Appearances:

Max Johnson, Staff Representative, WSCCCE, for the Union.

Michael Wynne, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, Clark County, for the Employer.

Washington State Council of County and City Employees, Local No. 307, AFSCME, AFL-CIO, filed a petition with the Public Employment Relations Commission on May 12, 1977, wherein it requested a unit clarification with respect to the job classification of "Fire Inspector" in relation to a unit of full time and regular part time employees of the Public Works Department of Clark County, Washington. A hearing was held in Vancouver, Washington on June 15, 1977 before Rex L. Lacy, Hearing Officer.

POSITIONS OF THE PARTIES:

The Union contends that the Employer assigned the newly created Fire Inspector positions to the Public Works Department, with the result that the current collective bargaining agreement includes the Fire Inspector classification. Additionally, the Union contends that the duties, skills, fringe benefits and general working conditions of the Fire Inspector classification are sufficiently similar to those of other Public Works Department employees to warrant the continued inclusion of the Fire Inspector classification in the bargaining unit.

The Employer contends that the duties and responsibilities, hours of work, working conditions, community of interest and desires of the Fire Inspectors are sufficiently different from other Public Works Department employees to warrant their exclusion from the bargaining unit represented by WSCCCE, Local 307. Additionally, the employer believes that the history of bargaining has been disturbed by a recent strike by WSCCCE Local 307 against Clark County.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY:

RCW 41.56.060 provides, in part:

"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 collective bargaining by the public employees and their bargaining representatives; the extent of organization among the public employees; and the desire of the public employees."

WAC 391-20-151, adopted pursuant to RCW 41.56.090, provides:

"UNIT CLARIFICATION. Whenever a disagreement occurs on whether or not positions are to be included or excluded from the bargaining unit, the public employer or the bargaining representative may petition the commission to conduct a representation hearing to resolve the matter. In making this determination the commission shall be guided by the criteria set forth in RCW 41.56.030 and RCW 41.56.060.

DISCUSSION:

There is no argument that any of the employees in the Fire Inspector classification are excluded from the definition of "employee" under RCW 41.56.030. The evidence also establishes that none of the individuals involved are covered by RCW 41.26.030 (the LE0FF retirement system) so as to qualify them for separate treatment as "uniformed personnel" within the meaning of RCW 41.56.030.

Duties, Skills and Working Conditions

The duties of the Fire Inspector classification are detailed in the job descriptions for the position, as are the duties of all other employees in the eight divisions of the Public Works Department. Each position in the Department has its own unique requirements, but all of those positions were placed in the Public Works Department because of the general similarity of the services provided to the residents of Clark County.

The Fire Inspectors do not engage in combatting fires. Instead, they are called upon to investigate fires where arson is suspected, to inspect buildings for violations of the fire code, and to participate in fire prevention education. With appropriate "craft" modifications, similar duties apply to other "inspector" classifications in the Public Works Department. The evidence regarding some difference in hours of work does not destroy the community of interest with the other employees of the Department, because the scheduled work week of the Fire Inspectors differs from that of other employees only in that they are on call twenty four hours per day for investigation of suspect fires.

The Fire Inspectors were not required to have extensive education or expertise when employed. They were required to possess a fire service background and to have the ability to deal with the public. These have not been shown to be significantly different (except for appropriate "craft" modifications) from the employment requirements for the County's plumbing inspector, building inspector, mechanical inspector and driveway drainage inspector, all of which are included in the Public Works Department.

The working conditions and supervision of Fire Inspectors are also similar to those of other Public Works Department employees. All of the employees in the Department participate in the same retirement system and in the standard fringe benefits described in the collective bargaining agreement between the Union and the Employer.[1]

History of Collective Bargaining

The Union was certified by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries as the representative of the Public Works Department employees, and the Union and the Employer have participated in a series of collective bargaining agreements dating back to 1971. While the current collective bargaining agreement between the parties also covers the employees of the "Parks Department" the agreement applies separately to that Department and confirms that it covers "all of the organized employees of both such departments". The present dispute traces back to the decision of the Employer to place the Fire Inspector classification within the Public Works Department. The addition of a single job classification does not upset the history of collective bargaining, whereas the exclusion of a single classification from an otherwise Department-wide unit could be the harbinger of fragmentation which would upset the collective bargaining relationship.

Extent of Organization

The collective bargaining agreement contains a union security provision which requires that "all employees in classifications listed under Schedule "A" attached hereto shall become and remain members of the union as a condition of employment after completion of thirty (30) days." Schedule "A" contains some 40 different job classifications, and it thus appears that the only Public Works Department employees who are exempted from membership by the collective bargaining agreement are the un-organized employees of the Department. The addition of one classification does not raise any doubt as to the majority status of the Union, and the extent of organization just described militates in favor of inclusion of the disputed positions in the existing unit.

Desires of the Employees

The Fire Inspector positions in question were filled in October, 1976 and, among the employment forms routinely submitted to the prospective employees, the authorization form for Union membership and dues deduction was supplied to each of the prospective employees. Each of the present Fire Inspectors filled out the Union membership form and returned it to the Employer. Mo objections were raised by either the employer or the employees at that time. Subsequently, following a strike action by the Union during the early months of 1977, these employees requested withdrawl of their authorizations. The employer adopted their position, resulting in the filing of the instant case.

Based upon the foregoing, and the record as a whole, the Authorized Agent makes the following:

FINDINGS OF FACT

1.                  Washington State Council of County and City Employees, an affiliate of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO, is the labor organization certified as the representative of employees of the Public Works Department of Clark County, Washington.

2.                  Clark County is a political subdivision of the State of Washington and, among other services, maintains a Public Works Department which has, among its eight divisions, a Fire Bureau.

3.                  The Fire Bureau was created in 1975 by legislative action transferring duties and responsibilities previously vested in Fire Districts to the Employer. The Fire Bureau consists of one Fire Marshal and three Fire Inspectors.

4.                  The Fire Bureau was placed within the Public Works Department for budgetary and supervisory purposes when created by the Employer and remains so placed. The Fire Marshal supervises the activities of the Fire Inspectors and reports directly to the Director of Public Works.

5.                  Upon their employment, the Fire Inspectors signed Authorization for Payroll Deduction and Representation forms, as follows:

"I, the undersigned, hereby authorize the Washington State Council of County and City Employees, AFL-CIO, or any affiliated local Union thereof, to represent me for the purposes of Collective Bargaining, and in my behalf, to negotiate and conclude all agreements as to hours of labor, wages, and other conditions of employment.

"I hereby request and authorize my employer to deduct from my earnings each month the current amount of union dues, as certified by the Union. The amount deducted shall be paid to the Treasurer of local ___ each month. This authorization shall remain in effect unless terminated by me upon sixty days written notice to the union in advance or upon termination of my employment."

6.                  The duties and skills of Fire Inspector employees (except for appropriate craft modification), and the working conditions of Fire Inspector employees are comparable to the duties, skills and working conditions of other employees of the Employer's Public Works Department and the employees in the Fire Inspector classification share a community of interest with the employees in the existing unit of all full time and regular part time employees of the Public Works Department.

7.                  The Fire Inspector classification has no history of separate representation; whereas the Union and the Employer have a substantial history of collective bargaining in a unit of all full time and regular part time employees of the Public Works Department.

8.                  The addition of the Fire Inspector classification, consisting of three employees, to the existing unit consisting of some 40 separate and distinct classifications conforms to the existing pattern of organization and does not raise a question concerning representation.

9.                  The employees affected by this unit clarification initially executed authorization cards in favor of the Union and attempted to withdraw such authorizations for reasons relating to strike action on the part of the Union. Such desires of the employees do not warrant the creation of a separate unit in view of Findings of Fact 6, 7, and 8 above.

Upon the basis of the above and foregoing findings of fact, the Authorized Agent makes the following:

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

1.                  The Public Employment Relations Commission has jurisdiction to issue in these proceedings an order clarifying bargining unit.

2.                  The bargaining unit consisting of all full time and regular part time employees of the Public Works Department of Clark County is an appropriate unit for the purposes of collective bargaining within the meaning of RCW 41.56.060, and the inclusion of the Fire Inspector classification in such unit is appropriate.

Upon the basis of the above and foregoing findings of fact and conclusions of law, the Authorized Agent makes the following:

ORDER CLARIFYING BARGAINING UNIT

The bargaining unit consisting of all full time and regular part time employees of the Public Works Department of Clark County, Washington, shall be, and hereby is, clarified to include the classification of Fire Inspector.

DATED at Olympia, Washington this 21st day of September, 1977.

[SIGNED]

REX L. LACY, Hearing Officer