Greenhorne & O'Mara, Inc. - Decision Summary

Greenhorne & O'Mara, Inc. (6-RC-11314; 326 NLRB No. 57) Greenbelt, Md. Aug. 27, 1998. Chairman Gould and Member Fox found appropriate the petitioned-for unit of all archaeological technicians, including field technicians, lab technicians, field lab technicians, and crew chiefs employed by the Employer in its Cultural Resources Division at any project or jobsite within the United States or any of its territories. The majority also concluded that the Employer failed to establish that the crew chiefs are statutory supervisors or that the petitioned-for unit impermissibly combines professional and nonprofessional employees. The majority reinstated the representation petition filed by Archaeological Field Technicians, Operating Engineers Local 141, and remanded the proceeding to the Regional Director for further appropriate action including determination of the eligibility formula to be used and the direction of an election. Member Hurtgen, dissenting in part, would not, at this point, instruct the Regional Director to direct an election. He stated: "The precise eligibility formula to be used is presently uncertain, and it may turn out that a given formula results in few or no eligible employees. In addition, the Regional Director made no determination concerning the supervisory status of crew chiefs."

The Employer, an environmental consulting company, performs studies for private and public sector clients in three primary areas-land development, transportation engineering and planning, and environmental services. The Employer's cultural resources division has performed work in 15 to 20 states, as well as Puerto Rico. During the year preceding the hearing, the Employer's cultural resources division worked on approximately 20 projects, including several for the Federal government and a few for small developers in Virginia and Maryland. The projects lasted anywhere from 2 to 5 days to 5 weeks. An average of three to seven field technicians and one to two crew chiefs were employed on each project. The Regional Director dismissed the petition after finding that there is insufficient evidence to establish that there is a "key" or core group of employees on a recurring, employer-wide basis. The Regional Director found it unnecessary to determine the alleged supervisory and/or professional status of the Employer's crew chiefs and field technicians.

(Chairman Gould and Members Fox and Hurtgen participated.)