Houston Press Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 21, 1942

42 N.L.R.B. 656 (N.L.R.B. 1942)

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In•the Matterof 'HOUSTON PRESS COMPANY and -HOUSTON' NEWSPAPER
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Case No R-3948 -Deczded July 21, 1942
Jurisdiction : newspaper publishing industry
Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question re-
fusal to accord petitioner recognition because of doubt as to appropriateness
of the unit, election necessary
Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all employees in the fuel, light,
and powei department, excluding the superintendent
Mr. What field H. Marshall, of Houston, Tex, for the Company
Mandell & Wright, by Mr. Herman Wright, of Houston, Tex, for
the Guild
Mr. D. A. Simmons, and Mr. W W. Strong, of Houston, Tex, for the
Pressmen
Mr G. H Jamieson, of Houston, Tex , for the Typographers
Mr Louis Cokin, of counsel to the Board
DECISION
AND
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon petition duly filed by Houston Newspapei Guild, heiem called
the Guild, alleging that a question affecting commerce had aiisen con-
cerning the representation of employees of Houston Press Company,
Houston, Texas, herein called the Company, the National Labor Re-
lations Board provided for an appropiiate hearing upon due notice
before E P: Davis, Trial Examiner Said hearmg was held at Hous-
ton, Texas, on June 17, 1942 The Company, the Guild, Houston
Typographers Union No 87, herein called the Typographers, and
Houston Printing Pressmen & Assistants Union No 71, herein called
the Pressmen, appeared, participated, and were afforded full opportu-
nity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to intro-
duce evidence bearing on the issues The Trial Examniei's iulings
made at the hearing are free from piejudicial erior and are hereby
affix med
Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following
42NLRB,No133
656
HOUSTON PRESS COMPANY 657
FINDINGS OF FACT
I THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY
Houston Press Company is a Texas corporation with its principal
place of business at Houston, Texas, where it is engaged in the pub-
lishing, sale, and distribution of a daily newspaper known as the
Houston Press During 1941 the Company pubhshed,and distributed
an average of, 76,980 copies of the Houston Press, 35,816, copies- of
which were dehyered to points outside Texas During the same period
it used over 2,000 tons of newsprint, all of which was shipped to it
from outside Texas. The Company obtains, news and photographs
from five news agencies, all of which originate outside Texas,,
II. THE ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
Houston Newspaper Guild 'is a' labor organizatidn affiliated with
the Congress of Industrial Organizations, admitting to membership
employees of the Company'
Houston`Typographers Union No 87 is a labor organization" admit-
ting to membership employees of the Company.
Houston Printing Pressmen & Assistants Union No. 71 is a labor
organization admitting to membership employees of the Company.
III THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION
Durmg+January 1942,the Guild requested the Company to recognize
it as the exclusive representative of its maintenance employees The
Company denied this request stating that it doubted the appropriate-
ness of a unit composed of maintenance employees -
A statement of a Field Examiner of the Board, introduced into evi-
dence during the hearing; indicates that the Guild represents a sub-
stantial number of employees in the unit hereinafter found to be
appropriate 1
We find that a question affecting commerce has arisen concerning
the representation of employees of the Company; within the meaning
of, Section-9, (c) and Section,2 (6) and (7) of the,,National Labor
Relations Act
IV. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT
The Guild urges that all employees in the fuel, light and power
department of the Company, including the superintendent, consti-
1 The Field Examiner reported that the Guild presented an authorization petition bear-
ing the apparently genuine signatures of 8 employees whose names appear on the Com-
pany's pay roll of April 15, 1942 There are S employees in the unit hereinafter found
to be appropriate The Typographers and the Pressmen do not claim to represent any of
the employees involved herein but contend, as hereinafter stated, that 3 of the employees
fall within their respective jurisdictions
472814-42-vol 42-42
There are eight employees in the fuel, light and power department
All such employees are maintenance men but two of them work in the
pressroom and one in the composing room The Pressmen and the
Typographers have closed -shop contracts with the Company coveimg
the pressroom and composing room respectively They contend that
inasmuch as three of the maintenance employees work in the press-
room and the composing room they should be under their jurisdiction.
The three employees in dispute receive the same rate of pay as the
othermaintenance employees, and although they %oik in the pressroom
and the composing room they are not being trained to become journey-
men pressmen or composers As stated above, the Piessmen and
Typographers have closed -shop contracts with the Company but they
have never attempted to bargain on behalf of the three employees in
dispute nor have they attempted to enforce their closed -shop contracts
with respect to them. Under all the circumstances , we find that such
employees should be included in the unit with the other maintenance
employees
C J Layton is classified by the company as supeiintendent of the
fuel , light and power department . The'Guild urges that he be in-
cluded in the unit Although he performs manual duties, he super-
vises the maintenance employees and has the authority to hire and
discharge We shall exclude him from the unit. _
- We find that ' all employees in the fuel , light and power depart-
ment of the Company, excluding the superintendent , constitute a
unit ' appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining , within
the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act
V. TIIE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES
The Guild seeks to be certified on the basis of the record. How-
ever, because of the dispute involving some of the employees in-
volved herein , we find that the question concerning representation
can best be resolved by an election by seciet ballot. We shall direct
that the employees of the Company eligible to vote in the election -
shall be those in the appropriate unit who were employed during
the pay -roll pei iod immediately preceding the date of the Direction
of Election herein , subject to the limitations and additions set forth
in the Direction -
DIRECTION OF ELECTION
By virtue of and pursuant to the power vested in the National Labor
Relations Board by Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations
Company, Houston, Texas, an election by secret ballot shall be con-
ducted as early as possible, but not later than thirty (30) days from
the date of this Direction, under the direction and supervision of the
Regional Director for the Sixteenth Region, acting in this matter as
agent for the National Labor Relations Board, and subject to Article
III, Section 9, of said Rules and Regulations, among the employees
in the unit found appropriate in Section IV, above, who were em-
ployed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of
this Direction, including any such employees who did not work dur-
ing said pay-loll period because they were ill or on vacation or in the
active military service or ti ammg of the United States, or -tem-
porarily laid off; but-excluding any who'have since quit or been dis-
charged for cause to determine whether or not they desire to be rep-
resented by Houstoft- Newspaper Guild affiliated with the-Congress
of Industrial Organizations, for the purposes of collective bargaining