Middlesex General Hospital

MIDDLESEX GENERAL HOSPITAL Middlesex General Hospital and Professional Nurses and Hospital Personnel, Division of United Paper- workers International Union, AFL-CIO, CLC, Pe- titioner.' Case 22-RC-7586 December 14. 1978 DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION BY CHAIRMAN FANNING AND MEMBIRS JI NKINS AND PFN EILO Upon a petition filed under Section 9(c) of the Na- tional Labor Relations Act, as amended, a hearing was held before Hearing Officer Robert Cohen of the National Labor Relations Board. Following the hearing and pursuant to Section 102.47 of the Na- tional Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations and statements of procedure, Series 8. as amended, the case was transferred to the Board for decision. A brief was filed by the Employer. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the Na- tional Labor Relations Board has delegated its au- thority in this proceeding to a three-member panel. The Board has reviewed the Hearing Officer's rul- ings made at the hearing and finds that they are free from prejudicial error. They are hereby affirmed. Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds: i. The parties stipulated that the Employer, a non- profit corporation engaged in providing health care services at its New Brunswick, New Jersey, hospital, is engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Act and it will effectuate the purposes of the Act to assert jurisdiction herein. 2. The Petitioner is a labor organization claiming to represent certain employees of the Employer. 3. A question affecting commerce exists concern- ing the representation of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Sections 9(c)(1) and 2(6) and (7) of the Act. 4. The Petitioner seeks to represent a unit of all full-time and regular part-time 2 technical employees of the Employer, including employees in the follow- ing classifications: technologists II and III. cytotech- nologists, and laboratory assistants (phlebotomists). The Employer contends that the laboratory assis- It appears from the record that District 1199J. National i nmon of l[,t - pital & Health Care Employees. RWDSIJ. AFL. ('10, was permiiied to intervene in this proceeding. but ii did not appear at the hearing orr tke aii. positlon on the issues presented herein 2 The parties at the hearing stipulated that regular part-tine emplosees shall include those employees scheduled hS the Emploier to, work 8 oi Iiire hours per week In an) 2 of the 8 weeks preceding the .approlpriate date for eligibility. tants are not technical employees and should be ex- cluded from the unit: and although it has refrained from taking a position on the status of the technolo- gists II and Ill and the cytotechnologists. it contends that they may be considered either technical or pro- fessional employees, which issue should be decided by the Board.3 The parties have also stipulated to the appropriateness of a unit of technical employees and to the inclusion in this unit of employees in various classifications 4 and the exclusion of other specified individuals.5 Based on the available record evidence, we make the following unit placement determinations regard- ing the employees whose classifications are in dis- pute, following the Board's established criteria that: Technical employees are those "who do not meet the strict requirements of the term 'profes- sional employee' as defined in the Act but whose work is of a technical nature involving the use of independent judgment and requiring the exer- cise of specialized training usually acquired in colleges or technical schools or through special courses. 6 Technologists II and 111: Middlesex General Hos- pital employs approximately 9 individuals in the clas- sification of technologist 1I and approximately 17 in- dividuals in the classification of technologist III in its laboratory and blood bank. The qualifications re- quired of employees in these two classifications are substantially the same.7 and the difference in their job assignments lies primarily in the fact that, while employees in both classifications work in all areas of the laboratory. except histology. specific individuals Ihe t mploser has requested that the status of these emplosece be con- ,idered In pari matlicrlln uth s.lndalrds set hb the Department of Health. I .dlctlon i.nd WA\el [are rctgarJdng quahifications for tcchnologists a.nd cyto- tcc h.hnloglsIs See 42 ( ! R 40' I1 Is h) and (c). It appear', from the record that inomplilnce llh Ihce 't.andard, on the part of emplosees in these ,.laific.litin', is noit a prerequisite for continued employment with the Em- ploer Ifurlhermore. it appear tIhat these standards are onls applicable to- emrlplhee. of independent me-i;cal .lhboratories and not to the I nlphloer's hosp,tid la hora tors I hece classlifcatlonl of ernplo)ees stlpulated to he included in the unit ;Ire: A I 'cianner technitlan'. dental hlinic chief dental assistants ;lnd den- lal assis;ints. se clinic orthoipllss and technicians. laborators technicians I. hl, lologlsts a.nd hl toloe, technicians. nucle.lr medicine assistant chiefs and cechnlcians, pulnminlrs chief technicians respirator? therap) techni- clt.ns. ils.cular lahborators technicians. radiolog) ultra siund technicians and technilanl.n .nd 1ll licensecd practical nurses II -cluldc perlson include .l th-se classified .as service and maintlennce emploees including F - ( technicianns. .K G technlcians. pharnia.c techniclins a.nd nursing trlurical lechr cians). professional emplosees uin- cliilint lahobr.liir, clinic.l chcmrn ts. chenist auloanalszers. and bacteriolo- gx heacd), office clerical emplio ee,. confidential and managerial enmploee,. stuident (includiin pharniacs interns techniciansL. guards and supervisors a, defined In ihe Act %,ihi ai.dl/I ifdifrtlnl Blralc'rt it. r6,-,Il Iiipital 4 ioitonriOn ld h Baarnrl tulmltrial HrTpitiil ( C'n ir. 217 Ni .RB 775. 777 (1975). qutilng from l. ttin Ilpiirlui, ,I cllr'[ilnd, Ir trpiratld. 12s NL RB 722. 724 725 (19 59). Ihc sole difference between technologt."s II and lechnologitss III In this rc.irl is Ihat the former are expecled to hal'e 2 sears of clinical lahorators experience, hile the latiter are expected iO have 3 se;lrs of such experience 837 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD classified as technologists 11 are expected to perform duties in only some of those areas. s Employees in these two classifications shall, therefore, be consid- ered as a single grouping, as they perform substan- tially the same functions, operate the same equip- ment, and work side by side. According to job descriptions prepared in June 1976, technologists 11 and III are required to have a high school education, I year of formal laboratory schooling, and either 2 or 3 years of experience. In May 1978, these job descriptions were revised so as to require technologists to have either a college de- gree in science or an HEW certification. While it ap- pears that most of the Employer's present technolo- gists meet this additional educational requirement,9 several do not. It is uncontradicted, however, that all future applicants for these positions must meet the upgraded educational requirements. The technologists perform tests in several areas of laboratory work, including blood bank, serology, he- matology, urine analysis, bacteriology, microbiology, parisitology, and chemistry. Some of the procedures are performed manually, whereas others involve a substantial degree of automation, including the auto- matic printout of test results. Although some test re- sults apparently must be interpreted and reports writ- ten, the record is insufficient to establish whether this occurs on a consistent basis or only infrequently. Ac- cordingly, it appears that technologists II1 and II11 do not meet the strict requirements for professional em- ployees. In this regard it has been shown that em- ployees in these positions may, but need not, possess advanced educational degrees in their specialties."° Moreover, it does not appear that their work involves the consistent exercise of discretion and judgment in its performance. We therefore find that employees in these classifications are technical employees and should be included in the unit of other technical em- ployees sought by the Petitioner." Cytotechnologists: The Employer currently has two employees working in this classification. According BThe record also reveals that technologists III occasionally oversee the work of other employees in the laboratory. The parties, however. have stipu- lated that this duty is not of such a nature as to render these individual, supervisors as defined by the Act, and it does not appear that this additional duty has any bearing on whether they are technical or professional ceiploF- ees. 9Of the approximately 26 technologists. II have a college degree in a chemical, physical, or a biological science, and an additional II hase HEW' certification. 10 We therefore find distinguishable those cases finding technologists to be professional employees where such employees were required to have college degrees as a prerequisite to continued employment Mfethodist td Ilipi tal of Sacramento. Inc.. 223 NLRB 1509 (1976): Children's Hospitaul of Pitrt- burgh. 222 NLRB 588 (1976): Barnert Memorial Ho.pital (enter. .upra. Ihc Mason Clinic, 221 NLRB 374 (1975). is in accord with the results herein, as there only 2 of 54 medical technologists did not possess degrees. In the present case, less than half of the technologists have degrees. I William W Backus Hospital. 220 NLRB 414 11975). to the prepared job description, they are required to have 2 years of college and be eligible for certifica- tion by the American Society of Clinical Pathology (ASCP). These employees are primarily responsible for conducting tests and making observations in or- der to determine whether cells are cancerous. Ihe cytotechnologist prepares a report for the patholo- gist, who, on a random basis, independently reviews approximately 15 percent of the cases so prepared. On the basis of the foregoing, we conclude that the cytotechnologists are technical employees and should be included in the unit sought by the Peti- tioner. St. Elizabeth's Hospital of Boston, 220 NLRB 325, 328 (1975); Mercy Hospital, 220 NLRB 974 (1975). Laboratory assistants (phlebotomists): Middlesex General Hospital currently employs 12 individuals as laboratory assistants. Prior to employment, appli- cants for this position are not required to have any prior experience or specific education, aside from having graduated from high school. They are not re- quired to be certified, licensed, or registered by any government or private organization. Their training consists entirely of that acquired while on the job and takes no longer than 3 months to complete. The duties of this position consist of the insertion of nee- dles into patients and the drawing of blood samples. During this procedure, the laboratory assistants are responsible for observing the bleeding and clotting time of the donor's blood. The equipment used by the laboratory assistants is relatively simple, consist- ing primarily of syringes, needles, a tourniquet, and a receptacle for the samples. In view of the above, due to the relatively uncomplicated nature of the work and the short duration of the training period, we con- clude that the laboratory assistants (phlebotomists) are not technical employees and should be excluded from the unit sought by the Petitioner. Pontiac Osteo- pathic Hospital. 227 NLRB 1706 (1977). Conclusion Accordingly, upon the entire record and for the aforementioned reasons. we shall direct an election in the following unit which we have found to be ap- propriate for the purpose of collective bargaining within the meaning of Section 9(b) of the Act: All full-time and regular part-time technical em- ployees employed by Middlesex General Hospi- tal at its 180 Somerset Street, New Brunswick, New Jersey, location, INCLUDING those em- ployees employed as technologist II and III, cy- totechnologists, CAT scanner technicians, den- tal clinic chief dental assistants and dental assistants, eye clinic orthoptists and technicians, 838 MIDDLESEX GENERAL HOSPITAL laboratory technicians I, histologists and histol- ogy technicans, nuclear medicine assistant chiefs and technicians, pulmonary chief technicians, therapy technicians, vascular laboratory tech- nicians, radiology ultra sound technicians and technicians, and all licensed practical nurs- es; BUT EXCLUDING service and mainte- nance employees (including E.E.G. technicians, E.K.G. technicians, pharmacy technicians, labo- ratory assistants (phlebotomists), and nursing surgical technicians), professional employees (including laboratory clinical chemists, chemist autoanalyzers, and bacteriology heads), office clerical employees, confidential and managerial employees, students (including pharmacy in- terns/technicians), guards and supervisors as de- fined in the Act, and all other employees. [Direction of Election and Excelsior footnote omit- ted from publication.] 839