Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Mar 31, 1950

89 N.L.R.B. 109 (N.L.R.B. 1950)

In the Matter of TWENTIETH CENTURY-FO X FILM CORP ., EMPLOYER
and SCREEN PUBLICISTS GUILD, LOCAL 114, AFFILIATED WITH
UOPWA,1 PETITIONER
Case No. 2-RC-1488.-Decided March 31, 1950
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before Vincent M.
Rotolo, hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hear-
iug are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the National Labor Re-
lations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with this
case to a three-member panel [Members Houston, Reynolds, and Mur•
clock].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the
National Labor Relations 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) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The Petitioner, Screen Publicists Guild, Local 114, affiliated with
UOPWA, herein called SPG, seeks to represent the chief editor, two
editors, and the coordinator in the Employer's foreign versions depart-
ment. SPG contends that these employees are professional employees
within the meaning of Section 2 (12) of the Act. It further asserts
that in any event they are creative and highly skilled technical em-
ployees whose work and interests are so distinct from those of the other
employees in the New York office that they are entitled to separate
representation? The Employer opposes the unit proposed by the SPG
1 The name of the Petitioner in the caption appears as amended at the hearing.
2 SPG currently represents a departmental unit of advertising and publicity employees.
See Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp., et al., 32 NLRB 717. Office and clerical workers
were excluded from the unit in that case and in successive SPG contracts with the
Employer.
89 NLRB 13.
109
110 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
on the ground that these employees are not professional employees; it
argues that they come within the Employer-wide clerical unit now
represented by a sister local of SPG, the Screen Office & Professional
Employees Guild, Local 109, UOP`VA, herein called SOPEG.3
The foreign versions department adapts the Employer's motion
pictures for the foreign market. The chief editor, Prentiss Howe, and
the two editors, Sidney Paley Gooze and Arnold S. Sobel, prepare for
each picture a master title and continuity book which contains titles-
the words spoken by each actor-that are thereafter translated into
various languages and superimposed on the film at the bottom of the
screen. Those prints destined for Spanish and Portuguese speaking
areas are furnished with foreign titles at the Employer's New York
office; in the case of other languages this translation work is done at
foreign branch offices.
The department is provided by the E'mployer's Hollywood studio
with films and descriptive volumes for each referred to as continuity
and dialogue books. The chief editor runs a print of the film through
a mechanical device, a,sound projector known as a "movieola," which
measures and records the film footage taken by each character's dia-
logue. This process, called "spotting," requires about 10 percent of
the chief editor's time.
The two. editors then alter or condense the original dialogue when
necessary, so that the resultant titles conform to the footage require-
ments. On occasion, a series of pages has to be rewritten and new
dialogue more intelligible to foreign audiences is supplied. In making
changes, the editors strive to maintain the dramatic values of the story.
The editors study the original dialogue with a view to eliminating,
modifying, or explaining slang expressions or colloquialisms. They
also discard dialogue and scenes that might be objectionable to foreign
audiences. To assist the translators, the editors write for inclusion in
the master title and continuity book a synopsis of. the story and
a description of the principal characters.
The work produced by the editors is reviewed, occasionally revised,
and coordinated by the chief editor who devotes most of his time to
this task. The editors edit alternate reels of the same pictures, and it
is the duty of the chief editor to check the material they write and
make the changes necessary to tie together the two pieces of work and
insure smooth-flowing continuity for the picture. The chief editor
3 This unit, which covers clerical employees in the Employer's more than 20 departments
including those in the advertising and publicity department and in the foreign versions
department, was found appropriate in Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. and Movie-
tonems, Inc., 39 NLRB 579, and was also used in consent elections held in January 1949
(2-RC-923) and in September 1949 (2-UA-5142).
So far as'the•record shows, the four employees involved herein were not included in the
clerical unit and SOPEG has disclaimed any interest in representing them.
TWE!IITIETH CENTURY-FOX FILM CORP. 111
also determines the procedure for cutting and editing films in special
cases where the domestic version may be unsuitable for foreign use,
and sees to it that time schedules for the editing work are observed as
far as possible. The chief editor and the editors work somewhat as
a team, conferring and discussing the difficult editing problems which
may arise. All three, for example, have contributed new main titles
and original prologues especially written to meet foreign needs.
As already indicated, the Spanish and Portuguese versions of pic-
tures are completed at the Employer's New York office where free-
lance translators in the foreign versions department, guided by the
master title continuity book, translate the titles. The superimposed
version is then run off in the presence of the translator and one or more
of the editors so that the latter may check it for technical excellence
and correctness. Although they have no special language preparation,
the editors themselves have a working knowledge of Portuguese and
Spanish.
In addition to the duties described above, the chief editor and the
editors have a number of other functions. The chief editor directs
the foreign narration of short subjects and features, which direction
involves breaking down the English narration into cues and rewrit-
ing whenever necessary. Occasionally, he writes and directs trailers
for the foreign market. The editors, too, adapt and rewrite domestic
trailers. All three editors are called upon to adapt some foreign
films for use in the United States and other countries.
Occupying the office adjoining that of the three editors is the
department's coordinator, Sidney G. Samuels, who spends part of
his time spotting trailers and cartoons for foreign use. Along with
the editors he is requested by the manager of the department,, Boris
Vermont, to write main titles and special prologues. When the chief
editor is too busy to spot features, Samuels helps out. And in the
absence of the chief editor, Samuels acts in that capacity. His main
function, however, is coordinating or expediting the work of the
editors, the translators, and such employees as the typists and machine
operators. It is Samuels' responsibility to keep the work of the de-
partment moving through all the necessary stages. In this connec-
tion, he makes assignments to all the employees in the department
in accordance with a schedule prepared by the manager. Samuels as
general assistant to Vermont also handles all the correspondence of the
department.
When employees are needed to fill vacancies left by the editors or
the coordinator, they are usually secured from outside the Company
rather than from other departments. No special or specific courses
of instruction are either available or required as preparation for these
112 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
positions. However, a good general education, intelligence, and good
judgment are basic prerequisites. The necessary technical skill is
acquired by experience on the job itself.
The above facts show that the employees whom the SPG seeks to
represent are highly skilled employees with distinctive duties and
interests. They make up a specialized department of the Employer's
operations, separately located and supervised, and are not inter-
changed with other employees. As indicated above, they have not
been previously represented. We conclude, therefore, that they
may be separately represented for the purposes of collective bargain-
ing. In view of this finding, it is unnecessary for us to determine
whether or not these employees meet the strict requirements of the
definition of professional employees contained in Section 2 (12) of
the Act.
There remains for consideration the question of whether coordi-
nator Samuels is a supervisor as the Employer contends. Boris Ver-
mont as manager is in charge of the department. He alone has the
authority to establish its basic policies and standards. Hiring and
firing is exclusively his province. When the 10 employees of this
small department have serious grievances or desire a raise, they speak
to Vermont, who is personally acquainted with their problems. Al-
though the Employer maintains that the coordinator has the power
effectively to recommend personnel changes, Samuels testified that
with one exception he has made no recommendations concerning the
status of employees. On the one occasion when he was asked about
the quality of work done by an office employee, she was discharged
despite Samuels' favorable opinion of her. When Vermont is away
on his 2-week vacation or elsewhere, Samuels acts in his stead. Most
of Vermont's absences from the office consist of short visits lasting
an hour or so in other parts of the building used by the Employer.
Samuels' power in Vermont's absence is confined to routine matters;
important policy and personnel decisions cannot be made without
consulting Vermont. On the basis of the foregoing facts, we do not
believe that Samuels is a supervisor. We shall therefore include hint
in the unit.-'
We find that all the employees in the Employer's foreign versions
department at the Employer's New York City office, including the
chief editor, the editors, and the coordinator, but excluding the trans-
lators,l the clerical and office employees,6 and all supervisors as defined
4 It is not contended that the chief editor has supervisory status . We shall also include
him in the unit because it is clear from the record that lie is not a supervisor.5
We are excluding translators inasmuch as they are free-lance employees . See Twentieth
Century-Fox Films Corp., et al., supra, footnote 2.
e We have already indicated that the Employer ' s clerical and office employees are in the
SOPEG unit. See footnote 3, supra.
TWENTIETH CENTURY-FOX FILM CORP. 113:
in the Act, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
As part of the investigation to ascertain representatives for the
purposes of collective bargaining with the Employer, an election by
secret ballot shall be conducted as early as possible, but not later than
30 days from the date of this Direction, under the direction and super-
vision of the Regional Director for the Region in which this case was
heard, and subject to Sections 203.61 and 203.62 of National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations, among the employees in the
unit found appropriate in paragraph numbered 4, above, who were
employed during the payroll period immediately preceding the date
of this Direction of Election, including employees who did not work
during said payroll period because they were ill or on vacation or
temporarily laid off, but excluding those employees who have since
quit or been discharged for cause and have not been rehired or rein-
stated prior to the date of the election, and also excluding employees
on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to determine whether
or not they desire to be represented, for purposes of collective bargain-
ing, by Screen Publicists Guild, Local 114, affiliated with UOPWA.