STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

U.B.C., PUBLIC EMPLOYEES LOCAL #2113, ) CASE NO. 75-462

)

and )

)

LABORER'S INTERNATIONAL UNION LOCAL #277 ) CASE NO. 75-1141

)

and )

)

HOTEL, MOTEL, RESTAURANT EMPLOYEES AND ) CASE NO. 75-1053 BARTENDERS UNION, )

) PERC NOS.

Petitioners, ) 8H-RC-754-2115

) 8H-RC-754-2161

and ) 8H-RC-754-2139

) SCHOOL BOARD OF ESCAMBIA COUNTY, FLORIDA, )

)

Public Employer )

)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

Pursuant to notice, the Division of Administrative Hearings, by it's duly designated hearing officer, G. Steven Pfeiffer, held a public hearing in the above cases on July 22, 1975, at Pensacola, Florida.

APPEARANCES

The following appearances were entered:

1. L. "Dick" Bowling, Pensacola, Florida, for the U.B.C. Public Employees #2113; Marvin Lewis, Orlando, Florida, for the Hotel, Motel, Restaurant Employees and Bartenders Union, Local #737; Stan Marable, Frank and Meyer, Tampa, Florida, for the Laborer's International Union #277; and William R. Davenport, Pensacola, Florida, for the Escambia County School Board.

SUMMARY OF THE CASE

The U.B.C. Public Employees #2113 ("UBC" hereafter) filed a petition with the Public Employees Relations Commission ("PERC" hereafter) on April 16, 1975. The UBC is seeking to represent a unit of employees of the School Board of Escambia County ("Public Employer" hereafter). The unit described by the UBC in it's petition would include all custodial employees, and would exclude all other employees, managerial employees, and supervisory employees. The Hotel, Motel, Restaurant Employees and Bartenders Union, Local #737 ("HMREBU" hereafter) filed a petition with PERC on May 7, 1975. The HMREBU is seeking to represent a unit of employees employed by the Public Employer, which unit would include all Food Service Workers I and II and would exclude Managers and Supervisors as defined in the Public Employee Relations Act. The Laborer's International Union 277 ("Laborers" hereafter) filed a petition with PERC on June 16, 1975. The Laborers are seeking to represent a unit of employees of the Public Employer

which would include all employees employed by the employer as Bus Drivers, Mechanics, Shop and Maintenance employees in it's Transportation Department, and would exclude all other employees.

Prior to the hearing being conducted, the Public Employer filed Motions to Dismiss in each case. The Motions were denied by the Chairman of the Commission by order issued July 18, 1975. Consistent with it's Motions to Dismiss, the Public Employer defined the appropriate collective bargaining unit to include all non instructional employees, or civil service employees, excluding managerial and supervisory employees.

In order to serve the convenience of all the parties, the hearings in the three cases were consolidated. None of the parties objected to the hearings being conducted jointly. The purposes of the hearing were to consider, and to develop a record from which PERC might consider and determine the following issues:

1. Whether the School Board of Escambia County is a Public Employer within the meaning of Florida Statutes, Chapter 447.

   
   

2. Whether the UBC, the HMREBU, and the Laborers are Employee Organizations within the meaning of Florida Statutes, Chapter 447.

   
   

3. Whether there are sufficient showings of interest &a required for the filing of representation election petitions wider Florida Statutes, Chapter 447.

   
   

4. Whether the Employee Organizations are properly registered organizations with the Public Employees Relations Commission.

5 The appropriate unit of public Employees in the case.

The Public Employer called the following witnesses:

Dennis G. Fillingim, the Public Employer's Manager of Employee Relations; Ruby Butler, Director of the Escambia County Civil Service Board; William M. McArthur, the Public Employer's Personnel Director; and Thomas Jefferson LeMaster, the Public Employer's Assistant Superintendent of Operations and Maintenance.

The Laborers called Mr. Francis Richards, a school bus driver employed by the Public Employer.

The HMREBU called Ms. Sara Wingate, and Ms. Bernice Hudson, both of whom are food service workers employed by the public Employer.

The UBC called Mr. Charlie L. Taite, a custodian training officer employed by the public Employer.

Hearing Officer's Exhibits #1 - 13, Public Employer's Exhibit #1, and HMREBU Exhibit #1 were received into evidence. Legal Memoranda have been filed by the Public Employer, and by the Laborers.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. The UBC filed it's petition with PERC on April 16, 1975. (Hearing Officer's Exhibit #1).

   
   

2. The HMREBU filed it's petition with PERC on May 7, 1975. (Hearing Officer's Exhibit #9).

   
   

3. The Laborers filed it's petition with PERC on June 16, 1975. (Hearing Officer's Exhibit #5).

   
   

4. The hearing in these cases was scheduled by separate notices dated July 9, 1975. (Hearing Officer's Exhibits #2, 6, and 10).

   
   

5. The Escambia County School Board is a Public Employer within the meaning of Florida Statutes, Section 447.002(2). (See: transcript of proceedings 1/ at page 7).

   
   

6. The UBC, the HMREBU, and the Laborers are Employee Organizations within the meaning of Florida Statutes, Section 447.002(10). (Stipulation TR 8).

   
   

7. There is no contractural bar to holding representation elections in these cases. (Stipulation, TR 8, 9).

   
   

8. There is no relevant collective bargaining history that affects these cases. (Stipulation, TR 9).

   
   

9. The UBC, the HMREBU, and the Laborers are properly registered with PERC. (Hearing Officer's Exhibits #3, 7 and 11; Stipulation TR 10).

   
   

10. PERC has previously determined that the UBC, the HMREBU, and the Laborers have filed the requisite showing of interest with their petitions. (Hearing Officer's Exhibits #4, 8, and 12). No evidence was offered at the hearing to rebut the administrative determination previously made by PERC.

    
    

11. The parties have stipulated that in the event PERC certifies a collective bargaining unit substantially similar to the one proposed by the Laborers, the positions of Transportation Director, Route Supervisor, Garage Foreman, and Assistant Garage Foreman should be excluded from the unit. (Stipulation TR 205, 206).

    
    

12. In the event that a collective bargaining unit substantially similar to the one proposed by HMREBU is certified by PERC, the parties have stipulated that the Director of School Food Service, the Assistant Director, and the Lunchroom Managers should be excluded from the unit. (Stipulation TR 208, 209).

    
    

13. In the event that a collective bargaining unit substantially similar to the one proposed by the UBC is certified by PERC, the parties have stipulated that the Supervisory Custodian, the Custodian in Charge, and the Custodial Foreman should be included within the unit. (Stipulation TR 210, 211).

    
    

14. The Public Employee Relations Commission has previously certified a collective bargaining unit consisting of instructional personnel employed by the School Board of Escambia County. Each of the proposed units described in the petitions of the Employee Organizations in these cases include only non- instructional personnel. There are approximately 1740 persons employed by the Public Employer in non-instructional positions. Approximately 300 of these

    employees would be included within the unit proposed by the UBC. Approximately

    230 would be within the unit proposed by HMREBU. Approximately 190 would be within the unit proposed by the Laborers.

    
    

15. A civil service system, created by a special act of the legislature, has been in operation in Escambia County since 1953. See: Laws of Florida, Chapter 74-480 (1974). A Civil Service Board maintains a classification and salary plan, provides a central pool for testing and classifying new employees, and participates in an annual review of the salaries of classified employees. The Civil Service Board provides it's services for tide Public Employer in this case, and for other governmental entities within Escambia County, including the county. The classification system utilized by the School Board is the same as that utilized by the county. An employee of the School Board with a given classification would have the same qualifications, would perform approximately the same duties, and would receive the same salary and benefits as an employee of the county with the same classification. There are frequent transfers of employees covered by the civil service system among the governmental entities in Escambia County. All of the non-instructional personnel employed by the Public Employer, including all of the employees within the proposed collective bargaining units, are covered by the civil service system. All of these employees have salaries as set out in the civil service salary plan. The same sick leave and vacation leave policy, grievance procedure, disciplinary procedure, promotional process, insurance benefits, and retirement plan apply to all of these employees.

    
    

16. It would be more time consuming for the Public Employer to engage in collective bargaining with several collective bargaining units than with one unit. During the week prior to the hearing in these cases the Public Employer's negotiating team spent four days in negotiations with the bargaining representatives of instructional personnel. Assuming that the bargaining representatives of several units successfully negotiated dues deductions, it is proper to assume that the existence of several units would place added bookkeeping chores upon the Public Employer. The three units for which certification is being sought include less than 40 percent of the non- instructional personnel employed by the Public Employer.

    
    

17. Employees within the three proposed bargaining units are not interchangeable with one another. Custodial employees are not interchangeable with lunchroom employees, nor with bus drivers and mechanics, and so on. Employees within the three units have very little job contact with one another. Custodians perform limited functions in the lunchroom; however, custodians and lunchroom employees are not likely to have any contact with bus drivers or mechanics. Bus drivers and mechanics spend the greater portion of their work day off of the school campuses as distinguished from custodians and lunchroom employees. Custodians and lunchroom employees are supervised by the school principals. Bus drivers and mechanics are supervised by the Board's Director of Transportation, except that bus drivers are supervised by the school principals during the times they are carrying children to and from the schools. The work performed by personnel in the proposed units is very different, and lateral transfers between the proposed units are not likely to ever occur. While there is no collective bargaining history indicating a pattern of dealing with the proposed units separately, there has been a school food services association which performs social functions for food service employees.

ENTERED this 6 day of January, 1976, in Tallahassee, Florida.

G. STEVEN PFEIFFER Hearing Officer

Division of Administrative Hearings Room 530, Carlton Building Tallahassee, Florida

ENDNOTE

1/ References to pages in the official transcript will hereafter be designated "TR" followed by the page number.

Docket for Case No: 75-000462

Orders for Case No: 75-000462