L.D. NO. 91-3

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

CLASSIFICATION DISPUTES PANEL

In the Matter of

NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

(GLASSBORO STATE COLLEGE)

-and-	Manager of Maintenance Operations

COMMUNICATIONS WORKERS OF AMERICA

DECISION

The New Jersey State Department of Higher Education and the Communications Workers of America have agreed to submit disputes concerning whether certain employees of the State Colleges are properly excluded from CWA negotiations units to this panel. At the informal hearing before the panel, witnesses testified and job descriptions were presented. The parties have agreed that this panel will decide whether the position is properly classified in a title outside the unit or should be placed within the CWA unit.

The State contends that the Manager of Maintenance Operations at Glassboro State College is a managerial executive and therefore is properly in the title Associate Director III, a title exempted from any negotiations unit. CWA argues that the title should be included in its Higher Level Supervisors Unit. We find that the position Manager of Maintenance Operations is not a managerial executive and should appropriately be placed in the CWA Higher Level Supervisors unit.

The Manager of Maintenance Operations, James Lovegrove, does not have such authority to set policies which broadly effect the College's mission. Rather, his policy making abilities are limited to the day-to-day operation of the College's facilities.

He reports to the Director of Facilities, a management position, who reports to an Assistant Vice-President, who reports to the Vice-President for Administration and Finance, who reports to the College President, who reports to the Board of Trustees. Thus, Lovegrove is sixth down in the chain of command. He is in pay range 25. He is in charge of 11 crews of about 48 maintenance employees (represented by IFPTE), each headed by a crew chief. Nine of these crew chiefs are in the primary level supervisors unit; the remaining two--Chief Operating Engineer of the Heating Plant and Supervisor of Grounds--are in the higher level unit. While his supervisory authority over these first line supervisors include evaluating their performance, these evaluations are countersigned by a higher level authority. His only occasion to impose discipline involved a crew chief. Therefore, we find that the potential for conflict of interest with other supervisors in the higher level supervisors unit to be minimal. We do not find that the Manager of Maintenance Operations is a managerial executive. We recommend that the position be placed into the CWA Higher Level Supervisors Unit.

THE CLASSIFICATION DISPUTES PANEL

William Druz, Classification Specialist

Susan Osborn, Public Employment

Relations Specialist

DATED: December 20, 1990