly filed in the above
matter by the Guild on November 22, 1941, and a Complaint and'
Notice of Hearing based on such Amended Charge were duly
made and issued by the National Labor Relations Board on,
July 10, 1942; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to said Notice of Hearing and an
Order Postponing Hearing, a hearing on the allegations of
said Complaint was commenced before a Trial Examiner of
the National Labor Relations Board at Seattle, Washington, and'
evidence taken, from July 27, 1942 to July 31, 1942; and
826 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
"
WHEREAS, during the course of said hearing, and before
the completion of the taking of testimony at said hearing, it
is the desire and intention of the parties to dispose of and
to adjust the above entitled matter without regard to the evi-
dence which might be adduced at said hearing, the parties hereto
stipulate and agree :
I.
Respondent is and has been since January 18, 1930, a corpora-
tion duly organized under and existing by virtue of the laws of
the State of Delaware, having its principal office and place of
business at 1120 John Street, Seattle, Washington. Respondent
is engaged in the business of newspaper publishing and, is the
owner and publisher of a daily and a Sunday newspaper known
as "The Seattle Daily Times" and "The Seattle Sunday Times."
The principal raw materials, used by the Respondent in the
operation of its business are newsprint, ink, and rotogravure
ink. During the calendar year 1941 the Respondent purchased
newsprint, ink, and rotogravure ink for use in its plant located
at 1120 John Street, Seattle, Washington, in the value of $683,-
(000.00, of which approximately' 94% was shipped to the Seattle
- plant from points outside the State of Washington. All the
newsprint purchased by the Respondent in 1941, which amounted
,to a total of approximately $635,000.00, was purchased and shipped
from a manufacturer in British' Columbia, Canada. During
the calendar year 1941 the average daily net paid circulation
'of "The Seattle Daily Times" was 117,510 copies, and the aver-
,age-net paid- circulation 'of "The' Seattle Sunday Times" for the
same period was 147,842_copies. Approximately 3% of the
issues of "The Seattle Sunday Times" and approximately 1%
of the issues of "The Seattle Daily Times" during the same
period were circulated outside of the State of Washington. The
total advertising in "The Seattle Daily Times" and "The Seat-
tle Sunday Times" for the year 1941 was 911,344 inches, of
which approximately 15% was national advertising, including
automobile advertising. The Respondent collects and furnishes
to the Associated Press from Respondent's' Seattle. Office,, news,
photographs, and other intelligence. The Respondent is a mem-
ber of the Associated Press and receives from it both news and
photographs, of which approximately 97% originates outside
the State of Washington. During the year 1941 the Respondent
purchased news and other intelligence from United Press and
purchased photographs from Acme News Pictures, Inc., New
'York City, New York, in the total amount of approximately
SEATTLE TIMES COMPANY 827
$31,765.00, of which 97% was purchased and transmitted, from
outside of the State of Washington. During the year 1941,
the Respondent purchased features from 'syndicates located in
various parts of the United States among whom are the follow-
ing: Associated Press, of which the Respondent is a member;
Chicago Tribune-New York News Syndicate; Publishers Syn-
dicate; McNaught-Syndicate; and the New York Tribune, Inc.
II.
The Guild and United are each labor. organizations within the
meaning of Section 2, subsection (5) of the National Labor Rela-
tions Act. On August 3, 1942 the United Newspaper Employes,
by vote of its membership, determined to completely -dissolve and
disband, and instructed its officers and attorney to take appropri-
ate action to accomplish such dissolution,and disbandment-
imme-diately following the execution of this stipulation.
III.
It is expressly understood and acknowledged by the Guild and
the representatives of the National Labor Relations Board that
the Respondent and United deny that, the Respondent has en-
gaged in any unfair labor practices, or has dominated or inter-
fered with the United or any other labor organization of the
,employees of Respondent, or contributed support thereto. Re-
spondent asserts that it has not engaged in any unfair labor prac-.
tices, and United asserts that neither it nor any predecessor
organization to it has been dominated or interfered with by Re-
spondent or furnished support by the Respondent, and that if the
hearing' in this matter had proceeded to its completion, each of
them would have introduced evidence to support such assertions.
This stipulation and any order or decree made pursuant hereto,
shall not be.received as evidence of the commission of any unfair
labor practices by the respondent in any proceeding.
- Iv.
The parties hereto expressly waive the right to a further hearing
in this matter and to appear in person or otherwise, to give testi-
mony and examine or cross-examine witnesses (as provided in the
National Labor Relations Act and in the Rules and Regulations
of the National Labor Relations-Board, Series 2, as amended) ;
and the parties hereto expressly waive the making of Findings
of Fact and Conclusions of Law by the National Labor Relations
Board in the above entitled matter.
828 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
' V.
z
1
The entire record herein shall consist of:
Amended Charge
Notice of Hearing
Complaint
Affidavit As to Service of Amended Charge, Notice of
Hearing and Complaint
Motion of United Newspaper Employes to Intervene
Motion for Continuance
Notice of Appearance
Motion to Strike
Motion for Bill of Particulars
Order Postponing Hearing and Designating Place- of
Hearing
Order Referring Motion of Intervention to Trial,
Examiner
Answer of Seattle Times Company
Certified Copy of Order Designating Trial Examiner
Motion to Amend Complaint
Amended Answer of Seattle Times Company
This Stipulation
The Motion to Strike and Motion for Bill of -Particulars shall
be considered withdrawn ; the Motion to Amend the Complaint
shall be considered as granted , the Complaint shall be considered
as amended in accordance with said motion , and the Amended
Answer shall be considered as the Answer to the Complaint as
amended. The record , as described above, shall be filed with the ,
Chief Trial Examiner of the National Labor Relations Board at
Washington, D. C.
VI.
Since Robert McClelland waives all claim to reemployment
or reinstatement by • the Respondent, the Guild withdraws its
charge and agrees to the dismissal of the complaint with respect
to McClelland.
VII. -
Upon the basis of the record, the National Labor Relations
Board may make a Decision and Findings of Fact based upon,
the matters set forth in paragraphs I, II, III, IV, V and VI of
this stipulation, and enter the following order :
1. Respondent, The Seattle Times Company, its officers , agents,
successors and assigns , I - . , - ,
SEATTLE TIMES COMPANY 829
(a) Shall not designate or interfere with the administration
of United Newspaper Employes or the formation, or administra-
tion of any other labor organization, or contribute support
thereto ;
(b) Shall not continue to recognize United Newspaper Em-
ployes,. as the representative- of any of its employees' for .the •
purpose of dealing with it concerning. grievances, labor disputes,
rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, or other conditions of
employment;
(c) Shall not give effect to the agreement between Seattle
Times Company and United Newspaper Employes dated July 31,
1941, and will not enter into any other agreement with said
organization with respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of em-
ployment or other conditions of employment, provided that the
employer is free to maintain existing standards of employment;
(d) Shall not discourage membership of its employees in any
labor organization of its employees, including Seattle Newspaper,
Guild, Local 82, American Newspaper Guild, or encourage mem-
bership'•in United Newspaper -Employes, or any., other.-organiza-
tion of its employees, by discrimination in regard to hire or tenure
of employment or any term or condition of employment, or threats
of such discrimination.
,(e) Shall not in any other manner interfere with, restrain or
coerce its employees in the exercise of their rights-of self-organiza-
tion, to form; join or assist labor organizations, to bargain collec-
tively through representatives of their own choosing, and to
engage in concerted activities for the purpose of, collective bar-
gaining or other mutual aid or protection as guaranteed in Section
7 of the National Labor Relations Act.
2. The Respondent, Seattle Times Company, its officers, agents,
successors, and assigns shall take the• following :affirmative action
to effectuate the policies of the Act :
(a) Withhold all recognition, from United Newspaper Em-
ployes, as a representative of any of its employees for the purposes
of dealing with it concerning grievances, labor disputes, rates of
pay, wages, hours of employment, or other conditions of - work.
(b) Post immediately in conspicuous places, in its plant in the
New, Information, Advertising, Circulation, and Business De-
partments, and maintain for a period of at least sixty consecutive
days from the date of posting, notices to its employees in the form
attached hereto marked Exhibit "A."
(c) Notify the Regional Director for the Nineteenth Region in
writing within ten. days from the date of this order what steps
the Respondent has taken to comply herewith.
830 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
3. The complaint is dismissed in so far as it relates to Robert
McClelland, with prejudice to any right to renew his claiin.
VIII.
The parties hereby expressly consent to the entry by the United
States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, upon
application by the Board, of a d6cree- enforcing -the order of the
•-Board without further notice of said application. The execution
of this stipulation shall constitute a final . and complete adjust-
ment of all the issues raised by the complaint.
Ix.
The entire agreement bet%veenr the parties hereto is contained
within the terms of this Stipulation and there is no verbal agree-
ment of any kind that varies, alters, or adds to it.
The stipulation is subject to the approval of the National Labor
Relations Board, after its submission to the Board in Washing-
ton, -D. C.
Attached to, said stipulation was Exhibit A, referred to therein
and hereinafter set forth as Appendix A to our order herein.
On August 14; 1942, the Board issued,its order approving the above
stipulatioii,,making it part of the record herein, and transferring the.
proceeding to the Board for the purpose of entry of a Decision and
Order by the Board pursuant to the provisions o f the stipulation.
Upon the basis of the above stipulation and the entire record in,
the case, the Board makes the following :
- FINDINGS OF FACT
1. THE BUSINESS OF THE RESPONDENT
Seattle Times Company, a Delaware corporation having its prin-
cipal office and place of business in Seattle, Washington, is engaged
in the business of newspaper publishing and is the owner and publisher
of a daily newspaper and a Sunday newspaper known, respectively,
as "The Seattle Daily Times" and "The•Seattle Sunday Times."' The
principal raw materials used by the respondent in the operation
of its business are newsprint, ink, and rotogravure ink. During the-
calendar' year 1941, the respondent purchased newsprint, ink,' and
i;otogravure'ink valued at $683,000, of which approximately 94 per-
cent represented shipments from points outside the State of Wash-
ington. All the newsprint purchased by the respondent in 1941, which
amounted to a total of approximately $635,000, was purchased and
shipped from a manufacturer in British Columbia, Canada. During
the calendar year 1941, the average'daily net paid circulation of "The'
SEATTLE TIMES COMPANY ' 831
Seattle Daily Times" was 117,510 copies, and the average net paid
circulation of "The Seattle Sunday Times" for the same period was
147,842 copies . Approximately 3 percent of the issues of "The Seattle
Sunday Times" and approximately 1 percent of the issues of "The
Seattle Daily Times," during the calendar year 1941, were circulated
outside the State of Washington. The total advertising in "The,
Seattle Daily Times" and "The, Seattle, Sunday Times" for the year
1941, was 911,344 inches, of, which. approximately 15 percent was'na-
tional advertising , including automobile advertising . The'respondent
is a member of the Associated Press and receives from it both news
and photographs, of which approximately 97 percent originates•out-
side the State of Washington. News, photographs, and other-intel'-
ligence are collected by the respondent from its Seattle, Washington,.
office and are furnished to the Associated Press. During the year'1941,,
the respondent purchased news and other intelligence from United
Press, and purchased photographs from Acme News Pictures, Inc.,
New York City, in the total amount of approximately $31,765, of
which 97 percent was purchased and transmitted from outside the"
State ofxTashington. -During the year•1941, the respondent;purchased
features from syndicates located in various parts of the- United
States, among which are the following: Associated Press; Chicago
Tribune-New York News Syndicate; Publishers Syndicate; McNaught
Syndicate, and the New York Tribune, Inc.
We find that the above -described operations constitute a continuous.
flow of trade, traffic , and commerce among the several States.
ORDER
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact, stipulation , and the
entire record-in the-case, and pursuant to Section 10 (c) ,of the National
Labor Relations Act, the National Labor Relations Board hereby
orders that:
1. The respondent, Seattle Times Company, its officers, agents,
successors and assigns, _
(a) Shall -not dominate or interfere with the administration of
United Newspaper Employes or the formation or administration of
any other labor organization , or contribute support thereto;
(b) Shall not continue to recognize United Newspaper Employes,
as the representative of any of its employees for the purpose of dealing
with it concerning griepances ,'3labor disputes;-rates - of^ pay, wages,
hours of employment , or other conditions of employment; '
(c) Shall not give effect to the agreement between Seattle Times
Company and United Newspaper Employes dated July 31, 1941, and
will not enter into any other agreement with said organization with
respect to rites of pay, wages, hours of employment or other condition
I
832 ' DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS- BOARD
of employment, provided that the employer is free to maintain existing
standards of employment;
(d) Shall not discourage membership of its employees in any labor
organization of its employees, including Seattle Newspaper Guild,
Local 82, American Newspaper Guild, or encourage membership in
United. Newspaper Employes, or any other organization -of. its; em-,
ployees, by discrimination in regard to hire or tenure of employment
or any term or condition of employment, or threats of such discrimi-
nation ; ,
(e) Shall not in any other manner interfere with, restrain or coerce
its employees in the exercise of their rights of self-organization, to
form, join or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through
representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in concerted
activities for the purpose of collective' bargaining or other mutual
aid or protection as guaranteed in Section 7 of the National Labor
Relations Act.
2. The respondent, Seattle Times Company, its officers, agents,
successors, and assigns' shall take the following affirmative action to
,effectuate-the-policies of the Act:
(a) Withhold all recognition from United Newspaper Employes,
-as a representative of any of its employees for the purposes of dealing
-with it concerning grievances, labor disputes, rates of pay, wages,
hours of employment, or other conditions of work;
(b) Post immediately in conspicuous places in its plant'in the News,
Information, Advertising, Circulation, and Business Departments,
and maintain for a period of at least sixty (60) consecutive days from'
the date of posting, notices to its employees in the form attached hereto
as Appendix A;
(c) Notify the Regional Director for the Nineteenth Region in
writing within ten (10) days from the date of this Order what steps
the'respondent has taken to comply herewith.
' 3. AND IT Is FURTHER ORDERED that the complaint be, and it hereby is,
dismissed insofar as it relates to Robert McClelland, with prejudice.
MR. GERARD D. REILLY took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Order.
APPENDIX A'
NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES
An- agreement has been reached by the parties to dispose of the
case which has been pending before the National' Labor Relations
Board: Pursuant to such agreement and an order of the National
Labor Relations Board entered thereunder, the Seattle Times Com-
pany advises its employees : -
SEATTLE ' TIMES COMPANY 833,
1. As a part of said agreement the United Newspaper Employes has
taken action to dissolve and disband.
2. The contract between the company and United has been set aside
and is of no further effect.
3. The company will not dominate or interfere with, or contribute
support to any labor organization among its employees.
4. The employees of the company are free to join or remain members.
of Seattle Newspaper Guild, Local 82, American Newspaper. Guild,
or any other bona fide labor organization of their own choosing with-
out fear of discrimination of any kind.
5. The company will not in any manner interfere with, restrain
or coerce its employees in the exercise of their rights to form, join
or assist labor organizations , to bargain collectively through - repre-
sentatives of their own choosing and to engage in concerted activities
for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid and
protection.
SEATTLE TIMES COMPANY
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