The Telegram Publishing Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 3, 1942

41 N.L.R.B. 662 (N.L.R.B. 1942)

In the Matter of THE TELEGRAM PUBLISHING COMPANY AND THE SALT
LAKE TRIBUNE PUBLISHING COMPANY and SALT LAKE CITY NEWS-
PAPER GUILD, LOCAL #168, C. I. O. _
Case No. R-3775.-Decided June 31 1942
Jurisdiction : newspaper publishing industry.
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question: re-
fusal to prove authority ; election necessary.
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all employees of the editorial de-
partments of two wholly-owned subsidiaries, including editorial writers, a
puncher, desk news man, and political analyst, but excluding the employees
of library-promotion department, the city editors, the managing editors, the
executive news editor, the secretaries of the managing editors, executives,
and string reporters.
Mr. Louis H. Callister and Mr. Richard Taylor Cardall, of Salt
Lake City, Utah, for the Company.
Mr. Buford Sommers and Mr. John Wintersteen, of Salt Lake City,
Utah, for the Guild.
Mr. Frederic B. Parkes, 2nd, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon petition duly filed by Salt Lake City Newspaper Guild,
Local #168, C. I. 0., herein called the Guild, alleging.that a question
affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of em-
ployees of The Telegram Publishing Company and The Salt Lake
Tribune Publishing Company, Salt Lake City, Utah, herein called the
Telegram and the Tribune, respectively, and sometimes collectively
called the Companies, the National Labor Relations Board provided
for an appropriate hearing upon due notice before Willard Y. Morris,
Trial Examiner. Said he was held at Salt Lake City, Utah, on
April 27, 1942. The Companies and the Guild 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. On May 14, 1942, the
Companies filed a brief which the Board has considered.
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following:
41 N L R. B., No. 131.
662
THE TELEGRAM PUBLISHING COMPANY
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANIES
663
The Telegram Publishing Company and The Salt Lake Tribune
Publishing Company are wholly owned by the Kearns Corporation.
The Tribune is the publisher of a daily morning and Sunday news-
paper. The Telegram publishes afternoon editions 6 days each week.
For the year ending June 30, 1941, the Tribune had a daily average
circulation of 62,485 copies and an average Sunday circulation of
104,650 copies. Approximately 15,776 copies of its daily and 21,620
copies of its Sunday editions were circulated and distributed outside
the State of Utah. During the same period, the daily average circu-
lation of the Telegram amounted to 26,672 copies, 683 of which were
circulated and distributed outside the State of Utah. The Companies
use news, features, and photographic services which collect their
material in all parts of the country and transmit it to the Companies
in Salt Lake City, Utah. Approximately 18 percent of the Com=
panies' total advertising receipts is derived from advertisements of
corporations operating throughout the United States. The Com-
panies use approximately 7,500 tons of newspring annually, all of
which is obtained from outside the State of Utah. The Companies
employ approximately 400 employees.
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
Salt Lake City Newspaper Guild, Local #168, is a labor organiza-
tion affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, ad-
mitting employees of the Companies to membership.
IH. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Guild commenced its organizational activities among the em-
ployees of the Companies in November 1941, and chartered Local
#168 on January 10, 1942. On March 25, 1942, the Guild requested
that the Companies recognize it as the collective bargaining repre-
sentative for the employees in the Companies' editorial and library
departments. - The Companies asked the Guild to submit its member-
ship cards of such employees; the Guild refused.
A statement of the Trial Examiner made at the hearing indicates
that the Guild represents a substantial number of employees in the
unit hereinafter found to be appropriate.'
' The Guild submitted to the Trial Examiner 37 application cards of which 11 were
undated , 1 was dated in•November 1941, 12 in December 1941, 7 in January 1942, 3 in
February 1942, and 3 in March 1942 The Trial Examiner stated that all cards bore
664 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Companies within the meaning
of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor
Relations Act.
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Guild contends that all employees of the Companies' editorial
departments and library-promotion department, excluding executives
and supervisory and confidential employees, constitute an appropriate
unit. The Companies insist that the unit should embrace only the
employees of its editorial departments and should exclude the em-
ployees of the library-promotion department as well as executives and
supervisory and confidential employees.
As previously mentioned, the Tribune publishes a morning paper
and the Telegram an afternoon edition. Both Companies are housed
in the same building and, except for the editorial departments, have
common departments, namely, business office, circulation, advertising,
mechanical, and library-promotion. Each editorial department has
its own supervisors, but both are subject to the general supervision of
-the publisher and general manager. There appears to be little inter-
change between the employees of the two editorial departments, except
in' emergencies. Working conditions and wage rates of the two de-
partments are, in general, similar. The Companies stated no objec-
tion to combining the employees of its editorial departments in one
unit. We find that the editorial employees of the Companies may
properly be merged, in a single unit appropriate for the purposes of
collective bargaining.
There remains for consideration the specific composition of the unit.
The Guild would include in its unit, and the Companies would ex-
clude, the employees of the library-promotion department. These
employees file clippings, photographs, and other information; have
photographic copies of newspapers made; and furnish information
to the editorial, advertising, business, and circulation departments of
the Companies and to the general public. Their promotional opera-
tions are concerned with activities which will develop goodwill for
the Companies and which will increase the circulation of the Com-
panies' newspapers. The major portion of their time is spent in
supplying information to the public. The library-promotion depart-
ment is supervised by the business manager, who controls the adver-
tising, business, and circulation departments, whereas the editorial
departments are directed by the managing editors. Since the work
apparently genuine and original signatures all of winch were names on the Companies'
pay roll of April 18, 1942 There are approximately 81 employees in the unit found
below to be appropriate.
THE TELEGRAM PUBLISHING COMPANY 665
of the library-promotion department employees is not related to the
editorial department employees and since the two departments are
functionally distinct and separate, we shall exclude the employees of
the library-promotion department from the unit.
The Guild requests that the city editors of the Tribune and the
Telegram 2 be included in its unit. The Companies urge their ex-
clusion. City editors assign work to the reporters and supervise-the
reporters and office boys. Although the city editors do not have
authority to hire or discharge employees, they can recommend hiring
and discharging. Since their duties are clearly supervisory in nature,
we shall exclude city editors from the unit.
The Guild would exclude from its unit and the Companies would
include the following employees :
(1) Clay Robinson is listed on the pay roll as a puncher at the
Logan, Utah, branch of the Tribune. He is a part-time employee,
operating a teletype machine whereby news copy of the Logan string
reporter is conveyed to Salt Lake City. No other punchers are
listed on the pay roll. However, the Companies also maintain offices
at Ogden and Provo, Utah, where full-time reporters are employed.
These employees operate the teletype machines at their respective
offices and send in the stories which they report. They are included
in the Guild's unit. We shall include Robinson in the unit.
(2) Editorial writers do not, themselves determine the policy of
the Companies, but after consultation with the publisher and general
manager, they compose editorials expressing the Companies' policy.
In some instances, they write editorial without previous discussion
with such executives. All their work must be approved by the pub-
lisher or general manager before publication. We are of the opinion
that the responsibilities of editorial writers are not substantially
different from those of reporters and shall include editorial writers
in the unit.
(3) Theodore Long is listed on the Telegram's pay roll under the
classification, desk news. He is responsible for the lay-out of the
Telegram and chooses the news to be featured. He has no authority
to hire or discharge employees. The record fails to disclose any
substantial difference between his duties and those of Ben Sahnenson,
who is similarly classified as desk news on the Tribune's pay roll and
is included in the Guild's unit. We shall include Long in the unit.
(4) Orvin Malmquist appears on the Tribune's pay roll as a re-
porter. The Guild urges his exclusion for the alleged reason that
2 Specifically R. W Goodell and Fiank R Baker
3 String reporters do not appear on the pay rolls since they are paid on space rates
They reside at points outside Salt Lake City and report news events concerning their
respective localities . There are between 100 and 200 string reporters The Companies
and the Guild agree , and we find , that string reporters should be excluded from the unit.
666 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
he occupies .a more confidential status than the' other reporters and
is not subject` to the same working conditions. Malmquist is pri-
marily employed as the Tribune's political analyst and forecaster.
However, it appears that,-in the main, he performs general assign-
ment work except in election years when he handles all the political
news and campaigns. On occasion he has conferences with the pub-
lisher. He does not direct or supervise the other reporters. Al-
though he is paid on a different basis than the other reporters and
apparently is not subject to the same working hours, we nevertheless
are of the opinion that his duties are not distinguishable from those
of the Companies' other reporters. We shall include Malmquist in
the unit.
The Companies and the Guild are, agreed that the managing editors
of the Tribune and Telegram, the executive news editor of the Tri-
bune, and the secretaries to the managing editors, should be excluded
from the unit. Since these employees perform either supervisory or
confidential duties, we shall exclude them from the unit.
We find that all employees of the Companies' editorial depart-
ments, including editorial writers, Clay Robinson, Theodore Long,
and Orvin Malmquist, but excluding the employees of library-pro-
motion department, the city editors, the managing editors, the execu-
tive news editor of the Tribune, the secretaries of the managing
editors, executives, and string reporters,' 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 find that the question concerning representation which has
arisen can best be resolved by an election by. secret ballot. For the
purpose of determining eligibility to vote, the Guild suggests-the
use of the pay roll current at the date of the hearing and the Com-
panies urge the use of the pay roll immediately preceding the date
of the Direction of Election. We find no reason to depart from our
customary practice and shall direct that the persons eligible to vote
in the election shall be those in the appropriate unit who were em-
ployed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date
of the Direction of Election herein subject to the limitations and
additions hereinafter 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 Rela-
4 See footnote 3, supra.
THE TELEGRAM PUBLISHIN 'G COMPANY 667
' tions Act, and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is
hereby'
DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation to determine repre-
sentatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with The Tele-
gram Publishing Company and The Salt Lake Tribune Publishing
Company, Salt Lake City , Utah, 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 Twenty-second Region, acting in this
matter as agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject
to Article III, Section 9, of said Rules and Regulations , among the
employees in the unit found appropriate in Section IV, above, who
were employed by the Companies during the pay-roll period imme-
diately preceding the date of this Direction , including any such em-
ployees who did, not work during that pay-roll period because they
were ill or on vacation or in the active military service or training
of the United States, or temporarily laid off, but excluding any who
have since quit or been discharged for cause , to determine whether or
not they desire to be represented by Salt Lake City Newspaper Guild,
Local #168, C . I. 0., for the purposes of collective bargaining.
MR. GERARD D. REILLY took no part in the consideration of the
above Decision and Direction of Election.