University of Miami

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

May 6, 1964

146 N.L.R.B. 1448 (N.L.R.B. 1964)

1448 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
University of Miami , Institute of Marine Science Division and
Seafarers International Union of North America, Atlantic,
Gulf, Lakes & Inland Waters District , AFL-CIO ,1 Petitioner.
Case No. 12-RC-1754. May 6, 19641
DECISION AND ORDER
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9(c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, a hearing in this case was held before Hearing Officer
James L. Jeffers. The Hearing Officer's rulings made at the hearing
are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record z in this case, the Board finds:
The Institute of Marine Science, hereinafter referred to as the
Institute,. was established in 1942 as an operating division of the Uni-
versity of Miami. Like other departments and divisions of the Uni-
versity, the Institute's expenditures, contract, and activities are con-
trolled by the University's board .of trustees and its, president. The
Institute's physical facilities, - consisting of laboratories, museum,
library, and workshop, are located on a separate 5-acre campus on
Virginia Key, 7 miles distant from the University's main campus at
Coral Gables. It offers academic courses in the fields of . marine
biology, oceanography, and fisheries, awarding the. M.S. and Ph.D.
degrees.3 It also pursues research in these fields, in connection with
which it operates, among other facilities, three oceangoing vessels,
Pillsbury, Gerda, and Arius, which carry special equipment for the
collection of data.
Petitioner seeks a unit of unlicensed seamen aboard the largest of
these vessels, Pillsbury, or, in the alternative, a unit of unlicensed
seamen aboard the Pillsbury and the Gerda. The Institute and Col-
umbia University contend that the Board should not assert jurisdic-
tion over the Institute, because it is a nonprofit educational institution.
The Institute offers a total of some 53 courses. There are about
150 members of the faculty; some are regularly engaged in classroom
and laboratory instruction while the others are primarily engaged in
research, although they also conduct seminars and assist with teaching
assignments. Although some courses are available to qualified under-
graduates, the Institute's primary interest is its. graduate program, in
1 The names of Employer and Petitioner appear as corrected at the hearing.
' Columbia University was permitted to intervene in this proceeding for the limited pur-
pose of filing a brief amiclcs curiae.
' Oceanography has been defined as the study of the physical and chemical aspects of
the ocean , including its topography , circulation , bottom deposits , and chemical composi-
tion. Marine biology is the study of creatures living in the ocean . Fisheries is con-
cerned with the biology of, fish, particularly in relation to the fish population and its
changes and the utilization and handling of fishery products.
146 NLRB No. 169.
UNIV. OF MIAMI, INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCE DIV. 1449
which approximately 89 students were enrolled for the academic year
1963-64. There is also a summer program for promising high school
and undergraduate students.
The research program in the three main areas of oceanographic
study is extensive and varied. During its 1963 fiscal year, the In-
stitute's research expenditures totaled $1,690,000, slightly less than a
third of the total amount spent on research by the entire University.
The principal source of funds for these operations was the Federal
Government, whose agencies contributed $1,529,000 to various proj-
ects.4 Other sources of income for current projects of the Institute
include the Florida State Conservation Board; an individual donor,
and one or•two commercial firms.
. It is the Institute's policy to select, research projects having an
"educational connotation," and the Institute normally declines to ac-
cept proposals for research which.liave only an immediate commercial
significance. -Ideas for projects originate, with the professional staff.
The terms. of the- project are. defined and an outline is' submitted to
a council of the Institute. If the council approves the proposal, it is
submitted to a funding agency, which then decides whether to finance
the project'in whole or in part.
All, projects, engaged in by. the Institute's scientific researchers are.
integrated with the University's educational program. Graduate stu-
dents are expected to take sea voyages;. seminars based on research
projects are a regular part of the Institute's curriculum; participa-
tion in research is necessary for. completion of degree requirements,
and frequently is used as the basis for a dissertation. In furtherance
of student participation, some of the,project.donations, including one
from an-industrial concern, are in the form of fellowships for students
working in the designated area. In addition, most of the nonmilitary
reports of the scientific, investigations and findings, which are origi-
nally prepared for the organization or agency sponsoring the research,
are later published or otherwise made available to interested parties.
Its combined teaching and research program has made the Institute
one of the best. known and highly regarded institutions of its kind.
It was stipulated by the parties that the University during the fiscal
year 1962-63 purchased goods, materials, and equipment valued in
excess of $500,000, which were shipped to the University for use by
all of its divisions and departments from points located outside the
State of Florida, with at least $50,000 worth of this equipment being
allocated for the use of the Institute.
4 An estimated 7 percent of the Federal support funds was granted for classified proj-
ects, devoted to. basic research into. the physics of matter rather than to the testing of
weapons or other specific devices. ' '
0
0
1450 DECISIONS Or NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Although the interstate activities of the Institute appear to satisfy
the requirements of the statute as well as the Board's own standards
for the normal exercise of Board jurisdiction,' we do not believe that it
would effectuate the policies of the Act to assert jurisdiction herein.
Although the 1947 amendments to the Act excluded nonproprietary
hospitals from the definition of employers, the Conference Report
stated, in explanation : 8
The conference agreement follows the provisions of the House
bill in the matter of agents of an employer, and follows the
Senate amendment in the matter of exclusion of nonprofit corpora-
tions and associations operating hospitals. The other nonprofit
organizations excluded under the House bill are not specifically ex-
cluded in the conference agreement for only in exceptional cir-
cumstances and in connection with purely commercial activities
of such organizations have any of the activities of such organiza-
tions or of their employees been considered as affecting commerce
so as to bring them within the scope of the National Labor Rela-
tions Act. [Emphasis supplied.]
Since 1947 the Board has construed the quoted excerpt as an indi-
cation of congressional approval of the Board's continued policy to
assert jurisdiction over nonprofit organizations "only in exceptional
circumstances and in connection with purely commercial activities of
such organizations."' Petitioner nevertheless argues, relying on the
Board's decision in Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 143 NLRB
568, that the Institute's research activities are of a commercial char-
acter and warrant the assertion of jurisdiction herein. We disagree.
Virtually the only function of the employer in Woods Hole was the
performance of research for the Federal Government. In asserting
jurisdiction, the Board found, inter alia, that the employer in that case
was "literally in the business of doing business with the Federal
Government" in much the same fashion as a profit-making concern,
and that its activity was beneficial to private industry and exerted a
substantial impact upon commerce.
The University of Miami, Institute of Marine Science, although
performing research for, and substantially supported by, the Federal
Government, is first and foremost an educational institution for the
advanced study of oceanography. Its research activities contribute di-
rectly to its curriculum and program for the practical training of
scientists in this field. Hence, this research program is an integral
c Siemons Mailing Service, 122 NLRB 81; Ready Mixed Concrete and Materials, Inc.,
122 NLRB 318.
9 Rpt . No. 510 , 8th Cong., 1st seas., p. 32 ; I Legislative History of the Labor Management
Relations Act of 1947, 505, 536. o
'E.g., Trustees of Columbia University, 97 NLRB 424, 427; Sheltered Workshops of
San Diego, Inc., 126 NLRB 961, 963. 0
THE WELCH SCIENTIFIC COMPANY 1451
aspect of the Institute's overall educational function. We conclude,
therefore, that the activities of the Institute, including its research
program, are primarily educational rather than commercial in char-
acter, and we decline to assert jurisdiction herein. Accordingly, we
shall dismiss the petition.'
[The Board dismissed the petition.]
a Trustees of Columbia University , supra; Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod, 109 NLRB
859; Sheltered Workshops of San Diego, Inc ., supra; Young Men's Christian Association
of Portland, Oregon, 146 NLRB 20; cf. Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( Lincoln
Laboratory ), 110NDRB 1611 ; and California Institute of Technology , 102 NLRB 1402.
The Welch Scientific Company and Display Fixture , Smoking
Pipe, Plastics & Production Workers Union, Local 2682, United
Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America, AFL-CIO.
Case No. 2-CA-9476. May 7, 1964
DECISION AND ORDER
On January 27, 1964, Trial Examiner Thomas S. Wilson issued his
Decision in the above -entitled proceeding , finding that the Respond-
ent had engaged in and is engaging in certain unfair labor practices
and recommending that it cease and desist therefrom and take certain
affirmative action , as set forth in the attached Decision . Thereafter,
the Respondent filed exceptions with a supporting brief, and the Gen-
eral Counsel filed exceptions to the Recommended Order . The Re-
spondent also filed a brief in answer to the General Counsel 's statement
of exceptions.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the National Labor
Relations Act, the Board has delegated its powers in connection with
this case to a three -member panel 1 [ Chairman McCulloch and Mem-
bers Fanning and Jenkins].
The Board has reviewed the rulings of the Trial Examiner made at
the hearing and finds that no prejudicial error was committed. The
rulings are hereby affirmed . The Board has considered the Trial
Examiner's Decision and the entire record in this case , including the
exceptions and briefs , and hereby adopts the findings , conclusions,z
and recommendations of the Trial Examiner with the following
modifications :
1 The Respondent 's request for oral argument is denied as, in our opinion, the record,
including the exceptions and briefs , adequately presents the issues and the positions of
the parties.
9 We disavow , as unnecessary for the determination of the issues herein, the Trial Ex-
aminer 's adverse characterizations of the Respondent 's contracts with Local 325.
146 NLRB No. 122.