WLNE-TV

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jan 27, 1982

259 N.L.R.B. 1224 (N.L.R.B. 1982)

1224 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
WTEV-TV, Inc., d/b/a WLNE-TV and Local 1228, ducers, editors, directors, production coordinators,
International Brotherhood of Electrical Work- anchorpersons, interviewers, sports announcers,
ers, AFL-CIO, CLC, Petitioner. Case I-RC- weather persons, cameramen, artists, reporters, co-
17266 pywriters, and schedulers assigned to the public af-
January 27, 1982 fairs, news, program, film, special projects, promo-
tion, and traffic departments; but excluding all
DECISION AND ORDER other employees, including employees in the exist-
ing collective-bargaining unit,' sales employees,
BY MEMBERS FANNING, JENKINS, AND clerical employees, guards, and supervisors as de-
ZIMMERMAN fined in the Act. The unit requested by the Em-
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9(c) of ployer would be comprised of about 50 employees.
the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, a At the hearing, the Petitioner indicated that it
hearing was held before Hearing Officer Wendy would not proceed to an election in a unit different
Bittner of the National Labor Relations Board. from the one petitioned for.
Following the close of the hearing the Regional The Employer operates a news oriented televi-
Director for Region I transferred this case to the sion station involved in the production of on-the-
Board for decision. Thereafter, the Employer and spot reporting of news events, sports, and weather,
the Petitioner each filed briefs.Pursuant to the pro- "documentary mini-series programs," and "regular-
visions of Section 3(b) of the National Labor Rela- ly scheduled special project programs" requiring
tions Act, as amended, the National Labor Rela- solicitation or polling of public opinion. The station
tions Board has delegated its authority in this pro- is divided into 12 departments: program, film,
ceeding to a three-member panel. public affairs, news, technical, sales, promotion,
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board traffic, accounting, special projects, maintenance,
finds: and service and facilities. Each department has a
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within manager or director who reports to the general
the meaning of the Act and it will effectuate the manager. The general manager, department manag-
purposes of the Act to assert jurisdiction herein. ers and directors, news operations manager, and
The Employer is a Delaware corporation engaged executive producer are salaried employees. The
in the operation of a commercial television station other employees whom the Employer would in-
at its two facilities in New Bedford, Massachusetts, lude in the bargaining unit are: cameramen, re-
and Providence, Rhode Island. Its annual gross porters, and anchorpersons; sports and weather an-
volume of business exceeds $100,000 and it annual- nouncers and directors in the news department; art-
ly receives supplies valued in excess of $50,000 di- ists, art assistants, and production coordinators in
rectly from points located outside the Common- the program department; certain producers in the
wealth of Massachusetts and State of Rhode Island. public affairs department; copywriters in the pro-
2. The parties stipulated that the Petitioner motion department; interviewers in the special
which claims to represent certain employees of the projects department; and schedulers in the traffic
Employer is a labor organization as defined in the department. All of these are paid by the hour, 2 use
Act. the same timecards, and, with the exception of
3. A question affecting commerce exists concern- part-time employees, receive the same fringe bene-
ing the representation of certain employees of the fits.
Employer within the meaning of Sections 9(c)(1) The cameramen, whom the Petitioner seeks to
and 2(6) and (7) of the Act. represent, are hired, supervised, and evaluated by
4. The Petitioner seeks to represent all news the news director, who also supervises other em-
cameramen employed by the Employer in the news ployees in the news department, including report-
department at Providence, Rhode Island, and New ers, anchormen, directors, and producers. While it
Bedford, Massachusetts, but excluding all other em- appears from the record that the only formal quali-
ployees, salesmen, guards, and supervisors as de- fication for the news cameramen position is camera
fined in the Act. This petitioned-for unit is corn- experience, the news director may consider special
prised of nine news cameramen. The Employer, abilities or areas of experience when hiring. It is
however, contends that the smallest appropriate the Petitioners position that the news cameramen
unit must include all employees of the company at
WLNE-TV, New Bedford, Massachusetts, and At the time of the hearing the Petitioner represented a unit of the
Providence, Rhode Island, who are directly in- Employer's technical, building, and maintenance employees.
volved in or contribute to the roductio Although the anchorpersons in the news department are paid at anvolved in or contribute to the production, presenta- hourly rate, they receive a minimum annual rate pursuant to their person-
tion, or transmission of programs, including pro- al service contracts.
259 NLRB No. 158

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WLNE-TV 1225
employed in the news department of WLNE share men plus a film processor who was then promoted
a unique community of interest, distinct from all to news cameraman. The additional four camera-
other classifications of employees at the station. men then recruited had prior camera experience. It
The record shows, however, that the functions ac- also appears that the station does not use reporters
tually performed by the news cameramen are sig- as cameramen and that camerman do not generally
nificantly integrated with functions of other news- appear on the air. However, most cameramen have
gathering employees at the station. For example, a had news experience and some reporting back-
news cameraman and a reporter are sent from the ground and, if "out" alone without a reporter, will
studio to cover a news story as a team. Once in the act as a reporter. Apparently none is sent out spe-
field, the two jointly decide which scenes to tape cifically to act in that capacity. The Board has, of
and whom to interview. The news cameraman is course, found units of film cameramen appropriate,
responsible for taping as the reporter interviews as in Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc., 110
witnesses or participants. At times, news camera- NLRB 2108 (1954), where the Board found them
men are required to cover stories alone and are re- "to comprise a separate and functionally distinct
sponsible for both taping and reporting. After re- group, not unlike groups such as the lithographic
turning to the station, the reporter and cameramen employees or truckdrivers the Board normally
work with the producer, anchorperson, and direc- grants severance to despite a broader bargaining
tor in editing the tape and writing the accompany- history." Also, no news cameramen have been
ing story. Editing and writing can be performed by transferred to positions as reporters at WTEV.
any of these employees. There are other employees However, the fact remains that these cameramen
such as artists, schedulers, and film editors, who do work closely with reporters on assignment, are
are involved in the production and actual presenta- not separately supervised as a group, and from time
tion of the broadcast. to time may themselves act as reporters.
In addition, it appears that personnel have been Based upon regular contact on assignment with
interchanged between departments and also among other employees, similarity of benefits, common su-
classifications within the news department. The pervision within the news department, and some in-
record discloses that until about a year before the tegration of job functions, we agree with the Em-
hearing there was a split classification of ployer's contention that the nine news cameramen
photographer/reporter. That classification was dis- do not share a community of interest separate and
carded and at the time of the hearing, "reporter" apart from other employees involved in and con-
and "news cameraman" were separate classifica- tributing to the production and presentation of
tions. Although there have been no news camera- news programs. 3 Accordingly, we find the request-
men transferred to the reporter position since the ed unit of news cameramen inappropriate separate-
change, two photographer/reporters have become ly for the purpose of collective bargaining. As the
reporters and a former film processor is presently Petitioner has indicated a desire not to proceed to
classified as a news cameraman. an election in any other unit, we shall dismiss its
The Petitioner contends that these news camera- petition.
men are entitled to separate representation becauseORDER
of a "unique community of interest." It notes that
the news director makes the final decision on It is hereby ordered that the petition filed herein
hiring cameramen and that the nine here involved be, and it hereby is, dimissed.
are full-time employees and receive higher pay
than the reporters. It appears that in 1981 the sta- See The Journal Co. d/b/a WTMS-AM-FM-TV, 205 NLRB 36
tion changed from film to video tape in its broad- (1973), where the Board denied a unit of newsmen noting that announc-
ers also exercised a similar news presentation function and that photogra-
casting. At that time there were four news camera- phers in the news department also served as reporters
,.
,
.
3
r r t ti because ORDER

al
973), w he re the Board de nied a
t hat there ere our amera- r i t rt t als ser e as re rters.