Auburn School Committee and Auburn Education Association/MTA/NEA, 91-UD-03, aff'd MLRB No. 91-UDA-01 (May 8, 1991) STATE OF MAINE MAINE LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Case No. 91-UD-03 Issued: February 27, 1991 ______________________________________ ) AUBURN EDUCATION ASSOCIATION/MTA/NEA, ) ) Petitioner, ) ) and ) UNIT DETERMINATION REPORT ) AUBURN SCHOOL COMMITTEE, ) ) Public Employer. ) ______________________________________) This unit determination (merger) proceeding was initiated on August 17, 1990, when the Auburn Education Association/MTA/NEA (Union) filed a peti- tion for unit determination with the Maine Labor Relations Board (Board) pursuant to 26 M.R.S.A. 966 (1988 & Supp. 1990) and the Board's Unit Determination Rules. The Union's petition seeks a determination that an existing collective bargaining unit of Auburn School Department (Department) Aides and Assistants is appropriately merged with an existing Department Secretaries' bargaining unit. A full evidentiary hearing on the issues raised by the petition was conducted by Board Counsel M. Wayne Jacobs at the Board's offices in Augusta, Maine, on October 10, 1990. The Union is represented in this proceeding by MTA UniServ Director J. Donald Belleville. The Auburn School Committee (Employer) is represented in this matter by Attorney George S. Isaacson. After conducting the hearing in this case and beginning to draft this decision, Mr. Jacobs was mobilized and reported for active duty with the U.S. Army. Since he was unable to finish the decision while on active duty, Mr. Jacobs returned the case file to the Board, where it was received on February 5, 1991. Thereafter, the undersigned reviewed the verbatim transcript of the evidentiary hearing and the exhibits submitted by the parties and based this decision thereon. At the hearing the parties were afforded the opportunity to present testimony and documentary evidence, to cross-examine witnesses, and to make arguments. The only witness presented by the Union was Belleville and the sole witness presented by the Employer was its Superintendent of Schools, -1- Rick Fenton. The following documents, the only ones presented by the par- ties, were admitted into the record, one with the caveat noted within brackets below: Petitioner's Exhibit No. 1 Facts Pertinent to the Merger of the Aides/Tearcher (sic) Assistants and the Secretaries of the Auburn School Department [the Library Associates, listed as Educational Technicians II on the exhibit, are classified as Educational Technician III's by the State Department of Education] Petitioner's Exhibit No. 2 August 1, 1988, to July 31, 1990, collective bargaining agreement for the Secretaries' unit Petitioner's Exhibit No. 3 September 1, 1988, to July 31, 1990, collective bargaining agreement for the Teacher Assistants and Aides' unit Petitioner's Exhibit No. 4 Agreement on Appropriate Bargaining Unit, PELR Form 1, and Voluntary Recognition Form, PELR Form 3, for the Secretaries' unit, both dated August 25, 1975 Petitioner's Exhibit No. 5 Agreement on Appropriate Bargaining Unit, PELR Form 1, and Voluntary Recognition Form, PELR Form 3, for the Teacher Assistants' unit, both dated April 2, 1975 Petitioner's Exhibit No. 6 Agreement on Appropriate Bargaining Unit, PELR Form 1, and Voluntary Recognition Form, MLRB Form 3, for the Aides and Assistants' unit, both dated February 22, 1989 Petitioner's Exhibit No. 7 Maine Teachers Association Units and Contracts that Include Aides, Assistants, Associates, Secretaries and Clerks Employer's Exhibit No. 1 Comparison of Job-Related Interests of Secretaries with Aides and Assistants Employer's Exhibit No. 2 Eight-page abstract from State Department of Education Regulations -2- Neither party wished to file written arguments in this matter. The tran- script was completed on October 10, 1990. JURISDICTION Neither party challenged the executive director's authority to hear and issue a report and order in this unit merger case. The executive director's jurisdiction to conduct this unit merger appropriateness proceeding and to issue this report lies in 26 M.R.S.A. 966 (1988 & Supp. 1990) STIPULATIONS In prehearing discussions, off the record, the parties reached the following stipulations: 1. The Auburn School Committee is a public employer within the meaning of 26 M.R.S.A. 962(7) (1988). 2. The Auburn Education Association/MTA/NEA is an employee organ- ization within the meaning of 26 M.R.S.A. 962(2) (1988). FINDINGS OF FACT Upon review of the entire record, the hearing examiner finds: 1. The Auburn Education Association/MTA/NEA[fn]1 is the exclusive bargaining agent, within the meaning of 26 M.R.S.A. 962(2) (1988), of a unit of Auburn School Department Secretaries described as follows: INCLUDED: The entire group of secretaries, including the secretary to the school nurses and the secretary to the Director of Special Services. EXCLUDED: The secretaries in the Superintendent's and Business Offices and all other employees of the Auburn School Committee. _________________________ 1 Although the original unit documents and the most recent collec- tive bargaining agreements refer to the collective bargaining agent as the Auburn Teachers Association, the present petition is prosecuted under the name of the Auburn Education Association. There is no contention that this change represents anything other than a mere name change. -3- 2. The Auburn Education Association/MTA/NEA is the exclusive bargaining agent, within the meaning of 26 M.R.S.A. 962(2) (1988), of a unit of Auburn School Department Teacher Assistants and Aides described as follows: INCLUDED: The entire group of teacher assistants and aides. EXCLUDED: All other employees of the Auburn School Committee. 3. The Auburn School Committee is the public employer of all of the employees whose classifications are included in one of the bargaining units mentioned in paragraphs 1 and 2 hereof. 4. The primary work duties of the Secretaries include typing, taking dictation, filing and performing other record-keeping functions. Responsi- bilities that are incidental to the Secretaries' main job functions include occasional contact with students, especially in dealing with health and hygiene issues, and working with and, to an extent, instructing students who work in the school offices. 5. The primary work responsibilities of the Aides and Teacher Assistants include working directly with students by: reviewing and rein- forcing learning previously introduced by the classroom teacher, intro- ducing new learning previously planned together with the classroom teacher, and supervising students in the classroom. The Aides and Teacher Assistants' primary duties also include assisting in the preparation of instructional materials. Duties that are incidental to the Aides and Teacher Assistants' main job functions include such clerical functions as typing and operating a photocopier. 6. All of the Secretaries are supervised directly by Principals or other school administrators. The grievance procedure article of the collective bargaining agreement for the Secretaries' unit requires that employees who believe they may have a grievance must attempt to have such grievance informally adjusted by the building Principal "or other appropriate administrator." If the aggrieved employee is not satisfied with the outcome of the informal procedure, the grievance is then presented formally, in writing, to the Principal "or other appropriate administrator," acting as the first step of the formal grievance procedure. 7. The Aides and Teacher Assistants are under the functional super- vision of teachers, librarians, or other curriculum specialists; however, the Aides and Teacher Assistants are under the formal supervision of, and their performance is evaluated by, the building Principals. The grievance procedure article of the collective bargaining agreement for the Aides and Teacher Assistants' unit requires that employees who believe they may have a grievance must attempt to have such grievance informally adjusted by the building Principal "or appropriate Administrator." If the aggrieved employee is not satisfied with the outcome of the informal procedure, the grievance is then presented formally, in writing, to the Principal "or other appropriate administrator," acting as the first step of the formal grievance procedure. -4- 8. The labor relations policies for the Secretaries, Aides, and Teacher Assistants, as well as those for all of the employees of the Auburn School Department, are determined by the Auburn School Committee and are set forth in the Department's current policy manual, except to the extent that such policies are inconsistent with the provisions of any relevant collective bargaining agreement. 9. The distribution of employees within the classifications at issue is as follows: Aides Assistants Secretaries Developmentally Library Associates: 10** Level 1: 8 delayed aides: 6 Special Ed. Asst's: 14 Level II: 7 Cued speech Chapter I Asst's: 15 Level III: 8 interpreter: 1* Building Teacher Asst's: 25 Level IV: 3 Level V: 2 * Compensated at Teacher Assistant level ** All others are classified as Educational Technician II's by State Department of Education; Library Associates are classified as Educational Technician III'S. 10. The Aides and Secretaries' compensation is based on an hourly rate, while the Teacher Assistants are paid on a per diem basis. The salary scales are as follows: Secretaries Classification Range per hour Range per day Level I $6.45 - 8.58 $48.38 - 64.35 Level II 6.58 - 8.75 49.35 - 65.63 Level III 6.71 - 8.93 50.33 - 66.98 Level IV 6.77 - 9.01 50.78 - 67.58 Level V 6.90 - 9.18 51.75 - 68.85 Note: There are 10 experience steps for each classification, one for each year of service. Aides Experience Rate per hour Rate per day 0 - 2 years $6.75 $43.88 3 - 5 years 7.25 47.13 6+ years 7.75 50.38 -5- Teacher Assistants Experience Rate per hour Rate per day 0 - 2 years $7.77 $50.50 3 - 7 years 8.69 56.50 8 - 11 years 9.02 58.60 12 - 14 years 9.37 60.90 15+ years 9.54 62.00 Library Associates Experience Rate per hour Rate per day 0 - 2 years $8.16 $53.03 3 - 7 years 9.12 59.33 8 - 11 years 9.47 61.53 12 - 14 years 9.84 63.95 15+ years 10.02 65.10 11. The following table depicts the employment benefits enjoyed by the classifications at issue: Benefit Secretaries Aides Teacher Assistants Health ins. Full family 50% single Full single Paid holidays 0-5 years: 5 None 1 day/longevity step 6-8 years: 8 (5 maximum) 9 years+: 10 Sick leave 15 days/year 15 days/year 15 days/year (max. accumulation (max. accumulation (max. accumulation 120) 90) 90) Sick leave bank voluntary voluntary voluntary Personal days 2 (with reason) 2 (with reason) 2 (with reason) Retirement $50/year of service $50/year of service $50/year of service stipend (if have 10 yrs. in (if have 10 yrs. in (if have 10 yrs. in Auburn at time of Auburn at time of Auburn at time of retirement); or per retirement) retirement) them rate for all unused accumulated sick days over 90 Course reim-- Courses related to Up to 6 cr. hrs., Up to 6 cr. hrs., bursement area of work, paid educational field, educational field, at U. of M. rate paid at U. of M. paid at U. of M. rate rate -6- Benefit Secretaries Aides Teacher Assistants Vacation None, except year- None None round employees: 20 days Longevity $200 after 10 years None None stipend 400 after 15 years 600 after 20 years 12. The work day and work year for each classification at issue are as follows: Classification Work day Work year Secretaries Levels I - III 7 1/2 hours 189 days Levels IV & V, currently 7 1/2 hours 189 days* Aides 6 1/2 hours 177 days Teacher Assistants 6 1/2 hours 180 days * Level IV & V will become 228-day/year positions when new personnel are hired into these positions. 13. The grievance procedure, available for the adjustment of employee concerns that arise from their collective bargaining agreements, is essen- tially the same for all of the classifications at issue. 14. During their initial 90 days of employment, Aides are not entitled to any of the benefits or rights created by the collective bargaining agreement. During their first two years of employment, the Aides and Teacher Assistants may not grieve the Employer's failure to renew their individual contracts of employment. Once they have been employed for longer than two years, Aides and Teacher Assistants are "entitled to a written statement for reasons for non-renewal" of their individual contracts of employment. Such reasons may not be arbitrary or capricious and the non-renewal is subject to review through the grievance procedure. 15. During their first two years of employment, the Secretaries may not grieve the Employer's failure to renew their individual contracts of employment. Once they have been employed for longer than two years, such non-renewal of a Secretary's individual contract is subject to review, using a just cause standard, through the grievance procedure. 16. The minimal educational requirement for the Secretary and Aide classifications is graduation from high school. At a minimum, Teacher Assistants must have completed two years of college and Teacher Associates must have completed at least three years of college. The Secretaries' skills and training are primarily clerical in nature, while those of the Aides and Teacher Assistants are mainly in the field of education. -7- 17. While the Secretaries do not work with the instructional Aides or Assistants, there is occasional professional contact among the three classifications. No evidence was produced at the hearing to establish the amount of professional contact or interchange among the employees within each of the classifications at issue or between those in the Aide classif- ication and those who are Teacher Assistants. 18. Most of the employees in the classifications at issue work in a room by themselves. The Secretaries mainly work in a school office, the Aides or Assistants each in a classroom, and the Library Associates each work in a school library. All of the employees work in one of the 14 schools in the Auburn system. 19. The Auburn School Department Secretaries' Bargaining Unit was created by an Agreement on Appropriate Bargaining Unit executed by the par- ties on August 25, 1975. On the same date, the Employer voluntarily recognized the Union as the bargaining agent for this unit. The parties have negotiated a series of collective bargaining agreements for the Secretaries' unit, the most recent of which was in effect from August 1, 1988, through July 31, 1990. 20. The former Auburn School Department Teacher Assistants' Bargaining Unit was created by an Agreement on Appropriate Bargaining Unit executed by the parties on April 2, 1975. On the same date, the Employer voluntarily recognized the Union as the bargaining agent for this former unit. The parties then negotiated a series of collective bargaining agreements for the Teacher Assistants' unit. 21. On February 22, 1989, the parties executed a new Agreement on Appropriate Bargaining Unit whose purpose was to include the Aides classi- fication into a unit together with the Teacher Assistants. On the same date, the Employer voluntarily recognized the Union as the bargaining agent for the expanded unit. The parties negotiated a collective bargaining agreement, which was in effect from September 1, 1988, through July 31, 1990, for the Teacher Assistants and Aides bargaining unit. 22. Most (if not all) public employees working for the Auburn School Committee are currently organized and represented for purposes of collec- tive bargaining. In addition to the units involved in this proceeding, the other units are: a teachers' unit that includes teachers, counselors, and department heads; an administrators' unit; and a unit comprised of bus dri- vers, custodians, and maintenance personnel. 23. The Auburn School Department's organizational structure is divided into two major functional units, each headed by an individual who reports directly to the Superintendent of Schools. One division concerns the operation of the schools and the other deals with the educational function. The Secretaries are part of the operational division and are under the ultimate supervision of the School Department Business Manager. The Teacher Assistants and Aides are part of the program division which is directed by the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction. -8- DISCUSSION The Municipal Public Employees Labor Relations Law ("Act"), 26 M.R.S.A. ch. 9-A, was amended by Chapter 236 of the Public Laws of 1989 to provide a mechanism for the merger of two or more bargaining units into a single, resulting unit. To be considered for merger pursuant to the new section of the Act, 26 M.R.S.A. 966(4) (Supp. 1990), all of the units at issue must consist of employees of the same public employer and be repre- sented by the same bargaining agent. Either the public employer or the bargaining agent may initiate the unit merger process by filing a petition therefor with the executive director. Pursuant to Board Rule 1.17(B), no showing of interest is required in support of such merger petitions. Upon receipt of a merger petition, 966(4) requires the executive director or the director's designee to determine whether the expanded unit being proposed conforms to the requirements set forth in 966. In addi- tion to the identity of the public employer and the bargaining agent, the considerations mentioned in 966 include: (1) the preference expressed in 966(1) against including supervisory employees in the same unit with the employees whom they supervise, (2) the 966(2) requirement that classifi- cations assigned to the same bargaining unit share a clear and identifiable community of interest, (3) the requirement contained in 966(2) that, if professional and non-professional employees are to be included in the same unit, a majority of all of the professional employees affected must vote in favor of such inclusion for it to occur, (4) the 966(4)(B) proviso that, if a decertification petition has been filed for any of the units involved in the merger proceeding, the decertification petition must be resolved prior to consideration of the merger petition, (5) the 966(4)(C) limita- tion that only one merger petition may be filed per year for the same bargaining units, (6) the 966(4)(E) prohibition against merging a unit made up primarily of supervisory employees with any other unit, and (7) the 966(4)(F) proscription against merging a teachers' unit with a unit of non-professional employees. The sole question presented in the instant proceeding is whether the Teacher Assistants and Aides share a sufficient community of interest with the Secretaries for the three classifications, together, to constitute an -9- appropriate bargaining unit. The Union contended that the three classifi- cations shared the requisite community of interest level to permit merger. The Employer averred that a comparison of the respective educational versus administrative job functions of employees in the two units supports a finding of a lack of community of interest between the two groups. In order to constitute an appropriate bargaining unit, employee classifications must share a clear and identifiable community of interest. 26 M.R.S.A. 966(2) (1988). The Board has developed and consistently applied an eleven-point test to determine whether the statutorily-required community of interest level is present in a given case. Council 74, AFSCME and City of Brewer, No. 79-A-01, slip op. at 3-4, 1 NPER 20-10031 (Me.L.R.B. Oct. 17, 1979); Penobscot Valley Hospital and Maine Federation of Nurses and Health Care Professionals, AFT, AFL-CIO, No. 85-A-01, slip op. at 4, 8 NPER ME-16011 (Me.L.R.B. Feb. 6, 1985). When the Board amended its Rules in July of 1990, it adopted a new rule that incorporates the relevant community of interest factors, Board Rule 1.11(F)(1). Among the relevant community of interest criteria are: (1) similarity in the kind of work performed [4 and 5]; (2) common supervision and determination of labor relations policy [6, 7 and 8]; (3) similarity in the scale and manner of determining earnings [10]; (4) similarity in employment benefits, hours of work and other terms and conditions of employment [11, 12, 13, 14 and 15]; (5) similarity in qualifications, skills and training of employees [16]; (6) frequency of contact or interchange among the employees [17]; (7) geographic proximity [18]; (8) history of collective bargaining [19, 20 and 21]; (9) desires of the affected employees; (10) extent of union organization [22]; and (11) the employer's organizational structure [23]. The numbers appearing within the brackets in the foregoing rendition of Rule 1.11(F)(1) refer to the paragraphs(s) of the findings of fact per- tinent to the criterion immediately preceding each set of brackets. No purpose would be served by repeating that information here; therefore, the relevant paragraphs of the findings of fact are incorporated herein by reference. The following criteria tend to establish that the Secretaries share a clear and identifiable community of interest with the Teacher Assistants and Aides: similarity in the kind of work performed, common supervision, -10- similar scale and manner of determining earnings, similar employment bene- fits, hours of work and length of work year, identical grievance procedure, and similar qualifications and training. In comparing the nature of the work being performed by the various classifications under consideration, the essence or basic type of the func- tions being performed is far more important than the details of each posi- tion's work responsibilities. Inherent in the existence of separate job classifications is a difference in the specific work assignment of each classification; however, such differences do not preclude the inclusion of various classifications in the same bargaining unit. In a school depart- ment setting, for example, there may be, and usually are, approximately a dozen job classifications; however, there are only four basic types of work being performed. The kinds of work in a typical school milieu are: (1) administrators supervising professional and non-professional employees, (2) teachers and other educational specialists such as counselors or librarians participating directly in the educational process, (3) educa- tional support personnel providing direct support to the educational pro- cess, and (4) non-educational support staff performing the manual or mechanical work to keep the department's physical plant in operation. In the instant case, the Teacher Assistants and Aides are educational support personnel, directly participating in the educational process. While the Secretaries' work is somewhat more difficult to characterize, their work product is much more closely allied to the educational function than is that of bus drivers, custodians, or maintenance personnel. Second, the Aides and Assistants and especially the Library Associates perform some clerical duties on a regular basis; hence, on occasion they are performing work that is identical to that of the Secretaries. Third, at least some of the Secretaries are involved in a quasi-educational role in working with those students who work in the school offices. All of the employees in the classifications at issue are supervised by the building principals, who serve as the informal level and the first step of the formal grievance procedure for all of the employees. In contrast with administrators and teachers whose compensation is based on an annual salary,, the wages of all of the employees under consideration are calcu- -11- lated and paid on either an hourly or a per diem basis. While their par- ticular pay scales vary, the range of the Aides' hourly rate falls well within the range of the Secretaries' hourly rate. While the Teacher Assistants and Associates are compensated on a daily basis, the range of their per diem rate falls well within that for the Secretaries, when the latter's hourly rate is converted to a per diem rate, taking into account the hourly rate and the length of the average work day. While most of the benefits enjoyed by the Secretaries are identical or very similar to those of the other two classifications, the Secretaries receive paid full family health insurance while the others do not. On the other hand, the Teacher Assistants receive full paid employee health insurance and the Aides receive only 50% of the employee rate paid by the Employer. The difference between the Secretaries' health insurance benefit and that of the Teacher Assistants is not greater in degree than that be- tween the Assistants' and the Aides' insurance benefit and the latter are in the same unit. Currently, the Secretaries work one hour more per day than do the Teacher Assistants and Aides and the former work up to 12 days more per year than do the latter. While there are differences here, they are rela- tively minor. All of the employees under consideration have access to an identical grievance procedure. Finally, the minimum qualifications and training required of the Secretaries and Aides are the same--both must have at least graduated from high school in order to qualify for employment. The following community of interest factors suggest that the Teacher Assistants, Aides and Secretaries do not share the requisite community of interest level to be included in the same bargaining unit: determination of labor relations policy, different standard of review in arbitration of non-renewal grievances, different job skills, separate collective bargaining history, and assignment to different divisions within the Employer's organizational structure. Although, in the first instance, the labor relations policies for all of the employees under consideration are determined by the Auburn School Committee and are implemented by the Superintendent of Schools, the policies applicable to Secretaries are somewhat different from those -12- relating to the other classifications because those of the Secretaries have been modified by a collective bargaining agreement which is distinct and different from that setting the policies for the Aides and Assistants. Second, none of the employees in the three classifications may grieve non-renewal of their individual contract of employment until they have been employed by the Employer for more than two years. After completion of two years' employment, all can grieve non-renewal decisions; however, the legal standard used by the impartial arbitrator to evaluate the correctness of the non-renewal of the Secretaries is different than that applicable to the Aides and Associates. A Secretary's contract may only be non-renewed for "just cause," while Aides or Assistants' non-renewal is authorized, unless the non-renewal decision was "arbitrary or capricious." The Secretaries' skills are somewhat different from those of the Aides and Assistants. The Secretaries must have much stronger clerical skills than employees in the other two classifications, while the latter must have skills in the field of education that the former need not possess. For over 15 years, the Secretaries and the Teacher Assistants have negotiated separately with the employer over their respective terms and conditions of employment. No evidence was presented concerning any problems that arose during these long relationships. Finally, the Secretaries are in a dif- ferent functional unit of the Employer's organizational structure than are the Teacher Assistants and Aides. The following criteria do not militate either for or against a holding of a shared clear and identifiable community of interest among the Secretaries, Teacher Assistants and Aides: the frequency of contact or interchange among the employees, geographic proximity of the employees' work sites, and extent of union organization. Because of the insular nature of employment in a school department, the only occasional pro- fessional contact between Secretaries and Assistants or Aides is not par- ticularly significant. Teachers, unless engaged in team teaching, usually have only occasional contact with other teachers and employees working in one school building and have only rare professional contact with those in other buildings. The degree of employee contact is, therefore, far less helpful a factor in evaluating school units than it is in most other -13- employment settings. Similarly, the Secretaries in Auburn work in the same 14 buildings as the other employees at issue here. The extent of union organization criterium can often be helpful, par- ticularly when considering the potential unit status of a group of residual employees or in situations requiring application of the Board's non- proliferation policy. Here, apparently all of the public employees of the Auburn School Department have been organized into sizable bargaining units; therefore, the extent of union organization factor is not helpful. The community of interest factors have been examined and weighed indi- vidually and together. Those factors tending to establish that the Teacher Assistants, Aides and Secretaries share a clear and identifiable community of interest are qualitatively more significant than those militating for the opposite result. This is particularly true because several of the former criteria, including similarity in the kind of work being performed, common supervision, similarities in hours of work and length of work year, and similar qualifications and training, are inherent in the positions themselves. A majority of the factors tending to establish inadequate com- munity of interest among the positions at issue flow from the different bargaining histories of the two units sought to be merged. Since the pur- pose of the unit merger provision is to examine the appropriateness of com- bining two or more bargaining units and since separate units will almost invariably have distinct bargaining histories, the differences in the terms and conditions of employment flowing from such different bargaining histories should not be given dispositive effect in a unit merger pro- ceeding. The Teacher Assistant, Aide, and Secretary classifications in the employ of the Auburn School Committee share a clear and identifiable com- munity of interest, within the meaning of 26 M.R.S.A. 966(2); therefore, together, said positions constitute an appropriate unit for purposes of collective bargaining. If approved by a majority of the employees in each of the constituent units present and voting in the unit merger election, said resulting bargaining unit would conform with the requirements set forth in 26 M.R.S.A. 966. -14- APPROPRIATE UNIT DETERMINATION 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.A. 966, the following described unit of employees of the Auburn School Committee is held to conform to the requirements set forth in said section: INCLUDED: Teacher Assistants, Aides, and Secretaries. EXCLUDED: The Secretaries in the Superintendent's and Business offices and all other employees of the Auburn School Committee. ORDER Pursuant to 26 M.R.S.A. 966(4), two unit merger elections shall be scheduled forthwith, one for the employees in the Auburn School Department Secretaries' Bargaining Unit and one for the employees in the Auburn School Department Teacher Assistants and Aides' Bargaining Unit. Said elections will be conducted concurrently, with a different colored ballot being used for each unit. The only question on each ballot shall be whether the employees in that unit wish their unit to be merged with that of the employees in the other unit for purposes of collective bargaining. Dated at Augusta, Maine, this 27th day of February, 1991. MAINE LABOR RELATIONS BOARD /s/____________________________________ Marc P. Ayotte Executive Director The parties are advised of their right, pursuant to 26 M.R.S.A. 968(4) (1988), to appeal this report to the Maine Labor Relations Board. A party seeking appellate review must file a notice of appeal with the Board within fifteen (15) days of the date of issuance of this report. See Board Unit Determination Rule 1.12, Board General Provisions Rule 7.03. -15-