L.D. NO. 91-11

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

CLASSIFICATION DISPUTES PANEL

In the Matter of

NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

(STOCKTON STATE COLLEGE)

-and-	Media Collections Specialist

COMMUNICATIONS WORKERS OF AMERICA

-and-

COUNCIL OF NEW JERSEY STATE COLLEGE LOCALS, AFT

DECISION

The above-named parties are engaged in a dispute concerning whether the Media Collections Specialist at Stockton State College is more appropriately placed in the CWA professional employees unit or the AFT faculty unit. The parties have agreed to place the dispute concerning the unit placement of these positions before this panel for resolution. At an informal hearing before the panel, witnesses testified and a job description was presented.
The AFT faculty unit consists of teaching and research faculty and non-teaching professional employees who are integrally related to academic functions of the colleges and primarily interact with faculty and students. The CWA unit consists of non-academic professional employees, i.e. those professionals engaged in the College's administrative, financial, business and support services functions.

In this matter, CWA argues that Stockton's Media Collections Specialist should be included in its professional unit. The AFT and the College contend that the positions are properly included in its faculty unit.

The Media Collections Specialist will report to the Coordinator for Media and Technology, a faculty unit member. It is anticipated that this new position will be filled at salary range 18.

The Media Collections Specialist is primarily responsible for supervising the circulation, maintenance and development of the College's centralized media collections, including slides, tapes, records, transparencies, audio materials, and most particularly, a large slide collection. In this capacility the employee will be expected to have constant interaction with faculty and student to assist in their use of the media collection. He/she will be expected to have a sufficient working knowledge of the subject matters of the collection so as to assist faculty and student with selecting media materials appropriate for their curriculum needs.

The Media Collections Specialist will aid students in video production and teach students to use editing equipment. He/she will run media workshops for faculty. The Media Collections Specialist will review requests from faculty and staff for acquisition of additions to the media collections. He/she will make recommendations to the Coordinator for purchases.

We find that the Media Collections Specialist at Stockton State College share a greater community of interest with the AFT faculty unit. The position is academically oriented, and the employee will primarily interact with faculty and students in pursuit of academic rather than with business and administrative employees. Accordingly, we find that the Media Collections Specialist at Stockton State is properly included in the AFT faculty unit.

THE CLASSIFICATION DISPUTES PANEL

William Druz, Classification Specialist

Susan Osborn, Public Employment

Relations Specialist

DATED: June 3, 1991