Southern Maryland Hospital Center

DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Southern Maryland Hospital Center and International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 99-99A-99C. AFL-CIO, Petitioner. Case 5 RC 10595 March 27, 1979 DECISION ON REVIEW AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION BY CHAIRMAN FANNING AND MEMBERS JENKINS AND MURPHY On October 27. 1978. the Regional Director for Region 5 issued a Decision and Order dismissing the petition in the above-entitled proceeding on the grounds that the petitioned-for unit of engineering and maintenance department employees was inappropriate. Thereafter, in accordance with Section 102.67 of the National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations, Series 8, as amended, the Petitioner filed a timely request for review alleging that the Regional Director erred in failing to find the unit appropriate. On December 4, 1978, the National Labor Relations Board by telegraphic order granted the Petitioner's request for review. Subsequently. the Petitioner filed a brief on review. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the National Labor Relations Act. as amended. the National Labor Relations Board has delegated its authority in this proceeding to a three-member panel. The Board has considered the entire record in this case with respect to the issue under review, including the Petitioner's brief. and makes the following findings: The Employer operates a 300-bed full-care hospital in Clinton, Maryland. The engineering and maintenance department unit sought by the Petitioner consists of one acting chief engineer. six watch engineers, four maintenance men, and one groundskeeper.' In Allegheny General Hospital, 239 NLRB 872 (1978). the Board, after reviewing the legislative history underlying the health care amendments to the Act and the Board's unit determinations in this area. set forth in some detail its reasons for concluding that hospital maintenance employees may constitute an appropriate bargaining unit. Furthermore, in making this determination a majority of the Board stated that it will continue to rely on the traditional community of interest test, as established in American Cyanamid Company, 131 NLRB 909 (1961). See Allegheny General Hospital, supra. In our opinion, the application of this standard to the record in this case warrants the establishment of a separate bargaining unit limited to the Employer's engineering and maintenance department employees. The Employer's engineering and maintenance employees constitute a distinct department apart from other service departments. Engineering and maintenance has a separate administrative identifying numher, and the employees wear a distinctive uniform. With the exception of the meter room, facilities for these employees are located apart in the southeast corner of the hospital building in the boilerroom, computer room, office, and maintenance shop. The director of building maintenance and engineer services supervises the engineering and maintenance employees apart from all other service employees. Although the Employer does not seek licensed craftsmen for engineering and maintenance department positions, it appears that these employees are generally more skilled than service employees. The acting chief engineer has a first-class license; four of the six watch engineers have secondor third-class licenses: and one of the maintenance men is a licensed electrician qualified to perform wiring. In addition. these employees perform functions of varying skills. The engineering employees are responsible for the operation of the boilers and the air-conditioning and ventilation equipment. Their monitoring function involves sophisticated machinery. They inspect thermostats and ducts throughout the building. They are also called on to repair technical equipment such as the operating room sterilizer. The maintenance employees repair all types of equipment such as printing machines, electrically operating beds. radiators. trolleys, and fire alarm systems. They replace ceilings and floor tiles, refinish furniture. remove television wall units, and build cabinets. shelves, and counter units. They also perform minor plumbing work such as unstopping toilets and sinks. The maintenance employee skilled in electrical work monitors the building's electrical problems and sometimes repairs medical equipment. The engineering employees perform both functions, since they are responsible for maintenance work on the nonday shifts. The engineers spend most of their worktime in the boilerroom (at least one engineer is required to monifor the boilers at all times), in the maintenance shop, and on the roof where the air handling equipment is located. They are the only employees capable of performing the engineering work. When responsible for maintenance work. engineers spend considerable worktime throughout the hospital in common with the other maintenance employees. Nevertheless, the engineering and maintenance employees receive no I The parties agreed that the groundskeeper should be included in any unit found appropriate. We also note that this employee performs brick and mortar work. a relatively skilled function. : The director is also responsible for security employees, but these employees perform what appears to be a guard function. requiring isolation under the Act. 241 NLRB No. 91 SOU THERN MARYLAND HOSPITAL CENTER assistance from service employees and perform their maintenance tasks alone. The Employer's hourly employees are subject to centralized personnel policies and receive common fringe benefits. The record is inconclusive about the respective wages paid the engineering and maintenance employees, on the one hand. and the service employees. on the other hand. although it appears that engineering and maintenance employees are more likely to receive higher wages. For example. whereas housekeeping employees start at $3.50 per hour. engineering employees start at $4.75 per hour. and it appears that their current average wage is $5 per hour. Under the circumstances detailed above. we find that the engineering and maintenance employees share a community of interest sufficiently separate and distinct from the broader community of interest which they share with service employees to warrant their representation as a separate bargaining unit. In so concluding. we note particularly that the employees sought by the Petitioner are established in a separate department having independent supervision. These employees perform varied maintenance work for the hospital exercising the particular skills required by this function. Furthermore, in the exercise of this function there is minimal interchange and functional integration between maintenance employees and service employees.¹ Accordingly. we find contrary to the Regional Director. and for the reasons set forth in Allegheny General Hospital, supra. that the following employees constitute a unit appropriate for the purpose of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9(b) of the Act: All engineering and maintenance employees employed by the Employer at its Clinton, Maryland. hospital. excluding all other employees, guards and supervisors as defined by the Act. [Direction of Election and Excelsior footnote omitted from publication.] See also Long Island College Hospital. 239 NERB 1135 (1978) (supplementing 228 NLRB 83 (1977))