SW General, Inc. d/b/a American Medical Response

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 12, 2018

28-CA-192959 (N.L.R.B. Apr. 12, 2018)

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
BEFORE THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
SW GENERAL, INC. d/b/a AMERICAN MEDICAL
RESPONSE
and Case 28-CA-192959
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIRE
FIGHTERS, LOCAL I-60
DECISION AND ORDER
Statement of the Case
On October 4, 2017, SW General, Inc. d/b/a American Medical Response (the
Respondent), Charging Party International Association of Fire Fighters, Local I-60 (the
Union), and the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board entered into a
Formal Settlement Stipulation, subject to the Board’s approval, providing for the issuance
of a Board Order and the entry of a court judgment enforcing the Order by any appropriate
United States Court of Appeals. The parties also agreed that the terms of the Board's
Order shall be embodied in a consent petition and order for temporary injunction under
Section 10(e) of the Act, which will be filed in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and shall
remain in full force and effect until entry by the Ninth Circuit of a judgment enforcing the
Board’s Order. The parties waived all further and other proceedings before the Board to
which they may be entitled under the National Labor Relations Act and the Board’s Rules
and Regulations, and the parties waived their rights to contest the entry of a court
judgment or to receive further notice of the application therefor.
The National Labor Relations Board has delegated its authority in this proceeding to
a three-member panel.
The Formal Settlement Stipulation is approved and made a part of the record, and
the proceeding is transferred to and continued before the Board in Washington, D.C., for
the entry of a Decision and Order pursuant to the provisions of the Formal Settlement
Stipulation.
Based on the Formal Settlement Stipulation and the entire record, the Board makes
the following
Findings of Fact
1. The Respondent’s business
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(a) The Respondent is a corporation with offices and places of business in the
State of Arizona (the Respondent's Arizona facilities), where it is engaged in providing
emergency medical transportation services.
(b) In conducting its operations during the 12-month period ending February 13,
2017, the Respondent purchased and received at the Respondent's Arizona facilities
goods valued in excess of $50,000 directly from points outside the State of Arizona.
(c) The Respondent is now, and has been at all material times, an employer
engaged in commerce within the meaning of Section 2(2), (6), and (7) of the Act.
2. The labor organization involved
The Union is a labor organization within the meaning of Section 2(5) of the Act.
ORDER
Based on the above findings of fact, the Formal Settlement Stipulation, and the
entire record, and pursuant to Section 10(c) of the National Labor Relations Act, the
National Labor Relations Board orders that the Respondent, SW General, Inc. d/b/a
American Medical Response, Sun City, Arizona, its officers, agents, successors and
assigns, shall
1. Cease and desist from
(a) Failing and refusing to bargain collectively with the Union as the exclusive
collective-bargaining representative of its employees in the following unit (the unit):
All full time and regular part-time EMT, EMT-I, Paramedics and Registered Nurses
employed by the Respondent, excluding any on-call part-time employees, office
clerical employees, guards, watchmen and supervisors as defined in the Act.
(b) Bypassing the Union and dealing directly with its employees in the unit
concerning changes in their wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment,
including by soliciting employees to change their starting locations, shifts and/or
schedules.
(c) Failing and refusing to provide the Union with requested information that is
necessary for, and relevant to, the Union's performance of its duties as the exclusive
collective-bargaining representative of the unit.
(d) Making changes to the wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of
employment of employees in the unit, or changes affecting the wages, hours, and other
terms and conditions of employment of employees in the unit, without first notifying the
Union or affording it an opportunity to bargain about this conduct and/or the effects of this
conduct, including by closing stations without first affording the Union an opportunity to
bargain with respect to the effects of this conduct.
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(e) Failing to continue in effect all terms and conditions of the collective-bargaining
agreement with the Union without the Union's consent.
(f) In any like or related manner interfering with, restraining or coercing its
employees in the exercise of their right to self-organization, to form labor organizations, to
join or assist the Union or any other labor organization, to bargain collectively through
representatives of their own choosing and to engage in other concerted activities for the
purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection, or to refrain from any
and all such activities.
2. Take the following affirmative action necessary to effectuate the policies of the
Act.
(a) Within 14 days from issuance of the Board's Order, provide the Union with the
following information that it requested on February 13, 2017, and March 4, 2017:
i. [a] copy of the Sun City contract and any memorandums of understanding,
amendments or addendum;
ii. reports showing call volume for Sun City units over the last six months;
iii. copies of any and all contracts and agreements, including any addendums or
modifications, between AMR (and [its] subsidiaries and affiliates) with
municipalities or districts located in the impacted area(s);
iv. [c]all volume data for the areas impacted by the proposed posting plan
showing six (6) months of data to include call dispatch time, incident location,
and total response time;
v. [s]taffing logs for all units in the proposed posting plan for the prior six (6)
months which show units in service for the impacted area(s);
vi. a list of all units which have been downed (e.g. not staffed due to
nonapproved OT, moved to another unit, etc.) in the past six (6) months;
vii. a copy of the current West Valley posting plan;
viii. a copy of the proposed West Valley posting plan; and
ix. a copy of the lease for station 132.
(b) Upon request, bargain collectively with the Union as the exclusive
representative of the employees in the unit, with respect to any proposed changes to the
wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment of employees in the unit and
the effects of proposed changes on the wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of
employment of employees in the unit.
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(c) Limit changes or modifications to deployment plans to no more than twice per
year while affording the Union contractually required notice and an opportunity to bargain
with respect to this conduct.
(d) Ensure bargaining unit members are permitted to staff units which comprise the
properly negotiated deployment plan(s).
(e) Within 14 days from issuance of the Board's Order, make whole the employees
named below by crediting each with twelve (12) hours of paid time off (PTO):
VonBrandt, Trygva; Thompson, Jason; Aldridge, Jesse; Maloney, Dan; King, Josh;
Morales, Andres; Heimburg, Erik; Atkinson, Jennifer; Jojola, Raymond; Webster, Ron
(f) Within 14 days of service by the Region, post at all stations and facilities where it
employs employees in the unit, copies of the attached notice marked “Appendix A” in
English, and any other languages deemed appropriate by the Regional Director. Copies of
the notice, on forms provided by Region 28, after being signed by the Respondent’s
authorized representative, shall be posted by the Respondent and maintained for 60
consecutive days in conspicuous places, including all places where notices to employees
are customarily posted. The Respondent will take reasonable steps to ensure that the
notices are not altered, defaced or covered by any other material. In the event that, during
the pendency of these proceedings, the Respondent has gone out of business or closed
any stations or facilities where it employs unit employees, the Respondent shall duplicate
and mail, at its own expense, a copy of the notice to all current employees and former
employees employed by the Respondent at any time since November 16, 2016.
(g) Within 14 days of service by the Region, distribute copies of the attached
notices marked “Appendix A” in English, and any other languages deemed appropriate by
the Regional Director, after being signed by the Respondent's authorized representative,
electronically, by email to all employees in the unit, posting on an intranet or an internet
site, or other electronic means, if the Respondent customarily communicates with its
employees by such means. The electronic posting shall remain posted for 60 consecutive
days from the date it was originally posted. The Respondent will email the Region's
Compliance Officer at cheryl.leavengood@nlrb.gov with a link to the electronic posting
location on the same day as the posting. In the event that passwords or other log-on
information is required to access the electronic posting, the Respondent agrees to provide
such access information to the Region's Compliance Officer. If the Notice is distributed via
email, the Respondent will forward a copy of the email distributed to the Regional
Compliance Officer.
(h) This stipulation is subject to the approval of the Board and, immediately upon
the approval by the Board, it will be retroactively effective to the date of execution of the
stipulation.
(i) Within 21 days after service by the Region, file with the Regional Director a
sworn certificate of a responsible official on a form provided by the Region attesting to the
steps that the Respondent has taken to comply.
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Dated, Washington, D.C., April 12, 2018
___________________________________
Marvin E. Kaplan, Chairman
___________________________________
Lauren McFerran, Member
___________________________________
William J. Emanuel, Member
(SEAL) NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
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APPENDIX A
NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES
POSTED BY ORDER OF THE
NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
An Agency of the United States Government
PURSUANT TO A STIPULATION PROVIDING
FOR A BOARD ORDER AND A CONSENT JUDGMENT
OF ANY APPROPRIATE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FEDERAL LAW GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO:
Form, join, or assist a union
Choose a representative to bargain with us on your behalf
Act together with other employees for your benefit and protection
Choose not to engage in any of these protected activities.
WE WILL NOT do anything to prevent you from exercising the above rights.
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIRE FIGHTERS, LOCAL I-60 (the Union) is the
employees’ representative in dealing with us regarding wages, hours and other working
conditions of the employees in the following unit (the unit):
All full time and regular part time EMT, EMT-I, Paramedics and Registered Nurses,
excluding any on-call part-time employees, office clerical employees, guards,
watchmen, and supervisors as defined in the Act.
WE WILL NOT, upon request, refuse to bargain in good faith with the Union as the
exclusive collective-bargaining representative of employees in the unit.
WE WILL NOT bypass the Union and deal directly with employees in the unit concerning
changes in unit employees’ wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment,
including by soliciting employees to change their starting locations, shifts and/or
schedules.
WE WILL NOT fail and refuse to provide the Union with requested information that is
necessary for and relevant to its performance of its duties as the exclusive collective
bargaining representative of the unit.
WE WILL NOT make changes to your wages, hours or other terms and conditions of
employment without notifying the Union and affording the Union an opportunity to bargain
with us with respect to this conduct and/or the effects of this conduct, and, if such changes
are inconsistent with our collective bargaining agreement with the Union, without the
Union's consent.
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WE WILL NOT close our facilities without first notifying the Union and affording the Union
an opportunity to bargain over the effects of the closure.
WE WILL NOT prevent unit employees from staffing units which comprise the negotiated
deployment plan.
WE WILL NOT in any like or related manner interfere with your rights under Section 7 of
the Act.
WE WILL within 14 days from issuance of the Board's Order, provide the Union with the
information that it requested on February 13, 2017, and March 4, 2017.
WE WILL, if requested by the Union, bargain collectively with the Union as the exclusive
representative of the employees in the unit, with respect to any proposed changes to the
wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment of employees in the unit and
the effects of proposed changes on the wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of
employment of employees in the unit.
WE WILL, upon request of the Union, immediately restore to our employees in the unit the
terms they enjoyed in our collective bargaining agreement with the Union before we
modified those terms, including by restoring all terms in the collective bargaining
agreement related to posting plans, shift bidding and assignments, changes in work
locations, and correspondence and notification to the Union of proposed changes to hours,
wages or working conditions not otherwise addressed within the Management Rights in the
collective bargaining agreement.
WE WILL, within 14 days from issuance of the Board's Order, make whole the employees
who were assigned to Stations 132 and 134 prior to the closure of those stations by
payment to them of a credit of twelve hours of paid time off.
SW GENERAL, INC. d/b/a AMERICAN MEDICAL
RESPONSE
The Board’s decision can be found at www.nlrb.gov/case/28-CA-192959 or by using the
QR code below. Alternatively, you can obtain a copy of the decision from the Executive
Secretary, National Labor Relations Board, 1015 Half St., S.E., Washington, D.C. 20570,
or by calling (202) 273-1940.