Western Union Telegraph Co.

National Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsSep 25, 1941

35 N.L.R.B. 797 (N.L.R.B. 1941)

In the Matter Of WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH COMPANY and COMMER- CIAL TELEGRAPHERS UNION, LOCAL No. 8 Case No. R-2904-Decided September 05, 1941 Jurisdiction : telegraph industry. Investigation and Certification of Representatives : existence of question : stip- ulated ; messengers irregularly employed held ineligible to vote pursuant to agreement of the parties ; election necessary. Unit Appropriate for Collective Bargaining : partial system unit: employees of the Company at Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the commercial trafnc, accounting, and plant departments, with certain exclusions and inclusions. Mr. Edward C. Ziesel, of Chicago, Ill., for the Company. Mr. Frank B. Powers, of Chicago, Ill., Mr. Howard W. Brandon; of Lincoln, Nebr., and Mr. G. A. Benjamin, of Minneapolis, Minn.,. for the C. T. U. 'Mr. Joseph Kehoe, of New York City, and Miss Opal Cage of Min- neapolis, Minn., for the A. C. A. Mr. Gilbert V. Rosenberg, of counsel to the Board. DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION STATEMENT OF THE CASE c On June 5, 1941, Commercial Telegraphers' Union, Minneapolis Local No. 8, herein called the C. T. U., filed with the Regional Di- rector for the Eighteenth Region (Minneapolis, Minnesota) a peti- tion alleging that a question affecting commerce had arisen concerning the representation of employees of Western Union Telegraph Com- pany,' Minneapolis, Minnesota, herein called the Company, and re- questing 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 July 26, 1941, the National Labor Rela- tions Board, herein called the Board, acting pursuant to Section 9 (c) of the Act, and Article III, Section 3, of National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations-Series 2, as amended, ordered an in- 1 Incorrectly designated in the formal papers as Western Union Telegraph Co. 35 N. L. R. B., No. 173. 797 798 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD vestigation and authorized the Regional Director to conduct it and to provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice. On August 4 and 7, 1941, respectively, the Regional Director issued a notice of hearing and an amended notice of hearing, copies of which were duly served upon the Company, the C. T. U., and upon American Communications Association, herein called the A. C. A., a labor organization claiming to represent employees directly affected by the investigation. Pursuant to notice, a hearing was held on August 19, 1941, at Minneapolis, Minnesota, before Guy Farmer, the Trial Examiner duly designated by the Chief Trial Examiner. The Company, the C. T. U., and the A. C. A. appeared by representatives and participated in the hearing. Full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce evidence bearing on the issues was afforded all parties., During the course of the hearing the Trial Examiner made several rulings on motions and on objections to the admission of evidence. The Board has re- viewed the rulings of the Trial Examiner and finds that no prejudicial errors were committed. The rulings are hereby affirmed. Upon the entire record in the case, the Board makes the following : FINDINGS OF FACT I. THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY Western Union Telegraph Company, a New York corporation with its principal office at New York City, is engaged throughout the United States and in foreign countries in the receipt and transmis- sion by telegraph and cable of interstate and international communi- cations. In the operation of its national and international com- munications system, the Company employs approximately 44,000 persons. The present proceeding concerns approximately 300 employees of the Company at Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Company admits that it is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act. H. THE LABOR ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED Commercial Telegraphers' Union, Minneapolis Local No. 8, is a labor organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, admitting to membership employees of the Company. American Communications Association, Western Union Local 43-B, is a labor organization affiliated with the Congress of Indus- trial Organizations, admitting to membership employees of the Company. WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH COMPANY i III. THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION 799 At the hearing the Company and the C. T. U. stipulated that the C. T. U. has requested recognition as exclusive collective bargaining representative of the employees of the Company at Minneapolis and that the Company refuses to accord such recognition until the C. T. U. is certified by the Board. A statement read into the record by the Trial Examiner shows that the C. T. U. represents a substantial number of employees of the Company in the unit hereinafter found to be appropriate.? At the hearing the parties stipulated that the A. C. A. had sufficient membership among employees of the Company at Minneapolis to have its name placed on the ballot if an election is ordered by the Board. We find that a question has arisen concerning the representation of employees of the Company. IV. THE EFFECT OF THE QUESTION CONCERNING REPRESENTATION UPON 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 with foreign countries and tends to lead to labor disputes burdening and obstructing commerce and the free flow of commerce. V. THE APPROPRIATE UNIT All parties agree, and we find, that the employees of the Company at Minneapolis in the commercial, traffic, accounting, and plants departments constitute an appropriate bargaining unit. At the hearing questions arose concerning the exclusion of certain employees. The position of the parties and our findings may be summarized by departments as follows : Commercial department All parties agreeing, we shall exclude from the unit the superin- tendent, sales manager, delivery manager, city commercial manager, chief clerk, and employees in the district superintendent's office. 3 The Trial Examiner reported that in support of its claim the C. T U. submitted its dues payment book which listed as members 214 persons whose names appear on the Company's pay roll of July 10, 1941 , containing approximately 300 names. 8 Only the employees in the plant department under the jurisdiction of the city foreman are included in the unit. 800 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD The A. C. A. and the Company would also exclude from the unit, and the C. T. U. would include within the unit, the cashier and the confidential stenographer. The cashier is, a subdepartment head having three employees working under him. He makes up the pay rolls and accounts for all receipts and disbursements of money at the office. We shall exclude him 'from the unit as a supervisory employee. There are two stenographers in this department, one of whom the Company claims is a confidential employee. The record shows that this latter stenographer and the chief clerk, whom all parties agree to exclude, have access to, and perform work in con- nection with, the' Company's confidential correspondence and other confidential matters. We shall exclude this stenographer as a con- fidential employee. The A. C. A. would exclude from the unit, and the C. T. U. and the Company would include within the unit, the early night delivery clerk. During his shift this clerk assigns work to the messenger force and does other routine clerical work. Similar work is done on the day shift by other clerks included in the unit. He does not have the power to hire or discharge. The Company does not con- sider and the record does not reveal that he has sufficient supervisory duties to warrant his exclusion from the unit. Under the circum- stances, we shall include this clerk 'in the unit. Traffic department All parties agree, and we find, that the traffic manager, early night traffic manager, late night traffic manager, assistant chief operator (Morse, teleprinter and automatic), assistant chief operator (tele- phone), testing and regulating chief, and chief clerk should be ex- cluded from the unit. The A. C.. A. and the Company would also exclude from the unit, and the C. T. U. would include within the unit, the classifications considered below : The automatic chief is in charge of all automatic equipment and reports on the quality of the work of the four assistant automatic chiefs working under him. On Saturdays and Sundays he is in charge of the traffic department and has as many as 40 or 50 persons working under him. We shall exclude this employee from the unit as a supervisory employee. The early night testing and regulating chief is in charge of the testing board and repeater equipment on the early night shift. He reports on the quality of the work of two employees working under him. We shall exclude him from the unit as a supervisory employee. The late night testing and regulating chief-Although he has charge of the testing board and repeater WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH COMPANY 801 equipment on the late night shift, normally, he has no employees working under him. Accordingly, we shall include him within the unit. The chief operator at the Grain Exchange is in charge of a force of approximately 15 Morse operators at the Company's branch office in the Grain Exchange and has duties similar to those of the assistant chief operator at the main office whom all parties agreed to exclude. He assigns work to the employees under him; reports on the quality of their work; has power to discipline for minor causes; and to clock out employees for serious infractions of regulations. His salary is substantially higher than the salary of employees under him. We shall exclude this employee from the unit as a supervisory employee. The confidential stenographer. One stenographer is em- ployed 'in the traffic department. She has access to, and does work in connection with, the Company's confidential files and correspond- ence. We find that she is a confidential employee and as such should be excluded from the unit. The A. C. A. would also exclude from the unit, and the C. T. U. would include within the unit, the classifications considered below: The Morse supervisor at the Grain Exchange is subordinate to the chief operator at the Grain Exchange, considered above. Al- though the Morse supervisor relieves the chief operator for several short periods during the day, he spends substantially all his time working as an operator. He is not consulted concerning the quality of the work of other operators at the Grain Exchange. We shall include this employee in the unit. The Morse supervisors at the main of ee, automatic supervisors, teleprinter supervisors, route supervisors, and telephone supervisors-All the above supervisors have substantially the same degree of authority in their respective departments. They supervise the work of employees under them; assign and distribute work; and report infractions of regulations. They earn more than the persons who work under them. We shall include these supervisors from the unit. Plant department All parties agreeing, we shall exclude the city foreman. The A. C. A. would exclude from the unit, and the C. T. U. would include within the unit, the following classifications: The assistant city foreman--Although he works along with the other employees in the department, he assists the foreman in supervising their work. During the foreman's vacation, the assistant foreman assumes his duties. The transmitter chief tests and regulates ticker boards at the Grain and Stock Exchange and at other places. He assigns work to the three men working under him, reports on the quality of their 802 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD work, and has the power to recommend discipline. His duties are similar to those of the early night testing and regulating chief, whom we have excluded above. The salaries of the assistant city foreman and the transmitter chief are higher than the salaries of regular employees in the department. Under the circumstances, we shall exclude these two employees from the unit as supervisory employees. Accounting department All parties agreeing, we shall exclude the accounting center manager. We find that the employees of the Company at Minneapolis in the commercial, traffic, accounting, and plant departments, excluding the employees whose exclusions we have indicated above and whose positions for convenience are listed in Appendix A, constitute a 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 effectuate the policies of the Act. VI. THE DETERMINATION OF REPRESENTATIVES We find that the question concerning representation which has arisen can best be resolved by an election by secret ballot. The parties agreed that irregularly employed messengers who were en- gaged exclusively in errand or distribution work should not be eli- gible to vote in the election. We see no reason to depart from the desires of the parties in this regard. The C. T. U. requested that the pay roll of August 16, 1941, be used to determine eligibility. The A. C. A. urged the use of a cur- rent pay roll for this purpose. No reason appears to warrant a departure from our usual practice in this regard. Therefore, we shall direct that the employees eligible to vote in the election shall be those in the appropriate unit who were employed during the pay- roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction, subject to such limitations and additions as are 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 Western Union Telegraph Company, Min- neapolis, Minnesota, within the meaning of Section 9 (c) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the National Labor Relations Act. WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH COMPANY 803 2. All employees of the Company at Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the commercial, traffic, accounting, and plant departments, excluding the employees occupying the positions listed in Appendix A, 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 authority 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 Western Union Telegraph Company, Minneapolis,, Minnesota, 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 Director for the Eighteenth 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 of the Company at Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the commercial, traffic, accounting, and plant departments who were employed during the pay-roll period immediately preceding the date of this Direction, including persons 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 employees occupying the positions listed in Appendix A attached hereto, irregu- larly employed messengers engaged exclusively in errand or distribu- tion work, and employees who have since quit or been discharged for cause, to determine whether they desire to be represented by Com- mercial Telegraphers' Union, Minneapolis Local No. 8, (A. F. L.), or by American Communications Association, C. I. 0., Western Union Local 43-B, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither: APPENDIX A Commercial Department Superintendent Employees in the district superin- Sales manager tendent's office Delivery, manager Cashier City commercial manager Confidential stenographer Chief clerk 451270-42-vol 35-52 804 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Traffic Department Traffic manager Early night traffic manager Late night traffic manager Assistant chief operator (Morse, teleprinter and automatic) Assistant chief operator (tele- phone) Testing and regulating chief Chief Clerk Automatic chief Early night testing and regulat- ing chief Chief operator at the Grain Exchange Confidential stenographer Morse supervisors at the main office Automatic supervisors Teleprinter supervisors Route supervisors Telephone supervisors Plant Department City foreman Assistant city foreman Transmitter chief Accounting Department Accounting center manager [SAME TITLE] AMENDMENT TO DIRECTION OF ELECTION October 9, 1941 On September 25, 1941, the National Labor Relations Board, herein called the Board, issued a Decision and Direction of Election 1 in the above-entitled proceeding , the election to be held as early as possible but not later than thirty (30) days from the date of the Direction. The Board , having been advised by American Communications Association, Western Union Local 43-B, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, that it desires to withdraw its name from the ballot, hereby amends its Direction of Election by striking therefrom the words "whether they desire to be represented by Com- mercial Telegraphers' Union, Minneapolis Local No. 8, (A. F. L.),' or by American Communications Association, C. I. 0., Western Union Local 43-B, for the purposes of collective bargaining, or by neither," and substituting therefor the words "whether or not they desire to be represented by Commercial Telegraphers' Union, Minneapolis Local No. 8, (A. F. L.), for the purposes of collective bargaining." 35 N L. R. B, No. 173a.