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**School Board Cases

CITY OF HOLLYWOOD,  Respondent.

The General Counsel summarily dismisses the amended charge that the employer violated the Act by eliminating certain employees from the on call rotation list, thus increasing the on call frequency of other employees.  The amended charge is substantially the same as the original and it is still untimely filed because the event in question occurred over 6 moths ago.

AIn the absence of further documentation indicating that the facts of the original charge allegations concerning the change beyond the limitations period are not true, the amended charge's emphasis on the refusal to bargain about the status quo, for which there is no obligation, does not state a prima facie violation.@

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CA-2001-048;Order 01GC-235(September 14, 2001)

DADE COUNTY POLICE BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION, INC., Charging Party,

v.

CITY OF OPA-LOCKA, Respondent.

The General Counsel summarily dismisses the charge that the employer violated the Act by violating its bargaining obligations with the Dade PBA after the parties' collective bargaining contract expired on September 30, 2000.

ANothing in this charge establishes that the Commission should accept jurisdiction.  First, the charge is procedurally defective because it was filed by fax without any supporting affidavit or exhibits.  It alleges a variety of acts by unnamed City officials without specifying when or how these acts took place.  These details are essential to an unfair labor practice charge.  United Faculty of Florida v. Board of Regents, 8 FPER & 13187 (1982); Teamsters Local 444 v. City of Winter Haven, 14 FPER & 19077 (G.C. Summary Dismissal 1988).

In addition, the only date mentioned in the charge is the expiration date of the contract, September 30, 2000.  Of course, this was a year before the charge was filed.  A charging party has only six months from when it knew or should have known of the

violation within which to file a charge.@

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CA-2001-047(Relates to WB-2001-004);Order 01GC-236(September 14, 2001)

KENNETH E. WILLIAMS, Charging Party,

v.

FLORIDA GULF COAST UNIVERSITY, Respondent,

The General Counsel summarily dismisses the charge that the employer violated the Act.  The dismissal is based on Williams= intent to file a whistle-blower complaint instead of an unfair labor practice.

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**UC-2001-040;Order 01E-237(September 14, 2001)

SEMINOLE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION, Petitioner,

v.

SCHOOL BOARD OF SEMINOLE COUNTY, Respondent,

v.

SEMINOLE EDUCATION CLERICAL ASSOCIATION, Intervenor.

AThe instant petition requests that we move classifications from one unit to another unit pursuant to a unit clarification petition.  Because we are aware of confusion on this issue, we take this opportunity to state the conditions under which such a unit clarification petition will be granted.

In Sarasota County PBA v. City of Sarasota, 7 FPER & 12339 (1981) we explained that a unit clarification petition is used to resolve questions concerning the composition of a unit by interpreting the language which defines the existing unit to determine whether particular titles are includable or excludable from an established unit.  Normally, it is inappropriate to utilize the procedure to enlarge or to diminish the scope of a certified unit.  We summarized the procedure as follows:

The purpose of a unit clarification proceeding is to determine what a particular unit description means; it is to determine which employees are included in the unit, not which ones might have been. ...if the "included" portion of a unit descrip­tion is phrased in terms of specific job titles we will resort to a generic interpretation of the unit description in order to determine whether its scope extends to other job titles not specifi­cally named, but we will not modify the basic scope of the bargaining unit absent a recognition - acknowledgement peti­tion or representation - certification petition pursuant to Section 447.307, Florida Statutes (1979).

 

Sarasota, 7 FPER  & 2339 at-681 (emphasis in original)...

... even when the parties agree to move classifications, we have specifically held that the unit clarification criteria must also be fulfilled.  School District of Collier County, 16 FPER at 60.  However, we have refused to apply the stricter severance standard of showing that a unit has become "unworkable or otherwise inappropriate" in order to remove a classification from a bargaining unit in a unit clarification proceeding...

...  In the instant case, the job duties of the nurse classifications at issue have changed substantially since the classifications were included in the white-collar unit.  These classifications have been given significant additional administrative and instructional duties similar to other classifications included in the instructional bargaining unit.  They also have a community of interest with the instructional unit and lack any supervi­sory conflict of interest with members of that unit.  Moreover, the scope of the instruc­tional bargaining unit and the white-collar unit will not be changed as a result of moving the classifications.  Therefore, as supplemented by the above analysis, we ADOPT the hearing officer's recommended order.  Accordingly, the petition is GRANTED.

The relevant classifications are removed from certification 158 [white collar unit] and placed in certification 14 [the instructional unit].

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**EL-2001-021(Relates to RC-2000-075)(September 17, 2001)

BROWARD COUNTY SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS ASSOCIATION, Petitioner,

v.

SCHOOL DISTRICT OF BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA, Respondent.

Election results and order certifying unit 1342 for supervisors.  52 eligible votes cast 18 ballots for and 2 against the union.

AINCLUDED:  All professional and non-professional employees of the School District of Broward County in the following job classifications: Accountant IV; accountant V; capital budget analyst V; capital network systems administrator; clinical nursing supervisor; coordinator, dropout prevention and alternative education; coordinator, FTE; facility/project manager; manager I, customer support services; manager I, geographic information systems (GIS); manager I, planning, real estate & environmental permitting; manager I; systems and procedures (transportation services); manager II, production; personnel administrator I, II and III (instructional staffing and staffing/VTAE); personnel administrator III (instructional staffing); personnel administrator III (personnel data and records control); property coordinator; purchasing agent V; senior architect; senior facility/project manager; senior supervisor, inspection and code compliance; super­visor I, workload systems; supervisor LI, transportation terminal; supervisor, ITV art/graphics; systems analyst William Hennessey; training analyst; and training specialist, management skills/development, and manager, facilities project (portables); manager II, broadcast and schools engineer; operations supervisor; supervisor, records retention; and supervisor ll, computer operations.

EXCLUDED:  All other School District of Broward County employees.@

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UC-2001-022;034;Order 01E-238(September 17, 2001)

JEA SUPERVISORS ASSOCIATION, Petitioner,

v.

JACKSONVILLE ELECTRIC AUTHORITY, Respondent,

v.

FLORIDA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES COUNCIL 79, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE, COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO, Intervenor.

PERC modifies certifications 1190 and 1266.  All parties agree that unit clarification was appropriate because the positions are newly created

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AC-2001-013;Order 01E-239(September 17, 2001)

IN RE:  PETITION OF SOUTHWEST FLORIDA PROFESSIONAL FIRE FIGHTERS & PARAMEDICS, LOCAL 1826, IAFF, INC., TO AMEND CERTIFICATION 1272.

PERC grants the petition to amend certification 1272 to reflect the name change of the exclusive bargaining agent.

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RC-2001-041;Order 01E-240(September 17, 2001)

FLORIDA POLICE BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION, INC., Petitioner,

v.

CITY OF CLERMONT, Respondent.

PERC approves the consent election agreement and orders a secret ballot election for all sworn police officers in the classifications of sergeant and staff sergeant.

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RC-2001-033;Order 01E-241(September 17, 2001)

LOCAL 1749, AMALGAMATED TRANSIT UNION, AFL-CIO, CLC, Petitioner,

v.

CENTRAL FLORIDA REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY D/B/A LYNX, Respondent.

PERC approves the consent election agreement and orders a secret ballot election for supervisory employees.

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CA-2001-049;CB-2001-015;Order 01GC-242(September 17, 2001)

MONTY J. VILLAGOMEZ, JEFFREY NORD, and MARY NORTON, Charging Parties,

v.

CITY OF MIRAMAR, Respondent.

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MONTY J. VILLAGOMEZ, JEFFREY NORD, and MARY NORTON, Charging Parties,

v.

BROWARD COUNTY POLICE BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION, Respondent.

The General Counsel summarily dismisses the charge that the employer and the union violated the Act by altering the take-home vehicle policies.

AInasmuch as the Charging Parties' claim alleging a failure to bargain in good faith does not present a collective interest invoked by one of the contractual parties, the charge against the City must be dismissed...

It appears that the Charging Parties are alleging that the Broward County PBA violated its duty of fair representation.  A union's duty of fair representation arises as a result of the organization having the exclusive right to serve as the collective bargaining representative for purposes of determining wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment for all unit employees.  See Heath v. School Board of Orange County, 5 FPER & 10074 (1979)...

It is not the Commission's function to judge whether a union has negotiated provi­sions which treat all employees equally or even equitably.  Rather, the Commission's regulatory role is simply to ensure that a union does not act arbitrarily, that it does not discriminate against employees or employee groups for reasons such as lack of union membership, and that it exercises the broad discretion accorded to them by the courts and the Commission in good faith.@

No documentary evidence was to demonstrate that the union conduct toward unit members was arbitrary, discriminatory, or in bad faith.

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**UC-2001-016;Order 01E-243(September 17, 2001)

MANATEE COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES, LOCAL 1584, AFSCME, AFL-CIO, Petitioner,

v.

SCHOOL BOARD OF MANATEE COUNTY, Respondent.

PERC dismisses the unopposed petition to include the classification of cafeteria manager in a bargaining unit of non-instructional personnel or classified employees it currently represents.

AAs an alternative to the instant petition, the hearing officer recommended that Local 1584 be provided an opportunity to file a representation-certification opt-in petition allowing the cafeteria managers to decide by election whether they desired to be

included in the existing bargaining unit.  The hearing officer then determined that the cafeteria managers are essentially lead workers appropriate for unit inclusion.  No exceptions were filed to the supplemental recommended order.

Upon review of the entire record, the Commission concludes that the hearing officer's findings of fact are supported by competent substantial evidence and that the proceedings upon which the findings are based comply with the essential requirements of law.@  The case is dismissed.

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MISCELLANEOUS

Tentative Agreement Reports

FEN Calendar

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CITATION DISCLAIMER - This summary should not be cited. For that purpose, the cases may be acquired by contacting FSLRS, PERC, FEN district representatives, FPELRA representatives, jurisdiction labor relations officers or their attorneys for particular cases.

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Florida School Labor Relations Service

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