Public Case No. R 2003-013
International Association of Fire Fighters, Local 2665 v.
Maplewood Fire Department, Maplewood, Missouri
In this case, the Union sought to represent a bargaining unit consisting of all firefighters and Lieutenants, excluding Captains, Assistant Fire Chief, Fire Chief, guards, supervisors, and all other Department employees. The Department maintained that the Lieutenants were supervisors and should not be included in the bargaining unit. The majority of the Board applied the traditional six factors to determine the supervisory status of the Lieutenants. Based upon an analysis of the factors, the majority of the Board determined that the Lieutenants were not true supervisors, but instead, were analogous to lead workers. Therefore, the Lieutenants were included in the bargaining unit and an election was ordered.
The employer representative on the Board filed a dissenting opinion. In his dissent, the employer representative pointed out that one of the Department’s two Captain positions was currently vacant and that one or two of the Lieutenants regularly performed the duties of Captain. He would hold that Lieutenants who regularly performed Captain duties were supervisors and should be excluded from the bargaining unit.
Date Issued: July 18, 2003