Tennessee Valley Broadcasting Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 6, 1947

73 N.L.R.B. 1509 (N.L.R.B. 1947)

In the Matter of TENNESSEE VALLEY BROADCASTING COMPANY, EM-
PLOYER and RADIO BROADCAST TECHNICIANS LOCAL UNION 1564 of
THE INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS (AFL),
PETITIONER
Cases Nos. 10-R-3562 and 10-R-2564.Decided June 6, 1947
1't1r. S. A. Lynn, of Decatur, Ala., for the Employer.
Jfr. Edmund J. Flynn, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
Upon two petitions duly filed, the National Labor Relations Board
on March 20, 1947, conducted two prehearing elections among em-
ployees of the Employer in the units alleged to be appropriate to
determine whether or not they desired to be represented by the
Petitioner for the purposes of collective bargaining.,
At the close of the elections, Tallies of Ballots were furnished the
parties. These Tallies show that the two eligible voters in each of the
two units cast their ballots for the Petitioner.
Thereafter, a hearing 2 was held at Decatur, Alabama, on April
7J, 1947, before Charles M. Paschal, Jr., hearing officer. The hearing
officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error
and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations
Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF TIIE EMPLOYER
Tennessee Valley Broadcasting Company is an Alabama corpora-
tion operating Radio Station WMSL, a 250-watt station located at
Decatur, Alabama. In addition to local features the Employer broad-
casts programs originating with the Mutual Broadcasting Company,
press releases supplied by United Press, and national advertising.
These cases were ordered consolidated by the Board on April 3, 1947.
The Petitioner did not appear at the hearing.
73 N. L. R. B., No. 255.
1509
1510 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
The Employer's effective broadcasting'area covers a radius of approxi-
mately 50 miles, reaching into the State of Tennessee.
We find that the Employer is engaged in commerce within the
meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
The Petitioner is a labor organization affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor, claiming to represent employees of the
Employer.
III. THE QUESTIONS CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Employer refuses to recognize the Petitioner as the exclu-
sive bargaining representative of the employees of the Employer
until the Petitioner has been certified by the Board in appropriate
units.
We find that questions affecting commerce have arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Employer , within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and ( 7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNITS
The Petitioner requests two separate bargaining units, one unit
for regular announcers and another unit covering radio technicians.
There are two employees in each of these units.3
We find that (1) all regular staff, announcers and (2) all radio
technicians of the Employer's Radio Station WMSL, at Decatur,
Alabama, excluding all supervisory employees with authority to hire,
promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the
status of employees, or effectively recommend such action, constitute
two separate units appropriate for the purposes of collective bargain-
ing within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act'
V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
Inasmuch as the Petitioner has received a majority of the valid
votes cast in each unit, we shall certify it as the exclusive bargaining
representative of all the employees in the two appropriate units.
CERTIFICATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that Radio Broadcast Technicians Local
Union 1564 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
(AFL) has been designated and selected by a majority of the em-
ployees in the units described in Section IV, above, as their repre-
3 The Board has frequently held that any number of employees , exceeding one, may
properly constitute an appropriate unit See, for example , Matter of A. S Campbell Co.,
Inc, 69 N L R B 1285, 1287
4 See Matter of Badger Broadcasting Co , 64 N L R B 1456, 1458.
TENNESSEE VALLEY BROADCASTING COMPANY 1511
sentative for the purposes of collective bargaining and that, pursuant
to Section 9 (a) of the Act , the aforesaid organization is the exclusive
representative of all such employees for the purposes of collective
bargaining with respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment,
and other conditions of employment.
CHAIRMAN HERZOG took no part in the consideration of the above
Decision and Certification of Representatives.