278 N.L.R.B. 80 (N.L.R.B. 1986)

The Community Hospital At Glen Cove

National Labor Relations Board - Board DecisionsJan 17, 1986

278 N.L.R.B. 80 (N.L.R.B. 1986)

80 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD The Community Hospital at Glen Cove and Local 810, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, Petitioner. Case 29-RC-4833 17 January 1986 DECISION ON REVIEW AND ORDER BY CHAIRMAN DOTSON AND MEMBERS DENNIS, JOHANSEN, AND BABSON On 26 March 1985 the Regional Director for Region 29 issued the attached Supplemental Deci- sion and Order. The Regional Director, applying the disparity-of-interests test set forth in St. Francis Hospital (St. Francis II), 271 NLRB 948 (1984), found that the interests of the petitioned-for unit of all full-time and regular part-time skilled and plant maintenance employees and those of the Employ- er's other nonprofessional employees were not suf- ficiently disparate to warrant a separate mainte- nance unit. In accordance with Section 102.67 of the Board's Rules and Regulations, the Petitioner filed a timely request for review of the Regional Director's deci- sion . By telegraphic order of 8 August 1985, the request for review was granted. The Board has reviewed the entire record in this case and has decided to affirm the Regional Direc- tor's Supplemental Decision and Order. According- ly, we shall vacate the election conducted on 2 April 1980 and dismiss the petition. ORDER The election conducted on 2 April 1980 is vacat- ed and the petition is dismissed. SUPPLEMENTAL DECISION AND ORDER Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9(c) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, a hearing was held before Steven M. Swirsky, a hearing officer of the National Labor Relations Board. On March 14, 1980, the undersigned issued a Decision and Direction of Elec- tion in which I found the following unit appropriate for the purpose of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9(b) of the Act: all full-time and regular part- time employees of the Engineering Department em- ployed by the Employer' at its Glen Cove, New York location, excluding all other employees, guards and su- pervisors as defined in the Act. Thereafter, the Employ- er filed a timely request for review of the aforesaid Deci- sion and Direction of Election. On April 2, 1980, an election was held in the aforesaid unit and the ballots were impounded.2 On September 29, 1983, the Board I The name of the Employer appears as stated at the hearing. 2 The Petitioner filed timely objections to conduct affecting the results of the election granted the Employer's request for review. On August 23, 1984, the Board remanded this proceeding to the un- dersigned for further consideration consistent with the Board's Decision and Order in St. Francis Hospital, 271 NLRB No. 160 (1984) (St. Francis II). Pursuant thereto, the hearing was reopened and held before David S. Cohen, a hearing officer of the National Labor Relations Board. Upon the entire record in this proceeding, I find: 1. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed. 2. No question affecting commerce exists concerning the representation of certain employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9(c)(1) and Section 2(6) and (7) of the Act for the following reasons: The Petitioner seeks to represent a unit of all full-time and regular part-time skilled and plant maintenance em- ployees, including carpenters, painters, plumbers, electri- cians, refrigeration engineers, stationary boiler engineers, locksmiths, 11 helpers, maintenance and utility employ- ees employed by the Employer at its premises located at St. Andrews Lane, Glen Cove, New York, excluding all other employees, office clerical employees, guards and supervisors as defined in the Act.3 The Petitioner is not willing to represent employees in any other unit found appropriate. The employee the Petitioner seeks to repre- sent work in the Engineering Department of the Em- ployer. At the first hearing, the Employer contended that the unit sought was inappropriate and argued that the only appropriate unit was a broad service and main- tenance unit. At the second hearing, the Employer argues that the hospital is a small functionally integrated facility and the only appropriate unit is a unit of all non- professional employees. However, the Employer takes the position that, if a unit of maintenance employees is deemed appropriate, such unit should include all employ- ees of the Engineering Department: Maintenance I,II,III workers, stationary boiler operators, painters, four lead- persons, construction, boiler plant, electrical, plumbing, maintenance and plant clerical employees.4 The hospital complex consists of four buildings con- nected by corridors or tunnels, with two additions built in 1983 for a total of 250,000 square feet. There is a sepa- rate mansion on the hospital grounds which houses the hospital's drug program. The hospital is a non-profit fa- cility with 279 beds and approximately 1100 employees. The registered nurses employed by the hospital are rep- resented by the New York State Nurses Association. There is no history of collective bargaining for any of the hospital's other employees. The hospital is divided into 27 departments in three broad areas: finance, medical, service and maintenance. The following departments fall within the service and maintenance area: engineering, building services, laun- a The unit appears as amended at the hearing 4 Although the Petitioner does not use the same job classifications as the Employer, the Petitioner's unit coincides with this alternate unit pro- posed by the Employer At the first hearing, the Petitioner raised the issue of whether the plant clericals were confidential employees. I found that they were not confidential employees and that they shared a commu- nity of interest with the other employees of the Engineering Department 278 NLRB No. 18 COMMUNITY HOSPITAL AT GLEN COVE dry, dietary, central supply; and purchasing. The Depart- ment Heads in the service and maintenance area report to Assistant Vice President Flanagan, except central supply reports to Assistant Vice President Willemin. The Department Heads in radiology and rehabilitative medi- cine also report to Assistant Vice President Flanagan. The daily operations of the Engineering Department are' supervised by its Department Head, the Chief Engi- neer, who -reports directly to Assistant Vice President Flanagan. After Flanagan approves a personnel requisi- tion form submitted by the Chief Engineer, the Director of Employee Relations refers suitable candidates for hire to the Chief Engineer. The Chief Engineer makes the final decision regarding hiring, disciplining and firing. The Chief Engineer may consult with the Director of Employee Relations prior to making serious disciplinary decisions. Such decisions may be reviewed by the Direc- tor of Employee Relations to insure compliance with hospital's policy. The Chief Engineer schedules vacations and necessary overtime; he completes evaluation forms on all Engineering Department employees annually. The authority of the Chief Engineer is the same as all other Department Heads; all follow the same procedures with respect to the hire, fire and discipline of employees. The Engineering Department is divided into four shops: plumbing/maintenance, electrical, paint and car- pentry. The Engineering Department, is responsible for maintaining the physical integrity of the hospital, building and equipment.5 Its employees exercise a wide range of skills and utilize various specialized tools and equipment. The hospital requires past experience for all job classifi- cations within the Engineering Department.6 The wage rates within the Engineering Department reflect the em- ployees' skills and experience. The majority of the Engi- neering Department employees are in pay grades 7-10; the majority of the other nonprofessional employees are in pay grades 2--4.7 Only 30% of the other nonprofes- sional employees are in pay grades 5-9. The Engineering Department employees are eligible for the same fringe benefits as professionals and nonprofessional employees. The Engineering Department employees accrue vacation leave at the same rate as office clerical and service and maintenance employees; certain other nonprofessional employees accrue such leave at a greater rate.9 The En- gineering Department employees participate with profes- sional and nonprofessional employees in the Employee Hospital Improvement Committee, which meets monthly 6 The hospital subcontracts some repair work based on such factors as necessary skill, equipment and duration In 1981, the hospitalsubcontract- ed its grounds maintenance and eliminated the positions of grounds super- visor and maintenance IV, the least skilled position 6 Three employees were promoted from maintenance IV to mainte- nance III (one of whom was later promoted to maintenance II) One em- ployee was promoted from maintenance III to maintenance II Four em- ployees in the Engineering Department transferred there from other hos- pital departments T There are 14 pay grades "Nonprofessional employees" refers to all service, general maintenance , technical, office clerical employees, and se- cunty officers herein 8 With the exception of registered nurses who are represented by the New York State Nurses Association 9 For example, Engineering Department employees accrue vacation leave of 2 weeks after 1 year, LPN's accrue 3 weeks after I year, X-ray technicians accrue 4 weeks after i year. 81 to discuss employee concerns. The Committee addresses employee terms and conditions of employment. The 'Engineering Office, maintenance shop, electrical shop, and carpentry shop are concentrated in the north- west section of the hospital complex. The painting shop is located in the south/central section of the hospital complex. All employees of the Engineering Department report to the maintenance shop each day. They wear green uniforms and change in locker rooms located near the maintenance shop. The hospital had the following employees and job classifications within the Engineering Department: (6) stationary boiler operators; (2) painters; (7) maintenance I; (4) maintenance It- (5) maintenance III; boiler plant su- pervisor; construction supervisor; electrical supervisor; plumbing/maintenance supervisor; and (2) clerk-typ- ists.10 The stationary boilers operators remain in the boiler room to operate, maintain and repair the high pressure boilers and related pumps, motors, blowers, and compressors. Two stationary boiler operators also per- form general maintenance/repair tasks. The painters spend 95% of their time painting and plastering the inte- rior of the hospital. They do a limited amount of exterior painting and wall papering. The leadman painter spends 80-90% of his time painting. He. mixes paints and paints machinery and equipment. The maintenance employees assigned to the electrical shop repair and .replace equipment for the refrigeration and air conditioning systems. They repair suction ma- chines, cast saws and laundry machines and install elec- trical wiring, cables and fixtures. They perform safety checks on housekeeping machines and biomedical equip- ment, such as cardioscopes and defibrillators. They do preventive maintenance tasks, such-as cleaning and greas- ing motors in various equipment. The "benchmen" re- pairs motorized beds and dietary equipment, such as toasters and mixers. The maintenance employees assigned to the plumbing/maintenance shop install and repair plumbing and, heating equipment, such as fixtures, circulators, hot water heaters, tanks, sinks, pumps, etc. They do some soldering, brazing, pipe cutting and threading. General maintenance tasks include the repair and preventive maintenance of wheelchairs, stretchers, and overbed tables, and the checking of fire extinguishers. The maintenance employees assigned to the carpentry shop erect wood and steel partitions, walls, door frames, make and install shelves and cabinets, and maintain doors (sanding, replacing hooks and locks). On each shift,l i a maintenance employee performs "rounds." "Rounds" consists of checking, adjusting and taking readings on various equipment, such as heaters, pumps, converters, exhausts, compressors. It takes two to io The Employer testified that it adopted the designation "supervisor" to eliminate the sexism in the customary terms of ` leadmen" and "fore- man " In practice, the "supervisors" are referred to as "leadmen" or "foremen " Neither party argues that those employees are supervisors within the meaning of the Act 11 The Engineering Department employees work three shifts- 8 a m. to 4pm,4pm to 12am,and l2am.to8am 82 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD three hours to perform "rounds." There is a six-page checklist which is completed on each set of "rounds." Any employee of the hospital may forward a Mainte- nance Work Request form to the Engineering Depart- ment. Generally, ward clerks in the various patient care units are requested to complete the form. These forms would be given to the Chief Engineer's Assistant by one of the clerk-typists. Generally, the leadmen pick up the requests from the Engineering Department office. When the requests involve emergency repairs, the clerk-typists may give them directly to leadmen or Engineering De- partment employees. Usually, the leadmen assign em- ployees to complete the tasks. The Engineering Department employees perform their duties throughout the hospital complex.12 Some repairs and preventive maintenance tasks are performed within the various shops. Often, the Engineering Department employees come in contact with other hospital personnel in the course of repair or renovation work. They may check with other hospital personnel prior to commenc- ing their work. Usually, they attempt to ascertain the nature of the repair task from the other hospital person- nel. On rare occasions, Engineering Department employees have worked with the employees from the service de- partments, e.g_, the annual awards dinner, the set-up of a safety display, the renovation of the doctors' lounge. Al- though they worked on the same project, there was no interchange of function. They simply worked in the same area performing different tasks. An examination of the job descriptions of the employ- ees in Building Services, Laundry, Dietary, Central Supply and Purchasing reveals that their work does not require the degree of skill and knowledge required by employees in the Engineering Department for work per- formed by them. The work of the former group consists of simple tasks requiring basic skills and training. How- ever, there are various nonprofessional job classifications in the medical departments that do require specialized skills and knowledge, such as EKG Technicians I ("Echocardiographic Technician I"); Lab Tech II ("Medical Technologist II"); X-Ray Technician ("Radi- ation Therapist"); Licensed Practical Nurse. They per- form various testing, laboratory analyses, and treatment for patients which require training and utilization of spe- cialized equipment. As noted supra, the record must be analyzed in ac- cordance with the Board's recent ruling in St. Francis II. In St. Francis II, the Board has formulated a revised health care unit approach which attempts to fulfill its dual obligations of adhering to Congress' admonition against undue proliferation and guaranteeing the repre- sentational interests of health care employees. The Board has rejected the two-tiered analytical approach adopted in St. Francis Hospital, 265 NLRB 1025 (1982) (St. Fran- cis 1). In St. Francis I, the Board identified seven "poten- tially appropriate" unit of employees including a skilled maintenance unit. The Board derived the seven units based on traditional unit determination principles. In St. Francis II, the Board held that the St. Francis I approach is contrary to the intent of Congress and that the adop- tion of a "disparity-of-interests" test can best effectuate its statutory obligations in health care unit determina- tions. The disparity-of-interest approach requires an anal- ysis of traditional community of interest criteria, but sharper than usual differences (disparities) must be estab- lished between the petitioned-for unit and an overall pro- fessional or nonprofessional unit. The record shows that the petitioned-for unit consists of 30 employees, a very small minority of the hospital's 1100 employees, employed in one of the hospital's 27 de- partments. Although the bulk of work of the Engineer- ing Department requires special skills and knowledge, there are various other non-professional employees who also possess special skills and knowledge; and the pay grades for both groups reflect the same. The Engineering Department employees are eligible to receive the same fringe benefits as the other nonprofessional employees. The hospital's labor relations policies are centrally con- trolled, and there is a uniform hire, fire and discipline system. They are subjected to departmental supervision, as are the other nonprofessional employees. They per- form most of their duties throughout the hospital com- plex. They have frequent contact with the other nonpro- fessional employees in the course of the performance of their duties. Thus, the record fails to demonstrate a sufficient dis- parity of interests between the Engineering Department employees and the other nonprofessional employees to support the conclusion that a broader unit would inhibit the fair representation of the employees' interest in the petitioned-for unit and to justify placing the Engineering Department employees in a separate unit. Based on the foregoing and the record as a whole, I hereby order that the petition be dismissed. ORDER IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petition filed herein be, and it hereby is, dismissed.13 12 With the exception of the stationary boiler operators and the clerk- typists. 13 Accordingly , the election held on April 24, 1984 is declared a nulli- ty and the pending Objections thereto are dismissed.