The Outlet Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsMay 29, 1975

218 N.L.R.B. 21 (N.L.R.B. 1975)

THE OUTLET COMPANY The Outlet Company and Local Union 1348 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL-CIO-CLC, Petitioner . Case 23-RC-4154 May 29, 1975 DECISION ON REVIEW AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION BY MEMBERS JENKINS, KENNEDY, AND PENELLO On December 13, 1974, the Regional Director for Region 23 issued a Decision and Direction of Election in the above-entitled proceeding, in which he directed that an election be conducted in a unit of all employees at the Employer's television station. Thereafter, in accordance with Section 102.67 of the National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regula- tions, Series 8, as amended, the ]Employer filed a timely request for review of the Regional Director's decision. On January 7, 1975, the National Labor Relations Board by telegraphic order granted the request for review and stayed the election pending decision on review. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the National Labor Relations Board has delegated its authority in this proceeding to a three-member panel. The Board has considered the entire record in this case with respect to the issues under review and makes the following findings: The Petitioner seeks to represent a stationwide unit composed of essentially all nonsupervisory, nonpro- fessional employees at station KSAT-TV in San Antonio, Texas. The Regional Director found that these employees possessed a sufficient community of interest to constitute an appropriate unit in large measure because of the integrated nature of the Employer's operation. The Employer contends that a stationwide unit is inappropriate and that an election should be directed, if at all, in five separate departmental type units; i.e., programming-pro- 21 duction employees, newspersons, technicians, sales- men, and clericals. We find no merit in the Employer's contentions for we are satisfied that there exists a functional relationship among all employees who contribute directly to the production, presentation, and trans- mission of programs sufficient to warrant their inclusion, when requested, in a single unit. Bi-States Company, 117 NLRB 86 (1957); WTAR Radio-TV Corporation, 168 NLRB 976 (1967). However, in our opinion the salesmen and clerical employees do not share a sufficient community of interest with other employees in the unit to warrant their inclusion. The salesmen, who are only paid commissions, work primarily outside of the Employer's facility soliciting advertisers. As for the clerical employees, it is apparent that the receptionist, sales secretaries, clerk messenger , collections clerk, and bookkeeper do not have any direct involvement in the production process. Although the BIAS (traffic) employees, production secretary, and production assistant come in contact with employees directly involved in the production and transmission of programs, their contribution to such programs is only of an indirect nature. WTAR Radio-TV, supra at 978-979. Accordingly, we find that the following employees constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9(b) of the Act: All employees of the Employer at its station KSAT-TV, San Antonio, Texas, who are directly involved in or contribute to the production, presentation, or transmission of programs includ- ing producer-directors, technicians, production technicians, film technicians, newspersons, and other on-the-air personnel, but excluding all professional employees, clerical employees, sales- men, guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act. [Direction of Election and Excelsior footnote omitted from publication.] 218 NLRB No. 6