Public School Employees of Quincy v. Public Employment Relations Com'n, 13573-0-III

• Decision Date: 04 May 1995
• Docket Number: No. 13573-0-III,13573-0-III
• Citation: Public School Employees of Quincy v. Public Employment Relations Com'n, 893 P.2d 1132, 77 Wn.App. 741 (Wash. App. 1995)
• Parties: , 150 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2827, 99 Ed. Law Rep. 1123 PUBLIC SCHOOL EMPLOYEES OF QUINCY, an affiliate of the Public School Employees of Washington, Appellant, v. PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS COMMISSION, Quincy School District, and Classified Public Employees Association, WEA/NEA, Respondents.
• Court: Washington Court of Appeals

Page 741

77 Wn.App. 741

893 P.2d 1132, 150 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2827,

99 Ed. Law Rep. 1123

PUBLIC SCHOOL EMPLOYEES OF QUINCY, an affiliate of the Public School Employees of Washington, Appellant, v.PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS COMMISSION, Quincy School District, and Classified Public Employees Association, WEA/NEA, Respondents.

No. 13573-0-III.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 3 Panel Two.

May 4, 1995.

Eric T. Nordlof, Public School Employees of Washington, Richland, WA, for appellant.

Spencer W. Daniels, Asst. Atty. Gen., Harriet K. Strasberg, Olympia, WA, for respondents.

THOMPSON, Chief Judge.

Public School Employees of Quincy (PSE) appeals the decision of the Public Employment Relations Commission(PERC) directing an election by the office-clerical workers of the Quincy School District to decide whether to retain PSE as their bargaining unit representative or substitute the Classified Public Employees Association(CPE) in that position.¹PSE contends PERC erred as a matter of law when it applied a rebuttable presumption in favor of severability for school office-clerical workers seeking separation from other classified school employees for bargaining unit purposes.We affirm.

The petitioned-for bargaining unit consists of eight employees: two full-time secretaries and one part-time secretary in the district's three elementary schools; one full-time secretary in the junior high school; two full-time secretaries in the high school; one clerical aide who works part time in the alternative school and part time in the high school; and one clerical aide who divides her time between the junior high school and the administrative office.CPE contended these employees have duties, skills and working conditions different from other classified employees in the existing bargaining unit.PSE disputed the existence of a separate community of interest among the office-clerical workers.It relied in part upon the existing bargaining unit's history of representation, which dates from 1971.

Following a hearing, PERC's executive director ordered an election to determine whether Quincy's office-clerical employees wished to change their bargaining unit.His opinion cites RCW 41.56.060, which provides:

In determining ... the bargaining unit, the commission shall consider the duties, skills, and working conditions of the public employees; the history of collective bargaining by the public employees and their bargaining representatives; the extent of organization among the public employees; and the desire of the public employees.

The director found the subject employees perform traditional "office-clerical" tasks in support of the administrative functions of the school district.These tasks and the skills needed to perform them are distinct from the duties and skills of other classified employees such as custodians, maintenance workers, food service workers, and classroom aides, who are also part of the existing bargaining unit.The "extent of organization" factor had "little or no impact" on the director's decision because the classified work force "appears to be fully organized."While the history of bargaining through PSE is extensive, dating to 1971, the director observed that other severance cases have permitted employees to overrule their bargaining history by expressing their desires in a unit determination election.SeeGeneral Elec. Co. (River Works), 107 N.L.R.B. 70, 72(1953).

PERC's executive director also recognized a line of PERC decisions which hold a school district's office-clerical workers enjoy a rebuttable presumption of severability from a bargaining unit representing the district's classified employees.Longview Sch. Dist., Pub. Empl. Relations Comm'n Dec.2551 PECB(1986);Highline Sch. Dist., Pub. Empl. Relations Comm'n Dec.3562 PECB(1990);Omak Sch. Dist., Pub. Empl. Relations Comm'n Dec.3973 PECB(1992).These decisions are based on National Labor Relations Board(NLRB) precedent approving the separation, for collective bargaining purposes, of office-clerical workers from industrial plant employees.SeeGeneral Elec. Co. (River Works), supra;Kohler Co., 93 N.L.R.B. 398(1951).In such cases, PERC has held the burden is on the party resisting the severance "to demonstrate that clerical functions are so integrated into the employer's overall structure ... that removal of the clerical group would seriously damage the employer's ability to carry out its primary function."Longview Sch. Dist., at 11.

Finally, the director rejected PSE's contention that craft severance standards applied here.SeeMallinckrodt Chem. Works, 162 N.L.R.B. 387(1966);Yelm Sch. Dist. 2, Pub. Empl. Relations Comm'nDec. 704-A PECB(1980)(applying Mallinckrodt's principles to a unit of school bus drivers).²

PSE petitioned PERC for review of the executive director's decision.PERC held that a presumption of severance for office-clerical workers was appropriate and the presumption was not rebutted in Quincy's case.PSE then appealed PERC's decision to Superior Court, which, in turn, certified the appeal to this court.RCW 34.05.518.

The primary issue is whether PERC ignored statutory criteria and committed an error of law by applying the rebuttable presumption in favor of severability.

Our review of this issue is governed by the Administrative Procedure Act,RCW 34.05.RCW 34.05.570(3) provides:

The court shall grant relief from an agency order in an adjudicative proceeding ... if it determines that:

(d) The agency has erroneously interpreted or applied the law;

Under the error of law standard, the court may substitute its interpretation of the law for that of PERC's.Bellevue v. International Ass'n of Fire Fighters, Local 1604, 119 Wash.2d 373, 382, 831 P.2d 738(1992).However, because...