The Western Union Telegraph Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsNov 18, 1941

36 N.L.R.B. 1061 (N.L.R.B. 1941)

In the Matter of THE WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH COMPANY and TELEGRAPH WORKERS FEDERAL LABOR UNION No. 22679, OKLAHOMA CITY CHAPTER Case No. R-3105.-Decided November 18, 1941 Jurisdiction : telegraph industry Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question. Com- pany refused to accord union recognition; election necessary. Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : all employees at the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma office, including regular and part-time messengers, but excluding the superintendent, manager of delivery department, sales manager, chief clerk, assistant chief operator, T. & R. chief, district managers, city foreman, and temporary employees. Mr. C. J. Ince and dlr. C. R. Nichols, of Dallas, Tex., for the Company. Mr. Herbert S. Thatcher, of Washington, D. C., for Local 22679. dlr. Jesse A. Payne, of Kansas City, Mo., for the C. T. U. Mr. Louis Cokin, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE On April 24, 1941, Telegraph Workers Federal Labor Union No. 22679, herein called Local 22679, filed with the Regional Director for the Sixteenth Region (Fort Worth, Texas) a petition alleging that a question affecting coninierce had arisen concerning the repre- sentation of employees of The Western Union Telegraph Company, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, herein called, the Company, and request- ing an investigation and certification of representatives pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, herein called the Act. On September 11, 1941, the National Labor Relations Board, herein called the Board, acting pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the Act and Article III, Section 3, of National Labor Rela- tions Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, ordered an investigation and authorized the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice. 36 N. L R. B, No 217 1061 1062 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Oil, September 10, 1941, the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company, Local 22679, Commercial Telegraphers' Union, herein called the C. T. U, and American Communications Association. Pursuant to notice,' a hearing was held on September 22 and 23, 1941, at Dallas, Texas, before Clifford W. Potter, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Chief Trial Examiner. The Company, Local 22679, and the C. T. U. were represented and participated in the hearing. Ameri- can Communications Association did not appear at the hearing. Full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine wit- nesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues was afforded all parties. During the course of the hearing the Trial Examiner granted motions of Local 22679 to amend its petition as to formal mat- ters. During the course of the hearing the Trial Examiner made sev- eral rulings on other motions and on objections to the admission of evidence. The Board has reviewed these rulings and finds that no prejudicial errors were committed. The rulings are hereby affirmed. On October 16, 1941, Local 22679 filed a brief which the Board had considered. - Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following: FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY The Western Union Telegraph Company is a New York Corpora- tion with its principal 'office at New York City. It is engaged throughout the United States and in -various foreign countries in the receiving and transmission by telegraph and cable of intrastate, interstate, and international communications. In the operation of its national and international communications' system, the Company owns and/or operates 214,220 miles*of pole lines, 4,160 miles,of land- line cable, 1,876,993 miles of wire, 30,344 nautical miles of ocean cable, and 20,445 telegraph offices. At the close of 1940, the Company em- ployed approximately 49,000 persons. The Company maintains all office at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with which we are here con- cerned. It admits that it is engaged in commerce within the mean ing of the Act. II. THE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED Telegraph Workers Federal Labor Union No. 22679, Oklahoma City Chapter, is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. It admits to membership employees at the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, office of the Company. THE WESTERN tiNiON TELEGRAPH COMPANY 1063 Commercial Telegraphers' Union is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, admitting to membership employees of the Company. III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION On December 9, 1940, the Company suggested that Local 22679 refer any claims it might have for recognition to the Board. A state- ment of the Trial Examiner made during the hearing shows that Local 22679 represents a substantial number of employees in the unit which it alleges is appropriate.' We find that a question has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Company. IV. THE EFFECT OF TIIE QUESTION CONCERNING 1EPRESENTATION LPON COMMERCE We find that the question concerning representation which has arisen, occurring in connection with the operations of the Company described in Section I above, has a close, intimate, and substantial relation to trade, traffic, and commerce among the several States and tends to lead to labor disputes burdening and obstructing commerce and the free flow of commerce. V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT Local 22679 and the Company agreed that all employees at the Oklahoma City office of the Company, excluding the superintendent, manager of delivery department, sales manager, chief clerk, assistant chief operator, T. & R. chief, district manager, and city foreman, constitute an appropriate unit 2 The C. T. U. stated that it does not claim any employees at the Oklahoma City office. The only contro- versy with respect to the unit concerns messengers. Local 22679 urges that regular messengers be included in the unit but that part-time messengers be excluded from the unit. The Com- pany took no position with respect to the messengers pending the Board's determination of the question of including or excluding messengers raised in the case involving the Chicago office of the Com- pany. Part-time messengers work a few hours per week and there is a 50 per cent turn-over among them every month. They work 1 The Trial Examiner stated that Local 22679 presented membership cm (Is signed by 139 peisons who appear on the Company's pay roll for the Oklahoma City othce These are 200 employees at the Oklahoma City office The Company stated that although It considered a Nation-wide unit appropriate, it had no objection to the setting up of functional cities, such as Oklahoma City, as separate bargaining units 1064 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD every week. For the reasons indicated in our decision in the Chicago case 3 we find that regular and part-time messengers at the Oklahoma City office should be included in the unit. Local 22679 urges that temporary employees be excluded from the unit. The Company took no position with respect to these employees. Temporary employees are hired solely fora temporary period of time and are so toldiat the time they are hired. Under the circumstances, we shall exclude temporary employees from the unit. We find that all employees at the Oklahoma City office of the Company, including regular and part-time messengers, but excluding the superintendent, manager of delivery department, sales manager, chief clerk, assistant chief operator, T. & R. chief, district managers, city foremen, and temporary employees, constitute it unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining and that such unit will insure to employees of the Company the full benefit, of their right to self-organization and to collective bargaining and otherwise will effectuate the policies of the Act. VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES Local 22679, seeks to be certified on the basis of the record. The Company stated that it would not object to the certification of Local 22679 as the collective bargaining agent of its employees without an election, but that it believed an election to be the best method of determining the wishes of its employees as to representation. Under these circumstances, we believe that the question concerning repre- sentation which has arisen can best be resolved by the holding of an election by secret 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 em- ployed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of the Direction of Election herein, subject to the limitations and additions set forth in the Direction. Upon the basis of the above findings of fact and upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following: CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. A question affecting commerce has arisen concerning the repre- sentation of employees of The Western Union Telegraph Company. 3Matter of The Western Union Telegraph Company and Telcgraph Workers Independent Union, et al , 36 N. L R B 812. 4 See Matter of 4imour ct Company and United Packinyhonse Worler.s, Local Industrial Union, No 13: of Pact inghouse Worleis Organizinq Committee, affiliated with C I 0 , 13 N. L. R B 567 THE WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH COMPANY 1065 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act. 2. All employees at the Oklahoma City office of the Company; including regular and part-time messengers, but excluding the super- intendent, manager of delivery department, sales manager, chief clerk, assistant chief operator, T. & R. chief, district managers, city fore- men, and temporary employees, constitute a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining, within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the National Labor Relations Act. 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 Rela- tions Act and pursuant to Article III, Section 8, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, it is hereby DIRECTED that, as part of the investigation authorized by the Board to ascertain representatives for the purposes of collective bargaining with The Western Union Telegraph Company, Oklahoma City, Okla- homa, an election by secret ballot shall be conducted 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 Direc- tor 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 all employees at the Oklahoma City office of the Company who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction, including regular and, part-time messengers and employees who did not work during such pay-roll period because they were ill or on vacation or in the active military service or training of the United States, or temporarily laid off; but excluding the superintendent, manager of delivery department, sales manager, chief clerk, assistant chief opera- tor, T. & R. chief, district managers, city foremen, temporary em- ployees, and employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether or not they desire to be represented by Telegraph Workers Federal Labor Union No. 22679, Oklahoma City Chapter, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, for the purposes of collective bargaining. MR. GERARD D. REIL took no part'in the consideration of the above Decision and Direction of Election.