| GENERAL DRIVERS & HELPERS | | | CASE NO. 820 |
| UNION NO. 554 affiliated | | | REP. DOC. NO. 282 |
| with INTERNATIONAL | | | |
| BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS, | | | |
| CHAUFFEURS, WAREHOUSEMEN AND | | | |
| HELPERS OF AMERICA, | | | |
| | | ||
| Petitioner, | | | |
| | | ||
| v. | | | ORDER |
| | | ||
| COUNTY OF SCOTTS BLUFF, | | | |
| NEBRASKA, a Political | | | |
| Subdivision of the State | | | |
| of Nebraska; RAYMOND RUSSELL, | | | |
| JOHN McLELLAN, CLINTON MORRISON, | | | |
| ROGER GREEN and WILLARD | | | |
| KAMERZEL, County Board Members; | | | |
| MARY JO ELLIS, Register of | | | |
| Deeds; VERA DULANEY, County | | | |
| Clerk; DARLENE ROBERTSON, | | | |
| County Treasurer; DEBORAH MAY | | | |
| GARDNER, Clerk of the District | | | |
| Court; DUANE STOTT, County | | | |
| Surveyor, and LES DUGGER, | | | |
| County Assessor, | | | |
| | | ||
| Respondents. | | |
Before: Judges Kratz, V. Moore, and Flowers
KRATZ, J:
Petitioner seeks to represent employees employed by the County of Scotts Bluff and/or by the elected county officials who are currently employed in offices and/or departments located at the County Administration Building at 1825 10th St., Gering, Nebraska. Petitioner requests that all of the employees be placed in one bargaining unit. In their answers, respondents argued that this was an improper bargaining unit. A telephonic hearing was held to determine the proper bargaining unit. Although the County of Scotts Bluff is the employer, generally each elected county official is the proper person to represent the county in connection with negotiations involving employees of the elected official's office. See Sarpy County Public Employees Ass'n v. County of Sarpy , 220 Neb. 431, 370 N.W.2d 495 (1985). Since the elected county official is the proper person to negotiate with the labor organization, it makes
sense to create separate bargaining units consisting of the people employed by each elected county official.
Furthermore, the Nebraska Supreme Court has indicated that each bargaining unit consists of only the employees of one elected county official. "While we have generally said that fragmentation to the extent it can be avoided should be avoided, . . . we have never held and could not hold that artificial units must be created solely to reduce the number of appropriate units." Sarpy County , 220 Neb. at 440. "[E]ach of the . . . elected county officials is the appropriate person to represent the County of Sarpy in negotiating . . . after it is determined that the plaintiff labor organization represents the particular employee unit in each office ." Id. (emphasis added).
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that there shall be seven separate bargaining units as follows:
Register of Deeds
County Clerk
Clerk of the District Court
County Treasurer
County Surveyor
County Assessor
County Board (includes employees of the Communication Center, Civil Defense, Building and Grounds, Health Department and the Veteran Services)
Entered September 26 , 1991.
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