Lake Charles Memorial Hospital

LAKE CHARLES MEMORIAL HOSPITAL Southwest Louisiana Hospital Association d/b/a Lake Charles Memorial Hospital and Office & Profes- sional Employees International Union, Local 87, AFL-CIO, Petitioner. Case 15-RC-5817 November 8, 1976 DECISION ON REVIEW AND DIRECTION BY CHAIRMAN MURPHY AND MEMBERS JENKINS AND WALTHER On January 29, 1976, the Acting Regional Director for Region 15 issued a Decision and Direction of Election in the above-entitled proceeding, directing an election in the following unit of employees of Southwest Louisiana Hospital Association d/b/a Lake Charles Memorial Hospital (herein called the Employer): All employees of the Employer; excluding all business office clerical employees, temporary employees, managerial employees, confidential secretaries, professional employees, guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act. Thereafter, in accordance with Section 102.67 of the National Labor Relations Board Rules and Reg- ulations, Series 8, as amended, the Employer timely filed a request for review of the Acting Regional Director's decision. The Board denied the Employer's request on February 25, 1976, except as to the alleged supervisory status of licensed practical nurses (LPN's) 2 and 3, serving as charge nurses (CN's), and the unit placement of out-patient service representatives and patient affairs clerks. The Board directed that the employees in these classifications be permitted to vote subject to challenge. Pursuant to the Decision and Direction of Elec- tion, as amended by the Board's Order, an election by secret ballot was conducted on February 26, 1976, in the above unit of employees of the Employer. The tally of ballots showed that there were approximately 319 eligible voters and that 158 voted for, and 135 voted against, the Petitioner, with 49 challenged bal- lots. The challenged ballots were sufficient in num- ber to affect the results of the election. Thereafter, the Employer timely filed objections to conduct af- fecting the results of the election. The Regional Director for Region 15 investigated the objections and the challenged ballots and, on May 6, 1976, issued his Report on Objections and Challenged Ballots with Recommendations to the Board. He concluded that the Employer's objections (1 through 10) did not raise substantial or material issues affecting the election or the results thereof. He 849 therefore recommended that the objections be over- ruled. He further concluded that the LPN's 2 and 3, who serve as charge nurses, were not supervisors within the meaning of the Act and therefore recom- mended that the challenges to the ballots of the 25 LPN's 2 and 3 be overruled and their ballots be opened and counted. He further concluded that the out-patient service representatives and the patient af- fairs clerks were business office clerical employees and properly excluded from the unit as originally de- termined. He therefore recommended that the chal- lenges to their ballots be sustained. The Employer timely filed exceptions to the Re- gional Director's report and a supporting brief. 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 considered the entire record in this case, including the Regional Director's Report on Objections and Challenged Ballots with Recommen- dations to the Board, and the Employer's exceptions and brief, and hereby adopts the Regional Director's findings, conclusions, and recommendations,' as modified below. The Employer has excepted to the Regional Director's exclusion of the out-patient service repre- sentatives and the patient affairs clerks from the unit found appropriate herein on the ground that they are business office clerical employees and therefore ex- cluded from the unit. We disagree with the Regional Director's determination. The out-patient service representatives work in a department which is located on the first floor in the main area of the hospital and opens into the emer- gency room. They receive emergency out-patients, interview them, and secure the personal data from them necessary for admission, such as name, address, employment, and applicable health insurance cover- age. They then escort the patients to the emergency room or to other ancillary departments such as X-ray and physical therapy. They also assist the emergency room employees in observing the patients. The infor- mation they secure from the patient becomes a part 1 In its Objection 5, the Employer alleges that Petitioner through its agent, Bailey, unlawfully induced hospital employees to sign union authorization cards by conditioning waiver of initiation fees upon execution of such cards prior to the election In adopting the Regional Director 's overruling of Employer's Objection 5, we note that the Employer does not, in its objection 5, controvert the Regional Director's finding that Petitioner's international representative stated on several occasions at union meetings held during the campaign and attended by the hospital employees that no one would pay any union dues or initiation fees until after a contract had been negotiated and approved by employees In his report, the Regional Director also ruled on several other challenges for various other reasons Neither party has excepted to these rulings. In the absence of exceptions thereto, the Board adopts , pro forma, the Regional Director's recommendations with respect to these challenges 226 NLRB No. 136 850 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD of the patient's medical records chart. On the basis of the out-patient service representatives' contact with patients, the emergency room, and other functional department personnel such as X-ray and physical therapy, and their securing and preparation of medi- cal record data, we find that they have a community of interest with nursing and ancillary department personnel and, like the emergency room clerks in William W. Backus Hospital,' they are hospital cleri- cal, rather than business office clerical, employees. We shall therefore include them in the unit found appropriate, overrule the challenges to their ballots, and direct that their ballots be opened and counted. The patient affairs clerks work in the admitting office and interview and initially admit patients to the hospital. They secure the personal and financial data necessary for admission from the patients. They maintain a record of the location of all patients ex- cept those in the intensive care unit. They also are in continual contact with the nursing and housekeeping employees in coordinating the patients' needs for beds with the available supply of beds in the hospital. We find that, like the admitting clerks in William W. Backus Hospital, supra, they are hospital clerical em- ' 220 NLRB 414 (1975) We find nothing in Trumbull Memorial Hospital, 218 NLRB 796 (1975), cited and relied on , infra, by Member Jenkins, which is contrary to this determination , as there is no discussion in that case of the duties and contacts of the admitting clerk ployees, rather than business office clerical employ- ees. We shall therefore include them in the unit, over- rule the challenges to their ballots, and direct that their ballots be opened and counted.' DIRECTION It is hereby directed that the Regional Director for Region 15 shall, pursuant to the Board's Rules and Regulations, Series 8, as amended, within 10 days from the date of this Order, open and count the bal- lots of the LPN 2 and 3 employees who serve as charge nurses, the patient affairs clerks, and the out- patient service representatives, all of whom are listed in the Regional Director's Report on Objections and Challenged Ballots with Recommendations to the Board, and of Carol Simon and Catherine Stand- berry.4 IT IS HEREBY FURTHER DIRECTED that thereafter the Regional Director prepare and cause to be served on the parties a revised tally of ballots, including therein the count of said ballots, and thereafter issue an ap- propriate certification. 3 Member Jenkins agrees with the Regional Director that the out-patient representatives and the patient affairs clerks are business clericals , and were properly excluded from the service and maintenance unit herein Trumbull Memorial Hospital, 218 NLRB 796 4 Neither party excepted to the Regional Director's recommendation that the challenges to the ballots of Simon and Standberry be overruled