University of New Haven, Inc.

478 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD University of New Haven, Inc., Employer- Petitioner and University of New Haven Faculty Federation; University of New Haven Board of Faculty Welfare; and University of New Haven Faculty Senate. Case 1-RM-770 May 21, 1971 DECISION AND ORDER BY MEMBERS FANNING, BROWN, AND KENNEDY Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9(c) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, a hearing was held before Hearing Officer Gerald Wolper of the National Labor Relations Board. Following the hearing and pursuant to Section 102.67 of the National Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations, Series 8, as amended, by direction of the Acting Regional Director of Region 1, the case was transferred to the Board for decision. Thereafter, the Employer-Petitioner and the University of New Haven Faculty Federation filed briefs with the Board. 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 powers in connection with this case to a three-member panel. The Hearing Officer's rulings made at the hearing are free from prejudicial error. The rulings are hereby affirmed. Upon the entire record in this case, including the briefs filed herein, the Board finds: 1. The Employer 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 labor organizations involved' claim to repre- sent certain employees of the Employer. 3. No question affecting commerce exists concerning the representation of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9(c)(1) and Section 2(6)and (7) of the Act. The petition filed in this case by the Employer-Peti- tioner describes the unit as one of "Full Time Teach- ers." However, at the hearing the Employer took the position that part-time or adjunct faculty members should be included in the unit. The labor organizations involved would include full-time faculty members and exclude part-time faculty. ' The parties stipulated that the American Association of University Professors, which entered an appearance at the hearing , and the University of New Haven Faculty Federation , which is affiliated with the Connecticut State Federation of Teachers , are labor organizations within the meaning of the Act The status of the University of New Haven Board of Faculty Welfare as a labor organization is contested In view of our decision herein, we need not, and do not , pass on that issue The University of New Haven Faculty Senate appeared at the hearing but indicated that it was present merely as an observer and did not wish to participate actively in any way. Full-time faculty members teach 12 hours per semes- ter. They participate in a number of fringe benefits and are eligible to acquire tenure . They are paid substan- tially more for the same number of teaching hours than are part-time faculty members . Most teach during the day, but some teach at night. Adjunct faculty members teach anywhere ffom 3 to 12 hours a week each semester , most teaching less than 6 hours. With the exception of one individual, they do not participate in fringe benefits and they are not eligi- ble for tenure. Most teach at night, but some also teach during the morning and the afternoon . There is a higher rate of turnover among part-time faculty than among full-time teachers (30 percent as opposed to 6 percent), but their average tenure of service is 5 to 7 years. Like full-time faculty members , they have aca- demic rankings. There have been several instances of part-time teachers becoming full-time faculty mem- bers. They are not represented on the Board of Faculty Welfare but are on the University's board of governors. Aside from the number of hours involved, their func- tion-teaching, the manner in which they perform it, and the conditions under which they operate-appears to be identical to the corresponding work of the full- time faculty. The above facts demonstrate that the adjunct faculty members are regular part-time professional employees whose qualifications and work functions are identical with those of the full-time faculty. We have previously held in C. W. Post Center of Long Island University' that the well-settled principles concerning the unit placement of part-time employees with full-time per- sonnel apply to a professional unit of faculty members, and it was appropriate in that case to include them in the same unit. The facts in the instant case are essen- tially like those in that case , and we see no reason why a different finding is justified here . Accordingly, absent a stipulation of the parties to the contrary ,' only a unit of the full-time and regular part-time professional em- ployees is appropriate. As no labor organization seeks to represent the employees here involved in such an appropriate unit, we conclude that no question con- cerning representation exists , and we shall dismiss the petition.' ORDER It is hereby ordered that the petition herein be, and it hereby is, dismissed. ' 189 NLRB No 109 'It is the Board's policy to exclude regular part-time employees from a unit where the parties have stipulated to their exclusion Bachmann Ux- bridge Worsted Corporation (Uxbridge Mill). 109 NLRB 868, fn 9 at 870 See Sears, Roebuck and Co., 172 NLRB No 132 190 NLRB No. 102