Regents of the University of California Professional Librarians (PERB 0247H)

STATE OF CALIFORNIA
PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS BOARD
- -. -
In 	the 	Matter 	of
UNIT 	DETERMINATION 	FOR PROFESSIONAL
LIBRARIANS 	OF 	THE 	UNIVERSITY OF
CALIFORNIA PURSUANT TO 	CHAPTER 	744
OF 	STATUTES 	OF 	1978 	(HIGHER
EDUCATION 	EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE
RELATIONS 	ACT)
Case 	Nos. 	SF-PC-1001 	e t 	a l .
PERB 	D e c i s i o n 	No. 	247-H
September 	30, 	1982
Appearances; 	( P e t i t i o n e r s , 	Requestors, 	and 	I n t e r e s t e d 	P a r t i e s )
Robert 	Bezemek, 	Attorney 	(Bennett 	and 	Bezemek) 	for 	University
Council, 	AFT, 	Locals 	2199, 	1966, 	1474 	and 	1990; 	David Novogrodsky
for 	C a l i f o r n i a 	S t a t e 	Employees 	Association— 	L i b r a r i a n s ;
Hirsch 	Adell, 	Attorney 	(Reich, 	Adell 	and 	Crost) 	for 	American
Federation 	of 	S t a t e , 	County 	and Municipal Employees, 	AFL-CIO;
Douglas 	Barton, 	Kent 	Jonas 	and 	Terry 	Lewis, 	Attorneys 	(Corbett,
Kane 	and 	Berk) 	and James 	N. 	Odle, 	Attorney, 	for 	the Regents 	of
the 	University 	of 	C a l i f o r n i a .
(Limited 	P a r t i e s ) 	Robert 	Bezemek, 	Attorney 	(Bennett 	and 	Bezemek)
for 	University Council, 	AFT, 	Locals 	2034, 	1474, 	2141, 	2023, 	2026
and 	1990; 	Christine 	Bologna, 	Attorney 	for 	California 	S t a t e
Employees 	Association.
Before 	Tovar, 	Jaeger, 	Morgenstern 	and 	Jensen, 	Members.*
DECISION
Under 	subsection 	3563(a) 	of 	the Higher Education
Employer-Employee Relations Act 	(HEERA or Act), 	the Public
Employment 	Relations 	Board 	(Board)1 is 	charged 	with 	the
*Chairperson Gluck 	did 	not 	participate 	in 	this 	decision.
1EERA 	is 	codified 	at 	Government 	Code 	section 	3560 	et
seq. 	All 	statutory 	references 	are 	to 	the Government Code
unless 	otherwise 	specified. 	Subsection 	3563(a) 	provides:
This 	chapter 	shall 	be 	administered 	by 	the
Public Employment Relations 	Board. 	In
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
______________ )

responsibility 	to 	determine 	appropriate 	units 	for
representation. 	Pursuant 	to 	that 	responsibility, 	hearings have
been held 	before administrative law judges 	(ALJ's) 	of 	the Board
regarding 	petitions 	filed 	and 	positions 	taken 	by 	various 	labor
organizations 	as 	to 	appropriate 	groupings 	of 	employees.
Administrative 	Law Judge 	Terry Filliman 	issued 	his
recommendation 	to 	the 	Board 	regarding 	professional 	employees 	on
February 	2, 	1982. 	That 	recommendation 	is 	incorporated by
reference 	herein. 	Following 	issuance 	of 	that 	recommendation,
the parties 	were 	invited 	to 	brief 	their 	positions 	thereon 	to
the Board 	itself. 	After 	careful 	consideration 	of 	the 	record 	as
a whole, 	including 	the pre- 	and post-recommendation briefs 	by
the 	parties, 	the Board has 	determined 	that a 	unit 	consisting 	of
all professional 	librarians 	employed 	by 	the Regents 	of 	the
University 	of California 	(University) 	constitutes 	an
appropriate 	unit 	for 	purposes 	of 	meeting 	and 	conferring 	within
the meaning 	of 	the Act.
administering 	this 	chapter 	the 	board 	shall
have 	all of 	the following 	rights, 	powers,
duties 	and 	responsibilities:
(a) 	To determine 	in disputed cases, or
otherwise approve, 	appropriate units.
DISCUSSION
In March of 	1980, 	California State Employees Association
(CSEA) 	and University Council, 	AFT 	(AFT) 	filed separate
petitions 	for 	a 	unit 	of 	all 	professional 	librarians,
N	2

systemwide. 	These 	same 	employees 	were 	encompassed 	in petitions
filed by the American Federation of State, 	County, 	and
Municipal Employees 	(AFSCME) 	and CSEA seeking 	units 	of 	all
professional 	employees 	systemwide. 	The 	University 	initially
supported 	a 	systemwide 	unit 	of 	all 	professional 	employees.
Following 	issuance of 	the ALJ's 	recommendations, 	the University
substantially 	supported 	his 	recommended 	units, 	but 	adhered 	to
the 	position 	that 	librarians 	do 	not 	constitute 	an appropriate
unit by 	themselves, 	arguing 	that 	they must 	be placed 	in a
larger 	unit 	containing 	all 	academic 	employees. 	Given 	the
respective 	positions of 	the 	parties, 	we must determine whether
a 	unit of 	librarians only is 	appropriate, 	or 	whether 	such a
unit 	is 	not 	appropriate 	without 	inclusion 	of 	all 	professional
employees 	or 	all 	academic professional 	employees.
Based 	upon 	the 	community 	of 	interest 	factors 	and 	other
standards 	set 	forth 	in 	section 	3579,2 we 	find 	that 	the
2section 3579 provides, 	in pertinent part:
(a) 	In each case where 	the 	appropriateness
of 	a unit is an 	issue, 	in determining an
appropriate 	unit, 	the board 	shall 	take 	into
consideration all 	of 	the 	following 	criteria:
(1) 	The 	internal 	and occupational
community of 	interest 	among 	the
employees, 	including, 	but not limited
to, the extent 	to which 	they perform
functionally 	related 	services 	or 	work
toward established 	common goals, 	the
history 	of 	employee 	representation 	with
33

systemwide 	unit 	of 	all 	professional 	employees, 	sought 	by
the 	employer, 	the 	extent 	to which 	such
employees 	belong 	to 	the 	same 	employee
organization, 	the 	extent 	to which 	the
employees 	have 	common 	skills, 	working
conditions, 	job duties, 	or 	similar
educational 	or 	training 	requirements,
and 	the 	extent 	to 	which 	the 	employees
have 	common 	supervision.
(2) 	The 	effect 	that 	the 	projected 	unit
will 	have 	on 	the 	meet 	and 	confer
relationships, 	emphasizing 	the
availability 	and 	authority 	of 	employer
representatives 	to 	deal 	effectively
with 	employee 	organizations
representing 	the 	unit, 	and 	taking 	into
account 	such 	factors 	as 	work 	location,
the 	numerical 	size 	of 	the 	unit, 	the
relationship 	of 	the 	unit 	to
organizational 	patterns 	of 	the 	higher
education 	employer, 	and 	the 	effect 	on
the 	existing 	classification 	structure
or 	existing 	classification 	schematic 	of
dividing 	a 	single 	class 	or 	single
classification 	schematic 	among 	two 	or
more 	units.
(3) 	The 	effect 	of 	the 	proposed 	unit 	on
efficient 	operations 	of 	the 	employer
and 	the 	compatibility 	of 	the 	unit 	with
the 	responsibility 	of 	the 	higher
education 	employer 	and 	its 	employees 	to
serve 	students 	and 	the 	public.
(4) 	The 	number 	of 	employees 	and
classifications 	in 	a 	proposed 	unit, 	and
its 	effect 	on 	the 	operations 	of 	the
employer, 	on 	the 	objectives 	of
providing 	the 	employees 	the 	right 	to
effective 	representation, 	and on 	the
meet 	and 	confer 	relationship.
(5) 	The 	impact on 	the meet 	and 	confer
relationship 	created 	by 	fragmentation
of 	employee 	groups 	or 	any 	proliferation
44

AFSCME3 and, 	initially, 	by CSEA, 	is 	not 	appropriate. 	The
internal 	and 	occupational 	community 	of 	interests 	of 	the 	vast
spectrum of 	different 	sorts 	of 	professional 	employees 	of 	the
University 	are 	simply 	too 	diverse 	to 	justify 	placement 	of 	all
of 	them 	in 	a 	single 	unit. 	Given 	the 	pronounced 	community of
interest 	differences 	between 	the 	diverse 	groups 	of 	professional
employees, 	we 	cannot 	find 	that 	an 	overall 	unit 	would 	provide
employees 	with 	the 	statutory 	right 	to 	effective 	representation,
or 	have 	a 	salutory 	effect 	on 	the 	meet 	and 	confer 	relationship.
of 	units 	among 	the 	employees 	of 	the
employer.
(b) 	There 	shall 	be 	a presumption 	that
professional 	employees 	and 	nonprofessional
employees 	shall 	not 	be 	included 	in 	the 	same
representation 	unit. 	However, 	the
presumption 	shall 	be 	rebuttable, 	depending
upon 	what 	the 	evidence 	pertinent 	to 	the
criteria 	set 	forth 	in 	subdivision 	(a)
establishes.
(c) 	There 	shall 	be 	a presumption 	that 	all
employees 	within 	an 	occupational 	group or
groups 	shall 	be 	included 	within 	a 	single
representation unit. 	However, 	the
presumption 	shall 	be 	rebutted 	if 	there 	is 	a
preponderance 	of 	evidence 	that 	a 	single
representation 	unit 	is 	inconsistent 	with 	the
criteria 	set 	forth 	in subdivision 	(a) 	or 	the
purposes 	of 	this 	chapter.
3 Nor 	is AFSCME's position 	rendered 	appropriate 	by 	its
post-hearing 	modification 	recommending 	exclusion 	of
professional 	employees 	at 	Lawrence 	Livermore 	National
Laboratory 	but 	including 	all 	other 	professional 	employees
systemwide.
unT	
5

Having 	found 	it 	inappropriate 	to place 	librarians 	in an
all-professional employees 	unit, 	it 	remains 	to be determined
whether 	they 	constitute 	an appropriate 	unit 	standing 	alone, 	or
whether 	they may only 	appropriately 	be 	included 	in 	a more
extensive 	unit 	with 	other 	academic 	professional 	employees.
We 	have 	reviewed 	the 	factual 	findings 	and 	legal 	conclusions
encompassed 	in 	the ALJ's 	recommendations, 	and 	find 	them 	free 	of
prejudicial error. 	(ALJ's Recommendations, pp. 	79-86.) 	We are
persuaded 	by 	the 	record 	as 	a whole 	that 	the 	systemwide 	unit 	of
approximately 	600 	professional 	librarians 	proposed 	by AFT 	and
CSEA possesses 	a 	community 	of 	interest 	independent 	of 	the 	other
professional employees, 	and 	thus 	accept 	the ALJ's
recommendation 	to 	that 	effect.
In 	addition 	to 	the 	discrete 	community of 	interest which
librarians 	possess, 	we 	find 	the 	history of 	representation
factors 	noted 	by the ALJ 	to be persuasive. 	Further, 	the 	fact
that 	the University 	has 	recognized 	and 	solicited 	input 	from 	the
Librarian Association of 	the University of California as 	an
official 	body 	to advise 	the University 	in 	personnel 	and
professional 	matters 	affecting 	the 	library 	since 	1975 	indicates
that 	the University has 	recognized 	the 	existence 	of 	concerns
unique 	to librarians, 	and 	has 	found 	it beneficial 	and 	efficient
to consider 	those concerns 	in 	the 	past. 	This 	bodes well 	for
the 	unit's potential 	effect 	on 	the meet 	and 	confer
relationship. 	We do not 	find 	the 	unit 	to 	be so 	small 	as 	to
6

impair 	the 	potential meet 	and 	confer 	relationship, 	consisting
as 	it does 	of 	all 	the 	librarians 	systemwide. 	It does 	not 	split
an occupational 	group.
The grant of 	a separate 	unit 	to librarians 	does 	not
indicate 	that 	every 	such 	occupational 	group within 	the
University would 	be 	granted 	a discrete 	unit were 	it petitioned
for, 	contrary to 	the fear expressed by 	the University. 	We 	are
extremely 	sensitive 	to 	the 	statutory mandate 	to 	avoid 	undue
unit 	proliferation. 	We 	do not 	consider 	creation 	of 	a 	sizeable
unit such 	as 	this one, 	with 	recognizable and 	acknowledged
internal 	community of 	interest 	and 	a 	history 	of 	separate
organization and 	representation, 	to constitute undue 	unit
proliferation. 	Rather, 	we find 	it to be a sensible
configuration, consistent with 	the 	statutory criteria, 	which
will 	potentially 	provide 	employees 	the 	right 	to 	effective
representation without 	impairing 	the 	efficient 	operations 	of
the 	University.
ORDER
Based 	upon 	the 	foregoing Decision 	and 	the 	record 	as 	a
whole, 	the Public Employment Relations Board 	hereby ORDERS 	as
follows:
1. 	All professional 	librarians 	employed 	by 	the Regents 	of
the University 	of 	California 	constitute 	an 	appropriate 	unit 	for
meeting 	and 	conferring 	in 	good 	faith 	pursuant 	to Government
77

Code section 	3560, 	et 	seq. 	The 	inclusions 	in 	this 	unit are set
forth 	in 	the 	attached 	appendix.
2. 	Any 	technical 	errors 	in 	this ORDER shall be presented
to 	the 	director 	of 	representation who 	shall 	take 	appropriate
action 	thereon 	in 	accordance 	with 	this 	decision.
3. 	The 	appropriate 	unit described 	above 	shall 	exclude
supervisory, managerial, 	and confidential employees of 	the
Regents 	of 	the University of California.
4. 	The Board 	hereby ORDERS 	a 	representative 	election 	in
this 	unit 	and 	the 	general 	counsel 	is 	hereby directed 	to proceed
in 	accordance with California Administrative Code, 	title 	8,
part 	3, 	division 	4.
By 	the 	BOARD
8

APPENDIX
PROFESSIONAL 	LIBRARIANS
Code 	Job 	Title
3612 	Librarian - 	Career 	Status
3613 	Librarian 	- Potential Career 	Status
3614 	Librarian - Temporary 	Status
3616 	Associate Librarian 	- Career 	Status
3617 	Associate Librarian 	- Potential 	Career 	Status
3618
3620 Associate Librarian 	- Temporary 	Status
Assistant 	Librarian 	- Career 	Status
3621 	Assistant Librarian 	- Potential 	Career 	Status
3622
3633 Assistant 	Librarian 	- Temporary 	Status
Music 	Librarian
3635 	Law 	Librarian
3637 	Assistant 	Law 	Librarian
l