Public Case No. R 1986-032
(Cross Reference R 1986-004)Teamsters, Local 245 v.
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Missouri State Council 72, Incumbent and City of Springfield, Missouri
Teamsters filed to represent six (6) Rabies Control Officers employed by the City of Springfield. The six (6) employees had previously been included in an appropriate unit certified by the Board in 1979 (79-026). Teamsters, Local 245 argued, however, that Rabies Control Officers have a clear and identifiable community of interest which justifies severance. The City and AFSCME opposed the severance.
Since the issued of severance of an alleged craft unit was one of the first impression, the Board looked to the NLRB for guidance. See Mallinckrodt v. IBEW, Local 1 66 LRRM 1014(1966). The Board found that the relevant factors included: (1) whether the proposed unit consists of a distinct and homogenous group of skilled workers; (2) whether the employees constitute a functionally distinct department, in trade or occupation, with the tradition of separate representation; (3) the collective bargaining history of the employees sought; and (4) whether the stability of the labor relationship will be upset by severance.
The Board concluded that Rabies Control Officers were not skilled craftsmen. The job required only a high school diploma and did not require the year of training which traditional crafts require. Furthermore, the Board found that they were not a functionally distinct department. Finally, the Board found that the employees had been represented well within the existing unit and stability would be served by refusing to sever the employees.
The decision declined to sever the requested employees.
Date Issued: July 9, 1987