Petition — National Ass'n of Broadcast Employees & Technicians v. WJLA, Inc.
Supreme Court brief1981
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81-7 rr fon, US
N 0 JULS 1981
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In The . —.—
Supreme Court of the United States
OCTOBER TERM, 1981
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BROADCAST EM-
PLOYEES AND TECHNICIANS, AFL-CIO, et al,
Petitioners,
vs.
WJLA, INC.,
Respondent.
PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO
THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Eugene W. Salisbury, Esq.
Frank S. Kedzielawa, Esq.
Lipsitz, Green, Fahringer,
Roll, Schuller & James
One Niagara Square
Buffalo, New York 14202
(716) 849-1333
Attorneys for Petitioners
QUESTION PRESENTED
When an arbitration clause is only as broad as the collective
bargaining agreement itself, but in one party’s opinion the
breadth of the agreement depends upon their past practice“ or
the common law of the shop., is a final resolution of the ar-
bitrability issue for the judiciary or the arbitrator?
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Statutory Provisions Involveee n
Statement of the Cass NQ 6
Reasons for Granting the Wriiit ..
APPENDICES
Appendix A — Opinion of the District Court .........
Appendix B — Judgment of the District Court........
Appendix C — Judgment of the Court of Appeals .....
Appendix D — Grievance Report. ..........e0+++0:
Appendix E — Exhibit B attached to Grievance Report .
Appendix F Collective Bargaining Agreement
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
Cases: Page
International Association of Machinists v. Howmet
Corporation, 466 F. 2d 1249 (9th Cir. 1972) ........ 8
United Steelworkers of America v. American Mfg. Co.,
SER UB. FORE ceo ct eee 6
United Steelworkers of America v. Warrier and Gulf N.
Co, SEB UBs STO ISG . ... . 6, 7,8
Statutes:
Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947:
$203(d), 29 U.S.C. 51730d ͤ᷑ͤ ͥ“[“ꝛ “c c......
5301, 29 U.S.C. 5185888. „ 2,3
Arbitration Reports:
Airline Pilots Association, International, 67 L.A. 217
, Case 00h ihaee eee s 6
Miscellaneous:
Elkouri & Elkouri, How Arbitration Works, (3d Ed.)
r ̃ ˙:“, eG a's 6b seuek ae sae 6s. 8
In The
Supreme Court of the United States
OCTOBER TERM, 1981
No.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BROADCAST EM-
PLOYEES AND TECHNICIANS, AFL-CIO, et al,
Petitioners,
vs.
WJLA, INC.,
Respondent.
PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO
THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
National Association of Broadcast Employees and
Technicians, AFL-CIO, and its Local Union 31, hereby petition
for Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for
the District of Columbia, enabling this Court to review the
judgment in WJLA, INC. v. NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF
BROADCAST EMPLOYEES AND TECHNICIANS, AFL-
CIO and LOCAL 31 of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF
BROADCAST EMPLOYEES AND TECHNICIANS
(C. A. D. C. No. 80-1305) (decided April 20, 1981).
OPINIONS BELOW
The opinion of the United States District Court for the
District of Columbia is not officially reported, but is reprinted
as App. A to this petition. The judgment of the District Court is
reprinted as App. B. The judgment of the Court of Appeals,
issued without opinion, is annexed as Appendix C.
JURISDICTION
The judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia and its date of entry is April 20, 1981. This
Court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1254(1).
STATUTORY PROVISIONS INVOLVED
Section 203(d) of the Labor-Management Relations Act of
1947, 29 U.S.C. §173(d), provides in pertinent part:
d) Final adjustment by a method agreed upon by the
parties is hereby declared to be the desirable method for
settlement of grievance disputes arising over the ap-
plication or interpretation of an existing collective-
bargaining agreement. The Service is directed to make
its conciliation and mediation services available in the
settlement of such grievance disputes only as a last resort
and in exceptional cases.
Section 301(a) of the Labor-Management Relations Act of
1947, 29 U.S.C. §185(a), provides in pertinent part:
Sec. 301 (a) Suits for violation of contracts between
an employer and a labor organization representing
employees in an industry affecting commerce as defined
in this Act, or between any such labor organizations,
may be brought in any district court of the United States
having jurisdiction of the parties, without respect to the
amount in controversy or without regard to the
citizenship of the parties.
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Respondent instituted this action for declaratory relief and to
stay arbitration. The action was brought in the United States
District Court for the District of Columbia under Section 301 of
the Labor-Management Relations Act, 1947 (29 U.S.C. §185)
and the Declaratory Judgment Act (28 U.S.C. §§2201, 2202).
Respondent sought a determination and declaration of its rights
under the collective bargaining agreement and, in particular,
that it has no obligation to arbitrate this grievance.
The parties stipulated to the facts. Petitioner and respondent
have a collective bargaining relationship and there is a broad
arbitration clause (Section 9.40) in the contract which provides:
In the event any dispute arises under this Agreement that
is not resolved by the parties, it shall be resolved by
arbitration.
Petitioner filed a grievance claiming a violation of the
collective bargaining agreement. The dispute is centered around
proceeds from optional life insurance policies which petitioner
claims is a contractual responsibility of respondent.
Respondent and its former corporate parent participated in a
group life insurance plan for many years. Effective 10/11/72, it
withdrew from one plan and secured a group life insurance plan
with another company (The Provident Life and Accident In-
surance Company of Chattanooga, Tennessee). Under the old
plan, employees were required to pay a portion of the premium;
under this plan, no premiums were chargeable to the bargaining
unit members. An optional life insurance policy also was
available to supplement the new group life insurance. All
employees were informed of this change in benefits by
management. The premium for the optional policy could be
paid for by payroll deductions.
One of petitioner’s members and an employee of respondent,
George Semyan, selected the optional coverage and requested
4
payment through payroll deductions. Semyan suffered a fatal
heart attack. Petitioner gave timely notice to respondent of a
claim under the policies. Respondent contacted Semyan’s
widow to obtain all necessary information, and then processed
the claim. The full amount that was due under the group life
insurance policy was paid to the widow; however, a dispute
arose over the amount which was paid to her under the optional
policy. Both checks were tendered to her by respondent and not
by the carrier.
The check for the optional coverage was in the amount of
$2,048.79, the cash value of that policy. But according to a
memorandum issued to the employees by respondent, the
optional plan guaranteed a death benefit to the surviving family
of $14,000.00 plus accumulated contributions, or cash value,
which ever is greater (App. E).
Petitioner filed a grievance (App. D). The contractual claim
is a breach of Article IV of the contract (App. F) which gives
express recognition to employee benefits, at least in general
terms. Petitioner also maintained that respondent’s par-
ticipation in the administration of such insurance policies for
much of the collective bargaining lifetime of the parties has
raised a contractual obligation to pay according to the terms of
the policy. This past practice“ under Article IV has become
part and parcel of the collective bargaining agreement.
Additionally, petitioner contended in the courts below that
insurance benefits, like unemployment insurance, accrued
vacation and retirement benefits, and disability insurance, are
part of the total wage structure.
Respondent filed this action and subsequently moved for
summary judgment. The district court reviewed the collective
bargaining agreement and the nature of the dispute. In
petitioner’s opinion it invaded the province of the arbitrator
when it declared that respondent had no obligation to pay the
life insurance proceeds left unpaid to Semyan’s widow; that said
obligation was one of private contract betwee: the carrier and
the widow and is no part of the collective bargaining agreement
(App. A). It found the insurance carrier is not a party to the
parties’ contract and, therefore, could not be a party to any
arbitration. And since, “(t]he parties have not pointed to any
provision of the Agreement relating to life insurance benefits,”
the court concluded the contract was not susceptible of any
interpretation covering the dispute.
The district court granted respondent's motion for summary
judgment and declared the grievance, is not a proper subject
for arbitration . ., and enjoined petitioner from proceeding
further with arbitration of the grievance (App. B).
Petitioner appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for
the District of Columbia. The decision of the district court was
affirmed without opinion (App. C).
6
REASONS FOR GRANTING THE WRIT
Summary
The role of the federal judiciary is unclear when the issue of
arbitrability requires an extensive taking of proof as to past
practice and the common law of the hop. Should the court
attempt a final resolution of arbitrability or leave that task to an
arbitrator? Clarification of that role in light of federal labor
policy under the Steelworkers’ Trilogy is requested of this Court
by granting this petition.
In the Steelworkers Trilogy, (Am. Mfg. Co.) 363 U.S. 564
(1960), the Court announced the, very limited role played by
the federal judiciary in the face of a broad arbitration clause.
Id., at 567-568. In their contract this petitioner and respondent
have bargained for an arbitrator’s judgment on all disputes
arising out of the agreement. The district “ourt was constrained,
therefore, to this very limited role.
Petitioner claimed a past practice between the parties in the
administration and payment of life insurance benefits notwith-
standing the contract makes no specific reference to liſe in-
surance proceeds. This past practice supplements any literal
interpretation of the contract. Our federal labor policy has
embraced this concept with vigor. Steelworkers Trilogy
(Warrier and Gulf N. Co.) 363 U.S. 574, 579-80 (1960).
Whether this past practice enlarges Article IV of the contract
(App. A) or Section 6. 10(b), or the general wage structure?
provisions of Article V is a question of the meaning, inter-
pretation and application of the contract. The issue of ar-
bitrability becomes inextricable from substantive issues of
contract interpretation which lie at the heart of the merits of the
IThe contract does refer to accident and death insurance in section 6.10(b)
(App. A).
2See Airline Pilots Ass'n, Int I. 67LA, 217, 225 (Ordman 1976).
grievance. In such cases, it is impossible for a court to determine
arbitrability within the narrow confines assigned to it by the
Steelworkers Trilogy. No court can state “with positive
assurance” that the dispute is beyond the reach of the ar-
bitration clause, Warrier and Gulf N. Co., 363 U.S. at 582,
because in such cases the arbitration clause itself is only as
broad as the agreement, and yet the breadth of the agreement
constitutes the grievance itself. In this situation the issue of
arbitrability becomes one for the arbitrator and not the
judiciary. This states quite clearly the issue for which review by
this Court is sought.
Respondent sought a declaration of its rights under the
collective bargaining agreement pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §2201;
that declaration was achieved in the context of a motion for
summary judgment under Fed. R. Civ. P. 56. Through this
procedural device respondent successfully restricted the district
court to a strict, literal reading of the contract. The district
court either ignored the past practice issue or else resolved it
against petitioner upon the summary judgment papers alone
and without the evidentiary hearing that attends such a claim in
arbitration proceedings. The first is unconscionable error; the
second is a bold usurpation of arbitral functions since it is the
arbitrator's judgment that the parties bargained for as to the
meaning, interpretation and breadth of the contract.’
By the very nature of petitioner’s claim the arbitrability issue
required the court to investigate the merits of the grievance, “or
determine whether there is particular language in the written
instrument which will support the claim.” Am. Mfg. Co., 363
U.S. at 568. Under federal labor policy a district court may not
do this, id., but the court below nonetheless did: The parties
have not pointed to any provision of the Agreement relating to
3“The ablest*judge cannot be expected to bring the same experience and
competence to bear upon the determination of a grievance, [as an ar-
bitratorl. Warrier and Gulf N. Co., 363 U.S. at 582.
life insurance benefits.” (App. A). Without considering
petitioner’s claimed involvement of a past practice it concluded
that, “the Agreement was clearly unsusceptible of an inter-
pretation covering the asserted dispute” (App. A). The test of
arbitrability in such cases is reduced to a literal reading of the
contract.
This, however, directly conflicts with the federal labor
policies of the Trilogy. No longer will these doubtful cases be
resolved in favor of arbitrability, Warrier and Gulf N. Co. at
583; the party resisting arbitration need not satisfy its former
burden of proof to supply, the most forceful evidence of a
purpose to exclude the claim from arbitration . . .,” id., at 585;
and abandoned is the rule that, the complete silence of an
agreement on the issue sought to be arbitrated is not sufficient
evidence to meet the rigorous standard set by the Steelworkers
Trilogy for a finding of nonarbitrability.” Int I Ass n. of
Machinists v. Howmet Corp., 466 F.2d 1249, 1252 (9th Cir.
1972).
There is raised, therefore, an important question of federal
labor policy. When the merits of the dispute are intertwined
with the parties’ customs, past practices or the common law of
the shop,” and because these are tools of interpretation which
define the breadth of an agreement that requires an arbitrator to
resolve disputes arising under it, is a final resolution of the
arbitrability issue for the judiciary, or is it preserved for the one
whose judgment the parties have bargained for — the ar-
bitrator? Such disputes are not uncommon.
[T]he question of arbitrability of custom disputes have
sometimes been raised when the arbitration clause was
limited to disputes concerning the interpretation or
application of the ‘agreement.’ The question was an-
swered in the affirmative in some cases, but not in
others. Elkouri and Elkouri, How Arbitration Works, at
p. 405 & nn. 74-75 (3d Ed.) (BNA 1973).
The issue here is not how arbitrability will be answered in
such cases, but by whom. This presents the important question
of federal labor policy for which petitioner requests review by
this court. In circumstances such as these, either the judiciary
must abandon the very limited role established for it by the
Steelworkers Trilogy, or leave a final determination of ar-
bitrability for the arbitrator.
CONCLUSION
For these reasons, a Writ of Certiorari should issue to secure
plenary review of the judgment below or, upon review of the
petition and the briefs in support and in opposition thereto, the
Court is requested to grant the petition, summarily reverse the
judgment below, vacate the stay of arbitration and dismiss
respondent- plaintiff's complaint.
Respectfully submitted,
Eugene W. Salisbury, Esq.
Frank S. Kedzielawa, Esq.
Lipsitz, Green, Fahringer,
Roll, Schuller & James
One Niagara Square
Buffalo, New York 14202
(716) 849-1333
Attorneys for Petitioners
APPENDICES
A-1
APPENDIX A
Opinion of the Distriet Court
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
WJLA, INC.
Plaintiff,
Vv
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BROADCAST EMPLOY-
EES AND TECHNICIANS, AFL-CIO, et al,
Defendants.
Civil Action No. 79-3132
MEMORANDUM OPINION
This case is before the Court on plaintiff's motion for sum-
mary judgment. Plaintiff WJLA, Inc. seeks a declaratory order
declaring that it is not obligated under the terms of the
governing collective bargaining agreement (Agreement) to
arbitrate a grievance over payments of life insurance benefits.
In addition, WJLA, Inc. seeks an injunction to enjoin defen-
dants from proceeding with the arbitration of that grievance.
Plaintiff WJLA, Inc. (WJLA) is the licensee of station
WJLA-TV, Washington, D.C., and is engaged principally in
the business of television broadcasting. The defendants,
National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians,
AFL-CIO (NABET) and NABET-31, are the international
labor union and local affiliates, respectively, representing the
employees of the plaintiff.
On July 27, 1979, defendant NABET-31 (Union) filed a
grievance report with WJLA alleging that Provident Life and
Accident Insurance Company (Provident) failed to pay a
guaranteed death benefit of $14,000 to the family of a deceased
employee. The union claimed that the deceased’s optional
A-2
APPENDIX A
Opinion of the District Court
insurance policy, which was funded by employee contributions,
was a part of the employee benefits plan”, and demanded that
WJLA pay the death benefit.
WJLA refused to arbitrate the grievance, maintaining that it
was not liable for insurance benefit payments, and that the
controversy was not a matter subject to arbitration under ap-
plicable provisions of the Agreement. This suit was then
brought under Section 301 of une Labor Management Relations
Act, 29 U.S.C. §185, and the Declaratory Judgments Act, 28
U.S.C. §§2201 and 2202, to prevent the union from pursuing
arbitration.
The union’s argument is that the Court may not be apprised
of, let alone examine, the facts comprising the dispute, and that
arbitrability is to be determined by the arbitrator.
The Court does not agree with this argument, because the
presumption' in the labor law favoring arbitration is not irre-
buttable, nor is it open-ended, allowing grievances to be filed
over disputes not within the parties’ agreement to arbitrate. See
Atkinson v. Sinclair Refining Co., 370 U.S. 238, 241 (1962);
THE DEVELOPING LABOR LAW 482 (C.J. Morris ed.
1971).
The union’s grievance involves the alleged obligation of an
insurance company (Provident), under a contract of insurance,
to the beneficiary of a former employee of WJLA. Provident is
not a party to the Agreement and cannot be made a party to any
arbitration arising under the Agreement. Provident’s obligation
under its contract of insurance has no relationship to the
Agreement.
The arbitration clause in the parties’ Agreement, section 9.4,
declares in relevant part: In the event any dispute arises under
this Agreement that is not resolved by the parties, it shall be
A-3
APPENDIX A
Opinion of the District Court
resolved by arbitration.” The parties have not pointed to any
provision of the Agreement relating to life insurance benefits.
Since the Agreement is clearly unsusceptible of an interpreta-
tion covering the asserted dispute, arbitration cannot be
required, and WJLA’s requested relief prohibiting it must be
granted.
This opinion and order do not preclude any claim concerning
payments under the life insurance policy against the insurer.
/s/ JUNE L. GREEN
U.S. District Judge
FILED
FEB 12 1980
JAMES E. DAVEY, Clerk
A-4
APPENDIX B
Judgment of the District Court
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
WJLA, INC.
Plaintiff,
Vv
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BROADCAST EMPLOY-
EES AND TECHNICIANS, AFL-CIO, et al,
Defendants.
Civil Action No. 79-3132
ORDER
Upon consideration of plaintiff's motion for summary
judgment, defendants’ opposition thereto, the entire record, and
after oral argument, it is by the Court this 12th day of February
1980,
ORDERED that plaintiff is entitled to summary judgment as
a matter of law; and it is further
ORDERED that Grievance No. WJ 79-14 is not a proper
subject for arbitration under the collective bargaining
agreement in effect between the parties, and accordingly WJLA
is not obligated to arbitrate Grievance No. WJ 79-14; and it is
further
ORDERED that National Association of Broadcast Em-
ployees and Technicians, AFL-CIO, National Association of
Broadcast Employees and Technicians, Local 31, their officers,
agents, servants, employees and attorneys, and all other persons
in active concert or participation with them, are permanently
A-5
APPENDIX B
Judgment of the District Court
enjoined from proceeding with arbitration of Grievance No. WJ
79-14 (Proceeding No. 16 30 0170 79); and it is further
ORDERED that this matter is dismissed.
/s/ JUNE L. GREEN
U.S. District Judge
FILED
FEB 12 1980
JAMES F. DAVEY, Clerk
A-6
APPENDIX C
Judgment of the Court of Appeals
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT
No. 80-1305 September Term, 1980
WJLA, Inc.
v.
National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians.
AFL-CIO, and National Association of Broadcast Employees
and Technicians, Local 31,
Appellants
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Columbia
BEFORE SWYGERT, *ROBINSON and ROBB, Circuit
Judges
JUDGMENT
This cause came on to be heard on the record on appeal from
the United States District Court for the District of Columbia,
and was argued by counsel. While the issues presented occasion
no need for an opinion, they have been accorded full con-
sideration by the Court. See Local Rule 13(c).
*Of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, sitting by
designation pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 291 (a) (1976).
A-7
APPENDIX C
Judgment of the Court of Appeals
On consideration of the foregoing, It is ORDERED and AD-
JUDGED by this Court that the judgment of the District Court
appealed from in this cause be and hereby is affirmed.
Per Curiam
For the Court
/s/ GEORGE A. FISHER
Clerk
Bills of costs must be filed within 14 days after entry of
judgment. The Court looks with disfavor upon motions
to file bills of costs out of time.
United States Court of Appeals
for the District of Columbia Circuit
FILED APR 20 1981
GEORGE A. FISHER
CLERK
A-8
APPENDIX D
Grievance Report
Grievance No. WJ 79-14
GRIEVANCE REPORT
Local Washington Local 31
Employer Evening Star Broadcasting Company
Time and Date of Grievance Unknown
Department Engineering
Location of Violation
Description of Grievance Inl972, George Semyan purchased
Group Permaplan Life Insurance through the Evening Star
Broadcasting Company. The plan guaranteed a death benefit to
his family of $14,000 plus his accumulated contributions or cash
value, whichever is greater. The Insurance Company will only
pay the cash value to the family. Since this is a part of the
employee benefits plan, the Union demands that the Company
pay the $14,000.00 to the Semyan Family.
SEE ATTACHMENT
Operations Supervisor Stan Pederson
Date of Steward’s Submission July 27, 1979
Steward
Disposition
Signature LEROY C. SANDERS
Job Title President
Title PERMAPLAN INSURANCE
Disposition
Local President
ATTACH ALL PERTINENT INFORMATION TO THIS
FORM
A-9
APPENDIX E
Exhibit B attached to Grievance Report
GROUP PERMAPLAN LIFE INSURANCE
(You Are Eligible After One Year Of Continuous Service)
Your Monthly Contribution To Permaplan . . 8 23.94
At Age 65: Your Paid-Up Life .............. $ 6,090.00
Your Cash Value............+.. $ 3,962.00
If You Should Die Before Age 65, Your Beneficiary Would
Receive The Term Life Benefit Of ............ $ 14,000.00
Plus Your Accumulated Contributions Or
Cash Value, Whichever Is Greater.
If You Terminate Employment Before Age 65, You May
Retain Permaplan At A Rate Based On Your Age When You
Began Participation.
Benefits for your family
GEORGE SEMYAN THE EVENING
A-10
APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
AGREEMENT BETWEEN
The Evening Star Broadcasting Company
(WJLA-TV)
and
National Association of Broadcast
Employees and Technicians, AFL-CIO
OCTOBER 1, 1977
to
August 1, 1981
A-11
APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
INDEX
ARTICLE — SUBJECT PAGE NO.
ARTICLE I BARGAINING UNIT. A-12
ARTICLE II UNION SECURITY AND
rr A-16
ARTICLE III HOURS OF LABOR ......... A-19
ARTICLE IV VACATIONS, BENEFITS AND
e eee A-25
ARTICLE V WAGE SCALES ............. A-29
ARTICLE VI WORKING RULES.......... A-30
ARTICLE VII GENERAL PROVISIONS..... A-37
ARTICLE VIII TRAVEL AND TRANSPOR-
...en A-43
ARTICLE IX ARBITRATION, CONTRO-
VERSIES AND DISPUTES . A-43
ARTICLE X PERIOD OF AGREEMENT .. A-45
SIGNATURE PAGE Eg. A-46
ADDENDUMS
#1 Waiver Letter
#2 Apprentice Technician Program
#3 Videotape Cassette Recording and
Playback Equipment
74 Job Security Letter — Sample
(October 1, 1977)
Job Security Letter — Sample
(May 1, 1974)
#5 Microwave Feeds from Capital Centre
#6 Meal Period Scheduling and Field
Assignments of News Employees
A-12
APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
AGREEMENT
This Agreement effective October 1, 1977 is between the
National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians,
AFL-CIO, (hereinafter called The Union“] and The Evening
Star Broadcasting Company and/or its successors and assigns
(hereinafter called The Company”), which owns and/or
operates station WJLA-TV.
NON-DISCRIMINATION
The Company and the Union recognize their respective
responsibilities under laws and regulations relating to fair
employment practices. The Company and the Union agree to
continue the existing policy of non-discrimination on the basis of
race, creed, color, sex, national origin or age. As used in this
Agreement, and except as otherwise clearly required by their
context, the masculine, feminine and neuter import one
another.
ARTICLE I — BARGAINING UNIT:
Section 1.1
(a) The term employee as used in this Agreement applies
to all employees of the Company, including chauffeur-
mechanics, in the engineering department of the Company
engaged in the operation and maintenance of technical
equipment and equipment incidental thereto. Technical
equipment for the purposes of this Agreement shall be defined
as those facilities of the Company or operated by or for the
Company used in all of the following: transmitting, converting,
and/or conducting audio, video and radio frequencies for use in
broadcasting, rebroadcasting, multiplex, rehearsal, audition,
closed circuit, recording, and/or “‘on the air” playback. In the
case of dispute, the meaning of the words operation and
A-13
APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
maintenance” as used herein shall be determined by con-
sideration, among other things, of the past practice followed in
the Company.
(b)
(1) By way of illustration but not in any limitation,
the following are examples of technical equipment: all
television equipment; field setup, studio lighting, field
lighting, camera dollies; audio, audio and/or video
recording and playback equipment; video camera, video
control, field television, television maintenance,
television projection and television transmitter; and all
equipment attached or connected to any of the equip-
ment herein described and including any new devices
intended to perform in any way any of the above func-
tions.
(2) The foregoing notwithstanding, employees other
than those defined herein, may operate cueing devices
such as teleprompters. All installation and maintenance
work pertaining to such cueing devices shall be per-
formed by employees as defined herein.
(1) Any computer used to control the operation of
technical equipment as defined in Section 1.1 (a), shall fall
within such definition of technical equipment, and shall be
referred to as a “process control computer’’. In the event that
such computer is also used to perform sales, traffic, and/or
accounting functions, or other non-technical functions not
presently performed by employees, persons other than em-
ployees may operate (input and recall) terminals in performing
such non-technical functions; provided, however:
(i) Such non-technical operations are per-
formed on terminals located remote from
technical operations areas, and
A-14
APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
(ii) Such remote terminals shall not have the
capability of input or recall of technical
operations data.
(2) The Company may also utilize a Master
Computer other than a process control computer to
perform the non-technical functions referred to above.
The data fed into the Master Computer by persons
other than an employee for subsequent use in a process
control computer cannot exceed the scope of the data
presently contained in the daily program log. The
Union’s jurisdictior will extend to any Master Com-
puter” keyboard and/or other device used for input and
recall when operated to feed data into or extract data
from the “Master Computer” which will control
technical equipment and/or perform technical functions.
It is understood that only employees may perform
technical operations (process control) functions in any
computer under any circumstances.
(e) (1) The term “employee” as defined in Section 1.1 (a)
above shall also apply to all employees of the Company engaged
in the operation and maintenance of sound-on-film camera
equipment when operated or used for a sound-on-film, single
system or double system when synchronization by wire or
wireless is provided between camera and recorder (not when
operated as a silent film camera). For purposes of this
Agreement, operation of sound-on-film equipment shall include
lighting, transportation and setup; however, employees other
than those defined in this Agreement may also perform duties
related to the transportation and set up of lighting and other
equipment.
(2) The jurisdiction of the Union does not cover or
extend to film processing or editing, assisting in
A-15
APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
operating the lens on sound-on-film cameras, operating
silent motion picture cameras, or loading or unloading,
film magazines when not attached to the camera. Never-
theless, employees of the engineering department may be
required to operate silent motion picture cameras.
(d) In addition to the foregoing, it is agreed that the
jurisdiction of the Union is expressly applicable to the following:
video tape editing, cutting, and splicing; audio tape editing,
cutting and splicing; kinescope recording.
(e) The jurisdiction of the Union is expressly applicable to
all work associated with front screen projection, rear screen
projection and all other special effects projection. It is under-
stood that an on-set guest may operate (start, stop or back up)
an on-set motion picture film projector during unscripted
unrehearsed programs or program segments where such guest is
also narrating or describing the material being projected.
(f) The jurisdiction of the Union over physical equipment of
the Company ends at the point where the signals leave the trans-
mitter antenna towers. The Company may employ or contract
with others for the purpose of installation and maintenance of
towers, obstruction lights and antennas. No employee shall be
required to climb towers or antenna structures.
Section 1.2
The Union represents and warrants, and it is the essence hereof,
that it represents for collective bargaining purposes, a majority
of the employees of the Company. The Company accepts and
recognizes the Union as the exclusive bargaining agency of and
for the employees of the Company as herein described, with
reference to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment or other
conditions of employment.
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APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
ARTICLE II — UNION SECURITY AND SENIORITY
Section 2.1
(a) As a condition of employment all employees covered by
this Agreement shall, thirty (30) days after the date of execution
of this Agreement, or in the case of new employees thirty (30)
days after the date of hiring, become members of the Union and
remain members in good standing inthe Union during the term
of this Agreement. It is agreed and understood that all new
employees shall be on a four (4) months’ probationary period.
In the case of employees hired in news engineering and news
tape editing, the Union will agree to extend the probationary
period of any such employee for an additional two (2) months
upon request of the Company, providing the affected employee
also agrees to such extension. During the probationary period,
the Company may discharge said employees without previous
notice. If not discharged within the probationary period, such
new employees shall become permanent employees. The Union
shall be notified of such discharge at the same time as the
employees. However, such discharge shall not be subject to the
provisions of Article IX of this Agreement.
(b) The Company agrees to discharge any employee who
remains delinquent fifteen (15) days after receipt by the
Company of a written notice from the Union that said employee
has failed to tender the regular fees and dues uniformly required
as a condition of acquiring and/or maintaining membership in
the Union. The provisions of this paragraph are subject to such
limitations as are imposed by the National Labor Relations Act
as amended.
Section 2.2
(a) All new employees shall, as a condition of employment
and continued employment, have or obtain an FCC radio-tele-
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APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
phone license of the class required for their assignments within
twelve (12) months of their date of employment. Such a twelve
month period may be extended at the discretion of the Company
for six (6) month periods in individual cases, after notification
and consultation with the Union.
(b) All existing employees, as a condition of continued
employment, who have an FCC radio-telephone license shall
maintain said license at the Company’s expense. Such a require-
ment shall be subject ot renegotiation in the event the FCC
substantially changes current renewal requirements so as to
require re-examination.
(c) All present employees, who do not have an FCC radio-
telephone license of the required class for their assignment, shall
take the necessary examination at Company expense every six
(6) months, until they procure said license, and shall thereafter
maintain such license at Company expense.
Section 2.3
(a) Dismissals of permanent employees, for reason of reduc-
tion of personnel, seasonal inactivity, or similar cause, shall be
in inverse order of seniority, and it is also agreed that the
Company will not dismiss any permanent employee for reason
of reduction of personnel, seasonal inactivity or similar cause,
without first dismissing all vacation relief and probationary
employees.
(b) The Company agrees to rehire former employees who
have been employed by the Company for at least three (3)
months and released by reason of a reduction in personnel or for
seasonal inactivity or similar cause, at a salary commensurate
with their length of service as employees at the time of dismissal,
whenever vacancies occur, providing that during such absence
the former eniployees have maintained a creditable standing in
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APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
the community and providing they are still physically and
mentally able to perform their duties with the Company. The
Company shall give the Union one week to notify former em-
ployees desiring to return to work to contact the Company for
interview. Former employees shall have the right to refuse
temporary employment without waiving rights in respect to
permanent employment. The Company shall have no obligation
under this paragraph except to the former employees, in order
of seniority, who contact the Company for interview within one
week following notice of vacancy to the Union.
(c) Section 2.3(b) and the limitation on the probationary
period in Section 2.1(a) shall not apply to vacation relief em-
ployees. Vacation relief employees are defined as employees
hired specifically for vacation relief between May | and January
16. If such employees are retained beyond January 16, they
shall become permanent employees and accrue all rights as
permanent employees retroactively to the date of hiring.
Vacation relief employees shall accrue one (1) day paid sick
leave for every completed two (2) months of employment, which
shall not be paid for, except as used; and shall be eligible to
participate in the medical and hospitalization insurance
coverage provided for in Section 4.6 (excluding dependents or
family coverage at Company expense).
Section 2.4
Both the Company and the Union will recognize any existing
Federal law regarding the reemployment of men who left the
Company to serve in the Armed Forces.
Section 2.5
If the Company desires to start a new employee at a rate higher
than the wage scale herein provided, the seniority of the said
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APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
employee may be extended, but only for the purpose of wages.
For purposes other than wages, the length of his service will
determine his seniority.
Section 2.6
The Company agrees to give the Union notice in writing of any
vacancies among the employees on the engineering staff. The
Union will refer to the Company for interview those persons it
considers eligible for employment in the engineering depart-
ment.
Section 2.7
The Company will notify the Union in writing of the starting
date and base pay of a new employee and of any change in an
employee’s base pay other than that required by this
Agreement.
ARTICLE III — HOURS OF LABOR:
Section 3.1
For the purpose of this contract, the work week shall begin on
Monday and end on Sunday. However, a tour of duty shall be
credited to the day in which it starts.
Section 3.2
(a) The weekly wage scales herein provided for an em 'oyee
are predicated upon forty (40) hours of labor during not more
than five (5) days of each week. Each day shall consist of eight
(8) working hours, including a one-half hour paid meal period.
Should an employee be required to work in excess of eight (8)
hours in any one (1) day, he shall be paid in cash at the rate of
time-and-one-half (1-14) from the eighth (8th) hour through the
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APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
twelfth (12th) hour and at the double-time (2X) rate after
twelve (12) hours in any one (1) day. Company will provide
forty (40) hours or equivalent pay in each work week.
(b) If an employee has worked in excess of ten (10) con-
secutive days without having received at least one (1) day off,
for all such days worked in excess of ten (10) and until such time
as the employee has received a day off, he shall receive ad-
ditional compensation at his straight-time rate of pay; provided,
however, that if the employee is otherwise receiving at least time
and one-half his straight-time rate of pay for any hours thereof
by virtue of another provision of this Agreement, his additional
compensation therefore under this Section 3.2 (b) shall be at
one-half his straight-time rate of pay. The foregoing shall not be
applicable in cases where an employee’s schedule is changed at
the request of the employee. It is not the intention of the
Company to schedule an employee to work in excess of twelve
(12) consecutive days unless such assignment is necessitated by
unusual operating requirements.
Section 3.3
A tentative weekly work schedule shall be posted not later than
noon twenty-one (21) days preceding the applicable work week.
Posting of this tentative work schedule shall freeze an em-
ployee’s days off for the applicable work week. The actual
weekly work schedule shall be posted not later than noon of the
Wednesday immediately preceding the applicable work week
and may not vary more than a plus-or-minus three (3) hours in
the starting time for an employee from the tentative schedule
except upon payment of the penalty provided in Section 3.5 (b).
This provision shall not be applicable to vacation relief em-
ployees for the first sixty (60) days of each employment.
A-21
APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
Section 3.4
At least twelve (12) hours shall elapse between the end of one
tour of duty and the start of the next tour of duty. Should an
employee be required to report for duty prior to the expiration of
said twelve-hour period, he shall receive double his rate of pay
for that day as compensation for each hour worked, within the
twelve-hour period stated above. It is not the Company’s in-
tention to take excessive advantage of its right to invade the
twelve-hour turnaround provision; further, it is the Company’s
intention consistent with operating needs, to take into con-
sideration the Union’s desire to avoid consecutive minimum
turnaround periods.
Section 3.5
(a) Notice of daily schedule changes affecting starting time
shall be given twelve (12) hours in advance of the originally
scheduled starting time or the rescheduled starting time, which-
ever is earlier, but not later than 7:00 p.m. of the work day prior
to the day in question, except where a lesser notice is required
by reason of the illness of another employee. Daily schedule
changes may be made with less than twelve (12) hours notice or
later than 7:00 p.m. of the prior work day only by adding work
time to the previously scheduled hours at overtime rates in
accordance with Section 3.2 and upon payment of $25.00, as a
penalty, to the employee involved.
(b) There shall be a $3.00 penalty for changes involving
working hours contrary to that permitted under Section 3.3 in
the tentative schedule, except in the case of schedule changes
caused by the illness of another employee. There shall be a
similar $3.00 penalty for changes involving working hours after
the actual schedule has been posted in accerdance with Section
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APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
3.3, except that such penalty shall not apply to schedule changes
which are directly caused by the illness of another employee, but
in no event shall illness beyond the second day be a reason for
waiving such penalty, and further, except when a penalty has
been paid under Section 3.5 (a).
(e) It shall be the employee’s obligation to check the
schedule upon reporting for work and leaving work, but it shall
be the Company’s obligation to notify the employee of changes
made during or after the working day.
Section 3.6
(a) Employees shall receive two (2) regularly-scheduled
consecutive days off in each seven (7) days. Sunday and
Monday, if consecutive, shall be considered as two (2) days off
for this purpose. If an employee is required to work on one of his
days off, he shall be compensated at the rate of time and one-
half (114) for the first eight (8) hours, two (2) times for the next
four (4) hours, and two and one-half (214) times for all hours
over twelve (12), with a minimum call of eight (8) hours. If an
employee is required to work on both of his days off, he shall be
compensated on the second day off at the rate of two (2) times
for the first eight (8) hours, two and one-half (214) times for the
next four (4) hours, and three (3) times for all hours over twelve
(12), with a minimum call of eight (8) hours.
(b) A day off shall consist of thirty-six (36) hours off con-
secutively, two (2) days off shall consist of sixty (60) hours
consecutively, three (3) days off shall consist of eighty-four (84)
hours consecutively, four (4) days off shall consist of one
hundred eight (108) hours consecutively, etc. Assignments
during any of the above turnaround periods shall be com-
pensated for at double his rate of pay for that day. The turn-
around premium provided for in this paragraph shall not apply
A-23
APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
if it arises out of a change of schedule directly caused by the
illness of another employee, but in no event shall illness beyond
the second day be a reason for waiving such premium.
Section 3.7
Nothing in this Article is to be so construed as to prevent work
by an employee on a scheduled day off providing that overtime
rate of pay shall apply on such day off, and further providing
that thirty-six (36) hours notice (prior to 12:01 a.m. of such day
off) shall be given by the Company to an employee whenever he
is required to work on such day off. In the event that less than
thirty-six (36) hours notice is given under this Section and an
employee is required to work on his day off, the sum of $10.00
additional shall be paid the said employee.
Section 3.8
(a) The first meal period of thirty (30) minutes shall not be
scheduled earlier than the start of the employee’s fourth (4th)
hour of work and must be completed by the end of the sixth
(6th) hour unless the employees affected agree to remain at
work, in which event they shall receive a premium in addition to
their compensation equal to their rate of pay for that day for
each hour or fraction thereof after the sixth (6th) hour until such
meal period is completed; provided however, that this premium
shall not apply to individual employees or groups of employees
who with their consent are assigned a regular meal period
outside of the ebove hours. The consent and/or agreement from
employees under this sub-section shall be given only through
their Union representatives.
(b) In the event an employee remains on duty for more than
nine (9) hours, he shall be entitled to a second meal period of
thirty (30) minutes, between the ninth (9th) to eleventh (11th)
A-24
APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
hour of work and thereafter additional thirty (30) minute meal
periods shall be scheduled at the completion of every five (5)
consecutive hours from the end of the prior meal period. If the
second meal period is not taken, it will be assumed to have been
scheduled commencing at the beginning of the tenth hour of
duty for the purpose of calculating entitlement to subsequent
meal periods. All such meal periods, after the first, shall be paid
at the applicable rate of pay.
(c) During each work day in which an employee is entitled
to more than one (1) meal period, the Company shall pay him
$7.50 for each meal period after the first meal period to reim-
burse him for eating expenses, in addition to any overtime pay.
Section 3.9
(a) An employee other than an employee specified in 3.9 (b)
who works more than two (2) hours between the hours of 12
midnight and 7 a.m. shall be paid a night-shift differential of
ten percent (10%) of his actual pay for that tour.
(b) An employee who works more than four (4) hours be-
tween 12 o’clock midnight and 7 a.m. shall be paid a night-shift
differential of fifteen percent (15%) of his actual pay for that
tour.
Section 3.10
Any employee assigned to a shift involving more than four (4)
hours between 12 o'clock midnight and 7 o'clock a.m. may
request and shall be granted a tour of duty outside these limits
for the week immediately preceding his vacation provided he
makes the request in writing at least 30 days before commence-
ment of his scheduled vacation.
A-25 >
APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
ARTICLE IV — VACATIONS, BENEFITS AND
HOLIDAYS:
Section 4.1
(a) Vacations shall be scheduled on a year-round basis.
Selections of vacation times shall be given to employees on the
basis of bargaining unit seniority. The following vacation
limitations shall be observed:
TELEVISION ENGINEERING
Week #1 to Memorial Day
Memorial Day to Labor Day
Labor Day through Week #52
No more than two (2) em-
ployees at same time.
No more than eight (8) em-
ployees at same time.
No more than six (6) em-
ployees at same time.
TELEVISION NEWS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Week #1 to Memorial Day
Memorial Day to Labor Day
Labor Day through Week #52
No more than (1) employee at
same time.
No more than three (3) em-
ployees at same time.
No more than one (1) em-
ployee at same time, but two
(2) employees for the weeks of
Christmas and New Year's
Day.
NEWS TAPE EDITORS
Week #1 through Week #52
No more than (1) employee at
same time.
A-26
APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
(b) In the event the numker of employees increases by more
than twenty percent (20%) during any time of the Agreement,
the Company agrees to negotiate with the Union for a new
vacation allotment.
Section 4,2
A Vacation Committee of not more than five (5) employees
selected by the employees is hereby established and recognized
by the Company. The Committee shall resolve all vacation
scheduling problems arising out of the application of Article IV.
Vacation lists shall be posted by the Vacation Committee and
completed by December Ist, and shall be submitted on that date
to the Office of the Personnel Administrator or his designees for
the vacation period beginning the first Monday in January of
the following calendar year. In the event the Vacation Com-
mittee fails to comply with this time deadline, then in that event
the Company shall have the discretion to make any changes in
schedules that are necessitated by the late submission without
penalty or prejudice of any nature, notwithstanding any other
provision of this Agreement.
Section 4,3
Vacations shall be granted on the following basis:
(a) An employee engaged during the period January |
to April 30 shall receive, during the calendar year in
which he was employed, one (1) week vacation plus days
off for all holidays worked during his period of em-
ployment.
(b) An employee engaged after April 30 shall receive
days off for all holidays worked during his period of
employment.
A-27
APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
(e) An employee engaged prior to January 1 shall
receive a vacation on the following basis:
VACATION ALLOWANCE
YEARS OF SERVICE WITH PAY
Less than 5 years 2 weeks
5 years or more 3 weeks
15 years or more 4 weeks
18 years or more 5 weeks
25 years or more 6 weeks
(d) Anniversary dates for the purpose of calculating
service for vacation entitlement shall be in the case of
each employee the date on which he was hired.
(e) The Company shall make a reasonable attempt to
schedule days off consecutive with an employee's
vacation period.
Section 4.4
(a) In lieu of the five (5) following holidays — Washington's
Birthday, July Fourth, Labor Day, Veteran's Day, and Martin
Luther King’s Birthday — all employees shall receive one (1)
additional week off with pay (i.e., five (5) consecutive work
days, plus the regular two (2) days off for that week less one (1)
day for each of such of the above listed holidays as may occur
outside the term of his employment), such week to be added to
the regular annual vacation period.
(b) If an employee is assigned to work on any of the following
holidays, Christmas Day, Thanksgiving, or New Year's Day,
he shall be paid double time for the hours worked and in ad-
dition shall receive a payback day or days to be scheduled
within twelve (12) months, subject to the mutual convenience of
A-28
APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
the Company and the employee. If an employee’s regular day
off occurs on any of these holidays, he shall receive a payback
day or days to be scheduled as provided for in the previous
sentence.
(c) Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur may be substituted for
Christmas and New Year’s Day in the above paragraph at the
employee’s option, provided that such option is exercised
promptly upon ratification of this Agreement.
Section 4.5
(a) During the term of this Agreement, the Company agrees
to maintain the sick leave plan in effect on and after July 1,
1977. The Company further agrees to allow NABET to choose
between this plan and any new sick leave plan which may be
adopted during the term of this Agreement.
(b) An employee shall be compensated for all such ac-
cumulated and unused sick leave at retirement based on his then
current straight-time daily rate of pay for each accumulated sick
leave day, or the employee may elect to have an equivalent
number of days off with full pay immediately prior to date of
retirement.
(c) The Company will furnish to each employee on January l
and July | of each year an accounting of his/her sick leave
entitlement.
(d) Upon expiration of paid sick leave, the Company shall
grant an additional leave of absence for sickness without pay for
a period not exceeding six (6) months; provided, however, that
as a condition thereof the Company may in its discretion require
a physician’s certificate as to the existence or continuance of
such illness or disability. The employee concerned shall con-
tinue to accrue seniority for all purposes.
A-29
APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
Section 4.6
The Company will provide at its expense for qualified em-
ployees, including the employee’s family and dependents,
medical and hospital insurance coverage equivalent to or better
than the coverage currently in effect; provided, however, such
coverage shall not be changed during the term of this Agreement
where the effect of any change would be to make any part of
such coverage less liberal.
Section 4.7
The Company will reimburse employees for the actual tuition of
job-related training courses upon successful competion thereof,
provided enrollment in the course and the actual tuition thereof
has been approved in advance by the Company.
Section 4.8
One (1) personal leave day per year shall be granted to em-
ployees subject to advance notice to the Company and subject to
the mutual convenience of the Company and the employee.
ARTICLE V — WAGE SCALES:
Section 5.1
Minimum wages for employees under this Agreement shall be:
(a) Per Week:
A-30
APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
10/77 10/78 10/79 10/0
Group I $557.00 $585.00 $614.00 $648.00
Group II 529.00 555.00 583.00 616.00
Group III
O- months 258.00 265.00 273.00 285.00
6 months year 265.00 273.00 281.00 297.00
1-2 years 296.00 305.00 314.00 331.00
2—3 years 330.00 346.00 363.00 383.00
3—4 years 369.00 387.00 406.00 429.00
4—5 years 430.00 452.00 474.00 500.00
5 plus 492.00 516.00 542.00 572.00
(b) An employee with seniority of more than ten (10 years (ten
years plus one day . . .) shall have his base pay rate increased as
follows:
10 years, plus-Applicable base pay rate plus. 5 (.5%) percent.
15 years, plus-Applicable base pay rate plus one (1%) per-
7 years, plus-Applicable base pay rate plus two (2%) per-
— years, plus-Applicable base pay rate plus three (3%) per-
“30 years, plus-Applicable base pay rate plus four (4%) per-
cent.
ARTICLE VI— WORKING RULES;
Section 6.1
All technical equipment shall be operated only by employees as
defined in Section 1.1. Technical equipment referred to herein
does not include field strength measuring equipment.
A-31
APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
Section 6.2
Employees shall be present and working at any origination
within a fifty (50) mile radius of 4461 Connecticut Avenue,
Northwest, Washington, D.C. Origination shall be defined as
the point of first conversion from natural aural or visual (live)
state, and any subsequent conversions, to electrical signals.
Exceptions to the above originations are as follows:
(a) Commercial, public service, or promotional spot
announcements disc-recorded, audio or video tape
recorded, or sound-on-film spot announcements not in
excess of three (3) minutes’ duration not produced by the
Company. This exception is not intended to apply to
feeds for direct broadcast.
(b) Commercial or public service disc-recorded,
sound-on-film, or audio video tape-recorded programs
prepared by persons other than the Company or the net-
work for the broadcast industry in general and not ex-
clusively broadcast by the Company. This exception is
not intended to apply to feeds for direct broadcast.
e) Disc recorded. sound-on-film, audio or video tape
recorded program segments, not to exceed five (5)
minutes, prepared and produced by non-broadcasters for
the broadcast industry in general and not for exclusive
broadcast by the Company. This exception is not in-
tended to apply to feeds for direct broadcasts.
(d) WJLA News and Sports Reporters, other on-the-
air talent regularly employed by the Company and news
stringers may report news material by beeper phone.
Such persons may also use a portable, battery operated
audio recorder having only one (1) microphone input,
having no more than a twelve (12) foot microphone
A-32
APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
cable, weighing not more than twenty (20) pounds for
stenographic note-taking purposes. Such recorder shall
not be used for any other purpose, except that any
material recorded of a spontaneous, unscheduled news
occurrence, including on-the-spot interviews of those
involved, may be used on the air. Any recording of a
schedule or pre-planned event shall not be permitted
under this paragraph. Further, any recording made
hereunder may not be used in conjunction with any film
or video tape other than file footage.
e) The use of any recognized major network service.
The Company agrees to originate pool pick-ups and
network service when requested by any such network,
provided an agreement between the Company and any
such network exists covering such service.
(f) (1) Special events and sports programs originated
by an independent production network. Such network
shall consist of three (3) or more stations other than
WJLA-TV and any such origination shall not be
produced by the Company.
(2) If any such independent network pro-
duction requires supplemental assistance, the
Company will try to assure that such sup-
plemental assistance is furnished by available
employees of the Company.
(g) The Company may use any subscriber news
service, but shall not use any such service to circumvent
the use of employees where they would otherwise nor-
mally be assigned.
(h) Telephone conversations with respect to that
portion of such conversations originating in the field.
A-33
APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
(i) News or Public Affairs events in which the
Company is not able to have its own employees originate
the coverage because of restrictions imposed by
authorities controlling the event. Provided, however,
that the pick-up is made by another network or
broadcast station, and further provided that the
Company is required to make every effort to insure that
the employees hereunder will originate the first (1st) such
pick-up and at least every fourth (4th) pick-up there-
after.
(j) When technical equipment at the point of
origination does not require the presence of an employee
covered by this Agreement in order to originate a
program from such point, nothing in this Agreement
shall require the presence of such an employee.
The foregoing shall not be construed to infringe on
Union jurisdiction where work covered by the Agreement
is required to be performed at remote locations, nor shall
it preclude the Union from grieving as to whether work
covered by the Agreement is or is not required in a
specific remote pickup.
(k) Further exceptions to these provisions must be
requested in writing by the Company and shall be
granted in each case, if approved by the Union.
In the event a Company film production requires
post-production work using facilities beyond the scope of
the technical facilities of WJLA-TV, the Company may
use an outside non-broadcast facility to perform such
work in order to complete the production, provided that
in each case the Union is notified in advance.
A-34
APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
(m) The Company may assign non-bargaining unit
employees to input character generator data for
Emergency Broadcast System captioning where, because
of circumstances beyond the Company’s control, no
bargaining unit employee is available to be assigned.
(n) In the event the network service provided for in
6.2 (e) is not available because the local network line is
being used for another purpose, the Company may
request the network to provide for its use a video tape
recording made off the network line, provided the
program is recorded at the time WJLA would have
recorded it, and further such recording is re-recorded at
WJLA, when time permits, before being used by WJLA
for any purpose.
(o) The Company may accept for broadcast as news
inserts, 1) material broadcast by other television stations
of breaking news events or, 2) other news insert material
occurring outside the District of Columbia, Loudoun,
Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax, Montgomery, Charles,
Prince William, and Prince Georges Counties:
(i) until employees can be assigned to a
continuing news event, or
(ii) where due to the nature of the material it
is not possible to assign employees to perform the
work.
It is understood the foregoing shall be applicable only
where such news material was not produced by the
Company or made at the request of the Company, and
the use of such news material does not exceed three (3)
minutes per insert as broadcast by the Company.
A-35
APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
(p) The Producer of a regularly scheduled Company
newscast may operate a 3/4-inch video cassette playback
device of the type generally available to consumers for
home and/or office use, located outside technical areas,
for the sole purpose of determining edit points on news
material to be included in the newscast being produced
by him. News material shown on a newscast as a result of
screening hereunder may be shown on subsequent
programs provided it is shown in exactly the same form
as it originally appeared.
Section 6.3
In originations produced directly by or for the Company outside
the jurisdictional area set forth in Section 6.2 hereof, which
originations require the use of equipment that would be within
the jurisdiction of the Union under this Agreement if the
origination occurred within the aforesaid jurisdictional area, the
Company agrees that it will not use regular employees of the
Company who are not covered by this Agreement to operate
said equipment.
Section 6.4
The Director of Engineering and Assistant Director of
Engineering may operate technical equipment for the purpose
of experimentation and assisting in making emergency repairs.
Section 6.5
In the event that the Company determines to upgrade and
assign temporarily an employee to Group I or Group II, he shall
be paid such a rate for not less than four (4) consecutive hours.
In no event, however, is an employee to receive less than his
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Collective Bargaining Agreement
permanent wage scale if assigned temporarily to a group lower
than his permanent status. For the term of this Agreement, at
least three (3) employees shall be permanently assigned to
Group I and four (4) employees shall be permanently assigned
to Group II. The Company shall not schedule so as to cir-
cumvent the intent of this subsection. The permanent assign-
ment of employees to Group I or Group II is solely at the
Company’s discretion.
Section 6.6
An adequate set-up and/or briefing period shall be allowed an
employee on assignment to programs in progress or relief of a
man on watch. A minimum of five (5) minutes shall be allowed
for lunch period relief.
Section 6.7
An employee assigned to any transmitter when necessary to go
beyond interlocks shall be accompanied by another employee,
or in a case of non-scheduled maintenance or an emergency by a
management representative as designated in Section 6.4,
provided said management representative possesses a valid first
class FCC radio-telephone license.
Section 6.8
During those periods when the TV transmitters are remotely
controlled, there shall be no requirement for employees to be
assigned to said transmitter site and/or sites, except as required
by FCC rules and regulations. When any such transmitter is
being operated in a manual manner, at least one (1) employee
shall be present at that transmitter site, except as provided in
Section 6.7 of the Agreement.
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APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
Section 6.9
An employee shall not be unreasonably called at home on his
time off for Company business by representatives of the
Company.
Section 6.10
(a) No employee shall be required to perform work under
unsafe, hazardous and/or dangerous working conditions.
(b) The Company shall provide and maintain during the
term of this Agreement death and accident insurance policy
benefits amounting in the aggregate to $100,000 per employee.
ARTICLE VII — GENERAL PROVISIONS:
Section 7.1
An employee who desires to leave the employ of the Company
shall give two (2) weeks’ notice to the Company.
Section 7.2
(a) The Company may discharge an employee for just
cause. Prior to such discharge, the Company shall fully discuss
the matter with the Local Union Committee, and if the Local
Committee agrees to such discharge, it shall become effective
upon payment of two (2) weeks’ pay to the employee involved.
In the event that the Local Committee does not agree to such
discharge, the matter shall be certified within one (1) week to
the International Office of the Union and representatives
designated by the Company for resolution. If a solution between
these parties is not reached within two (2) weeks from the date
of the first notice to the Local Committee, such dispute sha!!
then be certified to arbitration as set forth in Section 9.5. The
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APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
Arbitrator shall give his advice and decision within one (1) week
from the date of certification to him. Should the discharge in
dispute be decided to be proper, such discharge shall be finally
effective upon the Company’s giving two (2) weeks’ pay to the
employee involved.
(b) The foregoing is not intended to impair the right of the
Company to impose temporary suspensions without pay for
cause, subject to the provisions of Sections 9.3 through 9.7 of
this Agreement, inclusive, or to suspend an employee without
pay pending determination of his discharge under the procedure
set forth in this Section.
Section 7.3
(a) When an employee’s employment is terminated for any
reason other than resignation or discharge for just cause he shall
receive four (4) weeks’ notice or four weeks’ pay in lieu thereof
(except in the case of vacation relief or probationary employees,
in which event it shall be three (3) weeks’ notice or two (2)
weeks’ pay in lieu thereof).
(b) In addition to notice or pay in lieu thereof, employees,
except in the case of resignation or discharge for just cause, shall
be entitled to severance pay in the event of reduction in force as
follows:
(i) For employees with less than two (2) full years’
seniority, except where attributable to a difference in
programming, two (2) weeks’ base salary.
(ii) For employees with less than three (3) years’
seniority, one (1) weeks’ base salary for each full year of
seniority.
(iii) For employee with three (3) or more years’
seniority, one (1) weeks’ base salary for each full year of
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APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
seniority, but not to exceed twenty-six (26) weeks’ base
salary plus:
AMOUNT OF SEVERANCE
ALLOWANCE AS PERCENTAGE
YEARS OF
OF TOP SCALE GROUP
SENIORITY 3 ANNUAL BASE RATE
3- 4 years 2%
4- 5 years 2.5%
5- 6 years 4%
6- 7 years 5%
7- 8 years 5.5%
8- 9 years 6.5%
9-10 years 1.5%
10-11 years 8%
11-12 years 10%
12-13 years 12%
13-14 years 14.5%
14-15 years 16.5%
15-16 years 18.5%
16-17 years 20.5%
17-18 years 22.5%
18-19 years 24.5%
19-20 years 26.5%
20 plus years 28.5%
(iv) Notwithstanding any limitation to the foregoing,
employees with ten (10) or more years of service shall be
entitled to supplemental severance pay provided in
Section 7.3 (b) (iii) above in the case of a medical
retirement or an early retirement with the Company’s
approval.
(c) Severance pay required by this section shall be paid
either semi-monthly until exhausted or in a lump sum payment
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APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
at termination, at the option of the affected employee. The
election of the lump sum option shall terminate any recall rights
under this Agreement. Pay under the semi-monthly option shall
terminate coincident upon an employee’s recall, or offer and
acceptance of reemployment in a different capacity in the
Company, before its exhaustion. In the event of recall and
subsequent layoff, an employee shall be entitled to the
unexhausted portion of the severance pay herein provided plus
any subsequently earned at the rate provided above.
Section 7.4
(a) In the event that the Company introduces or permits to
be used any process, machinery, or device which substitutes for,
supplements or replaces any present process, machinery, or
device being operated as of the date of this contract by the
employees or under the jurisdiction of the employees as set forth
in Section 1.1, such process, machinery, equipment or device
shall be operated and maintained only by employees herein set
forth and the jurisdiction shall be the same as that set forth in
Section 1.1; except that any process, machinery or device,
which substitutes for, supplements or replaces any present
process, machinery or device not covered by this Agreement or
under the jurisdiction of employees of the Company covered by
this Agreement shall not be within the jurisdiction set forth in
Section 1.1. The foregoing provision is a general guideline
concerning the introduction of any such new process, machinery
or device. In the event any such new process, machinery or
device is introduced, the Company and the Union shall
negotiate its assignment and failing agreement either party may
submit the determination to arbitration.
(b) The Company agrees that no regular employee on the
rolls as of May 1, 1974 shall be laid off as a result of a reduction
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APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
in force resulting from any technological changes implemented
subsequent to said date by WJLA-TV (formerly WMAL-TV),
or as a result of changes in this Agreement from the prior one.
The Company agrees to provide personal letters setting forth
this guarantee to each employee on the rolls as of May 1, 1974
said letter to be construed as a third party beneficiary contract
in favor of the employee which will survive the current and any
future collective bargaining agreement. (Sample letter attached
to contract.)
Section 7.5
The Company agrees that it will not transfer or subcontract any
work or functions covered by this Agreement to which em-
ployees are entitled under the terms of this Agreement to any
other employees of the Company not covered by this
Agreement, or to any other Company or its employees.
Section 7.6
(a) So long as the Company continues to perform the
obligations set forth in this Agreement, the Union agrees not to
strike, picket, boycott the Company, or fail to perform the
duties provided for.
(b) The Company will not assign, transfer, or require
employees to go to any radio or television station, transmitter,
studio or property to perform the duties of employees who are
on strike, or to originate a program or programs especially for
such station.
Section 7.7
The Company will not discriminate against any employee for
anything said, written, or done in furtherance of the policies and
aims of the Union.
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APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
Section 7.8
(a) During the course of contract negotiations the Company
agrees to free three (3) employees, with pay, not to exceed eight
(8) hours at straight time, for the duration of contract
negotiations provided their names have been submitted one (1)
week in advance of the start of negotiations, and that the release
of these employees does not impair the technical operations of
the Company.
(b) The Company will make every reasonable effort to
schedule Union officers and duly designated committee
members so that they may attend local Union meetings and
meetings with the Company, provided no overtime or penalties
are incurred.
Section 7.9
The Union is permitted to display the Union label on all equip-
ment, tapes, etc., within the jurisdiction of the Union. Tele-
casting of the Union label, however, shall not be mandatory.
Section 7.10
The Company agrees to establish a safety committee and will
include representatives of both the Company and the Union.
Section 7.11
An employee shall not be responsible for loss or damage of
equipment assigned to him or in his custody provided he
establishes that he exercised reasonable care, therecf.
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APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
ARTICLE VIII — TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION:
Section 8.1
The Employer shall reimburse each employee for all reasonable
traveling expenses when travel by such employee is required or
authorized by the Employer. In the event any employee uses his
own automobile for transportation in connection with his
assigned duties, the Employer shall reimburse such employee at
the rate of 20¢ per mile for such use, and in no event shall the
employee receive less than $2.50 for any completed trip. The
Employer shall have the right to determine the method of trans-
portation except that an employee shall not be required to use
his own automobile unless he consents thereto.
Section 8.2
When sent out of Washington, D.C., on an assignment
requiring him to remain away overnight, an employee shall be
credited with not less than one (1) eight (8) hour shift for each
day he is away on such assignment. All time spent in traveling
up to eight (8) hours in any one day, exclusive of the time from
midnight to 8:00 a.m., when sleeping accommodations are
furnished, shall be considered as time worked. All time spent
driving a car shall be considered as time worked.
ARTICLE IX — ARBITRATION, CONTROVERSIES,
AND DISPUTES:
Section 9.1
The Company agrees that, in the assignment of employees to
positions, hereunder and in the delegation of duties to them, it
will not overburden employees with work or assign more
responsibilities to them than they can reasonably be expected to
perform. In the event of any dispute involving the foregoing
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APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
provision, the same may be made the subject of grievance and
arbitration under this Article. Notwithstanding anything
contained in this Agreement, the Union shall not be precluded
from establishing in any such grievance or arbitration that the
assignment or delegation of duties in dispute constitutes over-
burdening or excessive responsibilities in violation of this
Section.
Section 9.2
The Company shall not initiate any new operating practice or
procedure which increases or makes more difficult the duties or
job of an employee hereunder, unless not less than fifteen (15)
days in advance thereof, the Company apprises the Union of
same in writing and negotiates with the Union as to the methods
and limitations thereon under which such new practice or
procedure may be placed into effect.
Section 9.3
(a) It is the desire and intention of the parties to reach a
mutually satisfactory solution of their common problems, and
the parties hereby agree that they will consult and cooperate
with each other in respect to any matter or question that may
arise in connection with the matters covered by this Agreement
and that controversies arising hereunder shall be promptly and
amicably settled or disposed of by a meeting of representative
minds of both parties.
b) The Company agrees that the Director of Engineering
shall meet once a month with designated Union representatives
at the request of the Union.
Section 9.4
In the event any dispute arises under this Agreement that is not
resolved by the parties, it shall be resolved by arbitration. The
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APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
facilities and personnel of the NABET Washington Local No.
31 and/or the NABET International Office shall be employed
in settlement discussions prior to any arbitration proceedings.
Section 9.5
Either party may request arbitration by delivering a signed
written notice to that effect directed to the other party and the
party requesting such arbitration shall simultaneously request
the American Arbitration Association to appoint an arbitrator
in accordance with its rules.
Section 9.6
The arbitration hearings shall be conducted in accordance with
the rules of the American Arbitration Association and the
decision or award of the arbitrator shall be made within one (1)
month after the close of the hearing. Such decision shall be bind-
ing on both parties and each party will promptly comply
therewith. Each party will bear its own expense in carrying out
these provisions and will share equally the expense of the ar-
bitrator.
Section 9.7
In no event shall the arbitrator modify or amend the provisions
of this Agreement, nor shall the same question or issue be the
subject of arbitration more than once, except upon a showing of
new evidence, change of conditions or circumstances.
ARTICLE X — PERIOD OF AGREEMENT
Section 10.1
This Agreement shall become effective as of October 1, 1977
and shall remain in force and effect until 12:01 a.m., August 1,
1981. It shall continue in effect from year to year thereafter
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APPENDIX F
Collective Bargaining Agreement
from the first day of August through the last day of July of each
succeeding year unless terminated by either party stating their
intent, in writing, at least sixty (60) days prior to the first day of
August of each year.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF
BROADCAST EMPLOYEES AND
TECHNICIANS, AFL-CIO
By: /s/ Roy W. Davis
ASSISTANT TO THE
INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT
By: /s/ LeRoy C. Sanders
PRESIDENT NABET LOCAL 431
By: /s/ John E. Strong
NEGOTIATING COMMITTEE MEMBER
By: /s/ Francis D. Jenkins
NEGOTIATING COMMITTEE MEMBER
By: /s/ Charles F. Reed
NEGOTIATING COMMITTEE MEMBER
APPROVED:
By: /s/ Edward M. Lynch
INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT
THE EVENING STAR BROADCASTING
COMPANY
(WJLA-TV)
By: /s/ Thomas B. Cookerly
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
AND GENERAL MANAGER
This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.