Shattuck School

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Apr 19, 1971

189 N.L.R.B. 886 (N.L.R.B. 1971)

886 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Shattuck School , Employer-Petitioner and Local
No. 34, International Union of Operating Engi-
neers, AFL-CIO.' Case 18-RM-727
April 19, 1971
DECISION AND DIRECTION OF
ELECTIONS
BY CHAIRMAN MILLER AND MEMBERS
FANNING AND BROWN
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9(c) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, a hearing
was held before Hearing Officer Richard P. O'Con-
nell. At the close of the hearing, the Regional Director
for Region 18 issued an Order transferring the case to
the Board for decision. Thereafter, the Employer filed
a brief.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the
National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the
National 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 and are hereby
affirmed.
Upon the entire record, the Board finds:
1. Shattuck School is a nonprofit Minnesota
corporation operating an in-residence secondary
school at Faribault, Minnesota. It has an annual gross
revenue of approximately $1,174,000, and annually
purchases goods shipped across state lines valued at
more than $71,000. It has 173 students, only 44 of
whom are Minnesota residents. The Employer's
operations are not expressly covered by Section 103.1
of the Board's Rules and Regulations, Series 8, as
amended, in which the Board asserted jurisdiction
over private nonprofit colleges and universities.
However, the Employer is a private nonprofit educa-
tional institution which, we find, is sufficiently similar
to warrant assertion of jurisdiction under the same
jurisdictional standard. Accordingly, as the Employer
meets that standard, we find it will effectuate the
policies of the Act to assertj urisdiction herein.2
2. The Union 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 Section 9(c)(1) and Section 2(6)
and (7) of the Act.
4. The parties are in agreement as to the appropri-
ateness of a maintenance and service employee unit,
except for certain individuals whom, the Employer
would exclude as supervisors and the Union would
include, and the watchman whom the Employer
would include and the Union exclude. The Employer
would also exclude office clerical employees; the
Union would include them or, alternatively, represent
them as a separate unit. There is no bargaining
history.
The Employer is directed by a headmaster who
supervises the faculty and is responsible for the entire
school. There are approximately 45 maintenance and
service employees. The school has 25 buildings and a
campus of some 250 acres.
Alleged Supervisors
The supply store manager manages a store which
sells goods , supplies, uniforms , and athletic equip-
ment to students ; the store also serves as a bank for
students . This bank in the course of a school year
handles between $50,000 to $100 ,000 in funds. The
manager does all ordering of merchandise and the
necessary recordkeeping for the supply store. The
store currently employs two individuals; it will
employ two additional individuals during the golf
season to operate a supply shack on the golf course.
The laundry manager supervises five employees who
operate the student laundry.
The grounds superintendent has four employees
under his supervision who maintain the grounds. His
crew is charged with mowing grass, snow removal,
landscaping , and other duties.
The head janitor directs five employees who are
charged with cleaning functions . He also purchases
necessary cleaning materials.
The chief engineer directs three employees who
maintain and operate the heating system which is
steam powered. The system is a high pressure one and
state licenses are required to hold these positions. The
chief engineer is responsible for keeping adequate
supplies of fuel on hand, and he places the necessary
orders. When repairs on the physical plant are
necessary, he contacts repairmen , decides on the work
to be performed , and secures bids for the comptrol-
ler's acceptance.
The paint foreman directs one employee in paint
operations. Generally both work together . Occasion-
ally an additional part-time employee is hired,
especially when paperhanging is involved.
The golf superintendent directs three employees in
golf course maintenance . The employees do extensive
mowing and greens maintenance . In addition, they
are charged with seeing that greens fees are collected,
since the course is used by persons other than
1 The Union filed a petition for the employees involved herein before action has been taken by the Minnesota Bureau
the Bureau of Mediation Services, State of Minnesota , on September 29, 2 Cf Cornell University, 183 NLRB No 41 Accord, Trustees of the
1970, 5 days before the Employer filed the petition herein Apparently, no Corcoran Gallery of Art, 186 NLRB No 83
SHATTUCK SCHOOL 887
students. The golf course is operated from April 1 to
November 1. During the other months, the golf course
superintendent works in the ice arena or as part of the
grounds crew.
All of the above individuals have the authority
effectively to recommend hire and discharge of
employees. Specific instances of the exercise of the
authority effectively to recommend hiring appear in
the record as to all of them. The laundry manager and
head janitor recommended the hiring of their entire
present crews. The supply store manager, head
janitor, golf course superintendent, and laundry
manager have discharged employees after recom-
mending their discharge to the comptroller. The head
janitor discharged an employee without consultation
after an act of insubordination.
The School attempts to operate with as little
overtime as possible. Nearly all of its maintenance
and service employees receive a monthly salary based
upon a 5-day, 40-hour week. Nonetheless, during the
school year, it is necessary for nearly all of their work
to be performed 6 days a week and in some instances 7
days a week. Each of the above individuals is
responsible for scheduling employees for necessary
coverage with as little overtime as possible. If
necessary and upon approval, they can schedule
overtime and decide which employees will receive
overtime pay. In those areas where part-time employ-
ees are used, these individuals make the necessary
arrangements for their reporting and decide for how
long a period such employees will be needed. They
also give the day-to-day instructions to their crews.
All of them spend a substantial portion of their time
performing the same duties as are performed by their
subordinates. They have authority to grant time off
with pay for periods up to 1 hour for personal
business. They approve all absences, but must report
them as they are recorded against leave allowances.
Based on their authority effectively to recommend
hire and discharge, select employees for overtime
work, and grant time off, we find the above individu-
als to be supervisors within the meaning of the Act,
and exclude them from the unit.3
Night Watchman
This employee comes on duty at 8:30 p.m. and
remains until 5:30 a.m. The Employer rotates among
3 We have considered the seasonal aspect of the golf superintendent's
duties as a supervisor However , as the time spent in this capacity is in
excess of 50 percent , this is not a basis for inclusion Cf Westinghouse
Electric Corporation , 163 NLRB 723, 727, Great Western Sugar Company,
137 NLRB 551, 554
4 The Woodman Company, Inc, 119 NLRB 1784, 1789
5 In addition to the 11, there are secretaries to the headmaster and
comptroller whom the parties have agreed to exclude as confidential, and
the assistant public relations director whom they have agreed to exclude as
a supervisor and managerial employee Based on the stipulation and the
its faculty the task of "dutymaster." The dutymaster is
on duty 24 hours. His function is to be available to
handle any problems that may arise among students
and generally to take care of any unusual matters
which come up. The night watchman does not enforce
any rules against the students or employees. He keeps
a record of any individuals on the campus who are
strangers and takes their license numbers. He writes a
report which he turns in the following day showing
any necessary repairs or hazards he has observed,
lights left burning, or other such matters. He has
regular rounds which he makes, turns out lights, and
turns off certain motors, as required. He carries no
weapons, nor is he deputized or uniformed. He has
been employed because the Employer's insurance
carrier requires an individual to patrol the premises
for fire or other emergency protection. As it appears
that the primary duty of this employee is to check fire
hazards, and as he does not enforce rules to protect
the property of the Employer or safety of persons on
the premises, we find he is not a guard and include
him in the unit.4
Office Clerical Employees
The Employer employs 115 clericals in its office,
under the direction of the comptroller, who carry out
the office and business functions of the school. None
of them is a professional librarian but three of these
employees perform clerical duties in connection with
the library. The remaining employees work in the
Employer's office performing bookkeeping and re-
cordkeeping tasks, making up student grade tran-
scripts, and working on publicity publications as well
as other usual office clerical functions such as
correspondence, billing, and payroll. They do not
interchange with the other employees sought, who
have strictly maintenance and service functions.
It is the Board's long-established policy to exclude
office clericals from units of manual workers.6 We see
no reason why a different conclusion is warranted in
the instant case. We shall therefore establish a
separate unit for such employees inasmuch as the
Petitioner has indicated in the alternative a desire to
represent such employees in a separate unit.
Accordingly, we find the following units to be
appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining
within the meaning of Section 9(c) of the Act.7
record, they are excluded
6 John H Harland Co, 127 NLRB 588, Westinghouse Electric Corp, 118
NLRB 1043
7 There are two regularly employed part-time employees in the laundry
In addition, as indicated , there are two employees who run the snack shop,
two employees who work on the golf course , and one who works on the
grounds during summer months All of these employees work in excess of 4
months per year and have returned from year to year Based on the
apparent agreement of the parties and the regularity of their employment,
all of them are included in the unit
888 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Unit A: All maintenance and service employees
at the Employer 's Faribault , Minnesota , campus,
including stationary engineers , ground crews,
laundry employees, janitors , painters, carpenters,
maids, supply store , receiving, and tailor shop
employees , the night watchmen , and regular part-
time and regular seasonal employees ; but exclud-
ing office clerical employees , dining-room employ-
ees employed by an independent contractor,
guards, and supervisors as defined by the Act.
8 In order to assure that all eligible voters may have the opportunity to
be informed of the issues in the exercise of their statutory right to vote,
all parties to the elections should have access to a list of voters and their
addresses which may be used to communicate with them Excelsior
Underwear Inc, 156 NLRB 1236, N L R B v Wyman-Gordon Co, 394
U S 759 Accordingly, it is hereby directed that election eligibility lists,
containing the names and addresses of all the eligible voters , must be
Unit B: All office clerical employees at the
Employer's Faribault, Minnesota, campus, includ-
ing library clerks; but excluding all other employ-
ees, the secretaries to the headmaster and the
comptroller, the assistant publicity director, main-
tenance and service employees, dining-room
employees employed by an independent contrac-
tor, guards, and supervisors as defined by the Act.
[Direction of Elections 8 omitted from publication.]
filed by the Employer with the Regional Director for Region 18 within 7
days of the date of this Decision and Direction of Elections The
Regional Director shall make the lists available to all parties to the
elections No extension of time to file these lists shall be granted by the
Regional Director except in extraordinary circumstances Failure to
comply with this requirement shall be grounds for setting aside the
elections whenever proper objections are filed