Newton-Wellesley Hospital

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 30, 1975

219 N.L.R.B. 699 (N.L.R.B. 1975)

NEWTON-WELLESLEY HOSPITAL 699
Newton-Wellesley Hospital and Massachusetts Nurs-
es Association , Petitioner . Case i-RC-13610
July 30, 1975
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION
BY CHAIRMAN MURPHY AND MEMBERS FANNING
AND PENELLO
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9(c) of
the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, a
hearing was held before Hearing Officer Irwin P.
Weiner of the National Labor Relations Board. Fol-
lowing the hearing, the Regional Director for Region
1 transferred this case to the Board for decision.
Thereafter, the Employer and the Petitioner filed
briefs with the Board.
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 Hearing Officer's rul-
ings made at the hearing and finds that they are free
from prejudicial error. They are hereby affirmed.'
Upon the entire record in this proceeding,2 the
Board finds:
1. The Employer, a private nonprofit hospital in
Newton Lower Falls, Massachusetts, is engaged in
commerce within the meaning of the Act.
2. The labor organization involved claims to rep-
resent certain employees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concern-
ing the representation of certain employees of the
Employer within the meaning of Sections 9(c)(1) and
2(6) and (7) of the Act.
4. Newton-Wellesley Hospital is divided into four
major divisions: nursing services, school of nursing,
fiscal services, and an administrative division which
incorporates 27 various departments within the hos-
pital. Of the approximately 386 registered nurses
(hereinafter referred to as RN's) at the hospital, 334
are employed in the nursing services division. Of the
remaining 52, about 23 are employed in the school of
i We find no merit in the Employer' s exceptions to a ruling by the Hear-
ing Officer which resulted in excluding certain testimony the Employer
sought to elicit from the director of nursing services concerning the supervi-
sory status of head nurses . The Hearing Officer based his ruling on the
ground, supported by the record, that such evidence had already been cov-
ered by that witness. In any event, the ruling does not prejudice the Employ-
er as the status of head nurses was amply litigated.
2 The Employer has moved to reopen the record and has requested the
Board to receive certain documentary exhibits into evidence . The Employer
asserts, and the record clearly reveals, that all parties dealt with such docu-
ments as having been admitted into evidence . We therefore grant the
Employer's motion to reopen the record for the limited purpose of receiving
the aforementioned exhibits, Employer 's Exhs. 56, 57 , and 58 , into evidence.
nursing and 29 are employed in various departments
located within other divisions of the hospital.
The Petitioner seeks to represent a unit of all RN's
employed by the Employer, including those RN's
who comprise the faculty at the hospital's school of
nursing, but excluding all other employees, guards,
and supervisors as defined in the Act. As a threshold
matter, the Employer contends that a unit confined
to RN's is too narrow in scope and argues that only
a unit consisting of all the professional employees
employed at the hospital for patient health care other
than physicians may properly be established.' The
Employer agreed, however, that, should the Board
determine that a unit limited to RN's is appropriate,
such a unit should include the RN's who are em-
ployed in the hospital's school of nursing.
We find no merit in the Employer's opposition to
the establishment of a unit confined to RN's. As we
indicated in the recently decided Mercy Hospitals of
Sacramento, Inc., 217 NLRB No. 131 (1975), we be-
lieve that registered nurses have a sufficient commu-
nity of interest separate and apart from all other pro-
fessionals to warrant finding that, "if they are so
sought and they so desire, [they] are entitled to be
represented in a separate bargaining unit." Id.
The Employer claims, that, in any event, certain of
the RN's, below identified, should properly be ex-
cluded from the unit found appropriate. It would de-
scribe some of the disputed employees as either su-
pervisors or managerial employees, some as clericals,
and others as casual employees.4 They are located in
various divisions of the hospital and the school of
nursing. For purposes of discussion, we shall divide
the employees in dispute in accord with the divisions
where they are assigned, viz the nursing services divi-
sion, the administrative division, and the school of
nursing.
A. Nursing Services Division
The Employer would exclude as supervisors those
individuals occupying positions in the following clas-
sifications within the nursing services division: super-
visors, nurse leaders, assistant supervisors, head nurs-
es, assistant head nurses, and senior staff nurses. We
dispose of the question concerning the status of these
individuals in accordance with the principle that the
3 The parties stipulated that registered nurses are professional employees.
4 The parties agreed that certain categones of employees should be in-
cluded in the unit . Thus, the parties stipulated that RN 's who are classified
as "staff nurses" in the division of nursing services and RN's who are in-
structors and assistant instructors in the school of nursing should be in
whatever unit the Board finds appropriate . The parties also agreed that
certain other individuals should be excluded from the unit as supervisors.
They are the director and the assistant director of the division of nursing
services, the director and the assistant director of the school of nursing; the
chief radiologic technologist ; and the medical records transcriber
219 NLRB No. 80
700 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
test for determining whether a health care profes-
sional is a supervisor is whether that individual, who
may give direction to other employees in the exercise
of professional judgment which is incidental to the
professional's treatment of patients , also exercises su-
pervisory authority in the interest of the employer.5
As a preliminary matter, we note that the hospital
is staffed three shifts per day 7 days a week, and that
the nursing services division is under the overall su-
pervision and direction of the director and the assis-
tant director of nursing services. There are approxi-
mately 324 RN's within the nursing services division,
7 of whom are classified as supervisors , 4 as nurse
leaders, and 9 as assistant supervisors.
Supervisors and nurse leaders have the same duties
and perform the same functions in the same man-
ner-and indeed the Employer uses their titles inter-
changeably in referring to them in the record. All of
them are rated grade 5 in the professional wage
schedule,6 the highest of the grades ; all of them re-
port directly to the director or the assistant director
of the nursing services division ; and all of them at-
tend the semimonthly meetings the Employer holds
for its supervisory personnel. All but two of these
RN's are employed on the day shift, one of the two
others is employed on the evening shift, and the other
on the night shift . Each of those on the day shift
heads one of the various patient care units the hospi-
tal maintains, viz ambulatory care , operating and re-
covery room, mental health , intensive care , maternal
and child health unit , and two medical-surgical units.
Each such unit-other than the recovery room-is
regularly staffed with a head nurse , a senior staff
nurse, staff nurses , licensed practical nurses (LPN's),
aides, orderlies , and ward clerks . The supervisor on
the evening shift and the supervisor on the night shift
have charge of all these units on their respective
shifts, and are frequently the only individuals ap-
pearing to possess any supervisory attributes in the
nursing services division who are physically present,
as a regular matter, during their respective shifts.
Supervisors or nurse leaders on the day shift are
directly responsible for the direction of the work ac-
tivities of the employees assigned to the respective
unit which each heads. In performing these responsi-
bilities, they make the kind of decisions reflecting the
"exercise of professional judgment " not only affect-
ing the care of patients but also affecting the employ-
ment conditions of the employees involved and
3 Wing Memorial Hospital, 217 NLRB No. 172 (1975). Cf. S. Rept. 93-
766, 93d Cong. 2d Sess . 6 (April 2, 1974)
6 The starting pay for grade 5 is $5.88 per hour and reaches a maximum of
$7.49 per hour. Staff nurses who are at grade I of the professional wage
scale receive a starting pay of $4.72 per hour and reach a maximum of $5.92
per hour.
which are therefore of a type properly to be de-
scribed as reflecting the exercise of supervisory au-
thority within the meaning of the Act. Thus, each has
authority to direct or approve overtime work, to re-
vise work schedules, to transfer nursing or other per-
sonnel either on a temporary ("floating") basis with-
in departments or on a permanent basis from one
departmental unit to another, to evaluate the perfor-
mance of the employees involved, and to effectively
recommend action with respect to the hiring and the
discharge of employees.
We find, accordingly, that supervisors and nurse
leaders are supervisors within the meaning of the
Act, and we shall therefore exclude them from the
unit.
Assistant supervisors who are employed on the
night and evening shifts have responsibilities compa-
rable to those of supervisors on the day shift. As not-
ed, there is only one supervisor on hand on each of
these shifts, and the overall responsibility of each ex-
tends to all of the patient care units. Accordingly,
each such supervisor relies heavily on assistant super-
visors to direct the employees performing the essen-
tial patient care duties, as assigned. Each such assis-
tant supervisor possesses and exercises authority to
issue reprimands, and to relieve nursing and other
personnel from duty as a disciplinary measure or for
other reasons of choice. Each may and does make
changes in staff assignments where such course is
deemed necessary. Each may and does make recom-
mendations with respect to the permanent transfer of
RN's from one unit to another, and when she has
done so the recommendation has been followed.
Each is expected to and does in fact customarily as-
sist the supervisor on her shift in the preparation of
the formal evaluation of the employees whose work
they direct, and such evaluations play an important
role in the implementation of promotions and/or re-
lated personnel policies which can affect the pay and
status of employees.
We find from the foregoing facts that the assistant
supervisors on the evening and night shifts, like the
supervisors, responsibly direct nursing and other per-
sonnel on their respective shifts and possess such in-
dicia of supervision as taking disciplinary action and
making assignments , transfers, and evaluations. Ac-
cordingly, we conclude that the six evening and night
assistant supervisors are supervisors within the mean-
ing of the Act and we shall, therefore, exclude them
from the unit.'
There is one RN on the day shift who, although
classified as an assistant supervisor (Jean Rubinstein)
7 We note also that if the assistant supervisors on evening and night shifts
are not considered to be supervisors within the meaning of the Act there
would be only one statutory supervisor for approximately 167 and 81 nurs-
ing and nonnursing personnel on the evening and night shifts, respectively.
NEWTON-WELLESLEY HOSPITAL 701
may or may not possess supervisory status. She is
part of the professional nursing staff assigned to the
operating room and works there together with a su-
pervisor, a head nurse, and 9 or 10 staff nurses. Ru-
binstein occasionally functions as a scrub nurse,
manages the flow of work in the operating room, and
assigns lunch and other breaks to the staff. Although
Rubinstein gives some direction to other nursing per-
sonnel "in the exercise of professional judgment,"
and makes personnel assignments for lunch and
breaks, its appears that team leaders, i.e., staff nurses
who are assigned to lead a team of nurses, also make
such assignments. Although Rubinstein substitutes
for the supervisor of the operating room and re-
covery room, there is no evidence as to how often
such substitution occurs. Because of the lack of de-
finitive evidence upon which to make a finding as to
her alleged supervisory status we shall allow her to
vote in the election subject to challenge.
Head nurses: The division of nursing services em-
ploys 18 head nurses, all of whom are employed on
the day shift and all of whom are grade 3 of the
professional wage scale .8 They work in the depart-
mental units within the nursing services division un-
der either a supervisor or a nurse leader. They are
immediately responsible for seeing to it that the
teams of hospital personnel assigned the tasks of car-
ing for the patients within their units deliver all of the
nursing and prescribed health care services the pa-
tients need.
In accord with hospital routine each such team is
composed of RN's, LPN's, aides, and orderlies, and
each departmental unit has at least one team. The
head nurse designates the particular individuals who
will form a team , and in most instances also assigns
one of the RN's to serve as team leader for I day. In
some instances , however, departmental unit team
leaders are selected under a rotation scheme. Under
this scheme, the RN who is team leader for the day
designates which RN's will administer to particular
patients.
In performing their responsibilities, head nurses
instruct staff nurses and other members of the teams
about the performance of their tasks and about pa-
tient care procedures. They also work along with the
staff nurses until they are certain that the latter un-
derstand and are following the prescribed proce-
dures. They transmit and clarify doctors' orders and
insure that they are followed; they "trouble shoot"
for problems which staff nurses perceive in patient
care; they recommend additional training for RN's
and the acquisition of additional equipment to im-
prove patient care in their units; they make rounds to
evaluate patient care and to insure its proper delivery
by staff nurses ; and they also perform direct patient
care tasks as needed.9
They do not attend the semimonthly meetings held
for supervisors, nurse leaders, and assistant supervi-
sors; however, along with assistant head nurses, se-
nior staff nurses, the supervisor of central supply ser-
vice, and the head nurse of parenteral therapy, they
attend meetings with the director of nursing services.
The record reveals that the typical topics of conver-
sation at these latter meetings concern the medica-
tion system and the proper functioning of the laun-
dry system. These meetings are chaired by a head
nurse who is chosen for a 1-year term by her peers.
(The meetings attended by the supervisors, nurse
leaders, and assistant supervisor, on the other hand,
are chaired by the director of nursing services.) The
record further reveals that the topic of one of the
supervisors' meetings was "the supervisors' role in
collective-bargaining" in which the implications of
the 1974 National Labor Relations Act amendments
were discussed. There is no comparable evidence that
such topic was ever discussed at the meetings attend-
ed by the head nurses.
Unlike the supervisors and nurse leaders, to whom
the head nurses report, the head nurses have no au-
thority to hire or discharge any employee or to effec-
tively recommend any such action. Nor are they au-
thorized to revise work schedules, approve overtime,
or transfer employees between departmental units.
Although they are called upon by supervisors to eval-
uate the performance of employees assigned to their
units and sign evaluation sheets together with the su-
pervisors, the record shows that supervisors do not
rely solely on the opinion of head nurses in evaluat-
ing the potential of employees for promotion or re-
tention, but seek information from a variety of per-
sonnel . Head nurses do not discipline employees
beyond the stage of verbal reprimand, and may re-
lieve an RN from duty only when the RN is suspect-
ed of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol
i.e., conditions which would endanger the care of the
patient. Both such actions may be taken by those
RN's who are classified as charge nurses and who are
conceded by the parties to be nonsupervisors.
The foregoing facts viewed as a whole reveal that
the duties and authority of head nurses in assigning
employees to team leader positions are principally
the product of highly professional skills and do not,
without more, constitute an exercise of supervisory
authority in the interest of the Employer. In these
circumstances , head nurses are essentially "resource
9 Three of the four head nurses who testified in this proceeding testified
without contradiction that they spend between 70 and 90 percent of their
Grade 3 starts at $5.21 per hour and has a maximum of $6.49 per hour time in direct patient care.
702 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
persons" who are looked to by the other RN's and
nonnursing personnel for advice and counsel in the
care of patients . Accordingly , we find that the head
nurses are not supervisors as defined in the Act and
we shall include them in the unit.
Senior staff nurses/assistant head nurses : There are
10 RN's classified as senior staff nurses , and 3 as
assistant head nurses . Both classifications are grade 2
of the professional wage scale . 1° Both assistant head
nurses and senior staff nurses who work in units
where team nursing is utilized may function as team
leaders on some days and as members of a team on
others . They regularly replace head nurses in their
respective units and perform their functions , and the
Employer claims therefore that they also should be
found to be supervisors . Thus, our determination of
their status turns on our resolution of the Employer's
basic contention as to the supervisory status of the
head nurses they replace . As we have rejected the
contention that head nurses are supervisors , it fol-
lows, and we find , that senior staff nurses and assis-
tant head nurses are not supervisors within the mean-
ing of the Act . We shall therefore include them in the
unit."
Coordinator of continuing care : The coordinator of
continuing care is a position occupied at the time of
the hearing by Marion Kearn , a registered nurse. The
Employer contends she is either a supervisory or
managerial employee . In support of this position it
adduced evidence that her main function is to "inte-
grate the practices and principles of Community
Health Nursing into the hospital setting to enhance
the discharge planning process and provide optimal
continuity of patient care ." To that end the incum-
bent is responsible for helping to formulate and carry
out hospital policy respecting the assignment of pa-
tients to levels of care and the evaluation of outside
facilities for continuing care of hospital patients. She
reports directly to the director of nursing services
and is listed at grade 5 on the hospital 's professional
wage scale . She attends management staff meetings
with the director of nursing services , occupies a semi-
private office in the main nursing office, and shares
the director's secretary . She consults with nurses and
physicians concerning the kinds and quality of facili-
ties that are available to patients who are about to be
discharged and she spends considerable time in edu-
cating the hospital staff to inform them of a patient's
postdischarge needs. She visits nursing homes and
10 The minimum wage for grade 2 is $4 .94 per hour and has a maximum
of $6.13 per hour.
11 If we were to find that head nurses , assistant head nurses , and senior
staff nurses are in fact supervisors, it would result in a ratio of I supervisor
to 2.5 (professional) employees on the day shift . Because we find that head
nurses, assistant head nurses , and senior staff nurses are not supervisors, the
resulting supervisor to (professional ) employee ratio is I to 9.6.
extended care facilities to assess the level of care they
provide and makes recommendations to the hospital
as to whether such facilities are appropriate for the
hospital's patients.
Kearn had no subordinates at the time of the hear-
ing but there was undisputed evidence that at least
one additional position had been budgeted for the
continuing care department for the coming year; and
the job description for the continuing care coordina-
tor position lists among the duties of its occupant the
supervision of department members.
On the evidence before us, we cannot conclusively
determine whether the coordinator of continuing
care is a supervisor or a managerial" employee. We
shall, therefore, permit her to vote in the election
subject to challenge.
Staff education coordinator: The hospital maintains
an in-service and continuing education program op-
erated by an RN designated as the staff education
coordinator and two other RN's known as in-service
instructors. The Employer would exclude the staff
education coordinator as a supervisor. We find no
persuasive evidence of supervisory authority over
other RN's. Thus, although there was testimony that
the staff education coordinator evaluates nurses dur-
ing their probationary period for purposes of reten-
tion and transmits her recommendations to the direc-
tor or to the assistant director of nursing services, the
two in-service instructors who the parties agreed
should be included in the unit also submit evalua-
tions , and the director and the assistant director ap-
parently seek out the opinions of other individuals
who have come in contact with a new nurse's perfor-
mance.
There was evidence that the staff education coor-
dinator hires and fires aides and orderlies. But the
record does not indicate whether her activities in this
regard consume more than 50 percent of her time."
With respect to her alleged managerial status, the re-
cord shows that the staff education coordinator is
responsible for developing and organizing new edu-
cation programs for nursing personnel. But we can-
not tell from the record before us whether her activi-
ty in this respect is the kind which would confer
supervisory or managerial status under established
definitions . Because we cannot determine from the
current state of the record whether she is a supervisor
and/or a managerial employee, we shall permit the
12 The Board defines managerial employees as those who formulate and
effectuate management policies by expressing and making operative the
decisions of their employer , and those who have discretion in the perfor-
mance of theirjobs independent of their employer's established policy Gen-
eral Dynamics Corporation, Convair Aerospace Division , San Diego Opera-
tions, 213 NLRB 851, and cases cited therein at In. 20 (1974).
13 Westinghouse Electric Corporation, 163 NLRB 723, 726-727 (1967);
Adelpht University, 195 NLRB 639 , 644 (1972); Automobile Club of Missouri,
209 NLRB 614 (1974)
NEWTON-WELLESLEY HOSPITAL
staff education coordinator to vote in the election
subject to challenge.
On-call nurses: The hospital employs approximate-
ly 29 "on-call" nurses, all of whom the Employer
would exclude as casual employees but whom Peti-
tioner would include as regular part-time employees.
They are all registered nurses who have indicated
that they are available for work at certain specified
times and are willing to be called by the hospital
whenever extra help is needed. Other than the fact
that on-call nurses do not work pursuant to a prear-
ranged schedule, work less hours and less regularly
than full-time staff nurses, and do not share in the
Employer's fringe benefit program,14 there are no dif-
ferences between them and their full-time counter-
parts. They work throughout all of the various hospi-
tal units within the division of nursing services and
perform the same functions, in the same manner, and
under the same working conditions and supervision
as the other staff nurses . Furthermore, the payroll
record submitted for the period June 1 to September
1, 1974, shows that a substantial number of the on-
call nurses worked regularly during most of the pay
periods occurring within that timespan and some of
them appeared to have worked for longer periods of
time and on a more frequent basis therein than the
"part-time permanent" nurses whom the parties
agreed to include in the unit."
The few differences existing between on-call and
full-time nurses , as discussed above, have been found
by the Board to be insufficient to warrant the unit
exclusion of part-time employees who would other-
wise qualify for inclusion in the unit.16 As it appears
that the on-call nurses work on a regular, though un-
scheduled, basis covering most pay periods during
the year and perform the same tasks, in the same
areas as the RN's who are included in the unit, thus
sharing a strong community of interest with them, we
find they are regular part-time registered nurses and
shall include them in the unit herein found appropri-
ate.17
With respect to the eligibility of the on-call nurses
to vote in the election we note that, in a prior repre-
sentation proceeding before the Massachusetts La-
bor Commission, the parties agreed to permit on-call
nurses to vote if they had worked 30 or more hours in
14 Part -time limited nurses, i.e., RN 's who work less than 20 hours per
week , whom the parties agreed to include in the unit, also do not receive any
fringe benefits.w
Part -time permanent nurses are defined by the Employer to be those
RN's who work in excess of 20 hours per week . Like full-time RN's they
receive certain fringe benefits.
16 Anne Arundel General Hospital, Inc., 217 NLRB No. 148 (1975); Quigley
Industries, Inc., 180 NLRB 486 (1969); Scoa, Inc., 140 NLRB 1379 (1963).
17 Anne Arundel General Hospital , Inc., supra There is evidence that one of
the on-call nurses functions solely as an admitting officer when called for
duty. For the reasons given infra, we shall exclude her from the unit.
703
the 11-week period between January 1, 1972, to
March 18, 1972. We find that this formula does not
conflict with the Board's treatment of eligibility for-
mulae for on-call employees." Such formula has the
added virtue of representing the prior agreement of
the parties, and we see no reason why this formula
should not be applied in the instant proceeding.
Therefore, we shall direct that those on-call nurses
who have worked a minimum of 30 hours in the I1-
week period immediately preceding the date of is-
suance of this Decision and Direction of Election
shall be eligible to vote.19
B. Division of Administration
Head nurse of parenteral therapy: Jane Rawlings is
the current head nurse of parenteral therapy, a hospi-
tal service assigned to the pathology department.
Rawlings is in charge of 18 staff nurses assigned to
parenteral therapy to provide services to patients
throughout the hospital on a 24-hour-per-day basis.
The services involve giving patients intravenous solu-
tions or blood transfusions, or drawing their blood.
As head nurse, Rawlings is responsible for insuring
that patient needs of the nursing services division
above described are properly and adequately covered
and filled on a 24-hour basis.
As part of her day-to-day performance of her re-
sponsibilities Rawlings makes up the work schedules
(including vacation schedules) of RN's on a 6-month
rotating basis, and revises the schedules as necessary
to satisfy the needs of the department. She has the
authority to determine whether overtime should be
worked and which nurse should work it, and to pass
on employee requests for time off. Rawlings also
conducts initial interviews with applicants who seek
work in her department, advises and makes a recom-
mendation to the chief pathologist on the applicant's
suitability, and the latter then interviews the appli-
cant in Rawling's presence and makes the hiring de-
cision . In so doing, the chief pathologist invariably
has acted in accord with Rawling's recommenda-
tions.
We find on the foregoing facts that, unlike the
other head nurses described supra, the head nurse of
parenteral therapy possesses and exercises superviso-
ry authority within the meaning of the Act with re-
spect to the RN's in her charge. We shall therefore
exclude the head nurse of parenteral therapy from
the unit.
Supervisor of central supply service: The hospital
employs a supervisor of central supply service, a po-
18 Jai Transportation Corp, 128 NLRB 780 (1960); Checker Cab Company,
141 NLRB 583 (1963); Fresno Auto Auction , Inc, 167 NLRB 878 (1967).
19 Cf. Anne Arundel General Hospital, Inc, supra, and cases cited therein at
fn. 4.
704 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
sition occupied at the time of the hearing by Barbara
Allen. There are approximately 32 individuals, most
of whom are aides, employed in central supply ser-
vice. None of these individuals is a registered nurse.
Allen's assistant supervisor, who directs the unit
when Allen is not present, also is not a registered
nurse. Although Allen wears a nurse's uniform, she is
not required to do so. According to the Employer
there is no requirement that the supervisor of central
supply service be a registered nurse. The record re-
veals, however, that when the position was classified
within the division of nursing services one of the re-
quirements included in the position description was
that the occupant be a graduate of a school of nurs-
ing and be a member of the American Nurses Asso-
ciation. Since the position has been classified within
the hospital's administration division, the occupant
has always been a registered nurse.
Nonetheless, central supply is organizationally
separate and apart from the nursing services division.
Allen has an office of her own in the central core of
the central supply area . She is in grade 5 of the
hospital's professional wage scale, the highest labor
grade on the hospital's pay schedule. Allen is a mem-
ber of the infection control committee, the nursing
practices committee, the products committee, and
the head nurses committee, all of which are com-
posed of RN's. Allen has a substantial knowledge of
sterilization techniques and the kinds of equipment
and supplies used by RN's in the care of patients.
Thus, because of her knowledge of nursing tech-
niques and her close daily contact with other RN's it
appears that the supervisor of central supply service
is performing, inter alia, certain nursing functions.
The record, however, presents contradictory evi-
dence as to her alleged supervisory and/or manageri-
al status. For example, although she supervises cer-
tain nonnursing personnel there is no evidence as to
what percentage of her time is spent in this activity
and the fact that she makes effective reports for the
purchasing of new equipment does not without more
confer upon her the status of a managerial employee.
We shall, therefore, permit the supervisor of central
supply service to vote in the election subject to chal-
lenge.
Admitting officers: The hospital employes five
admtting officers, including the chief admitting offi-
cer and one on-call admitting officer. Although all
the admitting officers now employed are RN's,20 they
provide no direct patient care, perform no related
professional duties, and have no day-to-day- work
contacts with RN's or other patient care personnel.
20 The hospital also employs approximately nine admitting clerks, none of
whom are RN's
They obtain data from patients in accordance with
preestablished forms, make room assignments, and
in general see to it that patients are properly admit-
ted to and discharged from the hospital. The hospital
does not require that its admitting officers be RN's,
and places them for pay purposes on the nonprofes-
sional wage scale . We find, in accord with the
Employer's contention, that the admitting officers
perform clerical rather than professional functions.
We shall therefore exclude them from the profession-
al unit sought herein.21
C. The School of Nursing
Chairmen in Nursing Education: The school of
nursing employs four chairmen in nursing education,
all of whom are RN's. One is the chairman of first
year nursing, while the other three are all chairmen
of various departments within second year nursing
(sometimes referred to as Level II Nursing).
All of the faculty, including the chairmen, meet as
a group in each department and resolve by consensus
questions concerning scheduling, course outline, and
assignments of the individual instructors. The course
content is developed by the department chairman in
cooperation with the faculty in her department. The
chairmen are allowed to make "minor" changes in
course content but only in collaboration with the de-
partment members. "Major" changes in course con-
tent must be approved by the curriculum committee
composed of the chairmen, the coordinator of the
second year (see infra ), and the assistant director
and the director of the school. Final approval for
major changes must be given by the faculty council
which includes all full-time, faculty. Prospective in-
structors must be interviewed by the director or her
designated representative, usually the assistant direc-
tor. After an interview with the director or her dele-
gate the applicant is sent to the chairman of the de-
partment in which she will serve or to other faculty
members in that department whose recommenda-
tions are considered.
Under the school's guidelines, promotions depend
on preparation and experience, professional mem-
bership and activities, and formal or informal evalua-
tions by other faculty members and/or students;
they are subject to the approval of the director and
the assistant director. The faculty as a whole devel-
ops guidelines and objectives for faculty evaluations.
The faculty member being evaluated writes an evalu-
ation of herself, and her chairman writes another.
Additional evaluations may be obtained from stu-
dents and other faculty members. The main function
s' Admitting officers are at grade 13 of the nonprofessional wage scale.
That grade starts at $3.41 per hour and has a maximum pf $4.82 per hour.
NEWTON-WELLESLEY HOSPITAL 705
of such evaluations is to identify the strengths and
weaknesses of each faculty member. Final authority
for approving a pay raise rests with the director.
The chairmen of the various departments do not
reprimand faculty members, rather, they counsel, i.e.,
suggest or discuss, various ideas with the faculty in
their respective departments. The director has final
authority concerning the discharge of faculty mem-
bers.
Like faculty members, chairmen engage in the
teaching of courses within their respective depart-
ments. Chairmen are required to have a higher level
of education and a greater level of experience than
instructors. Chairmen receive higher pay than in-
structors and assistant instructors. 2
Based on the foregoing it is apparent that decisions
as to the appointment, promotion, and retention of
faculty members are not made by the chairmen but
by the director and assistant director. To the extent
that the chairmen's recommendations concerning
these matters are given weight and perhaps more
weight than those of the faculty members and stu-
dents, this appears to reflect the chairmen's superior
knowledge and experience and does not indicate pos-
session of the type of authority contemplated in the
statutory definition of supervisor. The chairmen do
not direct the work of faculty members; nor do they
prepare the budget for the school or their depart-
ments. Their authority with regard to course content
is clearly a collegial one; i.e., whatever authority the
chairmen possess is shared with other faculty mem-
bers and with the director and the assistant director
of the school. The record does not indicate that
chairmen may make final selections for hiring, or
have the authority to discharge or effectively recom-
mend discharge or pay raises. We therefore conclude
that department chairmen are not supervisors within
the meaning of the Act.23 We further find they are
not managerial employees for, as is evidenced by
their lack of control over budgetary and personnel
policies, they do not possess any executive-type au-
thority to formulate and effectuate management poli-
cies. We shall therefore include the department
chairmen in the unit.
Coordinator of the second year: The position of the
coordinator of the second year, a position occupied
at the time of the hearing by Shirley Knowland, is
responsbile for coordinating all courses given during
the second year of the school's 2-year program so as
22 Instructors are at grade 5 and assistant instructors are at grade 4 of the
hospital's professional wage scale . Chairmen who are also at grade 5 are,
however, at a higher "step" so that they receive approximately $7 to $25
more per week than instructors.
23 Fordham University, 214 NLRB No. 137 (1974); University of Miami,
213 NLRB 634 (1974); Fairleigh-Dickinson University, 205 NLRB 673
(1973); Rosary Hill College, 202 NLRB 1137 (1973).
to achieve the educational objectives of the school.
To that end Knowland meets with the three chair-
men of second year nursing, identified supra, at least
once a week either individually or on a group basis to
discuss student problems, curriculum changes, and
scheduling problems.
There is no evidence that the coordinator of the
second year hires or fires employees or disciplines
them. There is some evidence that she submits rec-
ommendations concerning the hiring of applicants
for employment, submits annual evaluations of per-
formance of the second year chairmen to the director
or to the assistant director of the school, and substi-
tutes for the latter individuals when they are both
away from the school. Indeed, she is then in charge
of the school. The record reveals that she evaluates
the department secretary-who performs work for all
second year faculty members-and assigns work to
her. She also deals with outside agencies and recom-
mends the commitment of certain funds for the
school's use.
The record does not clearly reveal the purpose or
the use made of the evaluations which the coordina-
tor of the second year submits to the director and the
assistant director of the school. Although she submits
recommendations concerning the hiring of instruc-
tors, so do those faculty members who have inter-
viewed applicants for employment; and it appears
the director and the assistant director give all such
recommendations filed with them the same weight in
their determinations as to an applicant's suitability
for employment. There is no evidence that the coor-
dinator of the second year exercises any statutory
authority over the department secretary and the fact
that a professional employee may have a secretary
does not necessarily constitute her a supervisor.24
Nor does the record show the extent of her authority
to disburse school funds. On the other hand, we note
that Knowland substitutes for the director and the
assistant director whenever they are both absent. We
cannot close our eyes to the fact that Knowland, af-
ter the director and the assistant director, appears to
be the ranking person within the school of nursing
hierarchy. Nevertheless, the record evidence will not
permit us to determine whether she is a supervisor
and/or a managerial employee. We shall therefore
permit her to vote subject to challenge.
Admissions and financial aid coordinator: The coor-
dinator of admissions and financial aid, a position
occupied at the time of the hearing by Kathleen De-
lany, is responsible for the recruitment and admis-
sions activities of the school and for the administra-
tion of the financial aid fund distributed to
24 Fordham University, 193 NLRB 134, 138 (7971).
706 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
students?5 Although Delany is a registered nurse,
that professional qualification is not a condition of
hire for the position she occupies but is only a prefer-
ential attribute sought in the applicant. Delany is re-
sponsible for knowing the sources of available funds
for financial aid made available to students, collect-
ing loan repayments from students, and handling ad-
missions and transfers of students . She is not en-
gaged to any degree either in patient care, as the staff
nurses are, or in the training of nursing students, as
the instructors and assistant instructors are. It is
plain, therefore, and we find, that she is not perform-
ing any professional nursing work, but rather is en-
gaged in purely administrative functions for the stu-
dents' benefit. We conclude, accordingly, that she
lacks a community of interest with other members of
the unit sought herein. We shall therefore exclude her
from the RN professional unit.26
25 In 1973 that fund amounted to $60,000.
26 In so finding we need not reach nor pass upon the Employer' s alterna-
tive contentions that Delany is a supervisor and/or a managerial employee
Conclusion
Upon the entire record and for the aforementioned
reasons we find the following unit to be appropriate
for the purposes of collective-bargaining within the
meaning of Section 9(b) of the Act:
All full-time and regular part-time registered
nurses employed by Newton-Wellesley Hospital
in its hospital and school of nursing including
staff nurses , head nurses , assistant head nurses,
senior staff nurses , instructors , assistant instruc-
tors, and the chairmen in nursing education, but
excluding the director and the assistant director
of the nursing services division, the director and
the assistant director of the school of nursing,
the chief radiologic technologist, the medical
records transcriber, admitting officers, supervi-
sors, nurse leaders, assistant supervisors (on the
evening and night shifts), the coordinator of ad-
missions and financial aid, managerial employ-
ees, guards and supervisors as defined in the
Act, and all other employees.
[Direction of Election and Excelsior footnote omit-
ted from publication.]