STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

LABORERS' LOCAL UNION NO. 1101, )

)

Petitioner, )

)

and ) CASE NO. 75-1235

) PERC NO. 8H-RC-752-0188

ALACHUA COUNTY, FLORIDA, )

)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

Pursuant to notice, the Division of Administrative Hearings, by its duly designated hearing officer, G. Steven Pfeiffer, held a public hearing in this case on October 28, 1975, in Gainesville, Florida. The following appearances were entered: Roy Scherer, Pensacola, Florida, for the Laborers' Local Union No. 1101; and Norm La Coe, Gainesville, Florida for Alachua County.

SUMMARY OF THE CASE

The Laborers' Local Union No. 1101 ("Petitioner" hereafter) filed a petition with the Public Employees Relations Commission ("PERC" hereafter) on July 16, 1975. Petitioner is seeking to represent a unit of employees of Alachua County ("Public Employer" hereafter). The unit described in the petition would include all employees in the Road Department, Sanitation Department, Maintenance Department, parks Department, Auto Inspection Department, and Mosquito Control Department; and would exclude all statutory exclusions and all other employees. At the hearing Petitioner amended its unit designation to include all blue collar workers employed by the Public Employer. (See: Official transcript page 22*). The Public Employer opposes the unit proposed by the Petitioner, and asserts that the appropriate collective bargaining unit should include all employees other than sworn law enforcement officers and fire fighters, and should exclude constitutional employees.

Alternatively, the Public Employer asserted at the hearing that the unit described by the Petitioner in the petition did not include all blue collar employees, and that at a minimum the unit should include all blue collar employees.

At the hearing the Public Employer moved to dismiss the petitioner on the grounds that the unit described in the petition is inappropriate, and that the Petitioner has failed to make the requisite showing of interest. The Motion to Dismiss was denied at the hearing, and the motion is carried with the case in order that PERC might consider and rule upon the motion. (See: TR 14, 15). The final hearing was scheduled by notice dated October 14, 1975. The purposes of the hearing were to consider and develop a record from which PERC might consider and determine the following issues:

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

   
   

2. Whether the Petitioner is an employee organization within the meaning of Florida Statutes, Chapter 447.

3. Whether there is a sufficient showing of interest as required for the filing of a representation election petition under Florida Statutes, Chapter 447.

   
   

4. Whether the employee organization is a properly registered organization with the Public Employees Relations Commission.

   
   

5. The appropriate unit of public employees in the case.

The Public Employer called the following witnesses: Howard Weston, the County Administrator of Alachua County; John R. Durrance, Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners of Alachua County; Charles Morgan, the County Engineer of Alachua County; Cynthia Melchar, the Personnel Director of the Public Employer; and Joseph Broderick, the Labor Negotiator for the City of Gainesville. Public Employer's Exhibits 1 - 5 were offered into evidence and were received. Subsequent to the hearing, without objection from the Petitioner, the Public Employer provided a roster of county employees who would be eligible for inclusion in a county wide bargaining unit, and job descriptions of the employees of Alachua County. The latter documents have been considered as though they were presented at the time of the hearing as Public Employer exhibits. The Petitioner called as its only witness Al Gross, the International Representative of the Laborers' International Union of North America. The parties were allowed an opportunity to file Legal Memoranda and Proposed Hearing Officer's Reports. The Public Employer has submitted a brief, and Proposed Findings of Fact.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. The petition herein was filed by Petitioner with PERC on July 16, 1975. (Hearing Officer's Exhibit 1).

   
   

2. The hearing in the case was scheduled by notice dated October 14, 1975. (Hearing Officer's Exhibit 2).

   
   

3. Alachua County is a Public Employer within the meaning of Florida Statutes, Section 447.002(2). (Stipulation TR 4).

   
   

4. The Petitioner is an association affiliated with the Laborers' International Union of North America. Petitioner is seeking to represent public employees in matters relating to their employment relationship with a public employer. The Petitioner has not been certified by PERC to serve as the bargaining representative of any unit of public employees. Other affiliates of the Laborers' International Union of North America have been certified.

   
   

5. Petitioner has requested recognition as the exclusive bargaining agent of a unit of employees of the Public Employer, and the request has been denied. (Stipulation TR 4, 5).

   
   

6. There is no contract bar to holding an election in the collective bargaining unit proposed by the Petitioner; however, non-sworn employees of the Sheriff's Department in Alachua County have previously been represented by another employee organization, and these employees would be included in the unit proposed by the Public Employer. The Public Employer contends that it is the

   co-employer of employees in the Sheriff's Department.

7. PERC has previously determined that the Petitioner is a duly registered employee organization. (Hearing Officer's Exhibit 3). No evidence was offered at the hearing to rebut the administrative determination previously made by PERC.

   
   

8. Petitioner submitted approximately 75 authorization cards to PERC with its petition. In its petition the Petitioner estimated the number of employees in the proposed unit as approximately 100. The Public Employer subsequently submitted a list of employees within the proposed unit to PERC and that list indicates that the unit would include 212 persons. PERC officials found some of the authorization cards offered by the Petitioner to be insufficient. Sixty one cards were found by PERC to be properly signed and dated and on the list of employees submitted by the Public Employer. This was less than the 30 percent showing of interest required by PERC rules. On the day of the hearing, the Petitioner submitted 11 additional authorization cards to the undersigned. The undersigned checked the cards against the Public Employer's list, and found 4 additional cards that were properly signed, were on the list, and were not duplications. These cards have been submitted to PERC for further consideration.

   
   

9. The Board of County Commissioners is the legislative body of the Public Employer. The County Administrator is appointed by the Board of County Commissioners and is responsible to that Board for the administration of most of the Public Employer's departments. The County Engineer is appointed by the Board of County Commissioners, and is responsible to that Board for the administration of the Vehicle Inspection Station, the Mosquito Control Department, and the Road Department. The organizational structure of the Public Employer is accurately portrayed in Public Employer's Exhibit 1. The Public Employer employs approximately 756 persons on a full-time basis. The collective bargaining unit proposed by the Public Employer would include 401 persons. It is difficult to determine from the description of the proposed unit as stated in the petition, or from the description of the unit as amended at the hearing, how many employees would be included within the Petitioner's proposed unit. It can be estimated the proposed unit would include 200 employees.

   
   

10. Job descriptions of the personnel employed by the Public Employer were offered into evidence and were received. These job descriptions accurately describe the duties, responsibilities, and day-to-day work of the employees.

    The parties stipulated and agreed at the hearing that the following employees should be excluded from any collective bargaining unit certified by PERC: the Assistant Supervisor of Building Maintenance, and the Building Maintenance Supervisor; the Mechanic Foreman in the Regional Transit Department; the Road Superintendent; the Assistant County Engineer, and the County Engineer; the Main Assistant Director of Mosquito Control; the Supervisor of Animal Control; the Manager of the Motor Vehicle Inspection Station, and the Lane Supervisor; the Superintendent of Refuse Collection, and the Supervisor of Refuse Collection; the Superintendent of Land Fill; the Director of Waste Control, and the Assistant Administrator.

    
    

11. The County Administrator, the County Engineer, and the County Attorney are all appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Board of County Commissioners. The salaries of these persons are determined by the Board. All other employees are appointed at the direction of one of these three persons. The salaries of all other employees are set by the County Administrator, the County Engineer, or the County Attorney within the limits of the Position Classification and Pay Plan Review for Alachua County, Florida. This document was received in evidence as Public Employer's Exhibit 2. The limits set out in

    Public Employer's Exhibit 2 leave relatively minor discretion in setting wages with the County Administrator, County Engineer, and County Attorney. Wages, hours, holidays, vacations and other benefits and terms and conditions of employment are established for all county employees by the County Commission. Employees of the Public Employer are given first opportunity to fill job vacancies which occur in the county. Mechanics, drivers, vehicle operators, and clerical and secretarial employees are employed in various departments, and frequently are transferred from one department to another.

    
    

12. Petitioner expressed its preference to represent units of employees which do not include both blue collar and white collar employees. No evidence was offered at the hearing to show any specific conflict of interest between blue collar and white collar employees of the Public Employer.

ENTERED this 5 day of March, 1976, in Tallahassee, Florida.

G. STEVEN PFEIFFER Hearing Officer

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

COPIES FURNISHED:

Roy O. Scherer 6372 Rambler Drive

Pensacola, Florida 32505 Representative for Petitioner

Norm La Coe

Office of the County Attorney Alachua County Courthouse Gainesville, Florida 32601 Attorney for Public Employer

Curtis L. Mack, Chairman

Public Employees Relations Commission Suite 105, 2005 Apalachee Parkway

Tallahassee, Florida 32301

Docket for Case No: 75-001235

Orders for Case No: 75-001235