National Broadcasting Co., Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 25, 1951

95 N.L.R.B. 544 (N.L.R.B. 1951)

544 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
NATIONAL BROADCASTING CO., INC. and NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF
BROADCAST ENGINEERS & TECHNICIANS , INDEPENDENT and AMERICAN
FEDERATION OF RADIO ARTISTS, WASHINGTON LOCAL, AFL. Case:
Nos. 5-RC-802,5-RC-823, and 5-RC-847. July 25, 1951
Decision and Direction of Election
Upon separate petitions duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the Na-
tional Labor Relations Act, a hearing was held before David C. Sachs,
hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are
free from prejudicial error and are.hereby affirmed. The motion of
American Federation of Radio Artists, Washington Local, AFL, to
withdraw its petitions in Cases Nos. 5-RC-823 and 847 is hereby
granted.'
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim 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 in Case No. 5-RC-802 seeks to represent a unit of
all nonperforming employees in the program department of the Em-
ployer's Washington, D. C., television station, including staging serv-
ices assistants, the film editor, and operations directors, but excluding
the program manager, the program operations supervisor, production
directors, associate directors, the staging services supervisor, and the
night operations supervisor. The Employer agrees generally with
the appropriateness of the aforesaid unit, but would also exclude'oper-
ations directors and the film editor as supervisors, and permit staging
services assistants to vote in a self-determination election on the basis
that they are either a professional or a craft group.2
" After the close of the hearing, United Scenic Artists of America , Local 829, affiliated
with Brotherhood of Painters , Decorators and Paperhangers of America , AFL, herein called
the Scenic Artists, which had intervened to assert that a separate unit of staging services
assistants was appropriate, filed a disclaimer of interest and asked permission to withdraw
from the proceeding. The Employer opposes the request to withdraw or, in the alternative,
urges that any withdrawal be conditioned upon notification to the staging services assist-
ants of the withdrawal action with the opportunity being given to the assistants to intervene
either directly or through another representative.
The Board cannot compel a union to become the statutory representative of any group
of employees. If a union , in good faith , disclaims interest and requests leave to withdraw
from a representation proceeding, the Board has no alternative but to grant the request.
The Board presumes that if the original intervention of the Scenic Artists was as agent of
the two staging services assistants in the Employer 's Washington studio, the withdrawal
was with their knowledge and acquiescence . The request of the Scenic Artists to with-
draw is hereby granted.
2 At the bearing , the Scenic Artists requested a separate unit of staging services assist-
95 NLRB No. 72.
NATIONAL BROADCASTING CO., INC. 545
The program department generally is responsible for the shows
telecast by the station. It is divided into three sections : Staging serv-
ices, which prepares scenery, props, and physical background for the
staging of shows; production, which rehearses and stages the shows;
and operations, which supervises the nontechnical aspects in televising
programs.
There are two staging services assistants. They do lettering, de-
signing of title cards, pictorial decorating, and any form of decor
related to scenic background. In a normal workweek, they may
also be called upon to repair furniture, erect sets, and procure and
shift props. One of the present staging services assistants has had
a fine arts training at a university and is a skilled amateur photog-
rapher; the other has had experience in movie and theatrical work
in France, principally as a makeup artist. According to the staging
services supervisor, it is comparatively simple to train a man with
a good general art background in scene painting or any allied art
associated with television.
Section 2 (12) of the Act defines as a "professional employee" one
who is engaged in work "(IV) requiring knowledge of an'advanced
type in a field of science or learning customarily acquired by a pro-
longed course of specialized intellectual instruction and study in an
institution of higher learning or a hospital, as distinguished from
a general academic education. . . ." The work of a staging services
assistant does not fall within this classification. Accordingly, we find
that staging services assistants are not professional employees.3 We
shall include them in the unit.'
The Employer would exclude the film editor as a supervisor. The
film editor is in charge of preparing motion picture films for tele-
casting. He has an assistant, the film librarian, whose function it
is to maintain, index, and circulate the film library. The film editor
directs the work of the film librarian and has the power effectively
to change his status. We find that the film editor is a supervisor,
and shall exclude him from the unit 5
The Employer would exclude operations directors as supervisors.
There are three operations directors who work on rotating shifts.
Only one is normally on duty at any given time. The over-all ob-
jective of the operations director's job is to provide program coordina-
tion. From his position in the master control room, he coordinates
ants. In view of that labor organization's withdrawal from the proceeding , the issue of a
separate unit of staging services assistants is no longer before the Board.
3 Employees comparable to the staging services assistants were included, without separate
election , in program department units of television station in American Broadcasting Com-
pany (KGO-TV), 94 NLRB 100, and KPMTR Radio Corporation (KLA.C-TV), 85 NLRB 99.
4In view of the fact that no union now seeks to represent the staging services assistants
in a separate, unit, we find it unnecessary to determine whether they constitute a craft.
5American Broadcasting Company (KGO-TV), 94 NLRB 100.
546 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
local studio, field, and network traffic, cues, and timings. In addition,
he directs the use of proper fill material in the case of technical
failure, insures that NBC telecast standards are observed, and acts
as production director 6 on programs, usually newscasts, telecast from
a small studio adjacent to the master control room.
The night operations supervisor 7 is in charge of evening program
operations. This individual works only 5 nights a week. On the
other 2 nights, the operations director working. the evening shift is
in charge. Similarly, on the 2 days of the week when the progamS'
director and program operations supervisor are not on duty, the
operations director on the day shift functions in their place. As the
operations directors regularly act as supervisors for substantial periods
of time in the course of their workweek, we find that they are super-
visors and shall exclude them from the unit.,,
We find that all nonperforming employees in the program depart-
ment' of Television Station WNBW, Washington, D. C., including
staging services assistants, but excluding program manager, program
operations supervisor, night operations supervisor, operations di-
rectors, film editor, production directors, associate directors, staging
services supervisors, and other supervisors as defined in the Act, consti-
tute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within
the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the Act.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication in this
volume.]
MEMBERS MURDOCK and STYLES took no part in the consideration
-of the above Decision and Direction of Election.
6 Employees classified as production directors are concededly supervisors.
4 This is a newly created position to which a former operations director has been pro-
moted. All parties have agreed that the position is supervisory-.
8 Tennessee Coach Company, 88 NLRB 253 ; The Texas Company , 85 NLRB 1211.
UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA, DISTRICT 31; UNITED MINE
WORKERS OF AMERICA, LOCAL No. 40,50; UNITED MINE WORKERS OF
AMERICA, LOCAL No. 4060 , UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA,
LOCAL No. 4346; UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA, LOCAL No.
1379; UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA, LOCAL No. 6593; UNITED
MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA, LOCAL No. 2338; UNITED MINE WORK-
ERS OF AMERICA, LOCAL No. 404T ; and UNITED MINE WORKERS OF
AMERICA, LOCAL No. 4740 and L. E. CLEGHORN
UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA, DISTRICT 31, and UNITED MINE
WORKERS OF AMERICA, LOCAL No. 8327 and. B. H. SWANLY, INC.
Cases Nos. 6-CB--87 and 6-CB--105. July 25, 1951
95 NLRB No. 73.