Manhattan College

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jan 25, 1972

195 N.L.R.B. 65 (N.L.R.B. 1972)

MANHATTAN COLLEGE
Manhattan College and American Association of Uni-
versity Professors , Manhattan College Chapter, Pe-
titioner . Case 2-RC-15630
January 25, 1972
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION
BY CHAIRMAN MILLER AND MEMBERS FANNING
AND KENNEDY
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9(c) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, a hearing
was held before Hearing Officer Mary W. Taylor.
Thereafter, pursuant to Section 102.67 of the National
Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations, Series
8, as amended, and by direction of the Regional Direc-
tor for Region 2, this case was transferred to the Na-
tional Labor Relations Board for decision. The Em-
ployer and the Petitioner filed briefs, and the U.S.
Department of the Air Force filed a letter of position
in the nature of an amicus curiae brief. The Petitioner
also filed a reply brief.
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.
The Board has reviewed the rulings of the Hearing
Officer made at the hearing and finds that they are free
from prejudicial error. With the exception noted below,
they are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in this case,' the Board finds:
1. Manhattan College is a New York corporation
engaged in conducting a university for the education of
young men and women. Its annual revenues exceed $1
million, of which more than $50,000 is received from
outside the State of New York. We find that the Em-
ployer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act and it will effectuate the policies of the Act to
assert jurisdiction herein.'
2. The Employer contends that the Petitioner is not
a labor organization. A similar contention was made
and rejected in Fordham University, 193 NLRB No, 23,
which case involved another chapter of the American
Association of University Professors as a petitioner. No
facts have been shown which support a contrary finding
with respect to the Manhattan College chapter.
The Intervenor purports to be a local chapter of the
New York State Teachers Association, which associa-
tion is conceded by the Employer and the Petitioner to
' The Employer concedes that its motion to dismiss the petition on the
ground that a substantial number of regular employees were on summer
vacation is now moot
I For reasons recently set forth in C W. Post Center of Long Island
University, 189 NLRB No 109, and Fordham University, 193 NLRB No
23, fn 5, we reject the Employer's contention that it would be improper for
the Board to assert jurisdiction over faculty members
65
be a labor organization, and the parent association has
been soliciting in its own name the support of faculty
members of Manhattan College in selecting it as their
collective-bargaining representative. Employer and Pe-
titioner contend that the Intervenor, as a purported
local affiliate, does not yet exist. The Intervenor's repre-
sentative testified that Intervenor is a group of faculty
members at Manhattan College who approached the
State Association for help in organizing for the purpose
of collective bargaining. He also asserted that the re-
quest to intervene was being made on behalf of the local
chapter and on behalf of the State Association. Since
the record leaves the present status of the local in doubt
while the status of the State Association as a labor
organization is admitted, we find that New York State
Teachers Association, as well as the Petitioner, is a
labor organization claiming to represent certain em-
ployees of the Employer, and we hereby grant its re-
quest to intervene,
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning
the representation of employees of the Employer within
the meaning of Section 9(c)(1) and Section 2(6) and (7)
of the Act.
4. The Petitioner seeks to represent all full-time
faculty members and professional librarians, excluding
all administrative officers, part-time faculty, ROTC
officers, athletic coaches who do not teach, and all
other employees.'
The Employer contends that the bargaining unit can-
not consist of faculty members because they are not
employees within the meaning of the Act but super-
visors and managerial employees. It contends that if a
unit of faculty members is deemed to be appropriate,
those on "terminal contracts" should nevertheless be
excluded. It agrees with Petitioner on excluding part-
time faculty members. Although it formally takes no
position on the inclusion or exclusion of ROTC instruc-
tors and nonteaching athletic coaches, the Employer, in
its brief, presents only arguments for inclusion.
The Intervenor seeks a unit similar to that sought by
Petitioner, but would include part-time faculty, ROTC
officers, and nonteaching coaches. The Hearing Officer
was of the view that the Intervenor's showing of inter-
est, consisting of one authorization card, was insuffi-
cient to allow it to contest the agreement of Employer
and Petitioner that part-time faculty be excluded. How-
ever, by contending for the inclusion of part-time
faculty, the Intervenor is not claiming a unit which
differs in substance from that urged by Petitioner and
Employer and its showing is sufficient for it to take this
position with respect to the composition of the unit.
' The Employer and Petitioner stipulated that all deans, assistant deans,
heads of departments, and directors of programs be excluded as administra-
tors or supervisors The Intervenor had not yet entered an appearance when
these stipulations were entered into and it did not later object thereto. The
stipulations are hereby accepted.
195 NLRB No. 23
66 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Faculty members: With regard to the appropriate-
ness of a unit containing faculty members , the conten-
tions of the Employer amount to nothing less than a
request to the Board to reconsider its decisions in C W.
Post, supra, and Fordham University, supra. The facts
relating to the status and functions of the faculty mem-
bers here are virtually indistinguishable from those pre-
sented in these recent cases . That faculty members par-
ticipate , by various means, in decisions regarding the
operation of the college is no more persuasive here than
it was in the earlier cases in establishing the faculty
members as members of management or as supervisors.
As in those cases we find the faculty members to be
professional employees under the Act who are entitled
to vote for or against collective -bargaining representa-
tion.
"Terminal contract " faculty members: Contracts of
employment for faculty members are for 1 year at a
time . When it is determined that a faculty member
without tenure will not be rehired after his current
contract expires , he is so notified several months
beforehand and is considered thenceforth to be on "ter-
minal contract ." The Employer argues that this pro-
spective separation from the faculty requires that those
on "terminal contract" be excluded from the unit.
There is no evidence to suggest that those currently on
"terminal contract" were hired other than as perma-
nent employees , subject to termination the same as any
other employee in the unit . While they remain on the
faculty they have a substantial community of interest
with their colleagues and will be eligible to vote if so
employed at the time of the election . In such circum-
stances , the Board does not make inquiry as to the
expectation of employment beyond the election. Whit-
ing Corporation, 99 NLRB 117, 122.
Part-time faculty: The normal teaching load for full-
time faculty members is 12 hours per week on the
undergraduate level and 9 hours on the graduate level.
In addition , there are approximately 64 part-time
faculty members who teach either day or evening
courses and for whom there is no standardized weekly
teaching load. The situations of these teachers appears
to be substantially the same as that of the part-time
teachers in University of New Haven, Inc., 190 NLRB
No. 102, and University of Detroit, 193 NLRB No. 95.
As in those cases , we hereby designate those part-time
faculty members regularly teaching at least one -quarter
the normal weekly teaching load for their counterparts
on the full-time faculty , as regular part-time faculty
members eligible to vote in the election.
ROTC faculty. Manhattan College has an aerospace
studies department with classes attended by students
participating in the Air Force Reserve Officers ' Train-
ing Program . The faculty of this department consists of
Air Force officers who have been assigned to this duty
by the Air Force . The college retains the right to reject
officers thus referred but accords those who are ac-
cepted full status as faculty members , with many of the
same nonmonetary benefits as other faculty members,
including the opportunity for obtaining tenure. How-
ever, this group consists of military personnel who are
paid by the Air Force and subject to its military control
and discipline even while on this duty assignment with
the Employer . Thus , we do not believe that they share
sufficient interests in common with the other faculty
members to be included in the unit . Accordingly, we
shall exclude this group.
Non teaching athletic coaches: There are 10 coaches
in the athletic department , of whom 3 are also full-time
faculty members and are not in dispute . Four others
coach part time and do not teach otherwise at the
college . Two of the remaining coach full time and the
third divides his time between coaching and teaching.
Insofar as their coaching • functions are concerned,
these individuals are not part of the academic faculty
and their contacts with students are not part of the
regular academic curriculum of the college . But all
have academic degrees and at least one has a master's
degree . They are engaged in substantial part in teaching
physical and mental skills , utilizing educationally ac-
quired knowledge of their specialty . In short , their jobs
might well be characterized as the practice of a special-
ized form of physical education . The fact that their
activities relate to an extracurricular matter, while per-
haps of some importance to the students, is less signifi-
cant in classifying the nature of the work. We think that
these coaches qualify as professional employees under
Section 2(12) of the Act. Moreover, the coaching func-
tion is closely related to teaching and the coaches share
many of the same benefits as other unit employees. In
the circumstances , we find that all the full -time and
regular part -time' coaches should be included in the
unit.'
° As defined above
Cf the inclusion of the librarians in the professional unit in C W Post,
supra
MANHATTAN COLLEGE
In accordance with these findings, we conclude that
the following unit is appropriate for the purposes of
collective bargaining within the meaning of Section
9(b) of the Act:
All full-time and regular part-time faculty of Man-
hattan College , including athletic coaches , profes-
6 In order to assure that all eligible voters may have the opportunity to
be informed of the issues in the exercise of their statutory right to vote, all
parties to the election should have access to a list of voters and their ad-
dresses which may be used to communicate with them Excelsior Underwear
Inc., 156 NLRB 1236; N. L.R.B v Wyman-Gordon Co., 394 U S 759.
Accordingly, it is hereby directed that an election eligibility list, containing
the names and addresses of all the eligible voters, must be filed by the
67
sional librarians , and those members of the faculty
on terminal contracts, but excluding all adminis-
trative officers, ROTC officers, all other em-
ployees, guards , watchmen , and supervisors.
[Direction of Election6 omitted from publication.]
Employer with the Regional Director for Region 2 within 7 days of the date
of this Decision and Direction of Election The Regional Director shall
make the list available to all parties to the election No extension of time
to file this list shall be granted by the Regional Director except in extraordi-
nary circumstances Failure to comply with this requirement shall be
grounds for setting aside the election whenever proper objections are filed