Labor & Employment Law

Representation Decisions issued by PERB

Petition for a separate unit
Civil Service Employees Association, Inc., Local 1000, and Baldwin Union Free School District, PERB Decision C-5690

CSEA filed a petition seeking to represent Security Aides in a separate unit. The District opposed the petition. The ALJ found that the Security Aides were most appropriately added to the existing School Monitors and Health Aides unit represented by CSEA. A community of interest was found to exist based upon a similarity in mission, skill level and working conditions. The ALJ rejected CSEA's argument that a conflict of interest was created by CSEA's initiation of litigation that challenged the District's assignment of certain duties to Security Aides instead of School Monitors. Also rejected was CSEA's argument that a conflict existed because the Security Aides perform a security function. The ALJ noted that the Security Aides are not charged with the primary duty of investigating or reporting the job related misconduct of District employees, but to protect students and District employees from outside intruders. The ALJ placed the position in the existing unit pursuant to New York Convention Center Operating Corp, 27 PERB 3034 (1994), since there was no contractual bar to the placement and adding the position effectuated a de minimus change to the unit.

Unit clarification
Service Unit Association Of Owen D. Young Central School District And Owen D. Young Central School District, PERB Decision CP-1111

An ALJ granted a unit clarification petition filed by the Association, finding that the Computer Network Administrator position was the same as the Network Administrator position listed in the recognition clause of the parties' agreement and was therefore in the bargaining unit.

Teaching assistants included in a ?professional/teachers? unit
Greenport Teachers' Association And Greenport Union Free School District, PERB Decision CP-1125

The ALJ granted unit clarification and found the position of Teaching Assistant to be included in the professional/ teachers unit that the Association represents. Clarification was granted as unopposed, based upon the District's failure to appear at the conference and respond to the ALJ's directives. The ALJ held that a plain reading of the language of the recognition clause in the parties' collectively negotiated agreement, which recognizes the Association as the representative of a unit of "all professional certificated personnel except administrators," supported the granting of clarification.

Full post as published by New York Public Personnel Law on November 24, 2008 (boomark / email).