Point Park College

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 4, 1974

209 N.L.R.B. 1064 (N.L.R.B. 1974)

1064 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Point Park College and Point Park College Chapter,
American Association of University Professors,
Petitioner. Case 6-RC-6444
April 4, 1974
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF
ELECTION
BY CHAIRMAN MILLER AND MEMBERS JENKINS
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 Stephen F.
Copeland of the National Labor Relations Board.
Following the close of the hearing, the Regional
Director for Region 6 transferred this case to the
Board for decision. Thereafter, the Employer and the
Petitioner each filed briefs.
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 reviewed the Hearing Officer's
rulings made at the hearing and finds that they are
free from prejudicial error. They are hereby affirmed.
Upon the entire record in this proceeding, the
Board finds:
1. The Employer, Point Park College, is a
nonprofit institution of higher education with offices
and educational facilities in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
During the 12-month period preceding the hearing,
it received tuition and fees in excess of $1 million and
it purchased goods and materials valued in excess of
$50,000 from points outside the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania. The parties stipulated that the Em-
ployer is subject to the jurisdiction of the Board. We
find that it is engaged in commerce or in an industry
affecting commerce within the meaning of the Act
and that it will effectuate the purposes of the Act to
assert jurisdiction in this proceeding.
2. The labor organizations involved claim 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 a campuswide unit com-
posed of full-time faculty members, including depart-
ment chairmen, librarians, and part-time faculty who
carry at least half the full-time teaching load. The
Employer, on the other hand, would not include
I Pennsylvania Federation of Teachers, Point Park Organizing Commit-
tee, American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO, and Point Park Faculty
Association, Pennsylvania Association for Higher Education , Pennsylvania
chairmen in such a unit and would include all part-
time faculty. Both Intervenors,' similar to Petitioner,
would include the chairmen, but, similar to Employ-
er, would also include all the part-time faculty. While
further disagreement exists as to the inclusion or
exclusion of certain personnel, as noted below, the
parties agreed to include all full-time full professors,
associate professors, assistant professors, instructors,
librarians, distinguished professors, visiting profes-
sors, coordinator of secondary options, and director
of student teaching placement. They also agreed to
exclude the president, vice president and academic
dean, vice president and dean of student affairs,
curricular dean and registrar, vice president and
secretary, vice president and treasurer, director of
studies at Lugano, and associate and assistant deans.
The full-time faculty at Point Park College exceeds
100 people and includes 15 department chairmen. In
addition to belonging to the Faculty Assembly along
with other full-time faculty, the department chairmen
are also members of the Academic Council which
includes the vice president and academic dean and
which advises the president of the college. The basic
responsibilities of the chairmen include preparing
evaluations of instructors in the departments, recruit-
ing new faculty members, scheduling classes, holding
and presiding over departmental meetings, and
otherwise administering the particular department.
In addition, the record discloses that in evaluating
members of their departments, the chairmen discuss
and independently judge effectiveness in teaching as
well as the creativity and productivity displayed by
the individual instructors. Also included in the
evaluation is an effective recommendation regarding
remuneration or the nonrenewal of a contract. The
record further discloses that it is the responsibility of
the chairmen not only to recruit prospective faculty
members but also to make recommendations which
are generally followed regarding their appointment.
Thus, as contended by Employer, it is apparent that
in the exercise of their responsibilities, the depart-
ment chairmen perform the duties normally per-
formed by supervisors within the meaning of the Act.
We so find, and will therefore exclude department
chairmen from the unit found appropriate herein.2
As noted above, the Petitioner would not include
part-time faculty who did not teach more than 50
percent of a full load in the requested unit, while
Employer and the Intervenors would so include
them. For the reasons fully set forth in our Decision
in New York University, 205 NLRB No. 16, we find
that the part-time faculty herein do not share a
community of interest with full-time faculty. We will
State Education Association , National Education Association.
2 Fordham University, 193 NLRB 134
209 NLRB No. 152
POINT PARK COLLEGE 1065
therefore exclude them from the unit found appropri-
ate herein.
As further noted above, the parties did not agree
upon the inclusion or exclusion of certain other
categories of employees. These categories will be
discussed below.
The Petitioner, as well as the Intervenors, would
include the director of the library in the unit, while
the Employer would exclude the director as a
supervisor. The record discloses that the director is
also a member of the faculty of the English
department. During the past year, however, she did
not teach and spent all of her time administering the
library. In the course of administering the library, she
not only interviews and effectively recommends,
without consultation, the hiring of librarians, who
were stipulated as part of the unit, but also hires
other library assistants whom she supervises. The
director serves along with the chairmen of the other
departments on the Academic Council. We conclude
that, like the chairmen, the director of the library is a
supervisor within the meaning of the Act, and we
will, therefore, exclude her from the unit found
appropriate herein.
The parties are in further dispute regarding
personnel connected with its laboratory schools. The
laboratory schools, from nursery through high
school, are staffed by full-time teachers who are
certified by the State, by part-time personnel (swim-
ming, violin, and piano teachers), and by full-time
college faculty who carry full college teaching
schedules but teach in the high school on an overload
basis. In addition to teaching children, the schools
function as observatories for college students who
are education majors; i.e., prospective teachers. The
schools are administered by the coordinator of
laboratory schools, who is also a full-time faculty
member of the Education department, teaching a full
course load in that department. Except for the
teachers who are also full-time college faculty, the
laboratory school teachers do not receive tenure,
which the college faculty do receive, may not
participate in the retirement program, which the
college faculty participate in, and are not members of
any college faculty committees.
Petitioner seeks to exclude the laboratory school
teachers from the unit. Employer, as well as the
Intervenors, on the other hand, would include the
laboratory school teachers in the unit. Employer and
one Intervenor would not, however, include the
coordinator, while the Petitioner and the other
Intervenor would include the coordinator. Based
upon the factors enumerated above, it is our
conclusion that the laboratory school teachers, both
part time and full time, who are not also full-time
college faculty members, do not share a community
of interest with the full-time college faculty and will
not be included in the unit found appropriate. We
also feel, however, that the coordinator, as a member
of the education department who carries a full
teaching load, enjoys a community of interest with
the full-time college faculty. We will, therefore,
include the coordinator in the unit.
A number of people occupying positions involving
administrative duties are also contested by the
parties. The director of continuing education, for
example, would be excluded by Petitioner and one
Intervenor, but included by Employer. The position
is a full-time position involving the administration of
a program encompassing courses which can be taken
without any degree objective. The director, however,
is not on the faculty assembly, has no tenure, and
does not participate in the retirement program. We,
therefore, view the director as a full-time administra-
tor who lacks a community of interest with the
faculty and we will exclude him from the unit. For
the same reasons, we will also exclude the director of
the evening division, which is also a full-time
administrative position.
The coordinator of intra-collegiate programs is a
position which involves development of programs
drawing upon several different departments. The
occupant of this position is a full-time faculty
member who receives a minor amount of release time
to perform the duties of coordinator of this program.
Petitioner would exclude the coordinator position
but not its present occupant. Employer and the
Intervenors would include the position. As this
position is occupied by a full-time faculty member,
we will include the present coordinator in the unit
without deciding whether the position as such should
be included.
The position of director of veterans affairs is a full-
time position which involves counseling students
who are veterans. The present occupant is not a
faculty member, but can sit in on faculty committee
meetings without voting. The position also involves
coordination of the work of tutors, but the record
does not indicate that the position requires advanced
education. The position is currently held by an
individual with considerable Army experience. While
Employer and both Intervenors, contrary to Petition-
er, would include this individual in the unit, we find
that this individual lacks a community of interest
with the faculty and will exclude him from the unit.
The talent search workers and tutors are part-time
employees who search for students to enter the
veterans program and assist and counsel the student
veterans. Some of the counselors possess bachelor's
degrees. While Employer and both Intervenors,
contrary to Petitioner, would also include these
individuals in the unit, we find that they do not share
1066 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
a community of interest with the faculty. Additional-
ly, they are, as noted, part-time employees whom we
would not include in a full-time faculty units
The director of placement is a full-time position
which involves finding employment opportunities for
students . The director has contact with faculty
members, but, unlike faculty members, he reports to
the vice president for student affairs. While Employ-
er and both Intervenors, contrary to Petitioner,
would include him in the unit, we find that the
director of placement is an administrator who does
not share a community of interest with the faculty.
The assistant to the academic dean is a position
which involves academic counseling of students. The
position is occupied by a faculty member who has
tenure and who also teaches. While Petitioner,
contrary to Employer and Intervenors, would ex-
clude this position, we find that the occupant of the
position is basically a full-time faculty member and
that her additional administrative work does not
warrant her exclusion from the unit. We will,
therefore, include the assistant to the academic dean
in the unit found appropriate herein.
Employer employs approximately 13 professional
individuals, who are not members of the faculty, in
the department of fine arts. These individuals, who
are not employed full time at the college and do not
receive the same benefits as faculty, assist in
instructing in dance, piano, and theater. While
Employer, contrary to Petitioner and one Intervenor,
would include these individuals, we find that they are
part-time employees and do not share a community
of interest with the faculty.
Employer employs one lab associate on a part-time
basis who works in the laboratory for several
academic departments and, on occasion, assists
students in their lab work. The lab associate is not a
member of the faculty and is not entitled to the same
benefits. Employer and both Intervenors would
include the lab associate in the unit while Petitioner
would not. We find that the lab associate is a part-
time employee who does not share a community of
interest with the full-time faculty. Accordingly, the
lab associate shall be excluded from the unit.
Finally, Employer employs three coaches who
coach varsity sports and teach physical education
classes. The record is unclear as to the extent to
which the coaches teach physical education and as to
whether they are part-timers. It is clear, however,
that they do not receive tenure and their line of
reporting under Employer 's organization differs from
the faculty. Contrary to the desires of the Employer
and the Intervenors , we will , therefore , exclude them
from the unit found appropriate.
Accordingly, upon the entire record, we find that
the following employees of the Employer constitute a
unit appropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining within the meaning of Section 9 (b) of the
Act:
All full-time full professors, associate professors,
assistant professors , instructors , librarians , distin-
guished professors , visiting professors , including
director of student teaching placement , coordina-
tor of secondary options, assistant to the academ-
ic dean, and coordinator of laboratory schools,
but excluding president, vice president and
academic dean, vice president and dean of
student affairs, curricular dean and registrar, vice
president and secretary, vice president and
treasurer, associate and assistant deans , depart-
ment chairmen, director of the library, part-time
lecturers , laboratory school teachers , lab associ-
ate, director of the evening division, director of
continuing education , director of students at
Lugano, director of veterans affairs, talent search
workers , tutors and counselors , director of place-
ment, coaches , and professional nonfaculty em-
ployees in the division for performing arts.
[Direction of Election and Excelsior footnote
omitted from publication.]
CHAIRMAN MILLER, dissenting in part and concurring
in part:
For the reasons discussed in my dissent in New
York University, supra, I would as a general principle
include all regular part-time faculty in the unit found
appropriate herein. I concur with the majority,
however, in excluding from the unit the following
part-time employees on the grounds that they do not
share a community of interest with the regular
faculty: the talent search workers, the tutors, the
professionals who assist in the fine arts department,
and the laboratory associate.
3 New York University, 205 NLRB No. 16.