Mad River Community Hospital

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Sep 16, 1975

220 N.L.R.B. 350 (N.L.R.B. 1975)

350 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
American Hospital Management Corp. d/b/a Mad
River Community Hospital and United Brotherhood
of Carpenters and Joiners of America, AFL-CIO,
Petitioner. Case 20-RC-12554
September 16, 1975
ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR
RECONSIDERATION, SUPPLEMENTAL
DECISION ON REVIEW, AND DIRECTION OF
ELECTION
By CHAIRMAN MURPHY AND MEMBERS JENKINS
AND PENELLO
On July 9, 1975, the Board issued a Decision on
Review and Direction of Election in the above-enti-
tled proceeding finding appropriate a unit of techni-
cal employees which included x-ray technicians, lab-
oratory technicians, and licensed practical nurses.'
Thereafter, in accordance with Section 102.48(d) of
the National Labor Relations Board Rules and Re-
gulations , Series 8 , as amended, both the Employer
and the Petitioner filed motions for reconsideration
of the Board's decision.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the Na-
tional Labor Relations Board has delegated its au-
thority in this proceeding to a three-member panel.
In its Motion for Reconsideration, the Employer
contends: (a) that the laboratory technicians are ac-
tually medical laboratory technologists and therefore
professionals and should not be included in a unit
composed of technical employees; (b) that the appro-
priate unit should be one composed of all profession-
al employees; (c) that it is a departure from Board
policy to direct an election of technical employees
when this unit was sought by neither the Petitioner
nor the Employer; and (d) that it is a departure from
Board policy to direct an election including licensed
practical nurses in the unit when a unit of technical
employees was not sought and where the community
of interest between the licensed practical nurses and
the other technical employees of the facility has not
been established on the record.
In its Motion for Reconsideration, the Petitioner
requests an extension of time for submitting addi-
tional showing of interest and also requests that the
'219 NLRB No.4
term "licensed practical nurses" be deleted from the
Board's decision inasmuch as the hospital does not
employ licensed practical nurses, but rather employs
licensed vocational nurses.
After due consideration, the Board has decided to
grant the Employer's Motion for Reconsideration, in
part, as set forth below and to grant the Petitioner's
Motion for Reconsideration in its entirety. Accord-
ingly, we shall amend our original Decision in the
following respects:
1. The unit description of technical employees in
our original decision included laboratory techni-
cians . The Employer argues that these technicians
are actually medical laboratory technologists and
therefore professional employees rather than techni-
cal employees. As the record is not sufficiently com-
plete to make a determination as to the professional
status of these employees, we shall grant the
Employer's motion, in part, and they shall be al-
lowed to vote subject to challenge. After the election,
a hearing shall be held on the issue of the profession-
al status of laboratory technicians. If the Regional
Director concludes that they are professional em-
ployees, their ballots shall not be opened, and they
shall be excluded from the unit. If, on the other
hand, the Regional Director or the Board determines
that the laboratory technicians are technical employ-
ees and therefore properly in the unit, the ballots
shall be opened and counted.'
2. The unit description in our original decision in-
cluded "licensed practical nurses." The Petitioner
contends, and the record discloses, that the classifica-
tion should be correctly termed "licensed vocational
nurses." Accordingly, we shall grant the Petitioner's
motion and substitute the term "licensed vocational
nurses" in the unit description.
3. In view of our decision to reconsider, we shall
grant the Petitioner's motion for additional time to
submit additional showing of interest. The Petitioner
is hereby given 10 days from the date of this Supple-
mental Decision in which to present the requisite
showing of interest to the Regional Director.3
2 The Board adopts this unusual procedure in the interest of avoiding
further delay in the running of the election herein. The petition herein was
filed January 21, 1975.
3 Member Penello would grant the motion for reconsideration of the
question of the separate unit for technical employees As set forth in his
dissent in Nathan and Miriam Barnert Memorial Hospital Association d/b/a
Barnert Memorial Hospital Center, 217 NLRB No 132 (1975), Member Pe-
nello would not find appropriate a unit of technical employees which ex-
cludes other employees , but rather would find the appropriate unit to be all
service and maintenance employees including technical employees and li-
censed vocational nurses, but excluding business office clericals and all
other employees
220 NLRB No. 58
MAD RIVER COMMUNITY HOSPITAL 351
We therefore find that the appropriate unit in this
case is:
All regular full- time and part-time technical em-
ployees including X-ray technicians and li-
censed vocational nurses , employed at
Employer's Arcata, California, facility, but ex-
cluding service and maintenance employees,
business office clericals, professional employees,
guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act
and all other employees.
[Direction of Election and Excelsior footnote omit-
ted from publication.]