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STATE OF WASHINGTON |
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BEFORE THE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS COMMISSION |
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In the matter of the petition of: |
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TECHNICAL SERVICES CENTER 911 DISPATCHERS |
CASE 10703-E-93-1763 |
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Involving certain employees of: |
DECISION 4960 - PECB |
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COWLITZ COUNTY |
ORDER OF DISMISSAL |
Hoag, Vick, Tarantino & Garrettson, by Jaime B. Goldberg, Attorney at Law, appeared on behalf of the petitioner.
Amburgey, Segel & Rubin, by Howard Rubin, Attorney at Law, appeared on behalf of the employer.
Cary Bertram, Business Representative, appeared on behalf of incumbent intervenor, Teamsters Local 58.
On October 5, 1993, Technical Services Center 911 Dispatchers filed a petition for investigation of a question concerning representation with the Public Employment Relations Commission, seeking certification as exclusive bargaining representative of the certain employees of Cowlitz County. A hearing was held on April 21, 1994, before Hearing Officer Jack T. Cowan. The parties filed briefs.
BACKGROUND
Among other governmental services, Cowlitz County maintains and operates dispatching functions for its own emergency services and those of municipalities within its borders. The Technical Services Center (hereinafter: "the Center") was created by the Cowlitz County Board of Commissioners on January 1, 1991, citing an interest of increased efficiency. Dispatchers and records clerks who had been employed by the City of Longview were combined with employees from the Cowlitz County Emergency Management Division and from the Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office. Two dispatchers who had been employed by the City of Kelso were subsequently added to the Center staff.
Teamsters Local Union 58 is the incumbent exclusive bargaining representative of a bargaining unit consisting of "all regularly scheduled full-time employees of the Technical Services Center . . . who are employed for more than six consecutive months". Local 58 had represented the Longview employees and the sheriff's records clerks at the time of the consolidation. The emergency management division employees had been represented by another labor organization, but it disclaimed any interest in representing the employees of the Center. Cowlitz County thus recognized Local 58 for all employees at the Center. The employer and Local 58 negotiated an initial contract that covered the period from January 1, 1991 through December 31, 1991. Their latest agreement covered the period from January 1, 1992 through December 31, 1993.
Divisions within the Center
Under the management of Director Richard R. Bullock, the Center is presently comprised of three divisions, as follows:
Dispatch Division -
The dispatchers receive calls for emergency assistance, and use radios to dispatch appropriate service responses (police, fire trucks, aid car, etc. ). Dispatching is high-stress work, requiring the ability to respond quickly in a variety of situations and in an organized, efficient and courteous manner. The staff of this division includes 1 secretary, 18 dispatchers, and 2 supervisors. The dispatch function is staffed on an around-the-clock basis (i. e. , 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, throughout the year).
Records Division -
After a dispatch is made, information is automatically transferred by computer to the records division. The records clerks also handle non-emergency calls to the Center, as well as "off-duty calls" for the Longview Police Department and the Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office. Any emergency calls received by the records division are re-routed to the dispatchers, who likewise route any non-emergency calls to the records clerks. The record clerks respond to requests from the dispatchers for certain types of information requested from the field (e. g. , names, addresses, dates of birth, and whether an individual has had prior contacts with law enforcement agencies) . The records clerks handle records and paper processing for the law enforcement agencies, including police reports, restraining orders, runaway information, mug shots and booking sheets. The staff of this division includes 11 clerks and one supervisor. The records function is also staffed on an around-the-clock basis.
Emergency Management Division -
Operating as a support group, this division furnishes assistance to various agencies in the event of disasters such as floods, plane crashes, train crashes, or other major catastrophes. The staff of this division currently includes only one secretary and one supervisor. This division is normally activated by a crisis call received by the dispatchers.
Interaction of the Divisions
All three divisions are housed in close proximity, within the same facility. During major emergency situations, the door between the dispatch and emergency management divisions can be opened, to allow personnel to move freely between them.
POSITIONS OF THE PARTIES
The petitioning organization formed by the dispatchers seeks to sever the dispatchers from the existing bargaining unit, and to create a bargaining unit separate and apart from the records and emergency management personnel. It contends that the dispatchers have distinct duties, skills and working conditions, separate and apart from those of the records clerks or the emergency management division. The petitioner claims substantial dissatisfaction by the dispatchers with both the union representative and with the service they have been receiving from Teamsters Local 58.
Contending that the proposed severance would unnecessarily disrupt and fragment bargaining relationships, the employer seeks to maintain the existing bargaining unit in its present form. The employer further contends the dispatchers are not a distinct and homogenous group of skilled journeymen craftsmen, and that the history of bargaining and stable labor relations does not support creation of a separate bargaining unit.
At the hearing held in this matter, Teamsters Local 58 sought to disclaim interest in further representation of the dispatchers. It indicates that the records and emergency management personnel are in agreement with the proposed severance, and that the records clerks felt their concerns did not receive adequate consideration during the bargaining process because they were outnumbered by the dispatchers.
DISCUSSION
Determinations as to the propriety of bargaining units are made under standards set forth in RCW 41. 56. 060, as follows:
The commission, after hearing upon reasonable notice, shall decide in each application for certification as an exclusive bargaining representative, the unit appropriate for the purpose of collective bargaining. In determining, modifying, or combining the bargaining unit, the commission shall consider the duties, skills, and working conditions of the public employees; the history of bargaining by the public employees and their bargaining representatives; the extent of the organization among the public employees; and the desire of the public employees.
Support personnel in police departments are sometimes found mixed into department-wide (vertical) bargaining units. City of Montesano, Decision 2138 (PECB, 1985); City of Centralia, Decision 1534 (PECB, 1983) . Such employees have also been included or left in broader (horizontal) units encompassing the office-clerical and related employees of other departments or groups. See: City of Tacoma, Decision 204 (PECB, 1977; City of Everett, Decision 1883 (PECB, 1984); Kitsap County, Decision 2117 (PECB, 1984).
History of Bargaining
Where a bargaining relationship has been in existence, the "history of bargaining" weighs against its disruption by severing the unit into two or more components. Commission precedents patterned after the precedents of the National Labor Relations Board thus impose a stricter scrutiny on "severance" petitions than may be called for in the initial organization of bargaining units. In Yelm School District, Decision 704-A (PECB, 1978), the Commission wrote:
The decision in Mallinckrodt Chemical Works, 162 NLRB 387 (1966) contains the definitive statement of existing NLRB policy on the adjudication of severance disputes. The Board there observed:
It is patent that the American Potash tests do not effectuate the policies of the Act. We shall, therefore, no longer allow our inquiry to be limited by them. Rather, we shall, as the Board did prior to American Potash, broaden our inquiry to permit evaluation of all considerations relevant to an informed decision in this area. The following areas of inquiry are illustrative of those we deem relevant:
1. Whether or not the proposed unit consists of a distinct and homogeneous group of skilled journeymen craftsmen performing the functions of their craft on a nonrepetitive basis, or of employees constituting a functionally distinct department, working in trades or occupations for which a tradition of separate representation exists, [footnote omitted]
2. The history of collective bargaining of the employees sought and at the plant involved, and at other plants of the employer, with emphasis on whether the existing patterns of bargaining are productive of stability in labor relations, and whether such stability will be unduly disrupted by the destruction of the existing patterns of representation.
3. The extent to which the employees in the proposed unit have established and maintained their separate identity during the period of inclusion in a broader unit, and the extent of their participation or lack of participation in the establishment and maintenance of the existing pattern of representation and the prior opportunities, if any, afforded them to obtain separate representation .
4. The history and pattern of collective bargaining in the industry involved.
5. The degree of integration of the employer" s production processes, including the extent to which the continued normal operation of the production processes is dependent upon the performance of the assigned functions of the employees in the proposed unit.
6. The qualifications of the union seeking to "carve out" a separate unit, including that union's experience in representing employees like those involved in the severance action, [footnote omitted]
Mallinckrodt Chemical Works, 162 NLRB 387, 397-398. This Commission subscribes to the point of view expressed by the NLRB in Mallinckrodt
The Commission went on to deny a severance of a one-classification bargaining unit in Yelm, citing: (1) that the employees involved did not meet the well-established criteria for classification as skilled journeymen craftsmen; (2) that a severance would not be productive of stable labor relations; (3) that there was no history giving the petitioned-for employees an identity separate from others in the existing bargaining unit; (4) the integration of the petitioned-for employees into the employer's overall operations; and (5) the absence of evidence that the petitioning organization had special qualifications vis-a-vis those of the incumbent.
In this case, the history of bargaining in the existing unit dates back to the inception of the Center in 1991. The unique situation which existed, and the components from which the existing unit was derived, do not substantiate a history of isolation or separation. The sole example of a separate unit comes from the dispatch function which existed in Longview, but that unit was combined into the existing bargaining unit without any contemporaneous protest.
The evidence suggests that the bargaining relationship in the existing unit has been harmonious. The employer and Local 58 have negotiated two successive collective bargaining agreements, with all three divisions represented in the negotiations. There was no mention nor attempt during the bargaining process to sever the dispatch division from the remaining divisions of the Center.
There is no evidence of any change of circumstances, or of any actual conflict between divisions which would warrant severance of the dispatchers from the historical bargaining unit. Nothing suggests any breach of the union's duty of fair representation. While there was some indication of internal dissatisfaction with the quality of representation being provided by the incumbent union, that can be addressed within the union or by an attempt to change representatives for the existing bargaining unit.
Duties, Skills and Working Conditions
The petitioner seeks to portray the duties, skills and working conditions of the dispatchers as being dissimilar from those of the records clerks. The job description for the dispatcher classification defines the function, in part, as follows:
Position Purpose:
To receive and dispatch calls for service from the Center to law enforcement, fire and medical units throughout Cowlitz County.
Nature and Scope:
This is specialized work in receiving and dispatching messages in a 911 Communications Center. The work involves the responsibility of operating radio, telephone and computer equipment and performing related clerical communication tasks. The work requires fast, efficient and accurate receiving, processing and dispatching of calls, alarms and messages to police, fire and medical personnel.
Public safety dispatchers report to their assigned supervisor. Work is assigned by the shift supervisor who provided supervision, evaluations and assignment of work under the general direction of the Technical Services Director.
Dispatchers in the position must be able to deal effectively with the public, other public safety employees and their co-workers in situations that are occasionally stressful. Good verbal and written communication skills are required. Dispatchers employed by the Center must be available to perform shift work on any shift, work weekends and holidays as scheduled. Public Safety Dispatchers must be familiar with the policies and procedures followed by the Center.
Typical Duties:
1. Receives and evaluates calls from the public requesting emergency service.
2. Inputs and transmits call information using computer terminal keyboard, dispatches appropriate agencies, or refers callers to appropriate service agency.
3. Verifies and/or inputs data as requested by officers in the field.
4. Monitors alarm and video security system.
5. Operates two-way radio equipment to dispatch calls and to receive and communicate information.
6. Utilizes computer terminal equipment to enter dispatch information, update unit status and retrieve various data records.
7. Notifies wrecker service, ambulance companies, medical investigator and other for services requested by officers in the field.
8. Contacts complainant by telephone to gather supplemental information, as required.
9. Conducts file inquiries in regional, state and federal data banks to check for warrants, stolen property/vehicles and driving records.
10. Contacts issuing police agencies to confirm warrants and notifies requesting officers of confirmation.
11. Receives offense reports and inputs data according to code and format required.
12. Manually prepares and updates various logs, records and reports as needed.
13. Uses maps and other resource material to assist field units.
Qualifications:
Must have high school diploma or GED, acute hearing and sight, good verbal and written communications skills. Must have ability to type 4 0 Words per minute, sit at work station for long periods of time, remain calm in a stressful environment and use a variety of telephone, radio, console and computer equipment. Must be willing to work varied shifts and weekends and may be required to participate in the following examinations, as part of the selection process: written, oral, interview, practical, psychological, polygraph, medical physical. Failure to pass one phase of the testing process will eliminate the candidate from further testing. In addition, there will be background and personal history investigations conducted on finalist. Candidates with experience and/or education will be given preferential treatment in the selection process.
It can be said with certainty that the dispatch function is a high stress job. The dispatchers work continuous eight-hour shifts with only limited breaks, and must remain in the building even during their meal breaks.
The position description for the records clerk classification is as follows:
Position Purpose:
To assist and answer inquiries from law enforcement personnel and other law enforcement agencies and the general public regarding information in the Records and Information Division. Assist the data entry in the automated records systems. Send point-to-point teletypes and make inquiries and entries into the ACCESS system. Perform records checks and file documents.
Nature and Scope:
The Records Clerk will report to the Records Supervisor.
Typical Duties:
1. Answer public phone calls and assist public at front counter.
2. Make computer data entry as necessary, (e. g. , one page officer reports and supplemental reports, as necessary).
3. Take initial incident reports on minor offenses or for informational purposes on the telephone or from in-person calls.
4. File documents.
5. Process found property (under $250) .
6. Log, process, prepare for service, enter into WACIC and file Domestic Violence papers.
7. Respond to requests for criminal history records information by the public and law enforcement officers and agencies per laws, rules and regulations.
8. Respond to requests for other information by the public and law enforcement officers and agencies per laws, rules and regulations .
9. Retrieve information and documents from the files for law enforcement agencies.
10. Process accident reports, house check forms, impounded vehicle forms, fingerprint cards, etc.
11. Send teletypes, as needed, for county and city law enforcement agencies.
12. Enter master name index cards.
13. Will routinely use 2-way radio, data entry and retrieval terminals, typewriter, fax, 10-key adding machine, variety of printers and copy machines and microfilm retrieval system.
Qualifications:
Must have high school diploma or GED. Must possess basic filing skills. Must be able to type 40 words per minute. Must be a certified Level II teletype operator or able to obtain within six months of employment. Must have good verbal and written communication skills. Must be able to remain calm in a stressful environment. Must be willing to work varied shifts and weekends. Applicants may be required to participate in the following examinations as part of the selection process: Written, Oral Interview, Practice, Psychological and Medical Physical. Failure to pass one phase of the testing process will eliminate the candidate from further testing. In addition, there will be background and personal history investigations conducted on finalists.
The records clerks operate without the stress encountered by the dispatchers, while performing duties of a more repetitive or routine nature.
The position description for the third classification involved, that of emergency management secretary, includes the following:
Position Purpose:
To perform secretarial, receptionist and clerical duties for the effective operation of the Emergency Management Division.
Nature and Scope:
This position reports to the Emergency Management Supervisor, performing secretarial, clerical and receptionist duties for all division personnel.
Typical Duties:
1. Performs budget, payroll, and purchasing functions, including the preparation of payroll records, purchase order and expense vouchers, prepares annual inventory, main tains employee attendance records, follows up on monthly budget expenditures to assure they are within budget limitations and maintains a petty cash fund in the amount of $50.
2 . Initiates billing to cities for their share of the Emergency Management Budget and to pager services.
3. Prepares Emergency Management Assistance (EMA) Grant, compiles monthly reimbursement requests, prepares Grant Inventory for submission to the County Auditor, as necessary.
4. Maintains/updates both the Equipment Resource Manual and the Telephone Reference Manual which contains emergency call lists. Maintains Emergency Worker registration records and issues identification cards to all volunteer emergency workers.
5. Operates National Weather Service river computer which monitors lake and river levels and precipitation gauges.
6. Performs a variety of secretarial nd clerical tasks, including transcribing dictation, typing correspondence, reports and plans, making copies, preparing new files, opening mail, filing, answering telephone, greeting public, scheduling meeting room, operating computer equipment using word processing, database and spreadsheet forms.
7. Serves as Secretary/Treasurer for Cowlitz County Search and Rescue Council, schedules meetings, records minutes and conducts all financial business for the Council.
8. Obtains search and rescue mission numbers from the State of Washington Division of Emergency Management upon request. Prepares and submits to the State all search and rescue reports and training mission requests/reports .
9. Must be flexible to work past regular hours, on weekends, etc. , in response to emergencies or disasters at the request of the Emergency Management Supervisor or the Technical Services Director.
Qualifications:
Must have school diploma or GED. Must be proficient in office procedures with skill in typing, filing, word processing and personal computer operation. Must have two years of experience in performing secretarial and clerical duties.
Must have good verbal and written communication skills. Must be able to remain calm in a stressful environment. Must be willing to work varied shifts and weekends. Applicants may be required to participate in the following examinations as part of the selection process: Written, Oral Interview, Practical, Psychological and Medical Physical. Failure to pass one phase of the testing process will eliminate the candidate from further testing. In addition, there will be background and personal history investigations conducted on finalists.
A question remains, however, as to whether the interests of the dispatchers are sufficiently compelling to conclude that there is no longer a community of interest between them and the other employees of the Center. There is much evidence supporting the continued existence of a community of interest in the existing bargaining unit.
All of the employees in the existing bargaining unit work in the same building. Despite individual activities, the Center functions as a team that is not strictly divided by walls or by different assignments and functions. There is an on-going, almost constant, interchange of information via telephone and computer between the employees in the three divisions. The purposes, goals and objectives of the Center are the same for all divisions. Only the means of accommodation are at variance.
There is evidence of crossover of personnel and, to some degree, of functions within the Center. Records clerks also work on an around-the-clock basis, during which they handle a variety of nonemergency calls. They work in coordination with the dispatchers, transferring calls, providing information upon request, also filing and recording information provided by the dispatchers.
While duties vary between the divisions, many of the tasks performed require similar skills and abilities. Other than the stresses encountered in dispatching, differences in required skills or capabilities are not readily apparent when comparing the employees of each division.
Fringe benefits for the dispatcher and records clerk classifications are similar. Wages for the dispatchers are approximately $300 to $350 per month greater than the wages for a records clerk. That differential reflects the emphasis placed on the stress-related activity of the dispatchers.
Applicants for all positions complete the same application form. Testing and/or interview processes are much the same. Career mobility for the records clerks includes the opportunity to move into the better-paying dispatching activity, and records clerks seeking promotion to dispatcher would tend to be more knowledgeable than the average outside applicant, based on their day-to-day interaction. Dispatchers have also utilized the opportunity to transfer to records positions, when they desired to work in a less stressful atmosphere.
There is no evidence that personnel in any of the three divisions would lose any advantage or opportunity by remaining in their current unit. While the dispatchers may prefer an occupationally "pure" unit, the existing unit configuration appears to remain an appropriate unit.
Desires of the Employees
The Commission does not base unit determinations on the testimony of bargaining unit employees concerning their desires. Apart from the inherently coercive effect of subjecting employees to cross-examination about a subject that is often closely tied to their choice of a bargaining representative, the desires of employees can be fairly obtained by conducting a secret ballot "unit determination election". That procedure cannot be invoked, however, to offer employees an opportunity to choose a unit configuration that would be inappropriate under RCW 41. 56. 060. There is no occasion to conduct a unit determination election in this case. The petitioned-for severance must be denied based on the other unit determination criteria set forth in RCW 41. 56. 060.
The Purported Disclaimer
It is clear that a labor organization may disclaim its status as the exclusive bargaining representative of a bargaining unit. In this case, Teamsters Local 58 has attempted to disclaim only a part of the bargaining unit which it has historically represented. The union's apparent purpose was to affect the outcome of this case.
The Legislature has vested unit determination authority in the Commission under RCW 41. 56. 060. Unit determination is not a mandatory subject of collective bargaining under Chapter 41. 56 RCW, and the Commission is not bound by the agreements or actions of the parties. City of Richland, Decision 279-A (PECB, 1978), affirmed 29 Wn. App. 599 (Division III, 1981), review denied 96 Wn. 2d 1004 (1981). In Kent School District, Decision 127 (PECB, 1976), the Commission refused to be bound by a partial disclaimer made by one union in an apparent attempt to clear the way for another union to organize the affected employees without facing the rigors of "severance" criteria. The same result obtains here, inasmuch as Local 58 has not disclaimed the unit as a whole.
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. Cowlitz County is a county of the State of Washington and is a public employer within the meaning of RCW 41. 56. 030(1). Among other operations, the employer maintains and staffs the Cowlitz County Technical Services Center.
2. Technical Services Center 911 Dispatchers, a prospective bargaining representative within the meaning of RCW 41. 56-. 030(3) , has filed a petition for investigation of a question concerning representation, seeking severance of a separate bargaining unit of dispatchers from a bargaining unit consisting of all employees in the Cowlitz County Technical Services Center.
3. Teamsters Local Union 58, a bargaining representative within the meaning of RCW 41. 46. 030(3), is the incumbent exclusive bargaining representative of all employees in the Cowlitz County Technical Services Center, including the dispatchers.
4. The bargaining relationship between the employer and Local 58 dates back to the inception of the Technical Services Center in 1991. The employer and Local 58 had negotiated collective bargaining agreements prior to the onset of this proceeding.
5. At the hearing in this matter, Teamsters Local 58 purported to disclaim its representation rights concerning the portion of the historical bargaining unit limited to the dispatchers.
6. The petitioned-for employees and those which would remain in the historical bargaining unit all work within the same department and under the same director. Their work locations are in the same building, and their work spaces are connected to facilitate interaction during major emergencies. They interact on a routine basis with respect to daily operations.
7. The petitioned-for dispatchers do not constitute a separate recognized craft. Although the classifications within the existing bargaining unit have some different daily duties, they share many working conditions in common. The basic skills, qualifications and hiring procedures are similar for all classifications in the existing bargaining unit.
8. There is no history of separate representation or bargaining with this employer concerning the petitioned-for employees.
9. All of the employees of the Technical Services Center have an ongoing community of interest in the existing bargaining unit, and the incumbent exclusive bargaining representative has not disclaimed the entire bargaining unit.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. The Public Employment Relations Commission has jurisdiction in this matter pursuant to Chapter 41. 56 and Chapter 391-25-WAC.
2. A bargaining unit limited to dispatchers employed by the Cowlitz County Technical Services Center would not be an appropriate bargaining unit under RCW 41. 56. 060.
3. The purported disclaimer by Teamsters Local Union 58 of only a portion of the bargaining unit which it has historically represented has no binding force or effect in the administration of RCW 41. 56. 060 by the Commission.
ORDER OF DISMISSAL
The petition for investigation of a question concerning representation filed in this matter is DISMISSED.
Issued at Olympia, Washington, the 20th day of January, 1995.
PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS COMMISSION
[SIGNED]
MARVIN L. SCHURKE, Executive Director
This order may be appealed by filing timely objections with the Commission pursuant to WAC 391-25-590.