University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

May 24, 1994

313 N.L.R.B. 1341 (N.L.R.B. 1994)

1341
313 NLRB No. 239
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH MEDICAL CENTER
1 Collective-Bargaining Units in the Health Care Industry, 54 Fed.
Reg. 16336, 16348, 284 NLRB 1580, 1597 (1989).
2 The Employer does not contend that there are any other skilled
maintenance employees besides those at Montefiore who should be
added to the Presbyterian unit.
Presbyterian University Hospital d/b/a University of
Pittsburgh Medical Center and International
Union of Operating Engineers, Local 95, 95A,
AFL–CIO. Case 6–RC–10932
May 27, 1994
DECISION ON REVIEW AND ORDER
BY CHAIRMAN GOULD AND MEMBERS STEPHENS
AND COHEN
The National Labor Relations Board has delegated
its authority in this proceeding to a three-member
panel, which has considered the Employer’s request for
review of the Acting Regional Director’s Decision and
Direction of Election (pertinent portions of which are
attached). The request for review is granted as it raises
substantial issues warranting review. Having carefully
considered the entire record in this matter, we have de-
cided to affirm the Acting Regional Director’s decision
for the reasons explained below.
The Employer operates a medical complex in Pitts-
burgh. What is presently referred to as the University
of Pittsburgh Medical Center [UPMC] was originally
five separate corporate entities, including two acute
care hospitals (Presbyterian University Hospital [Pres-
byterian] and Montefiore Hospital [Montefiore]), an
eye and ear hospital, a clinic, and a psychiatric facility.
As a result of mergers and consolidations, these enti-
ties all became part of UPMC, the present Employer.
The Petitioner currently represents, and has represented
for over 20 years, a unit of 72 skilled maintenance em-
ployees employed at Presbyterian. The unit includes:
carpenters; painters and plasterers; electricians; plumb-
ers; stationary engineers; heating, ventilation and air-
conditioning mechanics; a welder; and general mainte-
nance employees and helpers.
By the instant petition, the Petitioner seeks a self-
determination election among four employees classi-
fied as ‘‘telecommunication specialists-I (voice)’’ [tele-
communication specialists], in which those employees
may choose whether to be represented as part of Pres-
byterian’s existing skilled maintenance unit. The Em-
ployer contended below, and contends here in its re-
quest for review, that the telecommunication specialists
are not skilled maintenance employees and therefore
cannot appropriately be added to the existing skilled
maintenance unit. The Employer further contends that
if the Board finds the telecommunication specialists to
be skilled maintenance employees, the voting group is
not appropriate in any event, as it does not include all
skilled maintenance employees employed at UPMC.
With regard to the first issue, the Acting Regional
Director, citing Toledo Hospital, 312 NLRB 652
(1993), found that the telecommunication specialists
are skilled maintenance employees. The record fully
supports the Acting Regional Director’s findings and
conclusion with respect to the telecommunication spe-
cialists’ skilled maintenance status, and we adopt that
portion of his decision.
With respect to the second issue, the Employer con-
tends that if the Board finds the telecommunication
specialists to be skilled maintenance employees and a
self-determination election is directed, the Board must
also include in the voting group 49 unrepresented
skilled maintenance employees working at Montefiore,
consisting of 6 air-conditioning mechanics, 5 elec-
tricians, 9 boiler room mechanics, 4 carpenters, 5 elec-
tricians, 12 general maintenance workers and helpers,
2 mechanical shop employees, 3 painters and plaster-
ers, 2 plumbers, and 1 storeroom clerk. According to
the Employer, the mergers and consolidations of Pres-
byterian, Montefiore, and other entities have resulted
in a fully integrated, single entity; maintenance is now
operated on an employerwide basis; the existing skilled
maintenance unit at Presbyterian is an existing non-
conforming unit, as defined in the Board’s Health Care
Rule;1 and in order to add any employees to the exist-
ing unit, the Board must add all unrepresented skilled
maintenance employees employed by the Employer.2
St. John’s Hospital, 307 NLRB 767 (1992). The Act-
ing Regional Director found that the existing skilled
maintenance unit at Presbyterian is a conforming, ap-
propriate single-facility unit, and that St. John’s, there-
fore, does not apply. Relying on Manor Healthcare
Corp., 285 NLRB 224 (1987), the Acting Regional Di-
rector found that the presumption of appropriateness of
a single-facility unit had not been rebutted, and that
the petitioned-for voting group of telecommunication
specialists is an appropriate grouping in which to con-
duct a self-determination election.
We agree with the Acting Regional Director’s con-
clusion that the existing skilled maintenance unit at
Presbyterian remains an appropriate unit, and, there-
fore, that the skilled maintenance employees at
Montefiore need not be included in the voting group
for the self-determination election. However, we do so
based on different rationale.
Contrary to the Acting Regional Director’s finding,
this case does not involve the single-facility presump-
tion of appropriateness found in Manor Healthcare.
Presbyterian’s ‘‘facility’’ consists of eight buildings,
several separated by one or more blocks from the oth-
ers and one as much as 5 miles away from the more
central grouping. Of Montefiore’s five buildings, sev-
eral are also separated from one another. The Em-
ployer has a total of about 40 buildings. Walkways,
bridges, and tunnels connect some of the buildings, but
1342 DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
3 In addition to 13 stationary engineers in the unit, 7 nonunit sta-
tionary engineers employed by a contractor also work in a Pres-
byterian building; they are supervised by the Employer.
not even all Presbyterian and Montefiore buildings;
there is a line of demarcation on the bridges. Thus,
Presbyterian’s skilled maintenance unit is more accu-
rately described as a multifacility unit. Furthermore,
unlike St. John’s, this case does not raise the issue of
whether the scope of the existing unit within a facility
conforms to the units deemed appropriate in the rule-
making; rather, it is clear that, within Presbyterian, the
existing unit encompasses all skilled maintenance em-
ployees except those sought to be added by this peti-
tion. The question to be answered here is whether
changes have occurred that would render the existing,
skilled maintenance unit at Presbyterian no longer ap-
propriate. We find that they have not.
In determining whether the existing multilocation
skilled maintenance unit at Presbyterian remains an ap-
propriate unit, or whether only a larger multilocation
unit of all skilled maintenance employees at UPMC is
appropriate, the Board examines traditional commu-
nity-of-interest factors including geographic proximity,
local autonomy, employee interchange and interaction,
functional integration, the employees’ terms and condi-
tions of employment, and bargaining history. See, e.g.,
Dezcon, Inc., 295 NLRB 109 (1989).
Despite the mergers and consolidations, Pres-
byterian’s skilled maintenance unit remains a distinct
entity. The mergers have resulted in integrated control
at the top of the Employer’s personnel hierarchy—for
example, the Employer has a single president, and its
vice presidents are in charge of their respective areas
employerwide. The executive vice president is also the
vice president for business and finance, and is ulti-
mately responsible for the information services depart-
ment, including the telecommunication specialists at
issue here. In contrast, the currently represented skilled
maintenance employees are ultimately responsible to
the vice president of construction and facilities man-
agement. The director of facilities management, who
reports to this vice president, has authority over the
currently represented skilled maintenance employees.
However, first-line supervision of the skilled mainte-
nance employees at Presbyterian and Montefiore re-
mains distinct. Presbyterian’s three maintenance de-
partment supervisors supervise various classifications
of Presbyterian’s skilled maintenance employees,3
while each skilled maintenance classification at
Montefiore has a team leader who is the first-line su-
pervisor. There is no overlapping first-line supervision
among skilled maintenance employees at Presbyterian
and Montefiore.
Although Presbyterian’s and Montefiore’s facilities
are near each other; some Montefiore buildings are
closer to Presbyterian than some of Presbyterian’s
buildings are to each other; and some buildings are
connected by walkways, bridges, or tunnels; this prox-
imity has not substantially impacted on the operation
of the existing unit. The Employer concedes the lack
of contact between the skilled maintenance employees
at Presbyterian and those at Montefiore. There is no
interchange between the two groups. Each group works
in its respective group of buildings. There have never
been any joint projects involving both groups. The
Employer has a central skilled maintenance dispatcher
and centralized scheduling, but Presbyterian skilled
maintenance employees are sent to Presbyterian facili-
ties, and Montefiore skilled maintenance employees are
sent to Montefiore facilities; each group works on
schedules set for their respective facilities. Similarly,
although the Employer has centralized materials man-
agement, material purchases are made separately by
Presbyterian and Montefiore. Job openings at Pres-
byterian are posted at its eight buildings first, before
posting employerwide; similarly, job openings at
Montefiore are posted first at its five buildings. Re-
cently, a supervisory position was open at Montefiore;
it was posted only at Montefiore. On only one occa-
sion did an employee from Presbyterian (a general
maintenance helper seeking a general maintenance job)
apply for and obtain a job at Montefiore. Contrary to
the Employer’s claim, the collective-bargaining agree-
ment between Presbyterian and the Employer does not
prohibit Montefiore’s skilled maintenance employees
from working at Presbyterian’s buildings. Rather, the
Employer recognizes the Petitioner as the sole collec-
tive-bargaining representative of the employees in
Presbyterian’s maintenance department as previously
certified by the state labor relations board and the
NLRB, without further detail. In fact, the Eye and Ear
Pavilion (a portion of Presbyterian) was staffed by
Montefiore employees during the day and Presbyterian
employees at night until a year ago, when Presbyterian
became the sole provider of skilled maintenance at that
building.
There is a long history of bargaining in the separate
skilled maintenance unit at Presbyterian. That unit has
been in existence for over 20 years, with a successful
and peaceful history. Although the mergers and con-
solidations leading to the current Employer began as
early as 1989, the Employer has continued to recog-
nize the skilled maintenance unit at Presbyterian as ap-
propriate. It is only now, in response to the Petitioner’s
request for a self-determination election to add the four
telecommunication specialists to the existing unit, that
the Employer has asked the Board to reexamine the
appropriateness of the existing unit by asserting that
the skilled maintenance employees at Montefiore also
1343UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH MEDICAL CENTER
4 The Employer does not explicitly assert that the existing skilled
maintenance unit at Presbyterian is no longer an appropriate unit for
bargaining; however, that is the only logical predicate for the Em-
ployer’s argument that, if a self-determination election is to be held,
the voting group must include all skilled maintenance employees at
Montefiore.
4 The Rule is set forth at 29 CFR Part 103, Federal Register No.
76, pp. 16336, 16347–16348. The United States Supreme Court
upheld the validity of the Rule in American Hospital Assn. v. NLRB,
499 U.S. 606, 111 S. Ct. 1539, 137 LRRM 2001 (1991).
5 The MUH facilities include five buildings: Montefiore Hospital,
Kaufmann Building, House Staff Residence, Eye and Ear Institute
and NMR (Neuromagnetic Resonance) Building.
6 The PUH facilities include eight buildings: Presbyterian Hospital,
Scaife Hall, Biomedical Science Tower, Falk Clinic, Lhormer Build-
ing, University Center, Wilson Building and 1400 Penn Avenue.
must be granted the option of voting whether to join
the existing unit.4
Based on the factors set forth above, we find that
the existing skilled maintenance unit at Presbyterian
remains appropriate, and would continue (if the tele-
communication specialists vote in favor of representa-
tion in the existing unit) to constitute an appropriate
unit for bargaining. That the telecommunication spe-
cialists might occasionally work in some buildings be-
yond those eight comprising Presbyterian does not re-
quire a different result. Although the telecommuni-
cation specialists are responsible for the installation
and repair of the Employer’s telephone network, and
according to the voice department manager, could have
worked in all 40 buildings, they have not in fact done
so. Telecommunication specialists are located in a
wing of the main Presbyterian Hospital building, and
most of their work is in the Presbyterian complex, with
visits to a few other buildings. The telephone main
frame is near their work area in the main Presbyterian
Hospital building, and it is used to activate telephones
in other buildings. Montefiore has its own switch sys-
tem. Montefiore’s telephones are serviced by outside
contractors; the sole telecommunication specialist who
testified at the hearing had only worked at Montefiore
once or twice for a few minutes, and there is no evi-
dence that his experience was other than the norm. The
addition of the telecommunication specialists to the ex-
isting skilled maintenance unit at Presbyterian will not
change the fact that Presbyterian’s and Montefiore’s
skilled maintenance operations are distinct.
In sum, the Acting Regional Director properly di-
rected a self-determination election in the petitioned-
for voting group of telecommunication specialists, ex-
cluding the skilled maintenance employees at
Montefiore.
ORDER
The Acting Regional Director’s decision is affirmed,
as modified above, and the case is remanded to the
Regional Director for further appropriate action.
APPENDIX
Acting Regional Director’s Decision and
Direction of Election
The Petitioner, through the means of a self-determination
election, seeks to add four previously unrepresented tele-
communication specialists I (voice), also referred to in the
record as TS-I(v) employees, to an existing collective-bar-
gaining unit comprising all skilled maintenance employees at
Presbyterian University Hospital. The Employer, contrary to
the Petitioner, contends that the four telecommunications spe-
cialists I (voice) [‘‘TS-I(v)’’] are not skilled maintenance
employees as defined by the Board in its Final Rule on Col-
lective Bargaining Units in the Health Care Industry (the
Health Care Rule or the Rule), 284 NLRB 1579, 1596-1597
(1989),4 and, therefore, the petition should be dismissed. In
the alternative, however, the Employer contends that, should
the TS-I(v) employees be found to be skilled maintenance
employees, then the appropriate unit for the self- determina-
tion election should also include approximately 49 unrepre-
sented skilled maintenance employees who are located at the
Employer’s Montefiore University Hospital facilities
(MUH).5 There are approximately 72 employees in the exist-
ing unit of skilled maintenance employees, including 15 car-
penters, 7 painters and plasterers, 10 electricians, 6 plumbers,
13 stationary engineers, 10 HVAC mechanics, 1 welder and
8 general maintenance workers and helpers, located at the
Employer’s Presbyterian University Hospital facilities
(PUH).6 A collective-bargaining agreement covering those
employees is presently in effect and will expire on March 31,
1997. The group of unrepresented skilled maintenance em-
ployees located at MUH consists of 6 air-conditioning me-
chanics, 5 electricians, 9 boiler room mechanics, 4 car-
penters, 5 electricians, 12 general maintenance workers and
helpers, 2 mechanical shop employees, 3 painters and plas-
terers, 2 plumbers and 1 storeroom clerk.
General Background
The Employer, a private not-for-profit Pennsylvania cor-
poration, is engaged in the operation of an acute care hos-
pital, medical research and educational center at its location
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
What is presently referred to as the University of Pitts-
burgh Medical Center (UPMC) was originally five separate
corporate entities: Presbyterian University Hospital, Falk
Clinic, Montefiore Hospital, Eye and Ear Hospital and West-
ern Psychiatric Institute. Since about 1989, a series of merg-
ers and consolidations have occurred whereby these separate
entities all became part of the present Employer, PUH d/b/a
UPMC. Thus, UPMC now includes Western Psychiatric In-
stitute, Eye and Ear, Falk Clinic, Montefiore and Pres-
byterian Hospitals. It is a single corporation with one Board
of Directors and one license from the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania. In July 1993, when the merger of MUH into
PUH took place, the parent corporation’s name was changed
to UPMC System. This parent corporation acts only as a
holding company for real estate. UPMC is comprised of ap-
proximately 40 buildings: 5 are maintained by employees of
MUH, 8 are maintained by the unit employees at PUH; and
the remainder are maintained by outside contractors.
1344 DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
7 There are six other stationary engineers whose lockers, etc., are
in Scaife Hall, but those six are employees of the University of Pitts-
burgh and are not part of the unit of PUH employees.
Administratively, UMPC is headed by Chief Executive Of-
ficer Jeffrey Romoff and Executive Vice President John Paul,
who also acts as Chief Operating Officer. Under them are
several vice presidents who are responsible for specific as-
pects of UMPC’s administration. In addition to his duties as
chief operating officer, John Paul also functions as the Em-
ployer’s Business and Finance Vice President. In this latter
capacity, he is responsible for all of the financial operations,
including billing, Medicare, Medicaid, insurance, HMOs and
purchasing. Also included among his duties as the business
and finance vice president is responsibility for the informa-
tion services department, which involves the computers and
telephone services utilized by the Employer. The employees
sought by the instant petition report through a supervisory hi-
erarchy to Paul. The skilled maintenance employees are ulti-
mately responsible to Ron Forsythe, the vice president of
construction and facilities management. Reporting to For-
sythe is Alan Harris, Director of Facilities Management. The
other vice presidents include George Huber, vice president
and chief Legal officer. In addition to overseeing the legal
staff, Huber is also responsible for the human resources de-
partment, which is headed by Sid Seligman. Jeffrey Masnick
is vice president of budget and financial planning. Carol An-
derson is vice president of psychiatric services and is respon-
sible for the administration of Western Psychiatric Institute
as well as psychiatric services throughout UMPC. Loren
Roth is a vice president who is responsible for clinical serv-
ices at Western Psychiatric Institute and is also responsible
for Managed Care relationships at UMPC. The vice presi-
dency for Inpatient Clinical Services is currently vacant and
a search is being conducted to fill that position.
The Existing Skilled Maintenance Unit
The skilled maintenance unit at PUH has been certified
since about 1972. Their wages, at the present time, range
from $11.15 per hour for general maintenance helper to the
highest rate of $18.04 per hour for master electricians and
master plumbers. The unit employees report to various super-
visors who in turn report to Alan Harris, Director of Facili-
ties Management and Plant Maintenance. The 15 carpenters
report to supervisor Ed Weimer. The carpenters are based in
the basement of Lothrop Hall, which is adjacent to Chil-
dren’s Hospital. Their timeclock, a locker room, a carpentry
shop and a toolroom are located there. They also have a larg-
er shop in a building on the south side of Pittsburgh. The
qualifications required to be a carpenter include 3 to 5 years
of experience and some kind of educational training, either
high school, trade school, or apprenticeship. There is no cer-
tification or license requirement for carpenters. The car-
penters do much of their work in the shop, but they also per-
form work on site, which often brings them into contact with
other unit employees and also with TS-I(v) employees at
issue. The carpenters wear gray uniforms and work the day-
light shift, from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The carpenters are re-
sponsible for ceilings, window treatments, floors, doors, han-
dles, shelving, minor construction work, and cabinet con-
struction.
The seven painters and plasterers in the unit also have
their shop, timeclock, and lockers in Lothrop Hall, near the
carpenters. Likewise, the painters/plasterers report to super-
visor Ed Weimer. These craft employees are required to have
at least 3 years of experience and a high school diploma.
There is no certification or licensing requirement for their
position. While they have a storeroom and work area in
which they mix paints and prepare materials, most of their
time is spent on site, where they repair walls and put on wall
treatments, including stains, paints, plaster, and wall cover-
ings. The painters/plasterers have little contact with other
unit employees while onsite since their work is most often
performed after the other craft employees have finished their
respective parts of the job. The painters/plasterers work day-
light and wear white uniforms.
The 10 electricians in the unit report to Supervisor Bob
Baltos, who himself reports to electrical engineer John
Romick. The electricians have their lockers, timeclock and
shop in the basement of the Bio-Medical Science Tower. The
qualifications to become an electrician include high school or
trade school training, 3 to 5 years of experience, and an elec-
trical license from the City of Pittsburgh. Most of the elec-
tricians’ work is performed on site and they often see other
unit employees as well as TS-I(v) employees while they per-
form their work. The electricians are responsible for the elec-
trical and fire alarm systems. The electricians work daylight
and wear gray uniforms.
The six plumbers in the unit report to Supervisor Pete
Roth. Their lockers, shop, and timeclock are located on the
ground level of PUH. In addition, the plumbers have a sec-
ond shop in Scaife Hall. The qualifications for the position
of plumber include high school, trade school or apprentice-
ship training, 3 to 5 years of experience, and a plumber’s li-
cense. The plumbers are responsible for the functioning of
the sewers, water distribution, bathrooms, fountains, and the
piping for medical gases. Most of the plumbers’ work is per-
formed on site, where they may have occasion to work si-
multaneously alongside other craft employees and/or TS-I(v)
employees. The plumbers work daylight and wear gray uni-
forms.
There are 13 stationary employees in the PUH unit. Seven
of these engineers have their lockers, shop, and timeclock in
PUH, as do the plumbers, and they report to Supervisor Pete
Roth. Six of the stationary engineers report to Supervisor Ed
Dudek, and have their lockers, shop, and timeclock in the
Bio-Medical Science Tower.7 The qualifications for a station-
ary engineer include a high school or trade school education,
3 to 5 years of experience and a stationary engineer’s license
from the city of Pittsburgh. The stationary engineers are re-
sponsible for the operation of the physical plant, including
pumps and fire systems. Most of their work is performed on-
site, where they check and repair equipment. Much of their
time is spent in the mechanical rooms of the various build-
ings. Except for the HVAC mechanics, the stationary engi-
neers do not have much contact with the other unit employ-
ees. Unlike the other employees in the unit, stationary engi-
neers are scheduled for all three shifts, so that one or more
of them are always available and on duty. They wear brown
uniforms rather than gray or white ones.
There are 10 HVAC mechanics who are supervised by
Pete Roth and have their lockers, shop, and timeclock on the
ground floor of PUH. The HVAC mechanics must have three
years of schooling or apprenticeship or experience with large
1345UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH MEDICAL CENTER
8 Although not required, all of the 10 HVAC mechanics presently
employed at PUH possess stationary engineer’s licenses.
9 The four TS-I(v) employees employed by PUH are Dan Flaherty,
Joe Fromelius, Frank Szegedy, and John Capetta.
10 The parties stipulated, and I find, that the telecommunications
specialists-I (Data) and the telecommunication specialists - II (Data)
employees do not share a community of interest with the unit em-
ployees in that they have different job and educational requirements
and lack any applicable degree of contact and interchange with the
unit employees.
11 The parties stipulated, and I find, that the telecommunication
specialist-II (v) and telecommunication specialist-III (Data) employ-
ees are supervisors within the meaning of Sec. 2(11) of the Act in
that they have the authority to recommend discipline, assign work,
grant time off, and perform evaluations of other employees. I shall,
therefore, exclude those classifications from the petitioned-for voting
group.
heating and air-conditioning systems. There is no require-
ment of any kind of license or certification for this position.8
These HVAC mechanics are responsible for the heating and
air-conditioning systems and the work includes both repairs
and preventive maintenance. In doing this work, most of
which is onsite, the HVAC mechanics may come into contact
with other unit employees such as stationary engineers, elec-
tricians, and plumbers. The HVAC mechanics wear gray uni-
forms and work only on the daylight shift.
There is one welder in the unit who also reports to Super-
visor Pete Roth. The welder uses the same facilities as the
carpenters in Lothrop Hall. He spends most of his time in
the shop, making repairs on and fabricating metal equipment,
such as tables, IV stands and kitchen equipment. The welder
has little contact with the other unit employees. The only re-
quirement for this position is a welder’s certificate. The
welder wears a gray uniform and works the daylight shift.
Finally, there are eight general maintenance employees and
helpers. These eight employees have lockers scattered in all
of the locations where other unit employees are located, and
they report to Supervisor George Jones. The general mainte-
nance employees punch a timeclock wherever their lockers
are located. The only qualification for this position is com-
pletion of high school shop courses. The helper is an entry
level position, and the helper then may move up to the posi-
tion of general maintenance employee. From that position,
the Employer has various training programs in which the
general maintenance employees may take part so that they
may eventually bid on and be promoted to the other craft po-
sitions. The general maintenance employees assist the other
crafts and do small maintenance chores such as plunging toi-
lets, cleaning electrical closets and replacing lightbulbs. They
wear gray uniforms and work daylight hours.
Telecommunication Specialists-I (voice)
At issue herein, initially, is whether or not the four TS-
I(v) employees9 are skilled maintenance employees and
whether they have a sufficient community of interest with the
previously described craft employees to be included in the
unit. The TS-I(v) employees are part of the Information
Services Department, which is headed by James Witenski.
Reporting to Witenski is Paul Sikora whose position is direc-
tor of technical and production services at PUH. Under
Sikora is the Communications Department which has two
sections, voice and data, both of which are headed by John
Bregar, who reports to Sikora. The ‘‘voice’’ section of the
department is responsible for maintaining the telephone sys-
tem for UPMC, while the ‘‘data’’ section is responsible for
maintenance of the computer services. The four TS-I(v) em-
ployees at issue herein are in the voice section of that depart-
ment.
The manager of voice communications is Edward Miske,
who reports to Bregar. Bregar directly supervises the data
Communications employees, who are not at issue herein.10
The four TS-I(v) employees work under supervisor Chuck
Hilton. In addition, the four TS-I(v) employees receive as-
signments and supervision from Mike Bruno, who is a Tele-
communication specialist-II (v) employee.11
The TS-I(v) employees report to the eighth floor of the
eye and ear wing of PUH. They work daylight shift from 6
a.m. to 2:30 p.m. They do not wear any type of uniform.
They sign a timesheet rather than punching a timeclock. The
four TS-I(v) employees receive their assignments from
Bruno, and then they go to whichever building or location
requires telephone wiring or is experiencing a problem with
the telephone system. Although their territory is not limited,
these four employees do almost all of their work in the eight
buildings which comprise PUH. While they have occasion-
ally been sent to work in a building other than the eight PUH
buildings, they have never been assigned to work in any of
the five buildings which make up MUH.
The qualifications to be hired as a TS-I(v) employee are
a high school education and 1 to 3 years of experience, ei-
ther with the telephone company or an interconnect com-
pany. There is no licensing or certification requirement. The
TS-I(v) employees earn between $12 and $16 per hour.
The majority of the work of the TS-I(v) employees consist
of installing cable wires and jacks. The wires are run inside
a wall or above a ceiling to an electrical closet, where the
wires are attached to a connector. The wires are then acti-
vated at a later time to be either voice or data. If the wires
are run inside a wall, they are run through a ‘‘raceway’’ or
a wire trough, which is sometimes prepared and installed by
the PUH electricians. The raceways run along the bottom of
walls. If a TS-I(v) employee runs wires through a ceiling
rather than a wall, then the wires must be tied up so that
they do not come into contact with the lights. This type of
work involves the use of various tools, including sabersaws,
knives, wire crimpers, drills, splicers, hammers and
hammerdrills. The work described above is often performed
where new construction or renovations are being done. It can
also be required when telephone equipment is being added
or moved. Particularly when the TS-I(v) employees are
working in a new construction or renovation site, they fre-
quently come into contact with and work simultaneously be-
side unit employees. Such unit employees might include car-
penters, plumbers, electricians and/or general maintenance.
Thus, the TS-I(v) employees often pull wires through walls
at the same time and at the same place where unit employees
are working, e.g., installing electrical outlets, installing
plumbing fixtures, installing light fixtures, and plastering.
Approximately 60 to 80 percent of their worktime is spent
performing this type of work.
During the remaining 20 to 40 percent of their worktime,
the TS-I(v) employees respond to calls and repair telephones.
The TS-I(v) employees respond to calls throughout PUH
where a problem is occurring with a telephone. After trouble-
1346 DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
shooting the problem, the TS-I(v) either replaces the defec-
tive part or, if necessary, replaces the entire telephone. If the
latter is done, then the telephone that was removed is taken
back to the shop and either sent back to the manufacturer,
repaired by the TS-I(v) employees or broken down for parts
to be used to repair other telephones.
In its second Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 53 Fed.
Reg. 33900 (Sept. 1, 1988), the Board identified six factors
which distinguish skilled maintenance employees from other
employees. These factors are essentially the same factors
used to identify a community of interest among employees.
Kalamazoo Paper Box Corp., 136 NLRB 134, 137 (1962).
They include: function and skill level; education, licensing
and training; supervision; wages, hours, and working condi-
tions; interaction with other employees; and labor market and
career path. 53 Fed. Reg. at 33920-21. Further, the Board has
held that a distinguishing feature of skilled maintenance em-
ployees is that their work tasks involve equipment and sys-
tems rather than direct patient care tasks, and whether any
patient care is a primary as opposed to incidental duty of the
job. Jewish Hospital of St. Louis, 305 NLRB 955 (1991).
Applying the above factors to the instant case, it is clear
that the TS-I(v) employees are skilled maintenance employ-
ees and have a community of interest with the other skilled
maintenance employees in the existing unit. With regard to
function and skill level, these employees, as those in the unit,
perform work functions that relate to maintenance of the
physical plant. In a recent case, the Board has found that the
job of wiring the telephone system through the walls in-
volves the repair and maintenance of the physical plant. To-
ledo Hospital, 312 NLRB 652 (1993). Further, the job quali-
fications for a TS-I(v) employee requires 1 to 3 years of ex-
perience in this field. Moreover, their work involves not only
installation of wiring for telephone system, but also repair of
telephones that are not working correctly. Thus, their func-
tion and skill level is comparable to those already in the
skilled maintenance unit.
With regard to education, licensing and training, the TS-
I(v) are required to possess a high school diploma and 1 to
3 years of experience either with a telephone or an inter-
connect company. This requirement is similar to that of the
painters, plasterers, carpenters, and HVAC mechanics, whose
qualifications include a similar educational and job experi-
ence background but no licensing or certification. While the
TS-I(v) employees report to different supervisors and are or-
ganizationally in a different department than the unit employ-
ees, this, by itself, is not a determining factor. The Board has
found certain classifications of employees to be in a skilled
maintenance unit even though they have been administra-
tively placed in a different department and/or have different
supervision. Toledo Hospital, supra; San Juan Regional Med-
ical Center, 307 NLRB 117 (1992); Jewish Hospital of St.
Louis, supra. Moreover, like the unit employees, the TS-I(v)
employees do much of their work onsite and work largely
unsupervised.
With regard to wages, hours, and working conditions, once
again, the TS-I(v) employees and the craft employees have
much in common. Their wage rates are similar. Except for
stationary engineers, the unit employees work only daylight,
as do the TS-I(v) employees, albeit slightly different hours.
Most of the other differences between the TS-I(v) employees
and the unit employees are a result of the collective-bargain-
ing agreement, which gives the unit employees some dif-
ferent benefits from unrepresented employees at UPMC.
These differences include seniority, pensions, life insurance,
vacations, holidays, and the grievance procedure.
Also significant is the fact that the TS-I(v) employees
interact regularly with the unit employees during their work.
Thus, the TS-I(v) employees often work at the same site
alongside electricians, plumbers, carpenters, general mainte-
nance, etc. As previously described, the various crafts al-
ready in the unit report to and often work in different loca-
tions such as Lothrop, PUH, and the Bio-Medical Science
Tower. Because of their specialized skills, the various craft
employees do not always interact with each other regularly.
That is, each craft person performs his/her separate skill as
needed, and that may or may not require interaction with
other crafts. Likewise, the TS-I(v) employees work at various
sites, sometimes alongside the unit employees and sometimes
not. Most of their work, however, is done within the eight
buildings which make up PUH. Further, the electricians and
the TS-I(v) employees appear to interact in the preparation
of ‘‘raceways’’ and work done inside of electrical closets.
Thus, there is considerable interaction between the TS-I(v)
employees and certain of the craft employees already in the
unit.
The final factor to be considered is the labor market and
career paths. The labor market in both the case of the TS-
I(v) employees and that of the other crafts is similar. Except
for situations where the Employer chooses general mainte-
nance employees who have been trained by PUH for a cer-
tain craft, the Employer posts job openings for both TS-I(v)
employees and for various crafts throughout UMPC. In such
situations, if an applicant is not found within UPMC who
fulfills the qualifications required, then PUH advertises
and/or searches outside of UPMC for suitable candidates for
the job. Thus, except for the training programs presently
available for general maintenance employees, the labor mar-
kets for both TS-I(v) employees and the unit employees is
similar.
With regard to career paths, the TS-I(v) employees may be
promoted to TS-II(v) eventually. While in a different depart-
ment, it is comparable to a plumber or an electrician moving
from apprentice to journeyman or from journeyman to mas-
ter. Just as plumbers do not move into openings for car-
penters, so TS-I(v) employees progress within the structure
for their particular skill. Thus, overall, when analyzing the
factors above, the TS- I(v) employees at PUH have much in
common with the employees in the unit.
In Toledo Hospital, supra, the Board specifically discussed
the issue of the placement of telecommunications technicians
in detail and found such employees to be properly included
in a skilled maintenance unit. In that case, the telecommuni-
cations technicians, as the TS-I(v) employees herein, pull
cable, make connections and repair and replace telephone
equipment. As in this case, the technicians in Toledo Hos-
pital were in a separate department from the other skilled
maintenance employees. The technicians in Toledo Hospital,
as the TS-I(v) employees do at PUH, have some contact with
other crafts when they work simultaneously at the same site.
In Toledo Hospital and this case, the employee is required
to have a high school diploma and pertinent job experience,
although in Toledo Hospital a certificate in a telephone sys-
tem is also required. In sum, I find that the TS-I(v) employ-
1347UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH MEDICAL CENTER
ees at PUH are identical in all significant respects to the tele-
communications technicians in Toledo Hospital, supra. Thus,
the Board’s finding in Toledo Hospital reinforces my finding
that the TS-I(v) employees are skilled maintenance employ-
ees as defined by the Board in its Health Care Rule.
Accordingly, based on the above and the record as a
whole, I find that the four TS-I(v) employees are skilled
maintenance employees and that they share a community of
interest with the existing unit of skilled maintenance employ-
ees.