The Western and Southern Life Insurance Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Sep 12, 1962

138 N.L.R.B. 538 (N.L.R.B. 1962)

538 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
The Western and Southern Life Insurance Company I and In-
surance Workers International Union , AFL-CIO, Petitioner
The Western and Southern Life Insurance Company and In-
surance Workers International Union , AFL-CIO, Petitioner.
Cases Nos. 6-RC-3060 and 6-IBC-3063. September 12, 1962
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTIONS
Upon separate petitions duly filed under Section 9(c) of the Na-
tional Labor Relations Act, a consolidated hearing was held before
Donald J. Myers, hearing officer. Thehearing officer's rulings made at
the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record 2 in these cases, the Board finds:
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
2. The labor organization involved claims to represent certain em-
ployees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section
9(c) (1) andSection2(6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The appropriate unit :
The Petitioner is seeking separate units of debit insurance agents
at the Employer's district offices in McKeesport and Wilkinsburg,
Pennsylvania. The Employer takes the position that Petitioner's
units are inappropriate, and contends that all the Employer's offices
in its eastern region constitute a unit appropriate for purposes of
collective bargaining. Otherwise, the parties are in agreement with
respect to unit inclusions and exclusions.
The Employer is engaged in the solicitation, sale, and issuance of
life, health, and accident insurance policies. It maintains its principal
office in Cincinnati, Ohio, and has offices located in 23 States. For
administrative purposes, the Employer has divided its offices into 7
regions and 14 divisions. The offices involved in the instant petitions
are both located in the Employer's eastern region and its division E,
which are coextensive, and encompass 15 district and 6 detached offices
in the State of Pennsylvania (except for Washington, Pennsylvania)
and a portion of the State of Delaware. The eastern region and
division E are headed by a superintendent of agencies, who maintains
his office in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which is approximately 300
miles from the petitioned-for offices.
The Employer's business operations are highly centralized. De-
tailed instructions and procedures are established at the home office
' The name of the Employer appears as amended at the hearing.
2 Because, in our opinion , the record and briefs adequately set forth the issues and
positions of the parties, the Employer's request for oral argument is hereby denied.
138 NLRB No. 74.
THE WESTERN AND SOUTHERN LIFE INSURANCE CO. 539
which uniformly govern the operations of the various offices and the
duties and functions of the agents. Each district office has a district
sales manager in charge, who is the immediate supervisory authority
for the agents assigned to that office, and several associate sales man-
agers who assist the manager in carrying out this responsibility. All
agents are required to perform their duties subject to the supervision
and instruction of the associate sales manager and the district sales
manager.' The district sales manager normally recruits new agents.
In this connection, the district sales manager accepts applications,
conducts interviews, and submits recommendations to the superin-
tendent of agencies, who makes the final decision. When a new agent
is appointed, he is assigned to a district office, where he undergoes an
initial training period of 26 weeks under the guidance and direction
of the district sales manager and the associate sales manager. Al-
though the debit agent spends the greater part of his time in his
assigned territory selling industrial and other types of insurance, he
is required to report to the district office twice a week and whenever
the sales manager so directs. One day each week, the sales manager
conducts a meeting at which he explains to the agents the latest com-
pany directives. The sales manager and associate sales manager re-
view the progress and quality of the work of the agents and make
suggestions as to how their work may be improved. Although the
sales manager may not suspend or discharge an agent without ap-
proval, he may suggest to an agent that he resign or he may recom-
mend to the superintendent of agencies that such action be taken. If
'there is a shortage in an agent's accounts, the sales manager is in-
structed to withhold any moneys due him pending investigation.
The McKeesport and Pittsburgh East (Wilkinsburg) offices which
Petitioner has requested are 7 miles apart and separated from the next
closest offices by a distance of 12 to 14 miles. Both of the requested
offices are among the five district offices and two detached offices 4 lo-
cated in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area. There is no
interchange and virtually no transfer of agents among the various
district offices, and there does not appear to be any business or social
contact among agents except on the single district office level. All
labor relations policies are established at the home office and all agents
are subject to the same wage policies, employee benefits, and working
conditions. There is no history of collective bargaining involving the
employees sought in the instant petitions.
On the basis of the foregoing, and the entire record, we find that
the individual district office is in effect a separate administrative en-
3 The parties have agreed to exclude the district sales managers and associate sales
managers from the unit , apparently on the theory that they are supervisors within the
meaning of the Act.
* Neither of the detached offices is administratively joined with the district offices sought
by the Petitioner.
540 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
tity through which the Employer conducts its business operations, and
therefore is inherently appropriate for purposes of collective bargain-
ing.5 Therefore, as the Petitioner in these cases is requesting single
district office units at the Employer's offices located in McKeesport and
Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, we find that separate units of employees
at these two offices constitute units appropriate for collective-bargain-
ing purposes.
Accordingly. we shall direct separate elections at the Employer's
McKeesport and Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, offices among the follow-
ing employees of the Employer :
All debit insurance district agents, excluding plant clerical and
office clerical employees, inspectors, managers, assistant managers,
guards, professional employees and all supervisors as defined in the
Act.
[Text of Direction of Elections omitted from publication.]
MEMBERS Rorxnti s and LEEDOM, dissenting :
For the reasons stated` in our dissenting opinion in Quaker City
Life Insurance Company, 134 NLRB 960, we would find the units
'sought inappropriate and dismiss the petition.
s A/etropohtan Zhfe Insurance Company, 138 NLRB 512
Local Union 825, International Union of Operating Engineers,
AFL-CIO and Nichols Electric Company. Case No. 22-CC-127.
September 13, 1962
DECISION AND ORDER
On January 12, 1962, Trial Examiner John F. Funke issued his In-
termediate Report in the above-entitled proceeding, finding that Re-
spondent had not violated Section 8(b) (4) (B) as alleged in the com-
plaint, and recommending that the complaint be dismissed in its en-
tirety, as set forth in the attached Intermediate Report. Thereafter,
the General Counsel filed exceptions with it supporting brief. The
Board 1 has reviewed the rulings of the Trial Examiner made at the
hearing and finds that no prejudicial error was committed. The rul-
ings are hereby affirmed. The Board has considered the Intermediate
Report, the exceptions and brief, and the entire record in this case
and finds merit in the General Counsel's exceptions. Accordingly, the
Board adopts the findings of the Trial Examiner only to the extent
consistent with this Decision and Order.
' Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the Act, the Board has delegated its
powers in connection with this case to a three -member panel [Chairman McCulloch and
Members Rodgers and Leedom].
138 NLRB No. 65.