Public Case No. R 1989-023
(Cross References R 1998-004, UC 1999-038 and UC 1999-047)International Association of Fire Fighters, Local 3228 v.
City of Gladstone, Missouri
The City of Gladstone combined its Police and Fire Services into a Public Safety Department. That department consisted of three (3) separate bureaus: Law Enforcement, Fire/Emergency Medical Services, and Support Services. All three (3) are staffed by Public Safety Officers (PSO’s), who are trained to work in all three (3) bureaus. IAFF petitioned as public employee representative for a bargaining unit consisting of all Fire/EMS PSO’s and Dispatchers. The City contended that all PSO’s and Dispatchers were police, and excluded under §105.510. The City also argued that Sergeants were supervisors, and should be excluded even if the Board finds the unit appropriate.
In determining whether PSO’s were police the Board said that the job title was not dispositive. Instead, the actual duties performed by the workers were controlling. Based on their duties, the Board concluded that the PSO’s assigned to law enforcement were police within the meaning of the statute. The Board, however, said that the Fire/EMS PSO’s were not police, despite the fact that they sometimes performed police duties. The Board noted that they did not primarily do police work and did not perform the day-to-day routine of patrols and responding to calls.
The Board also concluded that Dispatchers were not police within the meaning of the statutes. They are civilian employees who do not perform any of the traditional police functions. Since Dispatchers did share a community of interest with Fire/EMS PSO’s, the Board included them in the bargaining unit.
Finally, the Board found insufficient evidence as to whether Fire/EMS Sergeants were true supervisors. They were provisionally included in the bargaining unit.
Date Issued: January 5, 1990