WTMJ, Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Feb 26, 1976

222 N.L.R.B. 1111 (N.L.R.B. 1976)

WTMJ, INC. 1111
WTMJ, Inc.' and Directors Guild of America, Inc.,
Petitioner. Case 30-RC-2609 -
February 26, 1976
DECISION AND DIRECTION- OF ELECTION
BY CHAIRMAN MURPHY AND MEMBERS FANNING
- AND JENKINS
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9(c) of
the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, a
hearing was held before Hearing Officer Cecil Sut-
phen of the National Labor Relations Board on Au-
gust 14 and 15, 1975. Following the hearing and pur-
suant to Section 102.67 of the National Labor
Relations Board Rules and Regulations, Series 8, as
amended, and by direction of the Regional Director
for Region 30, this proceeding was transferred to the
Board for decision.
The Employer and Petitioner filed briefs in sup-
port of their positions.
- 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 Hearing Officer's rul-
ings made at the hearing and finds that they are free
from prejudicial error. They are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in this proceeding, 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 claiming
to represent certain employees of the Employer.
3: A question affecting commerce exists concern-
ing the representation of certain employees of the
Employer within the meaning of Sections 9(c)(1) and
2(6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The Petitioner seeks to represent a unit of all
staff producer/directors and all others doing the
work of directors employed by the WTMJ, Inc., tele-
vision station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The Employer contends that the petition should be
dismissed because: (1) the petition does not describe
a readily identifiable group of employees, and (2) the
unit sought does not constitute an appropriate unit
for collective-bargaining purposes.
The Employer's business activities include tele-
casting, radio broadcasting, and operation of a
CATV system. The Employer's radio and television
broadcasting facilities, except for an AM transmitter,
are located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in a building
sometimes called "Radio City."
There are over 225 employees in 16 classifications
currently employed by the Employer at Radio City
including sales, clerical, managerial, and production
personnel. Approximately 77 employees are covered
by collective-bargaining agreements - and there are
approximately 76 production employees unrepresent-
ed. The three collective-bargaining contracts in effect
are: Service Employees International Union Local
150, representing the building maintenance employ-
ees; International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
and Local 715, representing the engineers; and the
International Alliance of Stage and Theatrical Em-
ployees, representing the floormen or floor directors.
There is no history of collective bargaining involving
the job classification of producer/director.
There are six producer/directors. It appears that
three other individuals also direct occasional televi-
sion programs. Two of them are the "seniors," the
two most senior floor managers. Although the two
individuals in that category may change from time to
time, it is always the two "seniors" who sporadically
perform -directorial duties. Additionally, there is an
individual known as a "trainee," who is in training to
become a producer/director. The "trainee" is a per-
manent employee,-although by the Employer's defin-
ition of that job it ceases to exist 12 to 15 months
after it begins and if no opening exists at that time
for a producer/director the "trainee" is terminated.
The producer/directors produce and direct news,
commercial productions, or studio productions as as-
signed by the TV production manager, directing on-
air activities of engineering crews, booth announcers,
newsmen, and floor crews. They work with sales rep-
resentatives, clients, and/or agency personnel regard-
ing program and commercial production ideas and
concepts necessary to project the client's message or
aim. They assist production management in 'devel-
opment and production of commercial content and
programming. They work under general direction
and supervision, and are required to have broad
knowledge of telecasting, and to be able to create,
produce, and direct effective commercials and pro-
grams under pressure of on-air schedules, following
established procedures and policies. The educational
requirement in the job description for producer/di-
rector states, "High school plus 4-5 years related
broadcast experience."
The Employer opposes the petition and relies
heavily upon a 1973 Board decision,2 involving
WTMJ-TV and AFTRA for its position. In that case
the requested unit was for television newsmen, and
the alternative requested unit was for radio and tele-
1 The name of the Employer appears as amended at the heanng. 2 The Journal Co. d/a/b WTMJ AM-FM-TV, 205 NLRB 36, 37 (1973).
222 NLRB No. 175
1112 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
vision newsmen. The Board noted "that the func-
tions performed by the newsmen, especially in gath-
ering the news and performing the news shows, in-
volve a great deal of integration with other categories
of the Employer's employees.. For example, a news-
man and photographer 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 addition, other classifications of em-
ployees, such as producer-directors, film handlers,
and graphic arts personnel, are actively involved in
the presentation of, or preparation for, the news
shows."
The Board found, in sum, that "the contact with
other employees, similarity of benefits, common su-
pervision with other employees of the same depart-
ment, interchange, and especially the similar nature
of the job function which the newsmen shared with
announcers," all demonstrated that the newsmen, in
the circumstances therein, did not share a commu-
nity of interest separate and apart from other em-
ployees of the employer. Accordingly, the Board
found the requested unit and the alternative request-
ed unit to be inappropriate and dismissed the peti-
tion.
We find no merit in the Employer's contention
that the above case is controlling legal precedent for
the disposition of the instant case. That decision held
that a separate unit of newsmen was inappropriate
and did not discuss the duties or interests of produc-
er/directors. We have ruled in a number of cases that
a unit of television producer/directors constitutes an
appropriate unit .3 The Employer argues that in these
3 Westinghouse Broadcasting Company (KYW-TV), 209 NLRB 788 (1974),
enfd . 503 F.2d 1055 (C.A 2, 1974); Westinghouse Broadcasting Company,
Inc (WBZ-TV/WJZ-TV), 215 NLRB No. 26 ( 1974), Westinghouse Broad-
casting Company, Inc. (KDKA-TV), 216 NLRB No 64 (1975), Golden West
Broadcasters (KTLA-TV), 215 NLRB No. 141 (1974), Post-Newsweek Sta-
tions of Florida, Inc (WPLG-TV), 217 NLRB No 17 (1975); Westinghouse
cases the employers contended the units petitioned
for were inappropriate on grounds that the employ-
ees involved were supervisory and/or managerial
employees and that that issue is not present in the
instant case. This contention lacks merit. Although
we found the employees involved were not superviso-
ry and/or managerial employees, we further found
that the producer/directors constitute an appropriate
unit.
Moreover, WTMJ Producer/Director Tom Ed-
wards, who had previously worked at WJZ-TV,
where the Board directed an election, testified that
the duties of producer/director at both WTMJ-TV
and WJZ-TV were the same.
The evidence shows that the producer/directors'
duties and functions, status within the production
and programming departments, and relationships
with other personnel are substantially similar, if not
identical, to those of producer/directors at other sta-
tions where the Board has found units of producer/
directors to be appropriate 4
In view of the foregoing, we shall direct an election
in the following unit, which we find to be appropriate
for the purposes of collective bargaining within the
meaning of Section 9(c) of the Act:
All producer/directors and all others doing the
work of directors employed by the WTMJ, Inc.,
television station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,' but
excluding all other employees, guards, and su-
pervisors as defined in the Act.
[Direction of Election and Excelsior footnote om-
itted from publication.]
Broadcasting Company, Inc (WJZ-TV, Channel 13), 218 NLRB No 102
(1975), Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, Inc (KDKA-TV), 220 NLRB
No 11 (1975).
4 Ibid
5 Senior floor managers are not included in this category since they per-
form the duties of producer/directors only sporadically. However, the
"trainee" is included inasmuch as his interests are the same as those of the
unit employees