The Lorain Telephone Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Sep 22, 1944

58 N.L.R.B. 478 (N.L.R.B. 1944)

In the Matter of THE LORAIN TELEPHONE COMPANY and OHIO
FEDERATION OF TELEPHONE WORKERS, INC.
Case No. 8-R-1605.-Decided September 00, 1944
Mr. William P. Clyne, of Cleveland, Ohio, and Mr. G. A. Resek, of
Lorain, Ohio, for the Company.
Messrs. Robert G. Pollock and George Knable, of Cleveland, Ohio,
and Messrs. Willard Dobbeck and Walter Marlow, of Lorain, Ohio,
for the Union.
Mr. Louis Cokin, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
.t
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon petition duly filed by Ohio Federation of Telephone Work-
ers, Inc., herein called* the Union, alleging that a question affecting
commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of
The Lorain Telephone Company, Lorain, Ohio, herein called the Coin-
pany, the National Labor Relations Board provided for an appro-
priate hearing upon due notice before Thomas E. Shroyer, Trial Ex-
aminer . Said hearing was held at Cleveland, Ohio, on August 25,
1944. The Company and the Union appeared, participated, and were
afforded, full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine
witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues. The Trial
Examiner's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial
error and are hereby affirmed. All parties were afforded opportunity
to file briefs with the Board.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
The Lorain Telephone Company is an Ohio corporation with its
principal place of business at Lorain, Ohio, where it furnishes tele-
phone communication facilities. During the 6-month period preced-
ing the date of the hearing the Company purchased equipment, mate-
rial, and supplies valued at about $15,000, 50 percent of which was
58 N. L R. 73., No. 92.
478
THE LORAIN TELEPHONE COMPANY 479
shipped to it from points outside the State of Ohio. The Company
is the only one operating telephone facilities in and around Lorain,
Ohio, and handles long distance telephone service over its own lines
and over the lines of the Ohio Bell Telephone Company and Ameri-
can Telephone and Telegraph Company. It is impossible to make
or receive a long distance call in the territory serviced by the Com-
pany unless the Company's facilities are used.
We find that the Company is engaged in commerce within the mean-
ing of the National Labor Relations Act.
H. THE CRGANIZATION INVOLVED
Ohio Federation of Telephone Workers, Inc., is a labor organization
affiliated with the National Federation of Telephone Workers, admit-
ting to membership employees of the Company.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Company refuses to recognize the Union as the exclusive bar-
gaining representative of its employees until such time as the Union
is certified by the Board.
A statement of a Field Examiner of the Board, introduced into
evidence at the hearing, indicates that the Union represents a substan-
tial number of employees in the unit hereinafter found to be
appropriate.'
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Company, within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Union urges that all employees of the Company, excluding
managerial and supervisory employees, constitute an appropriate bar-
gaining unit. The Company would, in addition, exclude all clerical
employees from the unit. The parties are also in disagreement with
respect to the supervisory status of several named positions.
The Company's operations are divided into three departments,
namely office, traffic, and plant. All employees are housed in the same
building. The Union has organized all departments of the Company
and the record indicates that there is a strong community of interest
between the clerical employees and the traffic department employees.
The latter are mainly telephone operators. Under all the circum-
stances, we conclude that an employer-wide unit, consisting,of office,
traffic, and plant departments, is appropriate in this case.
We find, in agreement with the parties, that the telephone engineer,
The Field Examiner reported that the Union presented 53 membership application
cards . There are approximately 71 employees in the appropriate unit.
480 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
assistant telephone engineer, the wire chief, the lineman, and the chief
operator are supervisory employees, and as such, we shall exclude them
from the unit.
The Company maintains a small district office in each of five
towns outside of Lorain, Ohio. It employs a superintendent at each
of the district offices who climbs poles, installs telephones, collects
bills, makes contracts, makes contributions to charity on behalf of the
Company, and performs other similar duties. Only three of the five,
superintendents have sub-irdinates at present. However, it appears
that, on occasion they have actually hired and discharged employees.
We find that the superintendents of district- offices are managerial
and/or supervisory employees, and, as such, we shall exclude them
from the unit.
The Company employs one person classified as an installer. All
telephones are installed under his supervision and he has one helper.
It appears that the relationship between the installer and his helper
is that of journeyman to apprentice rather than that of supervisor to
subordinate. Accordingly, we shall include him in the unit.
The Company would exclude its directory. superintendent who pre-
pares the subscriber lists. This employee ha§ no subordinates. The
Company contends that she has access to cofi1±44ential information. It
appears that although she might have access to confidential informa-
tion, none of said information has to do with labor relations. We
shall include the directory superintendent in the unit.
The Company employs six billing clerks and four cashiers all of
whom it would exclude from the unit on the ground that they have
access to confidential information. None of the information coming
to the billing clerks and cashiers in the normal course of their duties
deals with labor relations. We shall include the billing clerks and the
cashiers in the unit.
The Company has two persons classified as supervisors. They act
as chief operator on the shifts when the latter is not working. During
those periods, they exercise the same degree of supervision as the chief
operator, who is admittedly excluded from the unit. Under these cir-
cumstances, we shall exclude the supervisors from the.unit.
The cable foreman has three to six subordinates and has the authority
to hire and discharge. We find that the cable foreman is a supervisory
employee, and as such, we shall exclude him from the unit.
The Company has one employee classified as a secretary-stenog-
rapher. In addition to her regular duties, this employee transcribes
the minutes of meetings of the directors during the course of which
she has access to confidential information relating to labor- relations.
We shall exclude her from the unit.
The Company seeks the exclusion of its two checking clerks. The
record indicates that they perform no supervisory duties and that
THE LORAIN TELEPHONE COMPANY 481
their work is purely clerical in nature. Inasmuch as we have found
hereinabove that clerical employees should be included in the unit, we
shall include the checking clerks.
We find that all employees of the Company, including the installer,
directory superintendent, billing clerks, cashiers, and checking clerks,
but excluding the secretary-stenographer, the telephone engineer,
assistant telephone engineer, wire chief, line foremen, chief operator,
superintendents of district offices, supervisors, cable foreman, and any
other supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge,
discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or
effectively recommend such action, constitute a unit appropriate for the
purposes of collective bargaining, within the meaning of Section 9 (b)
of the Act.
V. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
We shall direct that the question concerning representation which
has arisen be resolved by means of an election by secret ballot among
the employees in the appropriate unit who were employed during the
pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of
Election herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in
the Direction.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor
Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act,
and pursuant to Article III, Section 9, of National Labor Relations
Board Rules and Regulations-Series 3, as amended, it is hereby
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to ascertain representa-
tives for the purposes of collective bargaining with The Lorain Tele-
phone Company, Lorain, Ohio, an election by secret ballot shall be
conducted as early as possible, but not later than thirty (30) days from
the date of this Direction, under the direction and supervision of the
Regional Director for the Eighth Region, acting in this matter as
agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article
III, Sections 10 and 11, of said Rules and Regulations, among the
employees in the unit found appropriate in Section IV, above, who were
employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date
of this Direction, including employees who did not work during said
pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or temporarily laid
off, and including employees in the armed forces of the United States
who present themselves in person at the polls, but excluding any who
have since quit or been discharged for cause and have not been rehired
or reinstated prior to the date of election, to determine whether or not
they desire to be represented by Ohio Federation of Telephone Work-
ers, Inc., for the purposes of collective bargaining.
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