D.R. NO. 81-42

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS COMMISSION

BEFORE THE DIRECTOR OF REPRESENTATION

In the Matter of

CITY OF NEWARK,

Public Employer-Petitioner,

-and-	Docket No. CU-80-63

NEWARK SUPERIOR OFFICERS' ASSOCIATION,

Employee Organization.

Appearances:

For the Public Employer-Petitioner

Rosalind Bressler, Assistant Corporation Counsel

For the Employee Representative

Whipple, Schneider & Ross

(Lawrence A. Whipple, Jr. of Counsel)

DECISION AND ORDER

On March 13, 1980, a Clarification of Unit Petition was filed with the Public Employment Relations Commission (the "Commission") by the City of Newark (the "City"). The City states that it has recognized the Newark Superior Officers' Association (the "Association") as the exclusive representative of all Superior Officers employed in the following positions: Chief Identification Officer, Assistant Chief Identification Officer, Civilian Activities Officer, Supervisor of Tabulating Machine Operations, Assistant Supervisor of Tabulating Machine Operations, Chief Communications Officer, and Police Signal System Superintendent.1/ On or about March 1, 1980, the Association sought to initiate compulsory interest arbitration pursuant to the Police and Fire Compulsory Arbitration Act (the "Arbitration Act") N.J.S.A. 34:13A-14 et seq. on behalf of these employees. The City responded with the instant petition requesting a declaration that these employees are not entitled to compulsory interest arbitration under the above statutory provisions.2/

On January 20, 1981, after several conferences, the City and the Association entered into Stipulations of Fact, which are attached hereto and made part hereof.3/ The parties agreed to waive a Hearing Officer's report and to submit this dispute directly to the Director of Representation for a decision based on the stipulated facts. On March 31 and April 30, 1981, the Association and the City, respectively, filed briefs.

Upon the entire record of this proceeding, the undersigned finds and determines as follows:

1.	The City of Newark is a public employer within the meaning of the New Jersey Employer-Employee Relations Act, N.J.S.A. 34:13A-1 et seq. (the "Act") is the employer of the employees who are the subject of this Petition, and is subject to the provisions of the Act.

2.	The Newark Superior Officers' Association is an employee representative within the meaning of the Act and is subject to its provisions.

3.	The Association currently represents a recognized collective negotiations unit which includes the titles of Chief and Assistant Chief Identification Officer, Civilian Activities Officer, Supervisor and Assistant Supervisor of Tabulating Machine Operations, Chief Communications Officer, and Police Signal System Superintendent.

4.	The question presented in this Clarification of Unit Petition is whether the Chief and Assistant Chief Identification Officer, Civilian Activities Officer, Supervisor and Assistant Supervisor of Tabulating Machine Operations, Chief Communications Officer, and Police Signal System Superintendent are police personnel entitled to interest arbitration under the Police and Fire Compulsory Interest Arbitration Act.4/ As in In re City of Newark, supra, n. 1, (hereinafter "Newark PBA"), a determination is required as to whether these employees "...are engaged in performing police services..." within the meaning of N.J.S.A. 34:13A-15. In Newark PBA, the undersigned set forth the test for determining which employees are engaged in performing police services: Only "...those employees of a police department who perform...law enforcement duties which are integral elements of the total process of detecting, apprehending and arresting criminal offenders..." are entitled to compulsory arbitration (Slip Opin. at 9). Once again, the undersigned stresses that "...the application of this standard involves a factual determination and evaluation, on a case-by-case basis, of the specific duties and responsibilities of the title(s) in question." Newark PBA, supra, (Slip Opin. at 12-13). The parties' briefs, virtually identical to the briefs filed in Newark PBA, do not dispute the standard adopted by the undersigned as set forth in Newark PBA.

Accordingly, the disputed employment titles are examined below in order to determine whether employees functioning in these titles perform duties which are integral elements of the total process of detecting, apprehending, and arresting criminal offenders. Preliminarily, the undersigned notes the parties' stipulation that "[t]here is no statute empowering these employees to act as officers for the detection, apprehension, arrest and conviction of offenders against the law."

Chief and Assistant Chief Identification Officer,

Chief Communications Officer, Police Signal

System Superintendent

In Newark PBA, the undersigned considered whether identification officers, communications officers, and linemen were engaged in performing police services. Based upon a review of their duties, the undersigned concluded that identification officers, but not communications officers or linemen, were performing such duties. The instant case involves, inter alia, the supervisors of these employees: The Chief and Assistant Chief Identification Officers supervise the identification officers, the Chief Communications Officer supervises the communications officers, and the Police Signal Superintendent supervises the linemen.

The Chief and Assistant Chief Identification Officers supervise employees whose duties were found to constitute the performance of police services in Newark PBA. These supervisors also engage in the performance of the same duties, in a supervisory capacity. For the reasons stated in Newark PBA, the undersigned concludes that the Chief and the Assistant Chief Identification Officers are entitled to compulsory interest arbitration. The Chief Communications Officer and the Police Signal System Superintendent do not supervise employees who were found in Newark PBA to perform duties constituting police services and themselves do not engage in such duties. The undersigned concludes, therefore, that the Chief Communications Officer and the Police Signal System Superintendent are not entitled to compulsory interest arbitration.

Civilian Activities Officer

The parties' stipulations detail the following duties performed by the Civilian Activities Officer, the person in charge of the Police Business Office: (1) keeping of all financial records pertaining to salary, overtime, and fringe benefits for police department personnel, (2) handling civilian personnel matters, (3) working on applications for State and Federally funded programs, (4) formulating the Police Department budget, (5) expending department funds, (6) advising the Police Director concerning the fiscal planning of actual operations, (7) assisting in the planning and maintenance of a unified record system by civilian personnel, (8) assisting in stocking inventories, (9) keeping statistical records, and (10) conducting auction sales. The Civilian Activities Officer is required to have five years of clerical experience and works only during normal business hours.

The Civilian Activities Officer performs administrative and clerical duties and is not engaged in performing any police duties. The Civilian Activities Officer utilizes administrative and clerical experience, not police service skills, in doing his job. Accordingly, the undersigned concludes that the Civilian Activities Officer is not included within the coverage of the interest arbitration statute.5/

Supervisor of Tabulating Machine Operations

and Assistant Supervisor of Tabulating

Machine Operations

The parties' stipulations detail the following duties performed by the Supervisor of Tabulating Machine Operations: (1) training, direction, and evaluation of personnel working in the Data Processing Section of the Records and Identification Bureau, (2) analyzing and supervising the compilation of statistics, reports, and data pertaining to crime, traffic, summons, and arrests, and (3) supervising the processing of all want, warrant, and stolen property information through computer terminals. The Supervisor of Tabulating Machine Operations is required to have five years of experience in the operation of electric accounting equipment and a thorough knowledge of modern business machines; he works during normal business hours.

The Assistant Supervisor of Tabulating Machine Operations assists the supervisor of Tabulating Machine Operations in the fulfillment of his job duties and replaces the Supervisor when the Supervisor is absent. The Assistant Supervisor is required to have three years of experience in the operation of electric accounting equipment and a thorough knowledge of modern business machines; he works during normal business hours.

The Supervisor and Assistant Supervisor of Tabulating Machine Operations perform functions comparable to those performed by the communications officer who were the subject of the Newark PBA decision. For example, communications officers enter information concerning arrests, crimes, stolen cars, and wanted persons into central computers. Personnel in the Data Processing Section, under the guidance of the Supervisor and Assistant Supervisor of Tabulating Machine Operations, help process this information and convert it into statistical compilations and reports. Thus, the work of communications officers and the work of the Supervisor and Assistant Supervisor both involve the application of technical and administrative skills rather than police service skills. Accordingly, the undersigned concludes that the Supervisor and Assistant Supervisor of Tabulating Machine Operations are not engaged in providing police services and are therefore not included in the coverage of the interest arbitration statute.

Conclusion

For the above reasons, the undersigned clarifies the instant unit as follows: The Chief and Assistant Chief Identification Officers are entitled to utilize the impasse procedures under the interest arbitration statute while the Chief Communications Officer, Police Signal System Superintendent, Civilian Activities Officer, and Supervisor and Assistant Supervisor of Tabulating Machine Operations are not entitled to utilize the impasse procedures under the interest arbitration statute and are removed from the instant unit.6/

BY ORDER OF THE DIRECTOR

OF REPRESENTATION

Carl Kurtzman, Director

DATED:	May 19, 1981

Trenton, New Jersey