State – Enterprise Services, Decision 11341 (PSRA, 2012)
STATE OF WASHINGTON
BEFORE THE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS COMMISSION
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In the matter of the petition of:
State – Enterprise services
For clarification of an existing bargaining unit represented by:
Teamsters, local 767m
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CASE 24595-C-12-1481
DECISION 11341 - PSRA
INTERIM ORDER CLARIFYING UNIT
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Reid, Pedersen, McCarthy & Ballew, L.L.P, by David Ballew, Attorney at Law, for the union.
Robert M. McKenna, Attorney General, by Kara A. Larsen, Assistant Attorney General, for the employer.
Prior to 2011, Washington State operated a “State Printer” that provided printing services for state agencies. The employees of the State Printer were exempt from the coverage of the State Civil Service Law, Chapter 41.06 RCW, and therefore not covered by Chapter 41.80 RCW. The State Printer and Teamsters, Local 767M (Teamsters) had a long-standing bargaining relationship, with Teamsters representing a bargaining unit of printing craft employees in the Litho work group. The parties’ collective bargaining agreement describes the bargaining unit as:
Employees in the following job classifications at the Department of Printing: Up to 22” Press Operator, Web Press Operator, Over 22” Press Operator, Press Assistant, Digital Press Operator (1-3).
Because the employees at the State Printer were not covered by Chapter 41.06 RCW or Chapter 41.80 RCW, neither this agency nor its predecessors issued a certification formally recognizing the Teamsters as the exclusive bargaining representative of the employees.
In 2011, the Washington State Legislature enacted Laws of 2011, 1st Spec. Sess., ch. 43 (ESSB 5931), which reorganized and combined several existing state agencies into a single new agency, the Department of Enterprise Services (DES). The agencies or portions of agencies transferred to DES included the Department of General Administration, the Department of Personnel, the Department of Information Services, and the State Printer.
Section 1003 of ESSB 5931 abolished the State Printer and transferred its employees to DES, including the employees represented by Teamsters. At the same time, the employees at the State Printer became covered by Chapter 41.06 RCW, and therefore covered by Chapter 41.80 RCW. Section 1003 of ESSB 5931 provided that the existing bargaining units transferred to DES from the State Printer are presumptively appropriate and shall be certified by this agency.[1]
On February 23, 2012, DES filed a petition under WAC 391-35-085 to clarify the Teamsters’ existing bargaining unit by certifying the existing bargaining unit as appropriate as to provide the bargaining unit with a Commission-issued certification. The petition stated that the existing bargaining unit continues to be appropriate, that the Teamsters continue to represent a majority of the employees in the bargaining unit, and asked this agency to issue a new certification because the unit never had an official unit certification aside from the recognition agreement in the collective bargaining agreement. The employer’s petition also claimed that DES was in the process of reallocating the job descriptions for the employees in the bargaining unit to job titles that fit within those existing in the state’s classification system. DES asked that an interim certification be issued and the case held open pending completion of this process.
On March 29, 2012, Hearing Officer Dario de la Rosa conducted a pre-hearing conference to determine if the parties could stipulate to certain matters and resolve the case without the need for a hearing. Following the pre-hearing conference, the Hearing Officer issued a “Statement of Results” detailing the stipulations made during the conference and provided a fourteen-day period to file objections to those results. The parties each suggested appropriate changes to the unit description which were accepted.
The parties suggested technical changes to the interim bargaining unit description to ensure that the appropriate classifications are included in the bargaining unit. Those changes are incorporated in the order below.
Based upon the stipulations of the parties, it is appropriate to certify the bargaining unit represented by the Teamsters as an appropriate unit on an interim basis. This matter will be held open pending the completion of the reallocation process. The Hearing Officer is directed to contact the parties on a periodic basis for updates on the progress of the reallocation process. Once the reallocation process has been completed, a final certification will be issued.
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. The Department of Enterprise Services is a public employer within the meaning of RCW 41.80.005(8).
2. Teamsters, Local 767M is a bargaining representative within the meaning of RCW 41.80.005(7) that represented a bargaining unit of employees at the State Printer. The parties’ collective bargaining agreement described the unit as follows:
Employees in the following job classifications at the Department of Printing: Up to 22” Press Operator, Web Press Operator, Over 22” Press Operator, Apprentice Press Assistant, Digital Print Operator (1-3).
3. Laws of 2011, 1st Spec. Sess., ch. 43 PV (ESSB 5931), abolished the State Printer and transferred the employees of the State Printer to the Department of Enterprise Services.
4. Section 1001 of ESSB 5931 permits the Public Employment Relations Commission to review the appropriateness of any bargaining unit transferred to the Department of Enterprise Services.
5. The petition does not raise a question concerning representation.
6. The Department of Enterprise Services is currently reviewing the job titles of the employees described in Finding of Fact 2. Upon completion of this review, the Department of Enterprise Services will reallocate the job titles described in Finding of Fact 2 to their appropriate job classification.
7. The parties waive their right to a hearing under Chapter 391-35 WAC.
8. The parties waive their right to appeal under WAC 391-35-210.
CONLUSIONS OF LAW
1. The Public Employment Relations Commission has jurisdiction in this matter under Chapter 41.80 RCW and Laws of 2011, 1st Spec. Sess., ch. 43 PV.
2. The bargaining unit described in Finding of Fact 2 is an appropriate bargaining unit under RCW 41.80.70.
ORDER
1. Teamsters, Local 767M is certified on an interim basis to represent a bargaining unit of employees at the Department of Enterprise Services described as follows:
All employees of the Department of Enterprise Services Business Resources Division Printing and Imaging Services Litho work unit in the following job classifications: Up to 22” Press Operator, Web Press Operator, Over 22” Press Operator, Apprentice Press Assistant, Digital Print Operator 1, Digital Press Operator 2, Digital Press Operator 3, Color Digital Press Operator, and Digital Prepress Technician, excluding supervisors, confidential employees, and all other employees.
2. This matter will be held open pending completion of the reallocation process described in Finding of Fact 6.
ISSUED at Olympia, Washington, this 14th day of May, 2012.
PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS COMMISSION
MICHAEL P. SELLARS, Executive Director
[1] Section 1001 of ESSB 5931 permits the Public Employment Relations Commission to review the appropriateness of any bargaining unit transferred to the Department of Enterprise Services.