Nebraska Light and Power Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Oct 19, 1940

27 N.L.R.B. 947 (N.L.R.B. 1940)

In the Matter Of IOWA-NEBRASKA LIGHT AND POWER COMPANY AND ITS
WHOLLY-OWNED SUBSIDIARY, MARYVILLE ELECTRIC LIGHT AND POWER
COMPANY and INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD or ELECTRICAL WORKERS,
LOCAL B-244, AFFILIATED WITH THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR
Case No. C-1697.-Decided October 19,19.!,0
Jurisdiction : electric and gas utility industry.
Settlement : stipulation providing for compliance with the Act.
Remedial Orders : entered on stipulation.
Mr. Joseph A. Hoskins, for the Board.
Mr. L: R. King and Mr. George A. Lee, of Lincoln, Nebr., for the
respondents.
Mr. Robert K. Garrity, of Lincoln, Nebr., for the Brotherhood.
Cllr. John J. Wilson, of Lincoln, Nebr.; for the Federation.
Hiss Grace McEldowney, of counsel to the Board.
DECISION
AND
ORDER
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Upon charges and amended charges duly filed by International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local B-244, affiliated with the
American Federation of Labor, herein called the Brotherhood, the
National Labor Relations Board, herein called the Board, by Hugh E.
Sperry, Regional Director for the Seventeenth Region (Kansas City,
Missouri), issued its complaint dated September 24, 1940, against
Iowa-Nebraska Light and Power Company and its wholly owned
subsidiary, Maryville Electric Light and Power Company, herein
called the respondents,' alleging that the respondents had engaged in
and were engaging in unfair labor practices affecting commerce within
the meaning-of Section 8 (1) and (2) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of
the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act.
The complaint was duly served on the respondents and the Brother-
1In the complaint and stipulation for consent decree the two respondents are referred
to collectively as the respondent.
27 N. L. R. B. No. 158
947
948 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
hood, and on Federation of Employees Iowa-Nebraska Light and
Power, Company and Maryville Electric Light and Power Company,
herein called the Federation , a labor organization allegedly dominated,
interfered with, and supported by the respondents.
With respect to the unfair labor practices , the complaint alleged in
substance that ( 1) the respondents on or about December 9; 1939,
formed among their employees a labor organization known as Federa-
tion of Employees Iowa-Nebraska Light and Power , Company and
Maryville Electric Light and Power Company, and thereupon and
thereafter by divers acts including but not limited to certain acts speci-
fied in the complaint , dominated said organization , interfered with its
formation and administration , and contributed financial and other sup-
port to it; and ( 2) by ;such acts and by uttering statements and speeches
prejudicial to and disparaging of the Brotherhood, by causing the
respondents ' employees to be watched and spied upon to obtain infor-
mation with regard to union affiliation and activities, by threatening
with discharge those employees who sought to affiliate or were affili-
ated with the Brotherhood, by causing petitions to be circulated among
the employees in the promotion of the Federation , and by other acts,
the respondents interfered with, restrained , and coerced , and were
then interfering with, restraining , and coercing their employees in
the exercise of the rights guaranteed in Section 7 of the Act.
On September 25, 1940, the respondents, the Brotherhood, the Fed-
eration, and an attorney for the Board entered into a stipulation in
settlement of the case, subject to the approval of the Board. The
stipulation provides as follows :
It is hereby stipulated and agreed by and between Iowa-Ne-
braska Light and Power Company and its wholly-owned subsidi-
ary, Maryville Electric Light and Power Company , hereinafter
collectively referred to as the Respondent ; Federation of Em-
ployees Iowa-Nebraska Light and Power Company and Mary-
ville Electric Light and Power Company, hereinafter referred
to as the Federation ; International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers, Local B-244, affiliated with the American Federation of
Labor , hereinafter referred to as the Brotherhood ; and Joseph A.
Hoskins, Regional Attorney , National Labor Relations Board, as
follows :
1. Upon charges and amended charges duly filed by the . Brother-
hood, the National Labor Relations Board through Hugh E.
Sperry, Regional Director , National Labor Relations Board, agent
of the National Labor Relations Board, hereinafter referred to
as the Board, acting pursuant to authority granted in Section (b)
IOWA-NEBRASKA LIGHT AND POWER COMPANY - 949
of the National Labor Relations Act, approved July -5, 1935, here-
inafter referred to as the Act, and acting pursuant to its Rules and
Regulations, Series 2, as amended, Article IV, Section 1, has this
day issued its complaint against the Respondent herein.
2 (a). All parties expressly; waive their right to file answers to
said, complaint or other pleadings ; waive their right to a hearing
on the complaint; and their right to offer evidence and to the taking
of testimony in a hearing of said matter and expressly stipulate
that the charges, the complaint and this stipulation shall consti-
tute the record in this matter;
(b) All parties waive the making of findings of fact and con-
clusions of law by the Board. _
II
` 1. Respondent is and has been since August 2, 1927, a corpora-
tion organized under and existing by virtue of the laws of the
State of Delaware, having general offices and a place of business
in the City of Lincoln, Nebraska.
2. Respondent in the course and conduct of its business at its
Iowa, Missouri, and Nebraska plants is engaged in the business of
generating, selling, and distributing electric energy; the purchase,
sale, and distribution of natural gas ; and the purchase, sale, and
distribution of gas and electric appliances for domestic and com-
mercial uses over an area of approximately 6,000 square miles in
eastern and southern Nebraska, western Iowa, and northwestern
Missouri, and serves approximately 240, cities and towns,- such
operations being divided into 14 administrative districts.
3. In addition, Respondent supplies and receives electric energy
to and from other public utility companies serving adjacent terri-
tory. Furthermore, in supplying the general manufacturing firms
in its area' of operation, it supplies almost exclusively electric
energy to post offices, telephone and telegraph companies, radio
stations, airports, and newspapers and approximately eight
railroads.
4. Respondent maintains and. operates generating plants in the
States of Iowa, Missouri, and Nebraska, interconnected by high
tension and distribution lines, by means of which Respondent
maintains continuous transmission of electric energy in and be-
tween the States of Iowa, Missouri, and Nebraska. In its opera-
tions Respondent also continually distributes or causes to be dis-
tributed across state lines substantial quantities of electric energy
and appliances.
5. Certain of the aforesaid operations of the Respondent occur
in the course of and affect commerce among the-several states and
950 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
are synchronized by 'planning, scheduling, and coordinating to
maintain a flow of electric energy, and electric appliances and
merchandise through its plants and distribution points, and are
essentially connected with and dependent upon purchases, sales,
shipments, and productive and, distributive operations outside of
the State of Nebraska.
6. Respondent is engaged in a business affecting interstate com-
merce within the meaning of Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National
Labor Relations Act.
III
1. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local
B-244, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, and the
Federation of Employees Iowa-Nebraska Light and Power Com-
pany and Maryville Electric Light and Power Company are labor
organizations within the meaning of Section 2 (5) of the Act.
IV
It is stipulated and agreed by and between the respective parties
hereto that the National Labor Relations Board may forthwith
enter an Order in the above-entitled case' providing specifically
as follows :
1. Respondent shall not from the date hereof :
(a) In any manner interfere with, restrain, or coerce its em-
ployees in the exercise of their rights to self-organization, to form,
join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through
representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in concerted
activities for the purposes of collective bargaining and other mu-
tual aid and protection, as guaranteed in Section 7 of the National
Labor Relations Act;
(b) In any manner discriminate against any of its employees
in regard to hire or tenure of employment or any term or condi-
tion of employment because of membership in or activity in behalf
of, or in order to encourage or discourage membership in any
labor organization, including the International Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers of America, Local, B-244, or any other labor
organization which employees may desire;
(c) Recognize the 'Federation of Employees Iowa-Nebraska
Light and Power Company' and Maryville Electric Light and
Power Company as the representatives of any of the Respondent's
employees for the purpose of dealing with Respondent with re-
spect to grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of
employment, or conditions of employment;
IOWA-NEBRASKA LIGHT AND POWER COMPANY 951
1
(d) Give effect to its contract of April 1, 1940, with the Federa-
tion of Employees Iowa-Nebraska Light and Power Company
and Maryville Electric Light and Power Company, or to any sup-
plement, modification, continuation, extension, or renewal thereof;
. (e) Dominate or interfere with the formation or administra-
tion of, or contribute financial and other support to any labor
organization, national or otherwise, or engage in unfair labor
practices within the meaning of Section 8 (2) of the Act.
2. Respondent shall, in accordance with its agreement, take the
following affirmative action to effectuate the policies of the
National Labor Relations Act :
(a) Withdraw all recognition from the said Federation of Em-
ployees Iowa-Nebraska Light and Power Company and Maryville
Electric Light and Power Company as a representative of any
of its employees for the purpose of dealing with the Respondent
with respect to grievances, labor disputes, rates of pay, wages,
hours of employment, and conditions of work;
(b) Immediately post in conspicuous places throughout its
various district offices and plants, including among such places,
all bulletin boards, commonly used by the Respondent for an-
nouncements for its employees, notices stating that the Respond-
ent will comply with Paragraph IV, subsections 1 (a), (b), (c),
^d), and (e) hereof and will take the affirmative action set forth
in Paragraph IV, subsection 2 (a) hereof, and may state therein
that this Order does not restrict, but is intended to protect, the
right of Respondent's employees freely to join or not to join any
labor organization, or to form or not to form hereafter any local
organization of their own. Such notices shall be maintained for
at least sixty (60) consecutive days from the date of posting.
(c) Notify,'the Regional Director for the Seventeenth Region in
writing within ten (10) days from the date of this Order what
steps the Respondent has taken to comply herewith.
V
The parties hereby consent to the entry by the United States
Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, without notice
of the application therefor, of an enforcement decree embodying
the terms of the Board's Order set forth above.
VI
Y
It is further understood and agreed that this Stipulation em-
bodies the entire agreement between the parties, and that there
is no verbal agreement of any kind which varies, alters, or adds
952 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
to this Stipulation , and that this entire Stipulation for a Consent
Decree is expressly subject to the approval of the National Labor
Relations Board.
On October 4, 1940, the Board issued its order approving the above
stipulation , making it a part of the record in the case , and pursuant
to Article II, Section 36, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and
Regulations-Series 2, as amended, transferring the proceeding to and
continuing it before the Board for the purpose of the entry of a deci-
sion and order by the Board 'pursuant to the provisions of the stipu-
lation.
Upon the basis of the said stipulation and the entire record in the
case, the Board makes the following :
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. THE BUSINESS OF THE RESPONDENTS
The respondents , Iowa -Nebraska Light and Power Company , a Dela-
ware corporation , and its wholly owned subsidiary , Maryville Electric
Light and Power Company , have their general offices and place of busi-
ness at Lincoln , Nebraska , and plants in Iowa, Missouri , and Nebraska.
They are engaged in the business of generating , selling, and distribut-
ing electric energy, the purchase , sale, and distribution of natural gas,
and the purchase , sale and distribution of gas and electric appliances
for domestic and commercial uses over an area , of approximately 6,000
square miles in eastern and 'southern Nebraska , western Iowa, and
northwestern Missouri . They also supply , electric energy to, and re-
ceive it from , other public utility companies serving adjacent territory,
and supply almost exclusively the electric energy used by post offices,
telephone and telegraph companies , radio stations , airports , newspa-
pers, and approximately eight railroads within their area of operation.
They operate generating plants inter -connected by high tension and
distribution lines, by means of which continuous transmission of elec-
tric energy is maintained in and among the States of Iowa, Missouri,
and Nebraska . In their operations they distribute or cause to be
distributed across State lines substantial quantities of electric energy
and appliances.
We find that the above -described operations of the respondents con-
stitute a continuous flow of trade , traffic, and commerce among the
several States.
ORDER
Upon the basis of the above findings of fact, stipulation , and the
entire record in the case , and pursuant to Section 10 (c) of the Na-
tional Labor Relations Act, the National Labor Relations Board
IOWA-NEBRASKA LIGHT AND POWER COMPANY 953
hereby orders that the respondents, Iowa-Nebraska Light and Power
Company and its wholly owned subsidiary, Maryville Electric Light
and Power Company, Lincoln, Nebraska, their officers, agents, suc-
cessors, and assigns,
1. Shall not from the date hereof :
(a) In any, manner interfere with, restrain, or 'coerce their em-
ployees in the exercise of their rights to self-organization, to form,
joi i, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through
representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in concerted
activities for the purposes of collective bargaining and other mutual
aid and protection, as guaranteed in Sectioil 7 of the National Labor
Relations Act;
(b) In any manner discriminate against any of their employees in
regard to hire or tenure of employment or any term or condition of
employment because of membership in or activity in behalf of, or in
order to encourage or discourage membership in any labor organiza-
tion, including the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
of America, Local B-244, or any other labor organization which em-
ployees may desire;`
(c) Recognize the Federation of'Employees Iowa-Nebraska Light
and Power Company and Maryville Electric Light and Power Com-
pany as the representatives of any of the respondents' employees for
the purpose of dealing with the respondents with respect to griev-
ances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of employment, or
concitions of employment;
(d) Give'effect to their contract of April 1, 1940, with the Federa-
tion of Employees Iowa-Nebraska Light and Power Company and
Maryville Electric Light and Power Company, or to any supplement,
modification, continuation, extension, or renewal thereof;
(e) Dominate or interfere with the formation or administration
of, or contribute financial and other support to, any labor organiza-
tion, national or otherwise, or engage in' unfair labor practices within
the meaning of Section 8 (2) of the Act.
2. Shall, in accordance with their agreement, take the following
affirmative action to effectuate the policies of the National Labor
Relations Act :
(a) Withdraw all recognition from the said Federation of Employ-
ees Iowa-Nebraska Light and Power Company and Maryville Electric
Light and Power Company as a representative of any of their em-
ployees for the purpose of dealing with the respondents with respect
to grievances, labor disputes, rate's of pay, wages, hours of employ
ment, and conditions of work;
(b) Immediately post in conspicuous places throughout their vari-
ous district offices and plants, including among such places all bulletin
954 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
boards commonly used by the respondents for announcements for
their employees, notices stating that the respondents will comply
with paragraphs 1 (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) hereof and will take
the affirmative action set forth in paragraph 2 (a) hereof, and may
state therein that this Order does not restrict, but is intended to pro-
tect, the right of the respondents' employees freely to join or not to
join-any labor organization, or to form or not to form hereafter any
local organization of their own. Such notices shall be maintained
for at least sixty (60) consecutive days from the date of posting;
(c) Notify the Regional Director for the Seventeenth Region in
writing within ten (10) days from the date of this Order what steps
the respondents have taken to comply herewith.