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Public Employee Labor Relations Board

PEBA I

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Public Employee Labor Relations Board Orders

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Board Orders Issued Under PEBA I Board Decisions (PDF Format)

PEBA I Case Name Decision Date Summary
1 PELRB No. 1  County of Santa Fe and American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, et al. ​ November 18, 1993
  • Interpretations of the NLRA must generally be followed in interpreting substantially similar PEBA provisions.
  • Where alternative impasse procedures are authorized for employers other than the state, they must still be equivalent to PEBA’s procedures.
  • The Board or local board must examine or investigate on a case-by-case basis to determine whether an exclusive representative caused, instigated, encouraged or supported a strike, before the sanction of decertification can be imposed.
  • An existing CBA cannot be automatically voided as a penalty for a strike, without a case-by-case determination of whether the exclusive representative caused, instigated, encouraged or supported a strike.
  • Being a home rule jurisdiction under Article X, Sections 5 and 6 of the New Mexico Constitution does not shield a public employer other than the state from the PELRB’s jurisdiction.
1 PELRB No. 2  NEA-Belen, Petitioner and Belen Federation of School Employees, Petitioner and Belen Consolidated Schools, Employer May 13, 1994
  • Concluding that signed authorization cards evidence employees’ desire for union representation, and the Director’s determination of sufficiency of the showing of interest is not subject to question or review.
  • Adopting an anti-fragmentation policy as to bargaining units.
  • Concluding that use of occupational groups such as blue-collar, secretarial clerical, technical, professional, paraprofessional, police, fire and corrections is only advisory, not mandatory.
  • Adopting the nine community of interest factors identified in Kalamazoo Paper Box Corp., 136 NLRB 134, 49 LRRM 1715 (1962), although no single factor will be conclusive: (1) differences in method of wages or compensation; (2) differences in work hours; (3) differences in employment benefits; (4) separate supervision; (5) degree of dissimilar qualifications, training and skills; (6) differences in job functions and amount of working time spent away from the employment or plant situs; (7) the infrequency or lack of contact with other employees; (8) the lack of integration with the work functions of other employees, or interchange with them; and (9) the history of collective bargaining.
1 PELRB No. 3  American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO and Los Alamos County Firefighters Association, International Association of Firefighters, AFL-CIO, Complainants vs. The Incorporated County of Los Alamos, Respondent  December 1994
  • Invalidating numerous provisions of the County’s local labor management relations ordinance, as part of the process of approving the local boards under Section 10, after concluding that neither the constitutional doctrine of separation of powers nor the New Mexico Declaratory Judgment Act, NMSA 1978 §§ 44-6-1 through 44-6-15, placed authority to review such local ordinances solely within the jurisdiction of the New Mexico courts, and that being a “home rule jurisdiction” under Article X, Sections 5 and 6 of the New Mexico Constitution does not shield a public employer other than the state from the PELRB’s jurisdiction. 
  • A union that has been decertified for strike activity cannot be barred from collecting dues, and pursuant to Section 10-7D-21(C) of PEBA I (Section 10-7E-21(C) of PEBA II) they cannot be decertified for more than one year. 
  • The time limit established in PELRB rules for the Board (or its  agents) to conduct a hearing are directory rather than mandatory, so its violation does not deprive the Board of jurisdiction. The Board will reject exceptions based on technical violations of rules that are not alleged or proven to cause prejudice and that do not affect the outcome, such as issuing a decision more than 20 after the close of a hearing or ubmission of post-hearing briefs.
  • An employer or a labor organization violates its duty to bargain in good faith by placing unreasonable conditions on bargaining, such as by insisting upon agreement concerning “permissive” subjects of bargaining, including ground rules.
  • Punitive damages and attorneys’ fees are not an appropriate administrative remedy. 
1 PELRB No. 4  In the Matter of Local 1193, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO, Petitioner, and Taos County, Public Employer  January 12, 1995 Petition for Certification as Incumbent Labor Organization granted under § 10-7D-24 without secret ballot election or card count, where investigation revealed no question concerning representation and the employer stated it knew of no question concerning representation.
1 PELRB No. 5  In the Matter of Local 187, United Steelworkers of America, AFL-CLC, Petitioner, and City of Carlsbad, Public Employer  January 12, 1995 Petition for Certification as Incumbent Labor Organization is granted under § 10-7D-24 without a secret ballot election or card count, where there was no question of representation presented and the City represented in writing its intent to continue to recognize the Petitioner as the exclusive representative. 
1 PELRB No. 6  In the Matter of Local 2059, Santa Fe Firefighters Association, Petitioner, and City of Santa Fe, Public Employer  January 19, 1995
  • Notwithstanding their job descriptions or the paramilitary structure of the Santa Fe Fire Department, Captains are not supervisors under PEBA, but rather are lead employees with limited authority, whose duties are substantially similar to those of their subordinates, including firefighting, and who exercise no independent judgment in directing other employees.    
  • In contrast, Battalion Chiefs are excluded as supervisory personnel because they are part of the administrative staff of the department; are shift commanders with responsibility for the conduct of an entire shift of the four department fire stations; exercise actual administrative and disciplinary authority over the department fire fighters, including fire captains; and visit the fire stations under their command at least once daily to supervise activity therein. 
  • Decisions from other jurisdictions cannot substitute for performing the community of interest analysis under § 13(A).  Where the parties present decisions from other labor boards in representation proceedings, the fact specific nature of representation proceedings requires that each party’s case be buttressed with (1) the specific wording from the labor law of the jurisdiction from which the decision issued; (2) how the wording is similar or dissimilar to comparable wording in the New Mexico PEBA; and (3) justification why the PELRB should find such decisions persuasive in the circumstances of the instant proceeding. 
1 PELRB No. 7  In the Matter of Western Council of Industrial Workers, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, AFL-CIO, Petitioner and Ft. Bayard Medical Center Public Employer  March 16, 1995 Petition for Certification as Incumbent Labor Organization granted under § 10-7D-24 without a secret ballot election or card count, over the Medical Center’s concern that there had been no prior election, because the Medical Center had voluntarily recognized the Union in 1971, the Union had been recognized since at least 1975 in accordance with the SPB’s Rules for Labor Management Relations or predecessor regulations, and the State consented to the certification of Petitioner’s existing bargaining unit.
1 PELRB No. 8  In the Matter of Communications Workers of America, Petitioner and State of New Mexico, Public Employer  March 17, 1995 Petition for Certification as Incumbent Labor Organization granted under § 10-7D-24 without a secret ballot election or card count, because the bargaining units had been recognized as appropriate prior to January 1, 1992 under SPB Rules for Labor Management Relations and therefore continued to be recognized as appropriate under § 24.  No question of representation was presented and the bargaining units therefore continued to be recognized as appropriate pursuant to § 24, even though 1991 legislative bifurcation of the relevant agency into the Department of Health and the Environment Department necessitated re-certifications in 1992 and such re-certifications were done without an election, and even though certain positions with the title of “manager” were included in the incumbent bargaining unit.
1 PELRB No. 9  In the Matter of Local 1687, International Association of Firefighters, AFL-CIO, Petitioner and City of Carlsbad, Public Employer  May 2, 1995
  • Concluding that Carlsbad Resolution No. 340 did not establish a system of provisions and procedures for labor relations under § 10-7D-26, because it only authorized the City Administrator to represent the City in collective bargaining negotiations.  
  • Petition for Certification as Incumbent Labor Organization granted without a secret ballot election or card count where the petitioned for bargaining unit was established and recognized by the City in 1967, although the latest collective bargaining agreement was ratified after the statutory incumbency date, and where the Director’s investigation revealed no question of representation.
1 PELRB No. 10  In the Matter of NEA-Jemez Valley, Petitioner and Jemez Valley Public Schools, Public Employer  May 19, 1995  
1 PELRB No. 11  In the Matter of NEA-Carrizozo, Petitioner and Carrizozo Municipal Schools, Public Employer  May 19, 1995  
1 PELRB No. 12  In the Matter of New Mexico State University Police Officers Association, Petitioner and New Mexico State University, Public Employer  May 31, 1995  
1 PELRB No. 13  In the Matter of New Mexico State University Police Officers Association, Petitioner and New Mexico State University, Public Employer  June 14, 1995  
1 PELRB No. 14  In the Matter of United Steelworkers of America, Petitioner and Gila Regional Medical Center, Public Employer and Grant County Board of County Commissioners, Public Employer  November 17, 1995  
1 PELRB No. 15  In the Matter of McKinley County Sheriff’s Association Fraternal Order of Police, Petitioner and McKinley County, Public Employer  December 22, 1995  
1 PELRB No. 16  In the Matter of Local 7911, Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO, Petitioner and Dona Ana County, Public Employer  January 2, 1996  
CP 19-95(C) CWA and Dona Ana County  In the Matter of Local 7911, Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO, Petitioner, and Dona Ana County, Public Employer  March 4, 1996
  • Objection to election is improper and dismissed where it essentially seeks a review and reconsideration of the Board’s decision in 1 PELRB 16, rather than being related to “conduct affecting the result of an election” as required under Rule 2.34. 
  • Additionally, Board reconsideration is not expressly authorized under PEBA rules and would violate the prescription against de novo review by the Board.
CP 28-95(s)  In the Matter of Communications Workers of America AFL-CIO\CLC, Petitioner and State of New Mexico, Public Employer March 13, 1996 The realignment of previously certified bargaining units (Dept. of Health, Environment Dept., Office of Cultural Affairs, Agency on Aging, Commission on the Status of Women, and Miners’ Colfax Medical Center) represented by the same union (CWA) into a single horizontal unit organized by occupational groups effectuates the legislative intent in PEBA § 13(A), constitutes an appropriate bargaining unit under PEBA, and facilitates both collective bargaining and the principles of efficient administration of government.
CP 20-95(s), CP 30-95(s)  In the Matter of Communications Workers of America and State of New Mexico Department of Public Education  January 3, 1996
  • Rejecting the Agency’s argument that the State Board of Education’s Constitutional status insulates it from an accretion Petition. 
  • Concluding, nonetheless, that Financial Specialists and the Procurement Specialist do not share a community of interest with members of the CWA “paraprofessional unit 10” because of a difference in wages, supervision, and management; and a lack of interaction with the other bargaining unit employees.
1 PELRB No. 17  In the Matter of National Education Association-New Mexico/Bernalillo, Complainant v. Bernalillo Public Schools, Respondent  May 31, 1996
  • NEA-NM has standing to bring complaint before PELRB on behalf of NEA-Bernalillo because there is an affiliation and comity of interest between “parent” NEA-NM and “sibling” NEA-Bernalillo, including (1) negating or lessening a potential loss of members and dues; (2) eliminating or minimizing the potential harm flowing from an abridgement or denial of statutory rights; and (3)  seeking to influence the Board’s interpretation of the Act. 
  • An employer other than the state does not lose grandfathered status based upon “garden variety disputes” over the unit inclusion or exclusion of a particular employee.
1 PELRB No. 18  In the Matter of New Mexico Federation of Teachers, Complainant v. University of New Mexico, Respondent and American Association of University Professors, Gallup Campus, Complainant v. University of New Mexico, Respondent  June 15, 1996 Invalidating under PEBA I that part of UNM’s grandfathered local labor ordinance that identified certain occupational groups and employees (such as faculty, professional, technical) as being excluded from the ordinance’s coverage and therefore prohibited from engaging in activities to join or assist any labor organization for the purpose of collective bargaining.  Aff’d in The Regents of the University of New Mexico v. New Mexico Federation of Teachers and American Assoc. of University Professors,1998 NMSC 20,125 NM 401. 
1 PELRB No. 19  In the Matter of Local 7911, Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO, Petitioner and Dona Ana Deputy Sheriffs’ Association, Fraternal Order of Police, Petitioner, and Dona Ana County, Public Employer  August 1, 1996  
1 PELRB No. 20  In the Matter of Classified School Employees Council-Las Cruces, Petitioner and Las Cruces Public Schools, Public Employer  February 3, 1997   
CP 2-97(O) Barrett and NMSUPOA & FOP  In the matter of Gene Barrett, Petitioner, and New Mexico State University Police Officers’ Association, Fraternal Order of Police, Exclusive Representative  March 14, 1997  Dismissing a Petition for Decertification because the Petitioner was not a dues-paying member of the Union, as required under internal Union rules. 
1 PELRB No. 21  In the matter of New Mexico Coalition of Public Safety Officers, Local 7911, Communications Workers of America, AFL-ClO, Petitioner, and Town of Bernalillo, Public Employer  July 3, 1997  

PELRB Orders