DECISIONS

Grant County Public Hospital District 1, Decision 11755 (PECB, 2013)

STATE OF WASHINGTON

BEFORE THE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS COMMISSION

Margaret Carey, General Counsel, for the union.

Lisa McDaniel, Chief Human Resources Officer, for the employer.

On April 19, 2013, Samaritan Healthcare (Grant County Public Hospital District 1) (employer) filed a petition to clarify a bargaining unit of Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN) currently represented by SEIU Healthcare 1199NW (1199NW).  The employer’s petition alleged that the bargaining unit in question was no longer appropriate under RCW 41.56.060 and WAC 391-35-330 because it had only one employee. 

The bargaining unit in question was originally certified by this agency in 2002 and was described as follows:

All full-time and regular part-time licensed practical nurses employed by Grant County Public Hospital District 1 (Samaritan Hospital), excluding supervisors, confidential employees and all other employees.

Grant County Public Hospital District 1, Decision 7621 (PECB, 2002).  At the time of certification, Service Employees International Union, Local 202 (Local 202) was the labor organization of record.  In March 2009, 1199NW took over representation of the bargaining unit.  The most recent collective bargaining agreement that covered these employees was negotiated by Local 202 and expired on December 31, 2010.

When the bargaining unit was originally certified, it contained sixteen employees.  It appears that the number of employees was eventually reduced to two employees, although this record does not explain the reasons for this reduction.  On April 12, 2013, one of the two remaining employees in the bargaining unit retired.  The employer stated it has no intention on filling the vacant LPN position and is phasing out the job class.

Representation Case Administrator Dario de la Rosa sent the parties an e-mail asking for their positions regarding the employer’s petition.  On April 25, 2013, Margaret Carey, 1199NW’s General Counsel, replied by stating that 1199NW agreed that only one employee remained in the bargaining unit.  On April 26, 2013, the Representation Case Administrator sent the parties an e-mail informing them that no material issue of fact existed and the Executive Director would be issuing a decision dissolving the bargaining unit. 

DISCUSSION

Applicable Legal Standards

Collective bargaining, under Chapter 41.56 RCW, is the term used to describe the process whereby employees with a community of interest join together to bargain with their employer as a single bargaining unit over terms and conditions of their employment.  Accordingly, the Commission stated, “a one-person unit is inappropriate for collective bargaining.”  Port of Bellingham, Decision 1570-A (PECB, 1983).  The Commission codified this standard in 2001 at WAC 391-35-330, which states that “[a] bargaining unit cannot be considered appropriate if it includes only one employee.”  

In determining whether an existing bargaining unit has become an inappropriate one-person unit, the Commission considers whether the reduction in unit size to one employee is temporary or permanent.  “A temporary reduction in force of a small unit to a single employee does not . . . relieve an employer of its bargaining obligation.”  Port of Bellingham, Decision 1570-A, citing Crispo Cake Cone Co., 190 NLRB 352 (1971).  In situations where an employer is alleging a unit is no longer appropriate because it includes only one employee, the employer has the burden to establish that the reduction in unit size is permanent, not temporary, in nature.  If an employer can establish that the unit has been permanently reduced to one employee, the unit becomes inappropriate and the employer no longer has a bargaining obligation.  Evergreen Water/Sewer District 19, Decision 10648 (PECB, 2010), citing Crescendo Broadcasting, Inc., 217 NLRB 697 (1975).

Application of Standards

The parties agree that only one position remains in the LPN bargaining unit.  Additionally, the employer has affirmatively stated, and 1199NW does not dispute, that the employer has no intention of filling the vacant LPN position in the near future.  Because only one position remains in the bargaining unit, that unit is inappropriate under RCW 41.56.060 and WAC 391-35-330. 

NOW, THEREFORE, it is

ORDERED

The certification issued by the Public Employment Relations Commission in Grant County Public Hospital District 1, Decision 7621 (PECB, 2002), is revoked. 

ISSUED at Olympia, Washington, this  17^th  day of May, 2013.

PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS COMMISSION

MICHAEL P. SELLARS, Executive Director

This order will be the final order of the

agency unless a notice of appeal is filed

with the Commission under WAC 391-35-210.