WTAR Radio-TV Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Dec 21, 1967

168 N.L.R.B. 976 (N.L.R.B. 1967)

976 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
WTAR Radio-TV Corporation and American
Federation of Television and Radio Artists,
AFL-CIO, Petitioner . Case 5-RC-5983
December 21, 1967
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF
ELECTION
BY CHAIRMAN MCCULLOCH AND MEMBERS
FANNING AND ZAGORIA
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9(c) of
the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, a
hearing was held before Hearing Officer Thomas J.
Walsh of the National Labor Relations Board. Fol-
lowing the hearing, and pursuant to Section 102.67
of the National Labor Relations Board Rules and
Regulations and Statements of Procedure, Series 8,
as amended, by direction of the Regional Director
for Region 5, this case was transferred to the Board
for decision. A brief filed by the Employer has been
duly considered by the Board.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the Na-
tional Labor Relations Board has delegated its
powers in connection with this case to a three-
member panel.
The Board has reviewed the Hearing Officer's
rulings made at the hearing and finds that they are
free from prejudicial error. They are hereby af-
firmed.
Upon the entire record in this case,' the Board
finds:
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within
the meaning of the Act, and it will effectuate the
purposes of the Act to assert jurisdiction herein.
2. The Petitioner is a labor organization, and
claims to represent certain employees of the Em-
ployer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists con-
cerning the representation of employees of the Em-
ployer within the meaning of Sections 9(c)(1) and
2(6) and (7) of the Act.2
4. The Petitioner seeks a unit of all employees
who are directly engaged in staging studio produc-
tions, including announcers, talent, newsmen,
directors, news photographers, cameramen, floor-
men, film editors, and photolab technicians, exclud-
ing, inter alia, the engineering department em-
ployees. The Employer argues, generally, that a
unit so limited is inappropriate, and that the only ap-
propriate unit is an all inclusive one of all regular
and part-time employees who perform duties in
radio, television, and the news department, includ-
ing the engineering department employees. There
is no history of collective bargaining with respect to
the employees involved herein.
The Employer is engaged in the broadcast of AM
and FM radio and of television programs at its sta-
tion facilities in Norfolk, Virginia. It has a remote
AM transmitter site located at Glenrock, Virginia,
6 miles from the main station, and a combination
FM-TV transmitter site located at Drivers, Vir-
ginia, 13 miles from the main station. The station is
affiliated with the Columbia Broadcasting System.
Approximately 70 percent of its broadcast schedule
is devoted to CBS Network programs, 20 percent
to syndicated film properties purchased by the sta-
tion, and 10 percent to local shows, either live or on
video tape.
The Employer's radio and television broadcast
facilities are located in the same building. The sta-
tion operations are divided into five departments:
sales, bookkeeping, production and programming,
news and public affairs, and engineering. While the
parties agree generally as to the inclusion of em-
ployees in the production and programming, and
news and public affairs, departments,3 and the ex-
clusion of employees in the sales and bookkeeping
departments, the unit placement of certain classifi-
cations of these employees is in dispute; in addition,
the parties are in dispute as to the inclusion of the
engineering department employees.
The employees in the unit sought by the Peti-
tioner are directly involved in the staging and
presentation of studio productions, and include
both those who perform on radio and television pro-
grams and those who contribute directly to such
performances. Because of their functional interrela-
tionships, these employees, who constitute essen-
tially a production and programming unit such as
the Board has heretofore found appropriate,4 have
a substantial community of interest with one
another. Accordingly, we find that a unit of such
employees is appropriate.
The employees in the engineering department,
who service both radio and television, are in the
main skilled technicians who operate the electronic
equipment and work in the control booth, control
room, or at the transmitter sites. They are under the
general supervision of the chief engineer , and pos-
sess their own wage scales. They are required to
have first-class FCC licenses, and there appears to
I The Employer 's request for oral argument is hereby denied since, in
our opinion , the record , including the Employer's brief, adequately
presents the issues and positions of the parties.
2 The Employer contends that the petition is fatally defective because
the Petitioner has not made a demand upon the Employer for recognition.
However, by letter dated April 25, 1967, the Petitioner requested the Em-
ployer to grant it recognition as bargaining agent for the employees sought
herein . The filing of the petition itself, moreover, constitutes a sufficient
demand, and the Employer declined , at the hearing, to recognize the Peti-
tioner. Goldblatt Bros., Inc., 119 NLRB 1340.
3 The parties stipulated , and we agree , that the following classificiations
of employees should be included in the unit : the AM radio announcers,
the AM radio talent, the FM radio announcer, television announcers,
television floormen, television cameramen, regular part-time floormen,
film editors , news photographers , news reporters, newscasters , woman's
director, radio sports director, television sports director, and photolab
technicians. We also agree with the stipulated exclusions.
4 E.g., Radio and Television Station WFLA, 120 NLRB 903
178 NLRB No. 133
WTAR RADIO-TV CORPORATION
be little, if any, interchange between the engineers
and the employees who, we find, are appropriately
included in the unit. It is clear, from the foregoing
that although the engineering employees have cer-
tain interests in common with Employer's other em-
ployees, they also share many interests in common
with one another which are separate and apart from
such other employees.5 Accordingly, although an
overall unit including the engineers may be ap-
propriate, we find on this record that their interests
are sufficiently diverse from the employees sought
so that a unit which excludes them is also ap-
propriate. Under these circumstances, and since the
Petitioner does not seek to represent the engineer-
ing department employees, we shall exclude them
from the unit herein found appropriate .6
The unit placement of the following employees is
in dispute:
Radio
The traffic control helicopter announcer an-
nounces traffic control from a helicopter, making
periodic announcements that are broadcast directly
over the radio . The traffic control program is in
operation 3-1/2 hours in the morning , and a like
period in the afternoon . This announcer had done
newscasting , and, like other radio announcers,
records commercials . He is under the same supervi-
sion as the radio announcers who are in the unit. It
is clear that this individual is, in fact, an announcer,
and the mere fact that he broadcasts from a
helicopter , rather than a booth , as do the other an-
nouncers , does not, in our opinion , detract from his
community of interest with the other announcers.
Accordingly, we shall include the traffic control
helicopter announcer in the unit.
The announcer-engineers : The Employer em-
ploys several "combo men"; i.e., individuals who
announce over the radio as personality announcers,
and do their own engineering . They work in the an-
nouncer 's booth , where they put on their own
records, cut commercials , read live copy, and flip
switches . They also deliver 5-minute newscasts.
They are required to have a first-class FCC license.
The "combo men" are hired initially as announcers,
then qualify as engineers , and finally, become an-
nouncer-engineers . They receive a higher rate of
pay than the engineers , and, like the full-time an-
nouncers, are paid a talent fee when engaged in an-
nouncing duties. They receive the same supervi-
sion as the announcers when on the air. The parties
have stipulated to the inclusion of announcers, and
since the announcer-engineers devote a substantial
portion of their time to announcing duties, we shall
include them in the unit. 7
The radio production manager reads and reviews
all copy that comes into the radio station from a
5 See, e.g. WTTV, 115 NLRB 535.
6 Compare Allied Super Markets, Inc, 167 NLRB 861.
977
salesman or agency, and makes arrangements for
sound effects, personality talent, equipment, tapes,
etc. He makes discs and records, and audio-tapes
for radio and television. He makes sound effects
and can mix music with the audio tape to produce
an electrical transcription, "ET," that can be used
for either radio or television. He is also involved in
prerecording radio promotional materials. We find
that the radio production manager is directly in-
volved in the presentation of studio productions.
Accordingly, we shall include him in the unit.
The radio music librarian is assigned the duties
of labeling the discs for the radio production
manager and listening to them to insure that they
are of air quality. She is also responsible for storing
records and pretaped programs. Periodically, she
will discard outdated records. She assists the radio
announcers when they come into the library to pull
records, and each morning and afternoon relieves
the switchboard operators. We find that the radio
music librarian contributes only indirectly to the
staging of studio productions, and, accordingly,
conclude that her interests are sufficiently diverse
to warrant her exclusion from the unit.
The radio ground coordinatior is the liaison
between the announcer in the helicopter and the en-
gineer in the studio. He relays instructions to the
helicopter announcer and to the ground units. Dur-
ing inclement weather, when the helicopter is
grounded, he announces the program. He also cues
the announcer in the helicopter and informs him
when electrical transcriptions are given. He is
under the same supervision as the announcers. We
find that the interests of the radio ground coordina-
tor are closely allied with those of the announcers,
whom we have included in the unit. Accordingly,
we shall also include the radio ground coordinator
in the unit.
The radio clerk receives all musical transcrip-
tions (popular songs) and makes a cross-index by
author, artist, and song title. These transcriptions
are then bound, stapled, and filed in the record
library. She will take certain CBS Network pro-
grams in shorthand for the station vice president,
who then determines whether they will be used lo-
cally. She handles all time cards, talent sheets, and
over-time authorizations for the announcers. As an
incidental part of her work, she assists in putting
together a 1-hour program that is broadcast on FM
each evening. We find that the interests of the radio
clerk are diverse from those who contribute directly
to the staging of studio productions, and we shall,
therefore, exclude the radio clerk from the unit.
The radio traffic manager prepares the radio log,
which is the station's schedule, and which ultimate-
ly becomes the office log for FCC purposes. He
transfers commercial time to the log and duplicates
the log; assists in the preparation of the copybook
' See Berea Publishing Company, 140 NLRB 516,519.
978 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
used by the radio announcer and makes tab entries
in this book; and prepares the availability sheet that
the announcer uses to show the amount of commer-
cial time in a given period. He will go over discre-
pancies in the copy or in the book or log with the an-
nouncer, and informs the announcer of any program
changes. He is in daily contact with continuity; will
work with the production manager for the recording
of commercials; and deals directly with the news
department when there are schedule changes affect-
ing the regular news casts. He occasionally per-
forms as "talent" on radio. We find that the radio
traffic manager is directly engaged in the presenta-
tion of studio productions, and we shall, therefore,
include him in the unit."
The radio continuity writer writes schedules and
enters live copy for commericals in the AM and FM
copybooks. This becomes the script for the an-
nouncer to read over the air. The radio continuity
writer does all the FM log work, places the FM log
in the announcer's booth, and also does the public
service announcement copy for AM and FM. The
radio continuity writer works in the same area as
the traffic manager, and together they cooperate to
produce the books and logs used by the announcers.
Since the radio continuity writer, like the radio traf-
fic manager, contributes materially to the staging of
studio productions, we shall include this category
in the unit.9
Television
Television directors: The Employer has five per-
sons who are regularly assigned duty as television
directors. These individuals are in charge of live or
video taped local shows, and video taping sessions
for commercials, promotion spots, or public service
announcements. Each instructs a crew composed
of floormen, cameramen, announcers, talent, and
various engineers. In preparation for live local
shows, such as newscasts, the director will check
the log to determine the actual air length of the pro-
gram and to determine what commercials will be
run within the program, and he schedules planning
sessions for the individuals involved in the show.
He has somewhat similar responsibilities for the
presentation of video taping sessions and commer-
cial taping sessions. The director is the producer of
the program, and except for the news programs, is
responsible for its content, including air quality. He
assigns work to the members of his crew based on
his evaluation of the capabilities of individuals; has
the authority to call in or hold over production em-
ployees for work that would necessitate the pay-
ment of overtime; has made recommendations for
pay raises; has made effective recommendations
concerning the work performance of his crew; and
has the authority to release employees from their
8 Douglas H. McDonald, Trustee of Evansville Television, Inc., 126
NLRB 680, 682.
work for lunch at other than regular lunch break
periods. Since the television directors responsibly
direct employees involved in studio presentations,
we shall exclude them as supervisors within the
meaning of the Act.10
The propman spends about 60 percent of his time
as a porter at the station. The remainder of his time
is spent in building props, setting up cameras, mov-
ing props, and performing messenger work for the
station, such as picking up films at the bus station or
airport. In view of the fact that the duties of the
propman are largely custodial, and since he does
not devote a substantial portion of his time to work
directly, or even closely, connected to actual pro-
gram production duties, we shall exclude him from
the unit.
The production assistant initiates the work
package that is used by the director in a video tap-
ing session. The number that the production
assistant assigns to the work package becomes the
number for the video tape reel that is produced as
a result of the session, and this number is used by
the other departments in the scheduling of that reel.
The production assistant maintains a booking,
schedule of the station's video taping facilities. He
maintains an inventory of all the video tapes stored
in the station; schedules the use of the planning
center; and maintains a usage report on the amount
of activity in the video tape room. We do not be-
lieve that the work duties of the production
assistant contribute directly to the staging of studio
productions, but find they are more in the nature of
recordkeeping. We shall exclude the production
assistant from the unit.
The program clerk maintains the booking
schedule of syndicated film properties purchased by
the station. She maintains the television talent
payroll and will keep track of any duplicates of
commercials that are subsequently aired that would
involve payment of further talent fees to individuals
in the station. She types and prepares the studio
operating schedule, and maintains a card system on
films that have been distributed from the station to
other users. She also relays promotional informa-
tion on syndicated film properties to the promotion
department, and operates the teleprompter tape
typewriter. In addition to this work, which occupies
approximately 70 percent of her time, she performs
functions which the Employer concedes are office
clerical work. Since we do not consider the duties
enumerated above as contributing directly to the
staging of studio presentations, we shall exclude the
program clerk from the unit.
The artists: The Employer employs 3 artists, who
do original art work and lettering for title cards and
show titles at the station. They prepare slides for
local programs, commercials, public service and
news. They will do animation for commercials, and
9Id., p. 682.
10 Northwest Publications, Inc, 116 NLRB 1578, 1579.
WTAR RADIO-TV CORPORATION 979
build model sets for programs that the Employer is
developing. As the artists contribute directly to the
staging of studio productions, we shall include them
in the unit. l1
The promotion assistants: The two promotion
assistants prepare and write promotional copy that
is entered in the book for the announcer, who will
then use this as his script for the 1-hour period dur-
ing the day when the announcer cuts tape. They will
enter video instructions (video tape reel and slide
numbers) for promotional material on the broadcast
operating schedule that is a copy of the log. Most of
the promotional work done at the station is either
on slides or tape. When the slide is actually telecast,
it will be accompanied by the voice of the an-
nouncer, who had already put on tape the copy
prepared by the promotion assistants. The promo-
tion assistants will also do radio AM and FM
promotion, and will aid in the preparation of "ET's"
(electrical transcriptions), which are discs that in-
volve a musical mixture with the spoken voice that
are used for promotional announcements.
We find that the promotion assistants produce
materials which are used directly on the air, and ac-
cordingly, we shall include them in the unit.
The promotion writer prepares promotional copy
and news releases. She will prepare personality
profiles on various programs, and, in connection
therewith, works with the photolab technicians,
who are the station's still photographers. The
promotion writer spends a considerable portion of
her time in performing clerical duties for the promo-
tion manager. We do not believe that the work du-
ties of the promotion writer are closely enough re-
lated to the production of studio presentations to
justify her inclusion in the unit. Accordingly, we
shall exclude the promotion writer.
The traffic clerks are concerned with the prepara-
tion , reproduction, and distribution of the daily
operating sheet and program log. This the document
that ultimately becomes the official FCC log, but it
is used by the station as a form of broadcast operat-
ing schedule. The log contains information on the
exact time that certain programs are to be aired, in-
cluding specific commericals, public service an-
nouncements, and promotional announcements. It
will also indicate whether certain commercials or
programs are color, black and white, video tape,
sound on film, or live. We believe that the traffic
clerks' work is primarily to keep track of the pro-
grams, and not, in any significant sense, to stage
them. We conclude that traffic clerks contribute
only indirectly to the staging of studio presenta-
tions, and shall, therefore, exclude them from the
unit. 12
The continuity clerks prepare the commercial
copybook that contains the script used by the an-
nouncer when he is cutting commercials on his
audio tape. They will make entries on the station
log, listing the actual amount of commercial activi-
ty, whether video tape, sound on film or slides, and
maintain a schedule on the times the commercials
are to run. The continuity clerks enter numbers on
the log that identify the film slide, video tape reel, or
"ET." They assign file numbers to commercial
slides that are then stored by them in the file
cabinets near the slide projector in the master con-
trol engineering area. They work in the same area
as the traffic clerks, and there is some employee in-
terchange between the continuity clerks and the
traffic clerks. We find that the continuity clerks, like
the traffic clerks, contribute only indirectly to the
staging of studio productions, and we shall, there-
fore, exclude them from the unit.
Talent
LaVerne Watson is classified as a salesman-an-
nouncer and newscaster. As a salesman, he sells ad-
vertising time to commercial clients. As an an-
nouncer, he is anchor man on the Monday-Friday
6 p.m. news index, in which he leads off with 12
minutes of local and regional news and finishes with
a 1-minute summary of the top stories. He also per-
forms announcing duties on radio in a show called
"Water Patrol," which is similar to the radio traffic
control program. He is paid a talent fee for his an-
nouncing duties. In view of LaVerne Watson's sub-
stantial announcing duties, we shall include him in
the unit. 13
Dr. R. Whitehurst regularly appears on a segment
of the Saturday and Sunday 7 p.m. news index pro-
gram, in which he does a news analysis report on a
current news story. In preparation for this program,
he brings his material into the station during the
week for the news director to review and approve.
He also attends planning sessions just prior to his
Saturday and Sunday programs. He receives a
talent fee paid by the station. Under the circum-
stances, we find that Dr. Whitehurst is an employee
engaged in staging studio productions, and we shall,
therefore, include him in the unit. 14
Ann Dawson appears on the children's show,
Flibbertigibbet, which is taped daily Monday
through Friday at the station, normally a week
ahead of time. She will be in the station a minimum
of 1-1/2 hours for each taping session. In prepara-
tion for the taping of her program, she and her
director will go over ideas for the format of the
show. She receives a talent fee paid by the station.
We find that Ann Dawson is an employee engaged
in staging studio productions, and, as such, properly
included in the unit.15
1 Radio and Television Station WFLA, suprd.
2 Indiana Broadcasting Corp , 121 NLRB 111, 114.
3 See Berea Publishing Company, supra.
14 Radio and Television Station WFLA, supra
15 Westinghouse Radio Stations, Inc. 107 NLRB 1407.
336-845 0 - 70 - 63
980 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
The news department
The work day of the news night editor for radio
and television begins at 2:30 p.m. and ends at 11:30
p.m. After 6 p.m., he is in charge of the newsroom,
and makes decisions on personnel that will be
required to cover a story. He assembles the news
material for the Monday-Friday Eleventh Hour
Final News Show, and is in charge of the editorial
content of the news cast. He will determine which
stories will be covered, what the final content of the
news cast will be, and what film has to be edited. A
news photographer is regularly assigned to him 3
nights a week. He has the authority to assign film
photographers to cover certain stories, and he in-
structs them on the type of equipment they should
take with them.He daily instructs the reporters on
the development of stories and their written treat-
ment of them. He can discipline employees, and ef-
fectively recommend their hire and discharge. On
the basis of the foregoing, including the authority
responsibly to direct the work of other employees,
we find that the news night editor is a supervisor,
and we shall, therefore, exclude him from, the unit.
The public service clerk is primarily concerned
with community affairs and public service. She
prepares copy in connection with public service an-
nouncements, both what is read by the announcer
and what appears on the projected slide. She will
make entries on the station operating log to reflect
the film, slides, or video tape numbers for public
service announcements that are to broadcast by the
station. She also aids in a religious public service
program "Lift Up Thine Eyes," and assists in ob-
taining local people that participate on "Youth
Questions," another local program. We find that the
public service clerk is directly involved in the stag-
ing and presentation of studio productions, and we
shall, therefore, include her in the unit.
The news research librarian maintains the news
film library. She pulls film stock that has previously
been shot at the station, which relates to a story that
the station is currently doing. She maintains a
footage index on the film in stock, all news motion
picture film, and still pictures being kept in the film
library. She takes news reports over the phone, and
relays a synopsis of this information to the news de-
partment personnel. She also files newspaper
clippings relating to stories for possible future
coverage. We find that the news research librarian,
like the radio music librarian, does not contribute
16 Fins position was unfilled at the time of the hearing The work was
being performed by the TV managing editor, an acknowledged supervisor.
17 An election eligibility list, containing the names and addresses of all
the eligible voters, must be filed by the Employer with the Regional
Director for Region five within 7 days after the date of this Decision and
Direction of Election. The Regional Director shall make the list available
directly to the staging of studio presentations, and
we shall, therefore, exclude her from the unit.
The Peninsula editor is responsible for the cover-
ing and reporting of news stories in the Newport
News or Hampton areas with the use of silent film
or audio tape. The position calls for a combination
reporter and photographer, shooting film on a regu-
lar basis. Since the Peninsula editor is directly in-
volved in the staging or presentation of studio
productions, we shall include him in the unit.
The weekend and feature editor16 is the news
director on the weekend in charge of the news de-
partment and of the preparation of the weekend
television news casts. He develops stories of in-
terest for inclusion in the Saturday and Sunday
news index shows, and may anchor the news show
and announce radio news shows. He is in charge of
the photographer that is regularly assigned on the
weekend, and has the authority to call in other
photographers and reporters if needed to cover a
certain story. On the basis of his authority
responsibly to direct the work of other employees,
we find that the weekend and feature editor, like
the news night editor, is a supervisor, and we shall,
therefore, exclude him from the unit.
We find, accordingly, that the following em-
ployees of the Employer constitute a unit ap-
propriate for the purposes of collective bargaining
within the meaning of Section 9(b) of the Act:
All employees directly concerned in staging stu-
dio productions, including announcers, talent,
newscasters, news photographer, news reporters,
photolab technicians, the traffic control helicopter
announcer, the announcer-engineers, the radio
production manager, the radio ground coordinatior,
the radio traffic manager, the radio continuity
writer, the artists, the promotion assistants, the
public service clerk, cameramen, floormen, film edi-
tors, the woman's director, the radio and television
sports directors, and the Peninsula editor, but ex-
cluding the television directors, the radio music
librarian, the radio clerk, the propman, the produc-
tion assistant, the program clerk, the promotion
writer, the traffic clerks, the continuity clerks, the
news night editor, the news research librarian, the
weekend and feature editor, instrumental musi-
cians, clerical employees, employees in the sales,
bookkeeping, and engineering departments,' guards,
and supervisors as defined in the Act.
[Direction of Election 17 omitted from publica-
tion.]
to all parties to the election. No extension of time to file this list shall be
granted by the Regional Director except in extraordinary circumstances.
Failure to comply with this requirement shall be grounds for setting aside
the election whenever proper objections are filed. Excelsior Underwear
Inc., 156 NLRB 1236.