Chicago North Side Newspapers

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 28, 1959

124 N.L.R.B. 254 (N.L.R.B. 1959)

254 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Engineers Union, Local 1212, International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers, AFL-CIO.
2. Within 10 days from the date of this Decision and Determina-
tion of Dispute, Local 1 shall notify the Regional Director for the
Second Region in writing, whether or not it will refrain from forcing
or requiring CBS, by means proscribed by Section 8(b) (4) (D) of
the Act, to assign the disputed work to its members rather than to
other employees of CBS, who are members of Local 1212.
Chicago North Side Newspapers and Chicago Newspaper Guild,
Local 71 AFL-CIO, Petitioner. Case No. 13-RC-6449. July 28,
1959
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, a hearing was held before Jewel G. Maher, hearing
officer. The hearing officer 's rulings made at the hearing are free
from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Pursuant to Section 3(b) of the National Labor Relations Act, the
Board has delegated its power herein to a three-member panel [Chair-
man Leedom and Members Bean and Jenkins].
Upon the entire record in this case the Board finds :
1. Chicago North Side Newspapers appears to be the trade name
for Lincoln-Belmont Publishing Co., Inc., Myers Publishing Co.,
W. L. Johnson Publishing Co., and Neighborhood Press. Leo Lerner
is the sole stockholder in the Lincoln -Belmont Publishing Co., Inc.,
which in turn owns the controlling interest in Myers Publishing Co.
W. L. Johnson Publishing Co. is a division of Myers Publishing Co.,
and Neighborhood Press is a wholly owned subsidiary of Myers Pub-
lishing Co.
Leo Lerner is president of Lincoln -Belmont Publishing Co. and
Myers Publishing Co., his brother, Edward Lerner, and his wife,
Deanna Lerner , are vice president and secretary , respectively, of the
two corporations . Leo Lerner is editor and publisher and has general
supervision of all newspapers published by all the companies in-
volved ; Edward Lerner is his associate and assistant in supervising
the operations of the various companies ; Edmund Rover is comp-
troller, and one Brookstone is auditor of all the companies.
The parties stipulated that Lincoln -Belmont Publishing Co., Inc.,
-contracts with Myers Publishing Co. to print newspapers published
by Lincoln -Belmont, that Myers also prints newspapers published by
Myers and W. L. Johnson . Leo Lerner testified that Myers, through
a contractual arrangement, uses presses for its printing which are
124 NLRB No. 24.
CHICAGO NORTH SIDE NEWSPAPERS . . 255
owned by Neighborhood Press.' Under all the circumstances we, find
that Chicago North Side Newspapers constitutes a single employer for
jurisdictional purposes'
The parties stipulated that the annual gross volume of business of
Lincoln-Belmont is in excess of $500,000. Myers and W. L. Johnson
do a gross volume of business annually in excess of $1,000,000. News-
papers published and/or printed by the three companies involved in
this proceeding carry advertisements of nationally advertised prod-
ucts, approximately 1 percent of which are purchased by national ad-
vertising agencies.
The Board has determined that it will assert jurisdiction in all cases
involving newspaper companies which hold membership in or sub-
scribe to interstate news services, or publish nationally syndicated fea-
tures,. or advertises nationally sold products, if the gross volume of
business of the particular enterprise involved amounts to $200,000 or
more per annum. Therefore, we find that the Employer, Chicago
North Side Newspapers, is engaged in commerce within the meaning
of the Act and shall assert jurisdiction in this case.'
2. The labor organization involved claims to represent certain em-
ployees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section
9(c) (1) and Section 2(6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The Petitioner seeks a single unit of all regular and part-time
employees of Lincoln-Belmont Publishing Co., Inc., W. L. Johnson
Publishing Co., and Myers Publishing Co., at its Chicago and Skokie,
Illinois, plants who work in the advertising, accounting, circulation,
and miscellaneous departments, excluding editorial employees and all.
other employees covered by current collective-bargaining agreements,
all inside and outside subscription solicitors and collectors, guards,
professional employees, and supervisors as defined in the Act. The
Employer agrees to the composition, but contends that such employees
at each plant should constitute a separate unit.
In addition to the facts discussed above concerning the close inter-
relationship of the several segments of Chicago North Side News-
papers, the record reflects that the various plants requested are located
geographically in close proximity to one another; there is a combined
advertising rate which customers may use to advertise their products
in all the newspapers; wages, hours, and fringe benefits are uniform
1 Neighborhood Press , Inc.'s employees are not involved in the proceedings herein.
2 Standard Furniture Company, 118 NLRB 35.
3 Belleville Employing Printers, 122 NLRB 350. Moreover, it is obvious from the facts
alluded to above that both of the corporate entities herein , Lincoln-Belmont Publishing
Co., Inc., and Myers Publishing Co. (W. L. Johnson Publishing Co.) ai-e engaged in
commerce within the meaning of the Act and that jurisdiction might be asserted over
them individually.
256 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
throughout the system; billing and financing is handled for all of the
divisions involved by the same employees on a proportional salary
basis; other conditions of employment are uniform; general control
of labor negotiations and policy is vested in the Lerner brothers; and
Edward Lerner and Rover negotiate on behalf of the Employer with
the Petitioner, which has a contract covering a single unit.of editorial
employees of Lincoln-Belmont, Myers, and Johnson. Accordingly,
we find that a single unit of the employees of Lincoln-Belmont Pub-
lishing Co., W. L. Johnson Publishing Co., and the Myers Publishing
Co. at its Chicago and Skokie, Illinois, plants is appropriate.'
The Petitioner would add the employees sought herein to the ex-
isting unit of editorial employees which it now represents. The Board
has consistently stated that the optimum bargaining unit in the news-
paper industry in one comprising employees in all nonmechanical
departments.'
Accordingly, we find that the following employees in the following
voting group may, together with the editorial employees constitute a
unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the
meaning of Section 9(c) (1) of the Act. Therefore we shall direct an
election in a voting group of all regular 6 and part-time employees of
Lincoln-Belmont Publishing Co., Inc., at its Chicago, Illinois, plant,
W. L. Johnson Co. at its Chicago plant, and Myers Publishing Co.
at its Chicago and Skokie, Illinois, plants who work in the advertising,
accounting, circulation, and miscellaneous departments excluding edi-
torial employees and all other employees covered by current collective-
bargaining agreements, all inside and outside subscription solicitors
and collectors, guards, professional employees, and supervisors as de-
fined in the Act.'
If a majority of the employees voting cast ballots for the Peti-
tioner they will be taken to have indicated their desire to be part of
a single unit together with the editorial department employees, and
the Petitioner may bargain for them as part of such unit. The
Regional Director conducting the election directed herein is instructed
to issue a certification of results of election to such effect.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication.]
4 See Crenshaw 's Inc., 115 NLRB 1374, 1378.
5 The Chicago Daily News, Inc., 98 NLRB 1235 ; The Niagara Falls Gazette Publishing
Company, 111 NLRB 264.
E We include Ella Clark In the unit as the record does not support the Employer's
contention that she is either a supervisor or a confidential employee.
7 The parties stipulated that the following employees are supervisors as defined in
the Act; Raymond Arado, James C. Bailey, Eugene Calabrese , Hazel Conway , James F.
De Meulenaere , Raymond W . Doyle, Joseph Ferstl , Ervin Feichtmeir, Henry Good, Bar-
bara Hazen , Raymond Henagow , Mary Hehir , Mary R. Losch, Edward Lerner, Leo A.
Lerner, Ethel Moody, Joseph Peppier , Ilma Roubik, Walter Stone, Helene Stenbuck,
John E. Bruner, Rose Duskin, Verne Kopke, Michael S . Lerner, and Edmund F. Rover.