West Central Broadcasting Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 27, 1948

77 N.L.R.B. 366 (N.L.R.B. 1948)

In the Matter Of WEST CENTRAL BROADCASTING COMPANY, EMPLOYER
and AMERICAN FEDERATION OF RADIO ARTISTS , PETITIONER
Case Nos. 13-RC-S0 and 13-RC-57.-Decided April 27,1948
Messrs. Robert D. Morgaln and Fred C . Mueller, of Peoria, Ill., for
the Employer.
Mr. Edward Schlesinger , of New York City , for the Petitioner.
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon separate petitions duly filed, a consolidated hearing was held
at Peoria, Illinois, on February 5, 1948, before Richard C. Swander,
hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are
free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in the case, the National Labor Relations
Board,, makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE EMPLOYER
West Central Broadcasting Company is a Delaware corporation
operating WEEK, a 1,000-watt radio station located at Peoria, Illinois.
WEEK is licensed by the ,Federal Communications Commission to
operate within the State of Illinois; it services an area covering ap-
proximately 10 counties and is the National Broadcasting Company's
only outlet in Peoria. The Company's income from sales of advertis-
ing, from April through December 1947, exceeded $100,000. Of this
amount, approximately $14,000 was booked through NBC representing
such national advertisers as Pabst Brewing Company, RCA Victor,
National Harvester, and Kraft Foods; approximately $23,000 worth
of other national advertising was booked through a New York adver-
tising agency; and approximately $80,000 was derived from contracts
I Pursuant to Section 3 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act, the Boaid has delegated
its powers in connection with this case to a three-man panel consisting of the undersigned
Board members [ Houston, Reynolds , and Gray].
77 N. L. R. B., No. 56.
366
WEST CENTRAL BROADCASTING COMPANY 367
with local advertisers. WEEK subscribes to the Associated Press
Radio Wire Service.
We find, contrary to the contention of the Employer, that the Em-
ployer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act 2
II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED
The Petitioner is a labor organization affiliated with the Asso-
ciated Actors and Artists of America, A. F. L., claiming to represent
employees of the Employer.
III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
The Employer refuses to recognize the Petitioner as the exclusive
bargaining representative of certain employees of the Employer until
the Petitioner has been certified by the Board in an appropriate unit
or units.
We find that a question affecting commerce exists concerning the
representation of employees of the Employer, within the meaning of
Section 9 (c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.3
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Petitioner seeks to represent all announcers, singers, and con-
tinuity writers at radio station WEEK, excluding the program di-
rector.4 although it submits for the Board's determination the question
of whether these employees should comprise a single unit or separate
units for the purposes of collective bargaining. The Employer takes
no position with rospect to the appropriateness of the unit; it did,
however, raise a question concerning the possible "professional" status
of the employees sought by the Petitioner r, and whether, therefore,
any of these employees should be separately polled with respect to
their inclusion in a comprehensive unit, in accordance with the pro-
visions of Section 9 (b) (1) of the Act.
2 Matter of Western Gateway Broadcasting Corporation, 77 N L R. B. 49 , Matter
of Federated Publications , Inc, 74 N L. R B. 1054 ; Matter of Tennessee Valley Broad-
casting Company, 73 N L . R. B. 1509 ; Matter of Louis G. Baltimore, 57 N. L . R. B. 1611.
S The Employer contended that the Board may not process the present petition unless all
other subsidiary organizations affiliated with the Associated Actors and Aitists of America
are also in compliance with Section 9 (f), (g), and (h) of the Act, and offered to prove
that certain other branches of the A. A A A were not in compliance. The hearing officer
pioperly rejected this offer of proof. Inasmuch as both the Petitioner and the A. A. A. A
have complied with the filing requirements of Section 9 of the Act , the compliance status
of other sister branches affiliated with the same parent organization is not relevant to this
proceeding . Cf. Matter of Warshawsky and Company , 75 N, L . R. B. 1291.
8 All parties agreed that the program director is a supervisor as defined in the Act.
The Employer took no position with respect to which, if any, of these employees may
be professional.
368 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
In connection with the operation of its radio station, the Employer
employs seven announcers, two singers, and two continuity writers.6
The record does not indicate any bargaining history for these em-
ployees.
Announcers perform the usual duties incidental to their job classi-
fication. The qualifications prescribed by the Employer for its an-
nouncers are a "good voice," ability to sell a product or a service, some
knowledge of music, and an aptitude for news broadcasting. It
appears, in this connection, that the Employer gives some voice train-
ing to its announcers. Announcers are required to exercise some dis-
cretion in the timing and scheduling of programs, the selection of
music, and the correction of mistakes which may occur during the
progress of the show. Of the Employer's seven announcers, three
possess college degrees and virtually all have had previous radio expe-
rience or training in radio work.
The Employer's primary qualifications for its singers are a knowl-
edge of music and a voice quality which is "salable" on the air.
Although singers sometimes select their own songs, their work is under
the direction of the Employer's musical director and is generally of
a routine nature which does not involve the "consistent exercise of dis-
cretion and judgment in its performance." ' Both of the Employer's
singers have had previous musical education and experience.
The duties of the Employer's continuity writers embrace all the
writing for the Employer's radio programs. The Employer requires
its continuity writers to have educational training in the field of writ-
ing or its experience equivalent. Both continuity writers have had
previous writing experience and one of them also possesses a college
degree. A
Although the employees in question are trained and are undoubtedly
skilled personnel, we do not believe that they are "professional" em-
ployees within the definition prescribed by Section 2 (12) of the Act.
We further believe that in their daily operations, these employees com-
prise a small, closely integrated group and that they have a sufficiently
close community of interest to constitute a single appropriate bargain-
ing unit."
Accordingly, we find that all announcers, singers, and cintinuity
writers employed at the Employer's radio station WEEK at Peoria,
Illinois, excluding the program director and all other supervisors as
8 The record discloses that one announcer and both singers are employed on a part-time
basis. The parties are agreed , however, that these employees should be considered on the
same basis as full-time employees
' See Section 2 (12) (ii ) of the Act.
Cf. Matter of Federated Publications, Inc., 74 N. L. R. B. 1054, 1057
WEST CENTRAL BROADCASTING COMPANY 369
defined 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 pur-
poses of collective bargaining with West Central Broadcasting Com-
pany, Peoria, Illinois, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted
as early as possible, but not later than thirty (30) clays from the date
of this Direction, under the direction and supervision of the Regional
Director for the Thirteenth Region, and subject to Sections 203.61 and
203.62 of the National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-
Series 5, among the employees in the unit found appropriate in Sec-
tion IV, above, who were employed during the pay-roll period imme-
diately 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, but excluding those employees who
have since quit or been discharged for cause and have not been rehired
or reinstated prior to the date of the election, and also excluding em-
ployees on strike who are not entitled to reinstatement, to determine
whether or not they desire to be represented by American Federation
of Radio Artists for the purposes of collective bargaining.