Gloucester County, Bd. of Chosen Freeholders v. Public Employment Relations Commission

• Decision Date: 10 October 1969
• Citation: 107 N.J.Super. 150,257 A.2d 712
• Parties: , 72 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2626 COUNTY OF GLOUCESTER, BOARD OF CHOSEN FREEHOLDERS, Public Employer-Appellant, v. PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS COMMISSION, State of New Jersey, and TeamstersLocal Union #676, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs,Warehousemen and Helpers of America, Respondents.
• Court: New Jersey Superior Court — Appellate Division

Page 150

107 N.J.Super. 150

257 A.2d 712, 72 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2626

COUNTY OF GLOUCESTER, BOARD OF CHOSEN FREEHOLDERS, Public Employer-Appellant, v. PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS COMMISSION, State of New Jersey and TeamstersLocal Union #676, International Brotherhood of Teamsters Chauffeurs,Warehousemen and Helpers of America Respondents.

Superior Court of New Jersey Appellate Division.

Argued Sept. 29, 1969.

Decided Oct. 10, 1969.

Frederick J. Rohloff, Camden, for appellant (Archer, Greiner, Hunter & Read, Camden, attorneys, Charles Lee Harp, Jr., Camden, on the brief).

Theodore A. Winard, Newark, Special Counsel, for respondent Commission.

Robert F. O'Brien, Marlton, for respondent Union (Plone, Tomar, Parks & Seliger, Camden, attorneys).

Priscilla Read Chenoweth, Deputy Atty. Gen., for Arthur J. Sills, Atty. Gen., amicus curiae.

Before Judges GOLDMANN, LEWIS and MATTHEWS.

The opinion of the court was delivered by

LEWIS, J.A.D.

The County of Gloucester, Board of Chosen Freeholders (herein county) appeals from a 'Decision and Direction of Election' of respondent Public Employment Relations Commission (herein Commission) declaring that (1) certain 'correction officers' of the county constituted a unit of employees appropriate for collective negotiations, as provided by N.J.S.A. 34:13A--6(d), and (2) the county 'correction officers' were not 'policemen' within the purview of N.J.S.A. 34:13A--5.3 which precludes policemen from joining an employee organization that admits to membership employees other than policemen.

We granted the Attorney General's motion to appear Amicus curiae in an advisory capacity 'on a question of general public interest.' He argues in support of the county's contention that the officers here involved are 'policemen' and may not be represented by respondent Teamsters Local Union #676, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America (herein union). He also argues, as do the Commission and the union, that the decision under review was an interlocutory order and that the appeal therefrom may not be maintained at this stage of the proceedings. R. 2:2--3(a). The union joins with the Commission in urging that 'correction officers' are not 'policemen' as contemplated by the Legislature.

The Procedural Issue

The Commission made its determination on August 20, 1969 after a hearing on the union's petition for certification as the exclusive bargaining agent for the Gloucester County correction officers excluding 'all supervisors and all other employees.' The order of the Commission was subsequently implemented by the scheduling of a secret ballot election to be held on September 12, 1969.

In the interim the county, through its substituted attorneys, requested the Commission to reconsider its Decision and Direction of Election and stay the election. This request was denied and communication thereof was transmitted by telegram dated September 11, 1969, which reads in pertinent part:

* * * The Commission has found insufficient reasons to warrant a reopening of the hearing of May 27 1969 in which all parties participated fully or a reconsideration of its decision of Aug 20 1969. The American Arbitration Association will conduct the election as scheduled * * *

The county filed its notice of appeal that same day, and, pursuant to R. 2:9--8 ('Temporary Relief in Emergent Matters'), applied for a stay of the election to a single judge of this court, who, after a hearing in chambers, all parties being represented, denied the application for a stay, ordered the returns of the election impounded until further order of this court, scheduled an accelerated date for oral argument on appeal and fixed a timetable for the filing of briefs and reply briefs.

In challenging the county's right to appeal it is argued that an order for an election by the Commission is but one step in the administrative proceedings, and that a final appealable order does not, and should not, lie until the Commission, after an election and a determination by a majority of votes cast, has certified an elected employee representative. Otherwise, the argument runs, there is a possibility of an overriding judicial obstruction in the administrative processes designed to render quick decisions in 'burning representation questions.'

We are referred to numerous federal cases for the proposition that representation decisions, under generally recognized principles of labor law, are normally reviewable only where the dispute concerning the correctness of the certification 'eventuates in a finding that an unfair labor practice has been committed.' Cited authorities include American Federation of Labor v. National Labor Relations Board, 308 U.S. 401, 60 S.Ct. 300, 84 L.Ed. 347 (1940); Boire v. Greyhound Corp., 376 U.S. 473, 84 S.Ct. 894, 11 L.Ed.2d 849 (1964); McCullouch v. Libbey-Owens-Ford Glass Co., 131 U.S.App.D.C. 190, 403 F.2d 916 (1968); Modern Plastics Corp. v. McCullouch, 400 F.2d 14 (6 Cir.1968). But cf. Leedom v. Kyne, 358 U.S. 184, 188, 79 S.Ct. 180, 3 L.Ed.2d 210 (1958), and City Manager of Medford v. State Labor Rel. Com'n, 353 Mass. 519, 233 N.E.2d 310, 314 (Mass.Sup.Jud.Ct.1968).

We find those arguments and their supportive rationale unpersuasive. The Commission's Rules and Regulations and Statement of Procedure (1969), § 19:15--6, provides specifically that, 'An order denying a request for review shall constitute the final administrative determination of the Commission.' Additionally, section 19:11--19(f) reads:

Within five (5) days after the tally of ballots has been furnished, any party file * * * copies of Objections to the conduct of the election or conduct affecting the results of the election * * *. (Emphasis added)

Thus it appears that the issue of whether the correction officers were policemen was resolved and determined by the Commission by an order which it refused to review in advance of the election and which arguably could not be raised as a bar to a certification of the election results. Moreover, practical considerations may compel judicial review prior to an election, particularly in circumstances where a statutory proscription has been called into question.

In the recent New York case of Civil Service Employees Ass'n v. Helsby, 31 A.D.2d 325, 297 N.Y.S.2d 813 (Sup.Ct.App.Div.), affirmed 24 N.Y.2d 993, 302 N.Y.S.2d 822, 250 N.E.2d 230 (Ct.App.1969), the Appellate Division held that under the law of that state, declaring that an appeal could only be taken from a final judgment or determination, a certification of representation in a labor dispute is not a prerequisite to judicial review. The court said:

Judicial review at this time may avoid costly and time-consuming intermediate procedures. There would be no economy in deferring the question of the correctness of the Board's determination until after all the proceedings required to ascertain and establish the employee representative * * *. Resolution of the issues in this proceeding at the earliest possible moment is in the best interest of the State and its employees. Unless there is some statutory prohibition, there is no reason to defer judicial review. (297 N.Y.S.2d at 817)

On review by the Court of Appeals there was a Per curiam affirmance, with the comment: 'The public importance of the issues raised in the proceedings requires prompt adjudication.' 302 N.Y.S.2d at 823, 250 N.E.2d at 231.

In any event if we entertained doubt as to the appealable finality of the Commission's determination, we would resolve that doubt by considering the county's notice of appeal as a motion for leave to appeal and would grant it in order to reach promptly the merits of the public issues involved. R. 2:2--3(b).

The Status of Correction Officers

The critical problem posed on this appeal is whether the decision of the Commission, that county correction officers are not policemen and therefore may be represented by the Teamsters Union, is consistent with the intendment of N.J.S.A. 34:13A--5.3 which provides that 'no policeman shall have the right to join an employee organization that admits employees other than policemen to membership.'

The county asserts that the term 'policemen' should include anyone who exercises police functions. Similarly, the Attorney General argues that the statutory designation 'policemen' encompasses those who possess police powers. The Commission and union reassert the rationale and conclusion of the Commission, that because guards at the correctional institution do not customarily exercise police functions or authority, they are not policemen.

Within our limited scope of review, as enunciated in Campbell v. Dept. of Civil Service, 39 N.J. 556, 562, 189 A.2d 712 (1963), we will not upset a State agency's determination in the absence of a showing that it was arbitrary, capricious or unreasonable, or that it lacked fair support in the evidence, Or that it violated a legislative policy expressed or implicit in the governing statute. Our concern is with the latter criterion. See also Moorestown Tp. v. Armstrong, 89 N.J.Super. 560, 565, 215 A.2d 775 (App.Div.1965), certif. den. 47 N.J. 80, 219 A.2d 417 (1966); Amodio v. Civil Service Com'n, 81 N.J.Super. 22, 30, 194 A.2d 512 (App.Div.1963). Accord, United States v. First City Nat. Bank of Houston, 386 U.S. 361, 366--367, 87 S.Ct. 1088, 18 L.Ed.2d 151 (1967).

We are unaided by any specific explication or definition of 'policemen' in the legislative history of the statute in question, and therefore turn to the 'most universal and effectual way of discovering the true meaning of a law, when the words are dubious,' which...