WTMJ-AM-FM-TV

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 26, 1973

205 N.L.R.B. 36 (N.L.R.B. 1973)

36 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
The Journal Co. d/b /a WTMJ-AM-FM-TV and
American Federation of Television and Radio Art-
ists, Milwaukee Local , AFL-CIO, Petitioner. Case
30-RC-1954
July 26, 1973
DECISION AND ORDER
BY CHAIRMAN MILLER AND MEMBERS JENKINS
AND KENNEDY
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9(c) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, a hearing
was held before Hearing Officer Shirley A. Bednarz of
the National Labor Relations Board.' Following the
close of the hearing the Regional Director for Region
30 transferred this case to the Board for decision.
Thereafter, the Employer and the Petitioner each filed
briefs.
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 au-
thority in this proceeding to a three-member panel.
The Board has reviewed the rulings of the Hearing
Officer made at the hearing and finds that they are
free from prejudicial error. The rulings are hereby
affirmed.'
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 pur-
poses of the Act to assert jurisdiction herein. The
parties stipulated that Employer is a Wisconsin corpo-
ration engaged in the operation of a television and
radio station from facilities located in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, and that during 1972 the Employer de-
rived gross revenue in excess of $50,000 in the course
and conduct of its business and purchased and re-
ceived goods valued in excess of $50,000 directly from
points located outside the State of Wisconsin.
2. The parties further stipulated that the Petitioner,
which claims to represent certain employees of the
Employer, is a labor organization as defined in the
Act.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concern-
ing the representation of certain employees of the
Employer within the meaning of Section 9(c)(1) and
2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The Petitioner seeks to represent a unit of televi-
sion newsmen. Specifically, Petitioner seeks all news
department employees employed by television station
WTMJ-TV, including news department employees
who perform news announcing, news editing, news
writing, or news reporting functions, who deliver news
regularly or frequently before microphones or cam-
era, or who are otherwise regularly engaged in gather-
ing, preparing, or presenting news before the
microphones or television camera, excluding all office
clerical employees, guards, watchmen, supervisors,
and all other employees employed by WTJM-AM-
FM-TV. Employer, however, contends that the peti-
tioned-for employees do not constitute an appropriate
unit and, indeed, are not even a readily identifiable
group since Employer's news operations are consoli-
dated under one news department for television and
radio and are not separate departments as Petitioner
would imply by its petition for TV newsmen. Peti-
tioner, however, in its brief, indicated a willingness to
proceed to an election in a unit which would also
include radio newsmen should such a unit be found
appropriate.
Employer employs approximately 230 people at fa-
cilities known as "Radio City" in Milwaukee, where
telecasting, broadcasting, and production of various
broadcast material takes place.
Of the total complement of employees, 68 are pre-
sently covered by labor contracts,' 32 are managerial
employees, 3 are confidential employees, and 4 are
guards. In addition, while Petitioner and Employer
did not agree on what constituted an appropriate unit,
they did agree that 23 office clerical employees and 12
sales employees should be excluded from any unit
found appropriate. The remaining employees are con-
sidered by Employer to be its "production" personnel,
consisting of various departments including traffic,
continuity, programming, news, promotion, public af-
fairs, community relations, graphics, and the music
library. With the exception of traffic, continuity, pro-
gramming, and promotion, the departments are single
departments covering both radio and television oper-
ations. In addition, with the exception of the program-
ming department and the news department, the
classifications of employees are coextensive with the
names of their departments. The programming de-
partment classifications include film handlers, an-
nouncers, producer-directors, a cinematographer, and
a production coordinator, and the news department
includes newsmen and photographers.
The various departments described have their own
1 Local 666, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and
Moving Picture Machine Operators of the United States and Canada, AFL-
CIO, intervened in this proceeding seeking to represent a unit of photogra-
phers, film editors, and laboratory technicians, but it did not appear at or
participate in the hearing
2 We note that in light of the facts as developed in the record the Hearing
Officer's rulings regarding the subpoenas duces tecum were not prejudicial
3 Building maintenance employees, floormen, and engineers are presently
covered, respectively, by contracts Employer has with Service Employees
International Union Local 150, Local 18 of the International Alliance of
Theatrical Stage Employees and Moving Picture Machine Operators, and
Radio and Television Broadcast Engineers Local 715 of the International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
205 NLRB No. 10
THE JOURNAL CO. 37
department heads who generally supervise the activi-
ties within their respective departments. They do re-
port, however, to the manager of radio and TV who
makes the final determination with respect to all hir-
ing and salary. All full-time employees are salaried
but certain employees earn money in addition to their
normal salary. For example, 50 percent of the news-
wen and 90 percent of the announcers receive approx-
imately $35 to $40 a week on the average in extra
money known as "talent" fees. The producer-direc-
tors also recieve extra fees occasionally. In addition,
all the employees receive overtime pay. Finally, all
employees have the same vacation, holiday, and leave
benefits, although administration of some leave is left
to the discretion of department heads.
The newsmen, whom Petitioner seeks to represent
in this proceeding, are involved in the gathering, edit-
ing, and presenting of news and sports. The record
discloses that the skills required for this include an
inquisitive mind and the ability to ask the proper
questions, to retain information, and to read and pre-
sent material on radio and TV using a pleasant man-
ner and voice quality. Petitioner maintains that these
skills demonstrate intellectual, theatrical, and verbal
ability not possessed by other categories of
Employer's employees and that the newsmen should
therefore be separately represented. The record indi-
cates, however, that other categories of employees
perform duties in relation to news gathering, editing,
and presenting which, although not exactly those of
newsmen, are similar in nature and require similar
abilities. For example, photographers, who are includ-
ed in the news department, in addition to taking pic-
tures, also edit them and serve as reporters. Most
importantly, announcers, who are not sought by Peti-
tioner, and who are members of the programming
department,4 also perform similar functions. While
the basic duties of the announcers include identifying
the station and airing commercials within network
programs, as well as reading the news, the announcers
often take their news presentations directly from the
wire services with the individual announcer determin-
ing when to do this and what news item to present.
Thus, they exercise an editorial function in addition
to their function of presenting news on the air. They
also present 5-minute news cut-ins on shows such as
the Today Show. While these 5-minute cut-ins are
prepared by the news department, it is clear that in
this regard too the announcers exercise a news presen-
tation function similar to the newsmen. Finally, as
noted above, most of the announcers, along with
many of the newsmen, receive "talent" fees for the
performance of their functions.
A distinction has been recognized for collective-
bargaining purposes between newsmen and other em-
ployees who do not appear on the air and those who
do appear on the air.' It has also been recognized that
where newsmen perform a dual function it would be
undesirable to fragment their functions into separate
parts for representation purposes and that the appro-
priate unit in such a situation would be a single unit
of all newsmen.' Where, as here, however, the dual
function newsmen and the announcers perform simi-
lar function in a similar manner and are similarly
remunerated, separate representation for either of the
groups would constitute an arbitrary and unwarrant-
ed fragmentation of employees and would therefore
be inappropriate.'
We also note that the functions performed by the
newsmen, especially in gathering the news and per-
forming the news shows, involve a great deal of inte-
gration with other categories of Employer's
employees. For example, a newsman and photogra-
pher generally go out together to cover an emerging
news story. Further, some of the programs presented
by the Employer, such as the Morning Scene show,
are jointly prepared by several departments. In addi-
tion, other classifications of employees, such as pro-
ducer-directors, film handlers, and graphic arts
personnel, are actively involved in the presentation of,
or preparation for, the news shows.
The record further discloses that while the news
department has its own specific location within Radio
City, the newsmen have a great deal of contact with
other departments and that some employees have
changed classifications. For example, one newsman
became a full-time photographer, while another be-
came manager of community relations. Similarly, a
programming department employee transferred to the
news department becoming a news-person.
In sum, the contact with other employees, similarity
of benefits, common supervision with other employ-
ees of the same department, interchange, and espe-
cially the similar nature of job function which the
newsmen share with announcers, all display that
newsmen, under the circumstances herein, do not
share a community of interest separate and apart
from other employees of the Employer. Accordingly,
we find the requested unit of television newsmen, and
the alternative requested unit of radio and television
5 National Broadcasting Company, Inc, 160 NLRB 1440, Hampton Roads
Broadcasting Corporation (WGH), 100 NLRB 238
4 While there was a conflict in the testimony , the weight of the record 6 Pulitzer Publishing Co, 203 NLRB No 105
evidence discloses that the announcers are members of the programming 7 Capital Cities Broadcasting Corporation, Television Station WPVI-TV,
department 194 NLRB 1063
38 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
ORDER
newsmen, inappropriate. As the Petitioner has not It is hereby ordered that the hearing in this matter
indicated a desire to proceed to an election in a broad- be closed and that the petition filed herein be, and it
er unit, we shall dismiss its petition. hereby is, dismissed.