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    National Labor Relations Board case concerning graduate-student unions at Adelphi University (195 LRB 638, 1972)

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    National Labor Relations Board case concerning graduate-student unions at Adelphi University (195 LRB 638, 1972)

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    170 views11 pages

    Adelphi University, NLRB

    Uploaded by

    Tom Schenk Jr.
    National Labor Relations Board case concerning graduate-student unions at Adelphi University (195 LRB 638, 1972)

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
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    ADELPHI UNIVERSITY 69 ‘Adelphi University and Adelphi University Chapter, ‘American Association of University Professors, Pe- titioner. Case 29-RC-1640 February 29, 1972 DECISION AND DIRECTION OF ELECTION By CHAIRMAN MILLER AND MEMBERS FANNING AND KENNEDY Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9(c) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, a hearing was held before Hearing Officer Steven Fish. Following the hearing, and pursuant to Section 102.67 of the Na- tional Labor Relations Board Rules and Regulations, Series 8, as amended, the Regional Director for Region 28, on July 23, 1971, transferred this case to the Board for decision. Thereafter, the Employer' filed with the Board its brief previously filed with the Regional Direc- tor. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(b) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the Na- tional Labor Relations Board has delegated its au- thority in this proceeding to a three-member panel. The Board has reviewed the Hearing Officer's rulings made at the hearing and finds that they are free from Prejudicial error. They are hereby affirmed. Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds: 1. The parties stipulated that Adelphi University is ‘private, nonprofit university located at South Avenue, Garden City, Long Island, New York. During the past year the University derived gross revenues in excess of Si million exclusive of contributions, which, because of limitations by the grantor, are not available for use for operating expenses. During the same period, the Uni- versity purchased materials valued in excess of $50,000 from sources located outside the State of New York. Based on the foregoing stipulated facts, we find that the Employer is engaged in commerce within the Meaning of the Act and it will effectuate the purposes Of the Act to assert jurisdiction herein. * 2. The labor organizations involved" claim to repre- Sent certain employees of the Employer. : the A gusstion affecting commerce exists concerning Tepresentation of certain employees of the Em- Ployer within the meaning of Section 9(c)(1) and Sec- ‘ion 2(6) and (7) of the Act.’ a. Enplyers sxgument, opposed by the Petoner sherpa renee TRY rent the es ad he pntions of he Pe. cn Leman made the bearing Ui Federation of Coleg Tech {SLSR Amecn Federation of Teacher AFL-CIO, wa ert ‘SERS the bs fi homing of interes one the Employer moved to dsmis the pet othe wounds thatthe showings of interest submitted by both aber patcpation. Upon ace 4. The Petitioner and Intervenor each seeks to repre- sent a unit of all full-time and regular part-time faculty, including professional librarians and research associ- ates. The Employer stipulated to the appropriateness of, the foregoing unit‘ but would also include therein the graduate teaching and research assistants. The parties further disagree on the supervisory status of certain department and sequence chairmen, and various pro- gram directors and coordinators whom the Employer would exclude and the Petitioner and Intervenor would include. Also in issue are the faculty members who serve on the University’s personnel and grievance com- mittees; the Petitioner and Intervenor would include them in the unit, while the Employer takes no position, but notes that these committee members collectively possess and exercise supervisory authority. There is no bargaining history involving any of the foregoing em- ployees. BACKGROUND ‘Adelphi University is a private educational institu- tion chartered by the Board of Regents of the State of New York. It is composed of the college of arts and sciences, the graduate school of arts and sciences, and schools of business administration, nursing, and social work. The University employs 600 faculty members and professional librarians of whom 338 are full-time and 262 are part-time. ‘The University is governed by a board of trustees which appoints the president. The vice president for academic affairs, Dr. James B. Kelly, is directly respon- sible to the president and the board for the University’s teaching and administrative personnel. Each of the Taminntately advised, an ae sts, thatthe Employer's contention weary For we fad in that tre ofthe ow prone mare we yer alegedly big sale wtboriaton cade ae oot re Pinte maning othe Act. Wil spect ote orth, we oer atvly mined ea be engned inno such slain ser ta asc, decir ofthe school of nursing, rector ofthe ce Soe cohen encep thee who are engaged in flo par-tine ees tee ovtuet carer, atroctor in the schoo of soca fnclyfoncem py cuit agocicn, pnts, ad eupervos within he re en spat tat ‘regular part- aployee shall be ‘ao * sine em see rs te er aeiyed nh cen seme tnd who hs Bee ct oreo semen cock of teat academic eas eacive Strummer ssi 40. DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD University’s schools is headed by a dean who is directly responsible to Dr. Kelly and who may have associate and/or assistant deans under him. In addition to the academic schools there are six nonacademic divisions headed by directors, also under Dr. Kelly's direct juris- diction: admissions, the instructional media center, the ‘computer center, the registrar, director of libraries, and the research administrator's office.* Each of the schools, except the school of business administration, is divided along academic lines into departments or “sequences,” as they are called in the school of social work, which are headed by chairmen. In addition, there are various interdisciplinary and spe- cialty programs within the several schools each of which is headed by a director or coordinator. The roles. which these chairmen, directors, and coordinators per- form will be discussed more fully, infra. Two written documents, adopted by the faculty and approved by the board of trustees, shape the theory and practice of the administration of the University’s professional personnel relations program. These are the faculty constitution’ and the personnel plan. The per- sonnel plan has as one of ts stated purposes “to assure that, in accordance with the provisions of this Plan, the faculty shall have primary responsibility for all person- nel decisions concerning its members.” In that connec- tion, the personnel plan provides, inter alia, for the methods of selecting department chairmen and estab- lishes the University’s personnel committee and griev- ance committee. As more fully discussed below, these ‘committees act upon matters affecting faculty status and grievances. DISPUTED CATEGORIES 1. GRADUATE ASSISTANTS There are 125 graduate assistants, consisting of 100 teaching assistants and 25 research assistants, all of whom are graduate students of the University working towards their master’s or Ph.D. degrees. Approxi- mately two-thirds of the graduate teaching assistants work in the science disciplines where, for the most part, they teach laboratory courses and, to a lesser extent, recitation classes. These classes are part of regular science courses which are under the charge of regular faculty members each of whom determines the content of his course and the grades to be given to his students. The teaching assistants grade students in the lab or recitation classes and submit their grades to the faculty Except for the director of instructional media center, who will be fully iscussed, infra, the partes stipulated to exclude the directors of these nomacadenic divisions. Seto. 4 spr "The constitution, among other things, creates the University Senate, hone membership consists of both students and faculty and which makes, and/or advises on, policy decisions in various enumerated area affecting the University's academic and administrative life. ‘members, who may or may not consider them in deter- mining the students’ final grades. In the nonscience area, the teaching assistants have no regular classes, but sometimes substitute for absent faculty members and assist in preparing examinations and grading papers. The 25 research assistants are all in the science field. They do no teaching and work directly with a faculty member on research projects. ‘All graduate assistants are expected to devote 20 hours per week to their assistantship duties, for which they are paid from $1,200 to $2,900 per academic year (Gepending on the degree toward which they are work- ing and the subject area in which they are involved) plus free tuition for their courses. The graduate assist- ants generally enroll in courses for up to 12 hours per week. Based upon their academic qualifications, functions, and remuneration (which, with tuition, is sometimes greater than that of regular part-time faculty mem- bers), the University contends that the graduate assist- ants enjoy a community of interest with the regular faculty which warrants their inclusion in the nit. We disagree. The graduate assistants are graduate students work ing toward their own advanced academic degrees, and their employment depends entirely on their continved status as such. They do not have faculty rank, are not listed in the University’s catalogues as faculty mem bers, have no vote at faculty meetings, are not elig for promotion or tenure, are not covered by the Univer- sity personnel plan, have no standing before the Uni versity’s grievance committee, and, except for health insurance, do not participate in any of the fringe be nefits available to faculty members. Graduate assistants may be elected by the students as their representatives on student-faculty committees. Unlike faculty mer bers, graduate assistants are guided, instructed, 9° sisted, and corrected in the performance of their — antship duties by the regular faculty members t0 ¥! they are assigned. their inclusion in the unit. Accordingly, we shall &® clude them." ADELPHI UNIVERSITY on Il. ALLEGED SUPERVISORS A. Department Chairman The college of arts and sciences is divided along academic lines into approximately 20 departments which offer both undergraduate and graduate courses.’ Inthe graduate school of arts and sciences, there is only one department, earth sciences, which for the most part has only graduate students. Each of these departments is headed by a chairman having essentially similar du- ties and responsibilities. The selection of department chairmen in the college and graduate school is governed by the University's personnel plan which provides that chairman: shall be appointed by the President after full consultation with the department and related de- partments and approval of the prospective chair- man by a secret ballot of those full-time faculty who have been full-time’ members of the depart- ment for at least one year. If a deadlock occurs between the President and the Department, the President shall submit his choice for department chairman to the University Personnel Committee for its recommendation. In cases where the dead- lock concerns an incumbent chairman, the recom- mendation of the University Personnel Committee shall be final. Dr. Kelly testified that, in practice, the dean infor- mally canvasses the department's faculty to determine who would be most acceptable to them as chairman. Based on this information, and Dr. Kelly's recommen- dation, the president nominates the person having the {reatest peer support and the department then votes on ‘the nomination in the manner prescribed by the Uni- | tecstinal raining school program by reason ofthe sriariy oftheir sils {ining salves, fringe benefits, working conditions and the high degre of ‘Sterdination and integration inthe use oftheir training and kis infor ‘alting and implementing the employer's educational program. 18 the instant cate, we have found that the graduate assistants ae primal tur they therefore do not share simile community of interest with ty members and profesional Hbrarias. ‘ther hand, some similarity docs exist between the graduate et andthe technical laboratory ssians whom the Boacd ftom profesional teaching init in Long Island University ‘Bevoki Center, 189 NURB No. 110. Thus, ke the eraduate aston technical assistant in that cae held bachelor's degrees with master's ‘tees in progress, and worked in the science laboratories assisting regular ‘cy members in preparing demonstrations and experiments in comnes- ‘Bmatith the faculty's regular science course. They also assisted the regular

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