Gaithersburg-Washington Grove Fire Dept., Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Aug 18, 1980

251 N.L.R.B. 294 (N.L.R.B. 1980)

294 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Gaithersburg-Washington Grove Fire Dept., Inc. and
Career Firefighters of Gaithersburg-Washington
Grove Fire Dept., Inc., affiliated with Local
1664, International Association of Fire Fighters,
AFL-CIO-CLC, Petitioner. Case 5-RC- 11181
August 18, 1980
DECISION AND ORDER REMANDING
BY CHAIRMAN FANNING AND MEMBERS
JENKINS AND PENELLO
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9(c) of
the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, a
hearing was held on April 23 and 25, 1980, before
Hearing Officer Kathleen Boni. Following the
close of the hearing, the Regional Director for
Region 5 transferred this case directly to the Board
for decision. Thereafter, the Employer and the Pe-
titioner filed briefs in support of their respective
positions.
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
rulings made at the hearing, and, with the excep-
tion of the ruling discussed in footnote 4, finds that
they are free from prejudicial error. They are
hereby affirmed.
The parties stipulated, and we find, that the Peti-
tioner, Career Firefighters of Gaithersburg-Wash-
ington Grove Fire Dept., Inc., affiliated with Local
1664, International Association of Fire Fighters,
AFL-CIO-CLC, is a labor organization within the
meaning of Section 2(5) of the Act.
The Employer, Gaithersburg-Washington Grove
Fire Dept., Inc., is a nonprofit corporation orga-
nized under Maryland law with its main office in
Gaithersburg, Maryland, and is engaged in provid-
ing firefighting and rescue squad services for Mont-
gomery County, Maryland. The Employer is I of
16 fire departments and rescue squads operating in
Montgomery County. During its July 1, 1978, to
June 31, 1979, fiscal year, the Employer received
gross revenues in excess of $500,000, and, during
that same period, had expenditures of $254,000, 68
to 80 percent of which was used to purchase goods
from companies located within and outside the
State of Maryland, such goods all having been
manufactured outside the State of Maryland.
As the Employer herein has close ties with an
exempt entity, i.e., Montgomery County, the
Board's jurisdiction in this case is controlled by the
standard set forth in National Transportation Serv-
251 NLRB No. 45
ices, Inc., 240 NLRB 565 (1979).' Thus, the thresh-
old issues herein are "whether the employer itself
meets the definition of 'employer' in Section 2(2) of
the Act and . . . whether the employer has suffi-
cient control over the employment conditions of its
employees to enable it to bargain with a labor or-
ganization as their representative." 2 For the rea-
sons stated below, we are unable to make either of
these determinations on the present record, and, ac-
cordingly, we will remand this proceeding to the
Regional Director for the purpose of conducting a
further hearing.
On April 30, 1980, the county executive for
Montgomery County signed new legislation 3
which radically changed the county laws under
which the Employer must operate. This legislation,
the text of which is included in the record as Em-
ployer's Exhibit 3, is a comprehensive recodifica-
tion of the county laws providing for fire and
rescue services.
The legislation establishes a county agency, the
Department of Fire/Rescue Services, the basic
functions of which include the administration of all
laws relative to fire prevention, as well as the pur-
chase and assignment of all apparatus and facilities
purchased in whole or in part with county govern-
ment revenues of any kind. The legislation also es-
tablishes a seven-member fire and rescue commis-
sion, the function of which is to provide the policy
and regulatory framework for the fire departments
and rescue squads operating in Montgomery
County, including the adoption of countywide4
policies, regulations, standards, procedures, plans,
and programs applicable to all fire, rescue, and
emergency medical service operations. The legisla-
tion further establishes a fire board, the basic func-
tions of which are to advise the fire commission,
and to support the maintenance and enhancement
of volunteer participation in fire, rescue, and emer-
gency medical services.
Since the testimony taken at the hearing in this
matter largely dealt with the Employer's relation-
ship and powers vis-a-vis its employees and Mont-
gomery County under the then-existing county
laws, and since the limited testimony as to the new
t Member Penello dissenting. Member Penello agrees that a decision
herein should await the development of a complete record.
2 240 NLRB 565.
3 Montgomery County, Maryland, Bill #15/16-79 (April 30, 1980).
4 We note that the Hearing Officer erred in excluding testimony as to
specific personnel procedures at fire departments in Montgomery County
other than the Employer herein. The Employer offered such testimony in
an effort to establish the existence of uniform personnel procedures
throughout the county, such uniformity allegedly being required by
county law. As it is now clear that county law requires some degree of
uniformity, such testimony should be taken in order to determine the ap-
propriateness of the requested bargaining unit as well as the degree of
control over employment conditions left to the Employer under the new
legislation.
GAITHERSBURG-WASHINGTON GROVE FIRE DEPT. 295
legislation centered on its legislative history, we
are unable to determine what effect this new legis-
lation, and the various policies, regulations, stand-
ards, etc., yet to be adopted pursuant thereto, has
upon the issues raised by the Petitioner's petition.
Accordingly, we will remand this proceeding to
the Regional Director for the purpose of conduct-
ing a further hearing.
ORDER
It is hereby ordered that the above-entitled
matter be, and it hereby is, remanded to the Re-
gional Director for Region 5 for the purposes of
conducting a further hearing before a duly desig-
nated hearing officer for the purpose of receiving
evidence to resolve the issues raised by the petition
filed by Career Firefighters of Gaithersburg-Wash-
ington Grove Fire Dept., Inc., affiliated with Local
1664, International Association of Fire Fighters,
AFL-CIO-CLC, in light of Montgomery County,
Maryland, Bill #15/16-79 (April 30, 1980),and that
said Regional Director be, and he hereby is, au-
thorized to issue notice thereof.