STATE OF MAINE
MAINE LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
Case No. 17-UD-07
Issued: June 16, 2017
MAINE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION,
Petitioner,
and
MAINE SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS,
Public Employer.
UNIT DETERMINATION REPORT
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
This unit determination proceeding was initiated on
February 24, 2017, when Ms. Louella Willey, UniServ Director
for the Maine Education Association ("MEA"), filed a petition for
unit determination with the Maine Labor Relations Board
("Board") requesting the creation of a bargaining unit,
consisting of "all full and part- time instructors presently
employed at the Maine School of Science and Math, located at 95
High Street, Limestone, ME 04750. Currently there are 18
employed instructors." The petition explicitly excluded
custodians, bus drivers, residential employees, administrative
assistants, and any administrative positions from the proposed
bargaining unit. The petition was filed pursuant to § 966(1)
and (2) of the Municipal Public Employees Labor Relations Law
("Act"),[fn]1 26 M.R.S. § 961, et seq.
[fn]1 An earlier representation proceeding involving MSSM was processed by the
Board pursuant to the Municipal Public Employees Labor Relations Law, 26
M.R.S. § 961, et seq., and the controlling statutory provision was not at
issue here. The hearing examiner notes that the proceeding could have been
[end of page 1]
The Maine School of Science and Mathematics ("MSSM") filed
a timely response to the petition on March 13, 2017. MSSM
objected to the proposed unit on the grounds that, although
proposing a bargaining unit comprised of "all full and part-time
instructors," the MEA was, in fact, excluding seven Adjunct
Instructors from the unit sought through this proceeding. MSSM
asserted that all of the non-supervisory faculty at MSSM should
be included in the bargaining unit. On March 20, 2017, MEA
filed an amended petition seeking a unit determination of a
bargaining unit of MSSM employees, including "all full and/or
half time instructors (12 class contact hours or more)" employed
at MSSM and expressly excluding Adjunct Instructors, among other
classifications.[fn]2 MSSM filed a response to the amended petition
on April 3, 2017, essentially renewing and incorporating its
objection to the original petition.
The hearing examiner convened a telephone conference with
the party representatives on March 23. The parties agreed that
the position of Instructor/Dean of the Faculty will not be
included in the bargaining unit. In an effort to narrow
questions of relevant facts in dispute, the parties were asked
to file and exchange offers of proof no later than April 21,
with a focus on establishing whether the Adjunct Instructors
share a clear and identifiable community of interest with the
brought pursuant to the parallel provision of the State Employees Labor
Relations Act, 26 M.R.S. §979-E(l) and (2). The representation process is
identical under both Acts; therefore, the hearing examiner defers judgment as
to which Act applies since it was not at issue here.
[fn]2 During the telephone conference with the parties on March 23, MSSM correctly
pointed out that the Board's Rules do not contemplate an amended petition,
once the response to a petition has been filed. Since neither the Act nor
the Rules precludes withdrawing a petition and filing a new one for essen-
tially the same bargaining unit, the amended petition was allowed. MSSM
requested the opportunity to file a response and did so.
[end of page 2]
full- and 2/3- time[fn]3 Instructors. The parties agreed that a
follow-up telephone conference would be held on April 28 and the
evidentiary hearing would be held on May 19. The offers of
proof were timely filed, with MSSM including 9 exhibits with its
offer and MEA moving for a unit determination based on the
pleadings. During the conference call of April 28, the parties'
submissions were reviewed, including documents relating to the
2/3-time Instructor's health insurance coverage as a dependent
of a full-time Instructor, and points of consensus as well as
those in dispute were identified. The hearing examiner orally
denied MEA's motion on the grounds that § 966(2) of the Act
requires the hearing officer to assess whether the requisite
community of interest exists among the employee classifications
involved in determining any bargaining unit. The hearing
examiner committed to drafting tentative findings of fact for
review, which would include consideration of additional
documents the parties agreed to submit. The draft findings were
sent to the parties on May 12, after which the parties
conferred. The parties were unable to agree on facts relevant
to the "desires of affected employees" community-of-interest
factor, and after discussing the matter with the hearing
examiner, the parties agreed that the factor would not be
considered in this unit determination. The parties reached a
full stipulation of facts on May 19, 2017, subject to this
caveat.
The parties have reviewed the exhibits each intended to
offer and agreed that the following are admitted into evidence:
[fn]3 Although the petition seeks inclusion of half-time Instructors in the
bargaining unit, the parties clarified that the only part time position at
issue, other than the Adjunct Instructors, is a 2/3-time Chemistry
Instructor.
[end of page 3]
MEA Exhibit 1, MSSM Bylaws, Article I
MEA Exhibit 2, Current Instructor teaching contact hours,
provided May 1, 2017
MEA Exhibit 3, Offer of Employment to 2/3 Chemistry
Instructor [redacted], June 6, 2016, with
3 Year Probationary Instructor Contract
For Chemistry Instructor (2/3),
08/01/2016-07/31/2017 [redacted], p. 1
MEA Exhibit 4, E-Mail message from Dean of Faculty to
MSSM Faculty, May 2, 2017, soliciting
Nominations of full-time faculty member
for election as Faculty Representative to
the MSSM Board for School Fiscal Year
2017-2018
MSSM Exhibit 1, Current MSSM adjunct faculty members with
date of hire and number of classes taught
in 2016-2017 academic year
MSSM Exhibit 2, MSSM Faculty Handbook 2016-2017
MSSM Exhibit 3, Yearly Instructor Contract, Fiscal Year
2016-2017, for Full-Time Chemistry
Instructor/Chemical Hygiene Officer
MSSM Exhibit 4, 2 Year Probationary Instructor Contract,
Fiscal Year 2016-2017, for Full-Time
Mathematics Instructor
MSSM Exhibit 5, 2 Year Probationary Instructor Contract,
Fiscal Year 2016-2017, for Full-Time
Humanities Instructor
MSSM Exhibit 6, 2 Year Probationary Instructor Contract,
Fiscal Year 2016 2017, for Full-Time
Science Instructor
MSSM Exhibit 7, Yearly Instructor Contract, Fiscal Year
2016-2017, for Part-Time Psychology
Instructor
MSSM Exhibit 8, Yearly Instructor Contract, Fiscal Year
2016-2017, for Part-Time Chinese
Instructor
MSSM Exhibit 9, 2 Year Probationary Instructor Contract,
Fiscal Year 2016 2017, for Part-Time
Health Instructor
[end of page 4]
MSSM Exhibit 10, 3 Year Probationary Instructor Contract
for Chemistry Instructor (2/3),
08/01/2016 07/31/2017
MSSM Exhibit 11, State of Maine, Group Health Insurance
Application for full-time Instructor,
opting for dependent coverage for his
spouse who is the 2/3 time Chemistry
Instructor [personal information
redacted]
MSSM Exhibit 12, Adjunct Instructor Teaching Schedule,
School Fiscal Years 2014 2015, 2015-2016,
and 2016-2017
The parties filed simultaneous main briefs on May 26, 2017.
MSSM filed a reply brief on May 30, and MEA opted not to file a
reply brief. The parties' briefs have been considered in
reaching the instant decision.
JURISDICTION
The petitioner, Maine Education Association, is a public
employee organization within the contemplation of § 962(2) of
the Act. The employer, Maine School of Science and Mathematics,
is an agency of the State of Maine created by statute and is a
public employer within the scope of § 962(7) (B). The juris-
diction of the executive director to hear this matter and to
make a determination lies in 26 M.R.S. § 966(1) and (2).
STIPULATIONS
The parties stipulated to the following facts:
1. The Maine School of Science and Mathematics ("MSSM") was
chartered by the Legislature as "an instrumentality and agency
of the State" to provide "certain high-achieving high school
students with a challenging educational experience." 20-A
M. R.S. § 8201.
[end of page 5]
2. MSSM is a residential high school located in Limestone.
3. The non-supervisory instructional faculty of MSSM consists
of employees in the following classifications:
Instructor
Instructor/Department Head - Humanities
Instructor/Department Head - Mathematics,
Instructor/Department Head - Science
Instructor/Instructor - Adjunct
Instructor - Adjunct
Instructor/Resident Instructor
4. The primary job function of all of the faculty members is to
teach one or more academic courses, providing day-to-day
instruction of students within the academic program of MSSM.
5. The full-time Instructors are required to teach (i) four
non-lab courses, with each course involving four hours of
instruction each week, or (ii) three lab courses, with each
course involving six hours of instruction each week. The non-
lab courses are in mathematics or humanities and the lab courses
are in the sciences.
6. All but one of the Adjunct Instructors currently teach one
or two courses per semester. One Adjunct Instructor currently
teaches only one semester per year.
7. Full- time Instructors are required to have an advisory group
of students with whom they meet as a group and one-on-one as the
circumstances of the individual students may warrant. Full-time
Instructors are also required to advise at least one extra-
curricular activity or coach at least one sport. Historically,
Adjunct Instructors have advised extracurricular activities or
coached sports, both for additional compensation; however, they
are not required to do so as a condition of employment.
[end of page 6]
8. Full-time Instructors are also subject to the following
requirements as terms of their employment, unless the Instructor
contracts for different terms. Absent an express contractual
agreement to the contrary, each full-time Instructor must: (i)
have at least three scheduled office hours per week; (ii) attend
all faculty, team and department meetings; (iii) attend one-day
faculty workshops three time per year--before the fall semester,
at the end of the spring semester, and following graduation;
(iv) attend at least some activities during movein weekend;
and (v) attend the Parent Conference Weekend in the fall semester
and Parents' Weekend in the spring semester, both
consisting of Friday afternoon and evening and Saturday day-long
activities, including scheduled meetings with parents. Adjunct
Instructors do not have mandatory office hours and, while
invited to participate in faculty meetings and workshops, they
are not required to attend. If particular parents desire to
meet with an Adjunct Instructor, that Instructor will be
required to meet with them.
9. The MSSM Faculty Handbook, at p. 6, provides that "[e]ach
faculty member reports directly to the Department Chair of the
respective academic area." There are three academic depart-
ments: Humanities, Mathematics, and Science, each headed by a
department chair, who all report to the Dean of the Faculty.
10. Full- time Instructors undergo a comprehensive and on-going
assessment process that includes self-evaluations; creating a
portfolio of work performed; reviews of instructor benchmarks
with the Dean of the Faculty; classroom visits by the department
chair, Dean of the Faculty, and a peer chosen by the instructor;
evaluations by students through questionnaires; and reports on
professional development and advising activities. Following the
[end of page 7]
classroom observation, the portfolio and instructor benchmarks
are discussed in a post-observation meeting. Historically, the
assessment process has been intermittent and not every full-time
Instructor has been evaluated each year.
11. Adjunct Instructors are also evaluated by the Department
Chair or Dean of the Faculty. Historically, the evaluation
process has been the same process as was utilized for full-time
Instructors and, like the full-time Instructors, the use of the
evaluation process for Adjunct Instructors historically has been
intermittent. For the 2016-2017 academic year, MSSM introduced
a pilot program requiring full-time Instructors to compile a
course portfolio (which includes course syllabus and plan,
student evaluation reflection and professional development).
Adjunct Instructors do not have to compile a course portfolio.
12. The labor relations policies for all members of the faculty
are determined by the Board of Trustees and are contained in the
MSSM Faculty Handbook.
13. The full-time Instructors are compensated pursuant to a
standardized pay scale which is based on the individual's years
of experience and level of education. Full- time faculty can
earn additional compensation for taking on special or additional
responsibilities beyond those required as conditions of their
employment. The salaries of four full-time instructors were
provided. Those for three of the instructors range from $45,400
to $57,850. The fourth instructor's salary was $73,000. This
particular Instructor serves as the Chemical Hygiene Officer in
addition to his instructional duties and MSSM modified his
contractual duties to relieve him from responsibilities
regarding a "Student Activity/Club Advisor" and attending the
annual senior weekend activities.
[end of page 8]
14. The Adjunct Instructors are compensated on a "per course"
basis, currently approximately $7,400 per year-long course
(which is the equivalent of $3,700 per semester). As with full-
time Instructors, Adjunct Instructors can earn additional
compensation by taking on additional responsibility.
15. Full- time Instructors are eligible to participate in the
school's group health insurance. Part- time and Adjunct
Instructors are not eligible to participate. The premium for
full-time Instructors who opt for individual employee coverage
is 90% paid by MSSM and 10% paid by the employee, with different
premium splits, depending on the type of dependent coverage
sought.
16. Full- time Instructors earn sick leave at the rate of one
day per month and can accumulate up to 120 days. Part- time and
Adjunct Instructors earn sick leave with the rate of accumula-
tion being based on the number of classes each teaches.
17. All Instructors participate in a retirement plan through
the Maine Public Employees Retirement System.
18. The number of hours of classroom instruction per week by
the Adjunct Instructors in SFY 16-17 range from a high of 7
hours in the fall semester to a low of 3 hours by another. The
numerical average of hours taught by each Adjunct Instructor in
the fall semester was 5 hours per week for the six Adjunct
Instructors who taught that semester. The numerical average of
hours taught per week by seven Adjunct Instructors who are
teaching this spring semester is 4.1 hours.
19. Full-time, part-time, and Adjunct Instructors work under
one-year agreements, which may or may not be renewed. Full-time
Instructors serve a three-year probationary period. Adjunct
[end of page 9]
Instructors are always considered probationary employees.
20. All the Instructors, Adjunct and full-time, are provided
notification of reasonable assurances of employment for the next
school year during the February time frame.
21. Full- time Instructors who work an entire school year are
paid through 26 biweekly payments and Adjunct Instructors who
work an entire school year receive their pay through 21 biweekly
payments.
22. All full-time Instructors are eligible for on-campus
housing and participation in MSSM's meal plan. In fact, all
staff are eligible for the MSSM meal plan. Although Adjunct
Instructors typically are not eligible for on-campus housing,
MSSM has afforded this opportunity to Adjunct Instructors in
certain situations, such as in conjunction with additional
Residential Life duties.
23. MSSM's Reduction in Force policy includes the following:
This policy applies to permanent MSSM employees who have
completed their probationary periods (full-time and part-
time regularly scheduled to work 20 or more hours each
work week) and to employees in probationary periods who
have completed at least six months of their contract.
Temporary employees, employees with time-limited
appointments, permanent employees scheduled less than 20
hours per week, and probationary employees who have
completed less than six months of their contract may be
separated without following this policy and are not
eligible for re-employment preference.
24. The Chapter of Public Law that established MSSM and
pursuant to which it operates, 20-A M.R.S. Chapter 312, provides
that a full-time teacher at the school, elected by the faculty,
serves as a non-voting member of the school's Board of Trustees.
[end of page 10]
Section 8204(1) (F) provides that "[b]oth full-time and part time
teachers at the school may vote in the election of a faculty
member to serve on the board of trustees and the election must
be by secret ballot... ." Historically, MSSM has interpreted the
statute's reference to "full-time and part-time teachers" to
encompass all MSSM faculty (including full-time Instructors and
Adjunct Instructors) and has afforded all of its faculty the
opportunity to participate in the statutory, secret ballot
election process. The faculty member nominated for the position
must be a full-time Instructor.
25. The MSSM Faculty Handbook incorporates the school's strong
preference that faculty members, both full-time Instructors and
Adjunct Instructors, have at least a master's degree in the area
they teach, prior teaching experience, "the ability to communi-
cate with high-ability students, and a sincere desire to work
with and teach high school age students."
26. The process of instruction is inherently a singular
activity, where an instructor introduces new learning and
imparts knowledge through lectures, through the Socratic method
of questioning students on their comprehension of assigned
readings, or through practical demonstrations followed by direct
student participation in science laboratories. Most profes-
sional contact or interchange among the faculty occurs at
faculty, team and department meetings and workshops, during
which Instructors recommend modifications to academic policies,
procedures, programs, and courses. While Adjunct Instructors
are invited to attend and participate in these meetings, only a
few of the Adjunct Instructors attend.
27. One of the Instructors at MSSM teaches two lab courses and
is recognized by the school as a 2/3-time Instructor. The 2/3-
[end of page 11]
time Instructor is required to have an advisory group and is
expected to have regular office hours, similar to the require-
ments of the full-time Instructors. Since the 2/3-time
Instructor teaches two lab courses and the normal full-time load
is three, the Instructor's compensation is 2/3 of what it would
be if the Instructor had a full load and considering the
person's prior teaching experience. The 2/3 time Instructor is
not eligible for coverage in the MSSM group health insurance
plan by virtue of employment; however, that individual is
married to a full-time Instructor and is eligible for inclusion
in the plan as a dependent. The unique 2/3-time position was
created for the 2016-2017 academic year.
28. All of the school's non-supervisory faculty members,
consisting of 17 full-time Instructors, one 2/3-time Instructor,
and 7 Adjunct Instructors, work at the MSSM campus, located in
Limestone.
29. None of the faculty employee classifications previously
has been involved in collective bargaining.
30. There is no direct evidence regarding the desires of the
employees regarding the configuration of a bargaining unit of
MSSM employees.
31. Five of the seven Adjunct Instructors have worked as an
Instructor with MSSM for over 14 years. The remaining two
Adjunct Instructors have worked as an Instructor with MSSM for 2
and 5 years respectively.
32. Employees of MSSM historically have moved between the
Adjunct Instructor and full-time Instructor positions, including
at least one employee moving from Adjunct Instructor to full-
time Instructor and another moving from full-time Instructor to
[end of page 12]
Adjunct Instructor.
33. All MSSM faculty members have an email address associated
with MSSM and MSSM regularly uses "all faculty" emails, which
includes full-time Instructors, the 2/3-time Instructor and
Adjunct Instructors, to communicate with its faculty members.
DISCUSSION
The Maine School of Science and Mathematics is a
residential high school that was established by the Legislature,
with the statutory mission to provide "certain high-achieving
high school students with a challenging educational experience."
The non-supervisory instructional faculty of MSSM consists of
full- and regularly-scheduled part-time educators who all teach
one or more academic courses within the school's rigorous
academic program. The Board has held that regularly-scheduled
part-time employees are public employees within the meaning of
the Act and they may be included in the same bargaining unit
with full-time employees, provided they all share the requisite
community of interest. Bargaining units comprised of both types
of employees are not uncommon.
When the public employer and the employee organization
seeking to represent a group of employees are unable to agree on
the classifications that will constitute an appropriate
bargaining unit, either party can petition the Maine Labor
Relations Board to determine the bargaining unit. In the
instant case, the MEA has petitioned for the creation of a
bargaining unit consisting of the full- and 2/3-time Instructors
at MSSM. MSSM has taken the position that all of the non-
supervisory academic faculty, both full-time Instructors and
Adjunct Instructors, should be included in the bargaining unit.
[end of page 13]
A bargaining unit is a group of employee classifications
which will negotiate together as a group with their employer
over their wages, hours, working conditions, and contract
grievance arbitration provisions. In order to constitute an
appropriate grouping, the Act seeks to avoid internal conflicts
of interest that could interfere with collective bargaining and
requires that the classifications included in the bargaining
unit share a clear and identifiable community of interest. In
weighing whether the requisite community of interest exists, the
hearing officer must consider the following factors: (1)
similarity in the kind of work performed; (2) common supervision
and determination of labor relations policy; (3) similarity in the
scale and manner of determining earnings; (4) similarity in
employment benefits, hours of work and other terms and conditions
of employment; (5) similarity in the qualifications, skills and
training of employees; (6) freqency of contact or interchange
among the employees; (7) geographic proximity; (8) history of
collective bargaining; (9) desires of the affected employees; (10)
extent of union organization; and (11) the employer's organiza-
tional structure. Chapter 11, § 22(3) of the Board' s Rules. It is
not unusual to have some factors weigh one way and some go the
other way, and not all factors carry equal weight in every
situation.
The facts relating to the following factors support a
conclusion that all of the academic Instructors share the
requisite community of interest. The labor relations policies
covering all of them are determined by the MSSM Board of
Trustees and are memorialized in the Faculty Handbook.
Historically, all faculty members have been supervised by the
Dean of Faculty and their respective Department Chair, using the
same evaluation system. In practice, the assessment process has
been intermittent and not every full-time Instructor or Adjunct
[end of page 14]
Instructor has been evaluated each year. All faculty members
work under one-year agreements, which may or may not be renewed,
and all are provided notification of reasonable assurances of
employment for the next school year during the February time
frame. All faculty members are eligible for the MSSM meal plan.
MSSM has the same qualification preference that all faculty
members possess at least a master's degree in the academic
discipline and have prior teaching experience. They all work in
the same classrooms on the MSSM campus in Limestone. None of
them has had any involvement in collective bargaining as
employees of MSSM. Finally, the faculty comprises the core
element of the employer's organizational structure.
Statutory benefits, including workers compensation and
unemployment coverage and participation in a retirement plan
through the Maine Public Employees Retirement System, are
required by law; therefore, such benefits do not militate either
for inclusion in or exclusion from any bargaining unit. There
was no direct evidence regarding the desires of MSSM employees
regarding bargaining unit configuration and, by agreement of the
parties, that factor was not considered in this determination.
The factors discussed below support the conclusion that the
full-time Instructors do not share a clear and identifiable
community of interest with the Adjunct Instructors. The primary
function of each member of the academic faculty is teaching
students; however, the fundamental nature of the full-time
Instructors' employment is very different from that of the
Adjunct Instructors. In addition to teaching a normal load of
three lab science courses or four non-lab mathematics or
humanities courses each semester, each full time Instructor must
engage in several activities, as a condition of employment and
[end of page 15]
unless expressly excused by contract. These latter responsibil-
ities include: 1) having an advisory group of students, with
whom they meet as a group or one on-one, as required to meet the
needs of the individual advisees; 2) holding at least three
scheduled office hours per week; 3) attending all faculty,
team and department meetings, during which Instructors work
collegially, recommending modifications to academic policies,
procedures, programs and courses; 4) attending one-day faculty
workshops three times per year--before the fall semester, at
the end of the spring semester, and following graduation; 5)
attending at least some activities during move-in weekend; 6)
attending the Parent Conference Weekend in the fall semester and
Parents' Weekend in the spring semester, both of which consist
of Friday afternoon and evening and Saturday day-long
activities, including scheduled meetings with parents; and 7)
advising at least one extracurricular activity or coaching at
least one sport. The Adjunct Instructors' only responsibility
as a condition of employment is to teach one or two courses per
semester. The Adjunct Instructors may take on additional duties
for additional compensation, but are not required to do so.
Historically, the Adjunct Instructors have been evaluated
by the same people using the same process as the full-time
Instructors; however, for the 2016-2017 academic year, MSSM
introduced a pilot program requiring full-time Instructors to
compile a course portfolio, which includes course syllabus and
plan, student evaluation reflection, and professional develop-
ment activities. Adjunct Instructors were not required to
compile a course portfolio, resulting in a far more comprehen-
sive and time-consuming evaluation process for the full-time
Instructors.
[end of page 16]
The scale and manner of determining earnings are different
for the two groups. The full time Instructors are compensated
pursuant to a standardized pay scale which is based on the
individual's years of experience and level of education. Sample
annual salaries in the record range from $45,400 to $57,850.
The Adjunct Instructors are compensated on a "per course" basis
of approximately $7,400 per year long course. Full-time
Instructors who work an entire school year are paid through 26
biweekly payments and Adjunct Instructors who work an entire
school year receive their pay through 21 biweekly payments.
The employment benefits, hours of work, and other terms and
conditions of employment of the two groups are also different.
The most significant employment benefit for most people is
employer-sponsored group health insurance. Full-time
Instructors are eligible to participate in the school's group
health insurance; part-time and Adjunct Instructors are not
eligible to participate. The premium for full- time Instructors
who opt for individual employee coverage is 90% paid by MSSM and
10% paid by the employee, with different premium splits,
depending on the type of dependent coverage sought. All full-
time Instructors are eligible for on-campus housing; Adjunct
Instructors are not unless they become eligible in certain
situations, such as in conjunction with additional Residential
Life duties. Full-time Instructors earn sick leave at the rate
of one day per month and can accumulate up to 120 days. Part-
time and Adjunct Instructors earn sick leave with the rate of
accumulation pro-rated, based on the number of classes each
teaches.
Commensurate with the wider variety and more intensive
nature of their required professional activities, the full-time
[end of page 17]
Instructors work many more hours over the course of a semester
or school year than do their Adjunct Instructor colleagues.
Full-time mathematics and humanities Instructors teach four
courses, with each course involving four hours of instruction
each week, and full-time science Instructors teach three lab
courses, with each course involving six hours of instruction
each week. When mandatory office hours are considered, the
full-time Instructors have a minimum of 19 to 21 scheduled work
hours each week, not including the time commitment for their
other required activities. In contrast, the number of hours of
classroom instruction hours per week by the Adjunct Instructors
is well under 10.
Most professional contact or interchange among the faculty
occurs at faculty, team and department meetings and workshops,
during which Instructors recommend modifications to academic
policies, procedures, programs and courses. While Adjunct
Instructors are invited to attend and participate in these
meetings, only a few of the Adjunct Instructors attend.
Finally, the petitioning employee organization seeks to
represent a bargaining unit consisting only of the full-and
2/3-time Instructors and excluding the Adjunct Instructors.
In conclusion, the factors establishing that the full-time
Instructors do not share a clear and identifiable community of
interest with the Adjunct Instructors are qualitatively more
significant that those suggesting the alternate conclusion.
While the Adjunct Instructors are important in filling out the
school's academic curriculum, the full-time Instructors are
intimately involved in all facets of the MSSM experience.
Serving as a full-time Instructor at MSSM is an immersive
experience, as evidenced by the extensive list of activities
[end of page 18]
that full-time Instructors are expected to perform. Not only do
the Instructors teach a full course load, but they are very
involved in th8 students' life at MSSM through their advisory
commitment, their facilitating at least one extracurricular
activity, and their participation in the several events
involving the students' parents. MSSM encourages further
student-faculty interaction by making on-campus housing
available to the full-time faculty. The full-time Instructors
are also involved in peer reviews and have an active role in
MSSM's continual improvement process. MSSM recognizes both the
high quality and commitment of the full-time faculty through a
salary schedule that bases annual compensation on one's level of
experience and academic achievement.
There are significant differences between the full-time
Instructors and the Adjunct Instructors, particularly in the
nature and scope of their respective professional responsi-
bilities, the minimum time each is expected to work throughout
the academic year, their respective compensation and benefits
(especially employer-sponsored group health insurance), and in
the level of professional contact or interchange between members
of the two groups. These differences would reasonably be
expected to result in each group pursuing different and
competing objectives in the collective bargaining process.
The final question presented concerns the unit placement of
the 2/3-time Instructor. MSSM created this position in June,
2016, for the 2016-2017 School Fiscal Year. While the rationale
for MSSM's treatment of this position is not found in the
record, what is apparent is that they decided to treat this
position more like their full-time Instructors than the Adjunct
Instructors. The duties of the position include teaching two
[end of page 19]
chemistry lab courses, having an advisory group of students, and
holding regular office hours. Rather than being remunerated on
a per-course basis, the salary for the position was based on the
regular pay scale, considering the individual's prior public
school and community college teaching experience, pro-rated to
reflect that the educator would be teaching two lab courses,
rather than the full load of three such courses. Just as with
the full-time Instructors, the 2/3-time Instructor did not
receive additional compensation for the additional duties;
performance of such duties being expected aspects of employment
for full-time Instructors and, consequently, included in the
normal pay scale. The 2/3- time Instructor is paid through 26
biweekly pay periods like the full time Instructors. The 2/3-
time Instructor was offered the opportunity to live on campus
rent free. The minimum work time of the 2/3-time Instructor (15
hours per week during the academic year) is considerably greater
than that of the Adjunct Instructors. The individual contract
of employment for the position is designated as "3-Year
Probationary Instructor Contract Fiscal Year 2016-2017" and only
the full-time Instructors serve a probationary period. Finally,
the petitioning employee organization seeks to represent the
position in the bargaining unit. For all of these reasons, I
conclude that the 2/3-time Instructor shares the requisite
community of interest with the full-time Instructors and will be
included in the bargaining unit.
CONCLUSION
On the basis of the foregoing findings of fact and
discussion and by virtue of and pursuant to the provisions of
26 M.R.S. § 966, the hearing examiner ORDERS:
1. The petition for unit determination brought by the
Maine Education Association as clarified herein is
[end of page 20]
granted.
2. The Instructors employed by the Maine School of
Science and Mathematics, including the Instructors,
Instructor/Department Head - Humanities, Instructor/
Department Head - Mathematics, Instructor/Department
Head - Science, and 2/3-time Chemistry Instructor,
share a clear and identifiable community of interest,
as required in 26 M.R.S. § 966(2), and constitute an
appropriate bargaining unit within the meaning of 26
M.R.S. § 966 (1).
3. Excluded from the above-described bargaining unit
are the Instructor/Dean of the Faculty, the Adjunct
Instructors, and all other employees of the Maine
School of Science and Mathematics.
4. A representation election for the Maine School of
Science and Mathematics Instructors bargaining unit
should be scheduled in the normal course of the
Board's business.
Dated at Augusta, Maine, this 16th day of June 2017
MAINE LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
/s/_________________________
Marc P. Ayotte
Executive Director
The parties are hereby advised of their right, pursuant to 26 M.R.S.
§ 968(4), to appeal this report to the Maine Labor Relations Board.
To initiate such an appeal, the party seeking appellate review must
file a notice of appeal with the Board within fifteen (15) days of
the date of the issuance of this report. See Chapter 10 and Chapter
11 § 30 of the Board Rules.
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