NLRB Issues Decision, Order on AMR of Maricopa

WASHINGTON, April 3 -- The National Labor Relations Board Regional Director Cornele A. Overstreet issued the following decision and order (Case No. 28-UC-223664 and 28-RM-234875):

AMR OF MARICOPA, LLC Employer/Petitioner

and

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE, COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES, LOCAL 2960, AFL-CIO, Union

and

INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIRE FIGHTERS, LOCAL I-60, AFL-CIO, Union

and

INDEPENDENT CERTIFIED EMERGENCY PROFESSIONALS, LOCAL R12-170, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION, Union

AMR OF MARICOPA, LLC d/b/a AMR; PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL TRANSPORT, INC. d/b/a PMT, LIFE LINE, and AMR; and SW GENERAL, INC. d/b/a SOUTHWEST AMBULANCE and AMR

Employers/Petitioners

and

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE, COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES, LOCAL 2960, AFL-CIO, Union

and

INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIRE FIGHTERS, LOCAL I-60, AFL-CIO, Union

and

INDEPENDENT CERTIFIED EMERGENCY PROFESSIONALS, LOCAL R12-170, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION

Union

DECISION AND ORDER

In Case 28-UC-223664, Petitioner/Employer AMR of Maricopa, LLC (AMR of Maricopa) seeks for three separate units of emergency medical service (EMS) and interfacility transfer employees (IFT) represented by American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Local 2960, AFL-CIO (AFSCME, Local 2960), International Association of Fire Fighters Local Industrial 60 (IAFF, Local I-60), and Independent Certified Emergency Professionals, Local Rl2-l70, National Association of Government Employees, Service Employees International Union (ICEP, Local Rl2-l70) (collectively, the Unions), to be consolidated into one unit of EMS employees represented by IAFF, Local I-60 and one unit of IFT employees represented by AFSCME, Local 2960.

In Case 28-RM-234875, Petitioners/Employers AMR of Maricopa, d/b/a AMR; Professional Medical Transport, Inc. d/b/a PMT, Life Line, and AMR (PMT); and SW General, Inc. d/b/a Southwest Ambulance and AMR (SW General) seek, "in addition and/or in the alternative" to the action sought in Case 28-UC-223664, for the National Labor Relations Board (the Board) to consolidate the IFT employees in the units represented by the Unions into one unit and to conduct an election to determine which of the Unions will be the exclusive collective- bargaining representative of the combined IFT unit.

The Unions argue that the petitions must be dismissed because the alleged consolidation of operations cited as the basis for the petitions does not warrant the requested accretion or raise a question concerning representation because the three existing units retain separate identities and communities of interest, and, even if the units did not retain separate identities and communities of interest, there would be a contract bar to the petitions.

A hearing officer of the Board held a hearing in this matter, and the parties orally argued their respective positions at the hearing and in post-hearing briefs. As explained below, based on the record and relevant legal precedent, I find that the alleged consolidation of operations cited as the basis for the petitions does not warrant the requested accretion or raise a question concerning representation because the three existing units retain separate identities and communities of interest, and, even if the units did not retain separate identities and communities of interest, there would be a contract bar to the petitions.

I. FACTS

AMR of Maricopa, SW General, and PMT provide 911 emergency medical services (EMS) to municipalities and interfacility transfer (IFT) services to medical providers. The petitions at issue are based on an alleged consolidation of the operations of AMR of Maricopa, SW General, and PMT in and around Maricopa County following the formation of AMR of Maricopa and the acquisition of SW General and PMT.

SW General and PMT were acquired by a medical transport provider called Rural/Metro in 1997 and 2011, respectively. AMR of Maricopa, which has AMR Holdco as its ultimate parent, started operating in Maricopa County, Arizona, in February 2015. AMR Holdco announced the acquisition of Rural/Metro in July 2015, and completed the acquisition in October 2015, thus also becoming the ultimate parent of SW General and PMT.

AFSCME, Local 2960 was certified to represent full-time and regular part-time emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics employed by AMR of Maricopa on August 25, 2016, soon after AMR of Maricopa started operating in Maricopa County in February 2015. IAFF, Local I-60 has represented full-time and regular part-time EMTs, paramedics, and registered nurses employed by SW General since 1991, before Rural/Metro purchased SW General.1 ICEP, Local R12-170 has represented regular full-time EMT's, paramedics, and registered nurses employed by PMT, who work in and out of the facility located at 617 West Main St, Mesa, Arizona, since 2009, before Rural/Metro purchased PMT.

After AFSCME, Local 2960 was certified as the representative of AMR of Maricopa's employees on August 25, 2016, AFSCME, Local 2960 and AMR of Maricopa entered into a collective-bargaining agreement effective January 1, 2018 to March 31, 2022. The Vice President of Labor Relations of American Medical Response, Envision Healthcare Corp.; Regional Directors of AMR of Maricopa; and the Director of Labor Relations for Rural/Metro negotiated the agreement on behalf of AMR of Maricopa;2 and the Local President, a Local Executive Board Member, and other local and international negotiators for AFSCME, Local 2960 negotiated the agreement on behalf of AFSCME, Local 2960. The agreement was negotiated between December 2016 and December 2017. AMR of Maricopa did not raise the alleged consolidation of the operations of AMR of Maricopa, SW General, and PMT or the desire to consolidate the units represented by the Unions during negotiations.

IAFF, Local I-60 and SW General are parties to a collective-bargaining agreement effective May 28, 2016 and June 30, 2019. The Vice President of Labor Relations of American Medical Response, Envision Healthcare Corp.; the Director of Labor Relations of Rural/Metro; Regional Directors of AMR of Maricopa; a Senior Vice President of Human Resources; and a Division Vice President of SW General negotiated the agreement on behalf of SW General; and the President of IAFF, Local I-60 negotiated the agreement on behalf of IAFF, Local I-60. The agreement was negotiated between February 2011 and April 2016. SW General did not raise the alleged consolidation of the operations of AMR of Maricopa, SW General, and PMT or the desire to consolidate the units represented by the Unions during negotiation of the collective- bargaining agreement.

ICEP, Local R12-170 and PMT are parties to a collective-bargaining agreement effective September 5, 2015 to September 4, 2018. The agreement was negotiated by representatives of ICEP, Local R12-170 and PMT prior to AMR Holdco's acquisition of PMT. Since September 2018, ICEP, Local R12-170 and PMT have been in negotiations for a successor collective- bargaining agreement.

Petitioners/Employers contend that the operations of AMR of Maricopa, SW General, and PMT have been integrated in various respects since the formation of AMR of Maricopa and acquisition of Rural/Metro in 2015 and the subsequent consolidation of these entities' Certificates of Necessities (CONs).

A CON is an operating license granting its holder the right to operate within a specified geographical area. Without a CON, an ambulance service company is unlikely to be awarded a contract for ambulance services by a municipality because the company would not be licensed to operate. Prior to being acquired by Petitioners/Employers, PMT and SW General Inc. held their own CONs. Starting in August 2015, Envision Healthcare Holdings, Inc., AMR Hold Co., Rang Merger Sub, Inc., and American Medical Response began the process of consolidating their CONs and the CONs of the ambulance companies they acquired by submitting requests with the Arizona Department of Health Services (DHS). Petitioners/Employers sought to consolidate six CONs into two.

Specifically, AMR Holdco and Envision Healthcare Corp. sought to consolidate: (1) the CONs of SW General,3 Southwest Ambulance of Casa Grande, Inc.,4 and AMR of Maricopa into the CON of AMR of Maricopa; and (2) the CONs of PMT,5 Emergency Medical Transport, Inc.,6 Comtrans Ambulance Service, Inc.,7 and Southwest Ambulance of Casa Grande, Inc.8 into the CON held by PMT. Two separate letters dated December 5, 2016 sent by AMR of Maricopa's COO to the DHS noted that there would be "no financial impact nor any impact on patient care anticipated by the proposed" consolidations.

In January 2018, the DHS approved the consolidations. The resulting CONs are one held by AMR of Maricopa9 and one held by PMT.10 The CONs previously held by the entities that AMR Holdco acquired were eliminated. Additionally, both resulting CONs list as the type of service immediate response transports, interfacility transports, and convalescent transports and the type of operation as including both Advanced Life Support (ALS) and Basic Life Support (BLS). Both CONs list AMR's corporate address in Greenwood Village, Colorado as the legal address. None of the CONs have AMR Holdco on them.

The resulting CONs subsumed all of the previous CONs' areas of operations.11 The PMT CON covers Maricopa County, except the geographical areas of the following CONs are excluded from the service area for 911 ambulance service: of the Buckeye Valley Rural Volunteer Fire District, the North County Fire & Medical District, the Daisy Mountain Fire District, the Town of Queen Creek, and all of Maricopa County for prescheduled interfacility and convalescent transports. The AMR of Maricopa CON coverage area includes Maricopa County, except the geographical areas of the following CONs are excluded from the service area for 911 ambulance service Buckeye Valley Rural Volunteer Fire District, the North County Fire & Medical District, the Daisy Mountain Fire District, the Sun Lakes Fire District. The AMR of Maricopa CON covers the portion of the service area described above that is in Pinal County including Queen Creek, Superstition Fire and Medical District, Florence Junction and the Sun Tan Valley for prescheduled, interfacility, and convalescent transport.

Petitioners/Employers sought consolidations of the CONs, among other reasons, to align brands with either rural or urban business units, to provide operational clarity to the DHS, to and to eliminate the previous Rural/Metro management and create a two Regional Director structure. Petitioners/Employers kept the "legacy" names to be able to bill for services. The consolidated CONs did not result in any concrete changes to day-to-day operations. Also, as long as the employees met the required qualifications, nobody had to reapply for their positions, nor did anyone lose seniority, benefits, or pay as a result of the CON consolidations.

Petitioners/Employers get business through contracts with municipalities for EMS services and preferred provider and non-preferred agreements for IFT work. For EMS services, there are municipal contracts with cities, fire districts, and other political subdivisions, but not with counties.12 Municipal contracts are structured differently and define the scope of services provided, training, vehicle and equipment requirements, response and arrival times, reimbursement structure, staffing, and station locations.13 EMS employees are assigned to a particular contract for operations within a municipality. Once finalized, the municipal contracts must be approved by the DHS. AMR Holdco assumed responsibility of performing the municipal contracts Rural/Metro, PMT and SW General. Most of the municipal contracts were acquired through the purchase of Rural/Metro. There are about eight municipal contracts for EMS work covering ICEP, Local R12-170, AFSCME, Local 2960, and IAFF, Local I-60.

For IFT work, AMR Holdco enters into preferred provider agreements are with medical facilities, including hospitals and nursing homes. The agreements are in a standard AMR Holdco format. AMR Holdco is no longer extending contracts under the names of any entities other than AMR Holdco. Petitioners/Employers have hundreds of preferred provider agreements in Maricopa County. These contracts are facility specific rather than municipality specific. Due to governmental regulations, preferred provider agreements are not exclusive contracts. That is, Petitioners/Employer do not have preferred provider contracts to exclusively get the IFT work for a facility. The purpose of the preferred provider agreements is to get a billing discount with the DHS. As AMR Holdco's subsidiaries have different provider identification and tax ID numbers. Within each agreement AMR Holdco separates the CON numbers and attaches a billing schedule.

Petitioners/Employers operate two IFT stations: one in Mesa, Arizona (Station 1) and one in Peoria, Arizona (Station 3) (collectively, the Stations). Petitioners/Employers moved into the Stations in 2016. Approximately 205 bargaining unit employees deploy out of Station 1, including 67 represented by IAFF, Local I-60, 56 represented by ICEP, Local R12-170, and 82 represented by AFSCME, Local 2960. Approximately 102 bargaining unit employees deploy out of Station 3, including 32 represented by IAFF, Local I-60, 24 represented by ICEP, Local R12-170, and 46 represented by AFSCME, Local 2960. Petitioners/Employers operate two IFT stations due to the size of Maricopa County.

Station 1 also houses "fleet services" which serves as a vehicle service station that all the employees can use. Ambulances are serviced and maintained at Station 1. Moreover, EMTs, paramedics, and nurses use "blue rooms" in Stations 1 and 3 to check out drugs.14 EMTs do not check out narcotics but can check out other types of drugs. There are no differences in the way the EMTs, paramedics, and nurses from the three bargaining units at issue check out drugs.

Station 1 also serves as a companywide uniform shop and fleet shop, where employees can order uniforms and supplies or request maintenance of the ambulances.15 Each bargaining unit has its own code so that supplies can be accounted for. An employee has to submit paperwork to requisition supplies. To replace worn or damaged uniforms, employees must return the clothing to be replaced, submit paperwork, and get it signed. The employee must then take the signed paperwork to the uniform shop where personnel will process the order.

IFT employees do not stay all day at either Station 1 or Station 3 waiting for calls. Rather, those stations are where they start and end their work day. IFT ambulance crews typically spend up to 20 minutes at the beginning of their shift at Station 1 or Station 3 getting ready for their day. After arriving at either Station 1 or Station 3, the EMTs, paramedics, or nurses do a "drug checkoff" and "truck check off" then drive to their post which could be at any hospital in the area where there is a need. Once they leave their initial Station, they move throughout the system all day long, only returning to end their shift. Postings are based on operational needs.

Depending on the type of medical facility there may be different types of ambulance crews. For example, at larger hospitals, there could be a BLS ambulance crew (meaning two EMTs), an ALS ambulance crew (meaning a paramedic and a EMT) or a critical care unit (a Registered Nurse and an EMT). Crews from different bargaining units are posted in the same hospital. Also, paramedics and EMTs from other companies or from municipalities are also posted at the same hospitals.

Once posted at a hospital, the ambulance crew is responsible for calls in a specified geographical area. The IFT crews respond to calls and transports patients to and from medical facilities. Once the patient is dropped off, the crew fills out paperwork and then can either stay at where they dropped off the patient or more typically remain at their hospital posting. Before the end of their shift, each IFT crew must restock their ambulance. IFT crews typically spend up to 30 minutes at Station 1 or Station 3 at the end of their shift restocking their ambulance and filling out paperwork.

According to a Regional Director, Station 1 is a "well-oiled machine" and both Stations have ambulance units going in and out about 22 hours of the day. Other than differences based upon the different collective-bargaining agreements between units, there is no distinction "at-all" in what EMTs, paramedics, and nurses do on a day-to-day basis at the Stations.

EMS crews, by contrast, are posted at one of approximately 50 EMS stations throughout Maricopa County. An EMS station can be a fire station, a building, a house, or a complex. The EMS employees report to and start and end their shifts at their assigned station. Each station is staffed by employees within a particular bargaining group. Each EMS station is staffed by an ambulance crew from a particular bargaining unit from either IAFF, Local I-60, AFSCME, Local 2960, or ICEP, Local R12-170. EMS crews collaborate with municipalities and fire departments. Sometimes, an EMT or paramedic can be paired with a municipal or fire department partner. The EMS crews generally stay within their service areas, unless there is a system overload and an adjacent service area requires assistance from a neighboring area.

The amount of time that EMTs, paramedics, and nurses spend at their posts varies by day and by call volume. The organizational structure separating IFT/EMS operations has been in place since prior to the acquisition of Rural/Metro, PMT, and SW General by AMR Holdco. Petitioners/Employers also deploy EMTs and paramedics for special events, including medical standby services, walking teams, and ambulances. Special events include NASCAR races at the ISM Raceway,16 music festivals, baseball games, school events, and charity events. Both EMS and IFT employees, from the entire workforce, work special events.

Historically, IAFF, Local I-60 employees have staffed NASCAR races. IAFF, Local I-60 and SW General have a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) covering staffing for special events providing that SW General will first attempt to fill positions with IAFF, Local I-60 bargaining unit employees before opening up to all employees. The past practice has been to have 7-8 ambulances, and walking crews, for the race.

Moreover, AMR of Maricopa has an agreement with the Arizona Diamondbacks to provide standby medical services17 at Chase Field.18 In turn, since December 2018, AMR of Maricopa has had a MOU with AFSCME, Local 2960 providing that AMR of Maricopa must first utilize part-time AFSCME, Local 2960 personnel then full-time AFSCME, Local 2960 personnel. The personnel can be either EMS or IFT employees. The Diamondbacks requested a consistent group of individuals. As there is large group of employees represented by AFSCME, Local 2960 who are not necessarily tied to a single event, this allows AMR of Maricopa to draw from a larger pool (whereas the IAFF, Local I-60 bargaining unit has been historically tied to other events).

There is a common dispatching center used across all three bargaining units. In the East Valley, EMS units are dispatched by Mesa Alarm through a radio system. That is, the EMS unit is alerted though that radio system and the crew communicates via a mobile computer terminal by pushing buttons. The EMS unit will also communicate with AMR of Maricopa's dispatch center in Glendale. In the West Valley, the Phoenix Fire Department's 911 center contacts AMR of Maricopa's Glendale communications center and informs them of a call. Once the call is received, the AMR dispatcher locates the closest ambulance unit and assigns the unit to the call.

Crews also respond to communications from the Fire Departments. Essentially, EMS ambulance units are dual-dispatched. IFT units are dispatched solely through the Glendale communications center, which receives calls via cell phone or handheld devices.

Depending on the call algorithm and the nature of the call, the Glendale dispatch center will send the most appropriate unit to a call. Nevertheless, as different municipalities contract with either AMR of Maricopa, PMT, or SW General for EMS services, over 98% of the calls received by each entity are covered by the corresponding bargaining unit. That is, over 99% of the calls received by SW General are covered by IAFF, Local I-60, over 98% of the PMT calls are covered by ICEP, Local R12-170, and over 98% of the calls received by AMR of Maricopa are covered by AFSCME, Local 2960.

For IFT, the dispatching operations do not delineate between different bargaining units. That is, the closest most appropriate ambulance unit is dispatched. But if there is a call for a nurse ride then that call would go to either an IAFF, Local I-60 or ICEP, Local R12-170 ambulance unit because there are no nurses in the AFSCME, Local 2960 unit. Overall, in Maricopa County 23.6% of the IFT calls are handled by I-60 employees, 55.1% by AFSCME, Local 2960 employees, and 21.3% by ICEP, Local R12-170 employees. In Pinal County, 74.7% of the IFT calls received are handled by IAFF, Local I-60, 25% by AFSCME, Local 2960, and 0.4% by ICEP, Local R12-170.

Prior to its acquisition, Rural/Metro owned and operated the Glendale dispatch center, while AMR of Maricopa had a separate dispatching facility. AMR of Maricopa has been operating the Glendale dispatch center for about 2 years. About 90 employees work at the Glendale dispatch center. The Glendale dispatch center can see where all the ambulance units are located. At the Glendale dispatch center, there are several pods handling different aspects of dispatching. There is a pre-billing or pre-authorization pod that validates insurance. There is a call-taking pod that handles call inputting and then routes the call to the dispatch pod that will handle the calls, which may be broken down by geographic location. There is also a fire dispatch pod handling the Rural/Metro fire calls. There is an air division pod handling calls for air transport. All three bargaining units at issue use the same computer aided dispatch (CAD) software.

Under Rural/Metro, there was a Southwest Ambulance brand and a PMT brand. When AMR of Maricopa acquired Rural/Metro, the Rural/Metro line of business was rebranded as AMR; the Southwest Ambulance brand was rebranded as AMR; operations in Southwest Maricopa County, Pima County, and Pinal County continued to operate under the AMR brand; PMT and other AMR-affiliated companies in rural areas, including Prescott and Safford, were rebranded as Life Line (the name of a Prescott company also acquired by AMR Holdco affiliated companies); Rural/Metro fire operations continued to operate under the Rural/Metro brand; and Havasu City operations were branded River Medical.

AMR branded ambulances are utilized by employee of AMR of Maricopa represented by AFSCME, Local 2960 and employees of SW General represented by IAFF, Local I-60. Life Line branded ambulances are used by employees of PMT represented by ICEP, Local R12-170. Both AMR and Life Line have Type 2 and Type 3 ambulances available. SW General and AMR of Maricopa employees only ride in AMR branded ambulances, while ICEP employees utilize only Life Line ambulances. AMR of Maricopa and SW General nurses ride in AMR branded Type 3 ambulances due to historical use. No nurses operate under the Life Line brand.

The brands on employee's uniforms also changed to reflect the restructuring of the brands. Life Line uniforms consist of a black pull over with red and lettering saying Life Line Ambulance and a white star of life on the back, or navy-blue t-shirts or polos, shorts, and brush pants. AMR uniforms consists of black-button down shirts with an "AMR" patch on the sleeve and a yellow and red operation patch.

Human resources management and labor relations were centralized between October 2015 and summer of 2018. Currently, labor relations are centrally controlled by AMR. There is a national Vice President of Labor Relations responsible for the labor relations of Petitioners/Employers. Likewise, human resource matters are handled centrally by an AMR human resources department. There is a national Senior Vice President of Human Resources AMR. There are no human resources generalists or support staff specifically assigned to perform services for a specific bargaining unit.

Similarly, there is a national AMR payroll department that handles payroll for all the bargaining units, with oversight by a national corporate finance department and the national human resources department. The payroll office is in Colorado and is led by an AMR Holdco senior director who cuts the checks. But locally, at least two AMR of Maricopa employees process payroll.

There is a national AMR employee handbook applicable to all employees regardless of bargaining representative. The latest version became effective in August 2018 and came out of corporate headquarters in Colorado. This national handbook is available online from the AMR website and employees must acknowledge receipt of the handbook. While there was testimony regarding local or company specific handbooks and specific operations manuals no such documents were introduced into evidence at the hearing.

For AFSCME, Local 2960 unit, the grievance arbitration procedure in the collective- bargaining agreement first requires the employee to attempt to informally resolve the issue with their immediate supervisor. The next step, step one, allows the employee or the union to submit a written grievance to the Operations Manager. If not resolved at step one, the Union can submit the written grievance to a Regional Director at Step two. Step three provides for non-binding mediation. Step four provides for arbitration of the grievance.

For IAFF, Local I-60, the grievance process begins at step one which allows the employee or the union to submit a written grievance to the Human Resources Manager with a copy to the Regional Director. The Human Resource Manager then directs the grievance to a General Manager. If not resolved, step two provides that the grievance is to be submitted to the Regional Director. Step three provides for non-binding mediation. Step four provides for arbitration of the grievance.

For ICEP, Local R12-170, step one provides for the submission of a written grievance to the Assistant General Manager of a designee. Step two provides for the submission of the grievance to the General Manager. Step three provides for arbitration. In the case of grievances alleging discharge without cause, step one provides for submitting a written grievance to the General Manager while step two provides for arbitration.

One of the two Regional Directors for AMR handles AFSCME, Local 2960 grievances. The other Regional Director handles ICEP, Local R12-170 and IAFF, Local I-60 grievances at the second step. At the final step, the grievances to the Chief Operating Officer of AMR of Maricopa.

Station 1 is about 35 miles away from Station 3.19 EMS stations are scattered throughout the Valley. As the list of EMS stations entered into the evidence at the hearing are lacking the name of the municipality, the record does not reflect the distance between EMS stations or between EMS stations and Stations 1 and 3.

Each bargaining unit has different wages, paid time off (PTO), seniority, shift bidding processes, and benefits depending on their respective collective-bargaining agreement. Each of the bargaining units earn different wage rates. AFSCME, Local 2960 paramedics earn an hourly wage rate ranging from $22.88 to $30.85. AFSCME, Local 296 EMTs earn an hourly wage rate ranging from $18.03 to $25.26. IAFF, Local I-60 paramedics earn an hourly wage rate ranging from $18.03 to $25.16, while EMTs earn between $14.42 to $19.73 an hour. ICEP, Local R12-170 paramedics earn between $13.83 to $25.67 an hour while EMTs earn between $11.06 to $20.56 an hour.

Moreover, each bargaining unit is eligible for different contractual benefits. AFSCME, Local 2960 bargaining unit employees can receive medical, dental, vision, long term disability, group term life and supplemental life, accidental death and dismemberment, short term disability, and liability insurance. AFSCME, Local 2960 bargaining unit employees can also receive flexible spending and health savings accounts and are eligible for a 401(k) plan. IAFF, Local I-60 bargaining unit employees are eligible for longevity pay, defined pension plan for individuals employed into a bargaining unit position before March 1, 2016, health insurance, and tuition reimbursement. ICEP, Local R12-170 bargaining unit employees are eligible for a 401(k) plan and tuition reimbursement.

Likewise, per the respective collective-bargaining agreements, each bargaining unit accrue paid time off (PTO) at different rates. For AFSCME, Local 2960, those with 0-5 years of service accrue between 4.93 to 6.90 hours per pay period with a yearly max of between 208 to 291.20 hours. Those with 5-8 years of service accrue between 6.47 to 9.05 hours per pay period with a yearly max of between 248 and 347.20 hours. Those with 8 or more years of service accrue between 8 to 11.20 hours per pay period with a yearly max of between 288 hours to 403.20 hours. Only regular full-time bargaining unit employees can earn PTO. There is a maximum carryover of 300 hours from year to year. Employees can cash out unused PTO at the time of termination.

For IAFF, Local I-60, those with 0-1 year of experience accrue 1.539 hours of PTO per pay period with a yearly max of 56 hours. Those with 1-2 years of service accrue 3.078 hours of PTO per pay period with a yearly max of 112 hours. Those with 2-5 years of service accrue 4.616 hours of PTO per pay period with a yearly max of 168 hours. Those with 5-15 years of service accrue 6.154 hours of PTO per pay period with a yearly max of 224 hours. Those with 15 or more years of experience accrue 7.693 hours of PTO per pay period with a yearly max of 280 hours.

Finally, for ICEP, Local R12-170 those with 0-1 year of service accrue 2.308 hours of PTO per pay period with a yearly max of 60 hours. Those with 1-1.25 years of service accrue 4.308 hours of PTO per pay period with a yearly max of 140 hours. Those with 3-5 years of service accrue 5.231 hours of PTO per pay period with a yearly max of 170 hours. Those with 5 or more years of service accrue 6.461 hours of PTO per pay period with a yearly max of 200 hours.

Likewise, there is no common seniority list across bargaining unit. Rather, each bargaining unit has different seniority provisions in its collective-bargaining agreement. For the AFSCME, Local 2960 unit, seniority is calculated from the full-time or part-time employee's most recent date of hire with AMR of Maricopa. Part-time employees who become full-time employees are credited with fifty percent of their part-time seniority for the purposes of shift bidding, layoff, and recall. Employees who change job classifications are credited with fifty percent of their classification seniority in their previous classification, up to a maximum of 3 years, for the purposes of shift bidding in their new classification. Employees who were promoted or transferred into a non-bargaining unit position before July 1, 2015 retain their full seniority pursuant to the 2009-2012 collective bargaining agreement. Employees are recalled from layoffs based on seniority. Employees who transfer into the AFSCME, Local 2960 bargaining unit must serve 6 months of probation if they are full-time and 12 months or 1040 hours worked (but not less than 6 months) if they are part-time. AMR of Maricopa can extend probationary periods by 3 months.

For the IAFF, Local I-60 bargaining unit, seniority is calculated from the date the employee becomes a full-time or regular part-time employee in the bargaining unit. Employees who are promoted or transfer from a job classification in the bargaining unit, either before or after the collective-bargaining agreement's effective date, to a non-bargaining unit position, retain the seniority they had at the time of the promotion or transfer and continue to accumulate seniority while they are in such non-bargaining unit position. Upon return, employees may be placed in an open position as if their seniority with SW General had remained unbroken.

For the ICEP, Local R12-170 bargaining unit, seniority is calculated from the employee's most recent date in their current job classification. Employees transferring from another Rural/Metro or subsidiary location are credited with one half of their previous company seniority. Employees who "upgrade" their classification from EMT to paramedic carryover one half of their seniority.

Each bargaining unit has different "fractiles" depending on the applicable municipal contract. Fractiles are periods of time. For example, there is chute time (time from receiving call to when the wheels start rolling), in-service time or out-of-service time (time performing duties at Station), hospital clear time (time between arrival at hospital and release of patient and return to ambulance). Since the record contains no municipal contracts, specific timeframes are unknown.

Each bargaining unit also has different shift bidding processes. For the AFSCME, Local 2960 bargaining unit, employees have seven days from the bid posting date to bid for an available vacancy by submitting an electronic or in-person bid. The most senior qualified employee within the job classification is awarded the vacant position. Employees who accept a bid assignment are not eligible to bid for another assignment for 180 days. For the IAFF, Local I-60 bargaining unit, bids are awarded by a committee after the posted bid cycle ends. Full-time permanent shifts are awarded monthly. Shift bids must be submitted electronically. The committee awards shifts based on seniority within the bargaining unit. The ICEP, Local R12-170 bargaining unit shift bidding process is somewhat unclear. It appears that there is a company/union committee who handles shift bidding. Shift bids close ten days after posting. Employees who accept a bid assignment are not eligible to bid for another assignment for 120 days. Unlike those of AFSCME, Local 2960 and IAFF, Local I-60, the ICEP, Local R12-170's collective-bargaining agreement has jurisdiction-specific training requirements for shift bidding. Notably, employees cannot bid for shifts across bargaining units.

The function of EMTs, paramedics, and nurses is to take care of patients and transport them to or from medical facilities. The job skill expectations are the same across bargaining units, except for contractually required training. All of them receive the same type of training regardless of bargaining unit. EMTs, paramedics, and nurses operate within their state regulated scope of practice. That is, if they have the same level of state certification, they are engaging in the same basic functions. Moreover, there is no equipment assigned to a specific bargaining unit. EMS EMTs and paramedics respond to emergency 911 calls within their assigned jurisdiction, while IFT EMTs, paramedics, and nurses transport patients to and from medical facilities.

Employees work with employees in their own bargaining unit. Operationally, employees from different bargaining units see each other in passing, but not necessarily for a specific reason. Depending on the day and call volume, once employees performing IFT work, leave their initial Station, they move throughout the system all day long and only return to the Station to end their shift. Employees assigned to perform EMS work generally stay within their concentrated service area. Employees from different bargaining units do not work in the same vehicles together. Employees from different bargaining units who are assigned to perform IFT work could be assigned to the same post, but employees performing EMS work remain within their service areas.

EMS employees are posted with employees from their own bargaining unit. That is, each EMS station is staffed by employees from either the AFSCME, Local 2960, IAFF, Local I-60, or ICEP, Local R12-170 bargaining unit. Each EMS station is staffed by an ambulance crew from a particular bargaining unit from either IAFF, Local I-60, ICEP, Local R12-170, or AFSCME, Local 2960. The EMS employees may interact with employees from other bargaining units at hospitals. EMS shifts can be 12, 18, or 24-hour shifts.

IFT employees report to either Station 1 or Station 3 and then deploy to a medical facility. They may interact with employees from other bargaining units at the Stations or at medical facilities. Employees from any of the three bargaining units can respond to any IFT facility. Typically, IFT employees work shifts of 12 hours or less. IFT employees typically handle 6-7 calls a day. Shifts alter about every half hour. Thus, ambulances come out of the Stations about every half hour. Daily, employees move between IFT and EMS positions, but only within their own bargaining unit. There is no inter-unit movement.

As discussed above, each bargaining unit has historically included both emergency and non-emergency EMS and IFT employees. Likewise, employees of each Employer/Petitioner have been represented in separate units, that is AFSCME, Local 2960, IAFF, Local I-60, ICEP, Local R12-170.

Between May 28, 2016 and April 2018, there was a restructuring of supervisory structure of the Employers/Petitioners. The names of the supervisor positions were changed, and those who held those position had to reapply for the "new" positions under the "new" supervisory structure. Two Regional Directors were hired first, then the Operations Managers were hired. In turn, the Operations Managers hired their Administrative Supervisors and Field Supervisors.

When the new consolidated CONS, the Petitioners/Employers aligned their operations under an EMS Regional Director and an IFT Regional Director structure. The person who would become the IFT Regional Director was hired in 2016, during the time consolidation was being sought. He initially assumed "some" of the IFT operations. He is listed at the manager of record for the State for the IFT operations. As of February 2018, the IFT Regional Director was overseeing the IFT operations. He is the Regional Director over all the AFSCME, Local 2960 employees.

Rural/Metro had existing managers overseeing its operations. Some managers left through attrition. When the consolidation was completed, the "legacy" Rural/Metro management structure was eliminated. AMR of Maricopa, Rural Metro, and SW General each had their own individual Operations Managers assigned to them in order to have someone who is familiar with the specific municipal contractual requirements to provide oversight.

The Regional Chief Operating Officer is at the top of the supervisory hierarchy at the Arizona level. One Regional Director oversees the EMS operations and another Regional Director oversees the IFT operations.20 The person who would become the EMS Regional Director was hired in 2008.21 The IFT Regional Director also supervises the Mesa, Gilbert, and Queen Creek 911 operations. The person who would become the IFT Regional Director was hired in 2016. At unspecified times, the Regional Director oversee each other's operations.

Under the Regional Director, there are Operations Managers, Administrative Supervisors, and Field Supervisors. Operations Managers are responsible for the "true" day-to-day operations of the area they are overseeing. Operations Managers do not assign shifts to employees. In turn, Administrative Supervisors and Field Supervisors report to the Operations Managers.

There are four EMS Operations Managers. Three have an Administrative Supervisor reporting to them. No EMS Operations Managers have employees from more than one bargaining unit fall under them in the supervisory hierarchy. There are two IFT Operations Managers. An Administrative Supervisor reports to them. One IFT Operations Manager has employees from all three bargaining units fall under him. No other IFT Operations Manager supervises employees from more than one bargaining unit. The IFT Administrative Supervisor supervises employees from all three bargaining units. In turn, three Field Supervisors22 from Station 1 and three Field Supervisors from Station 3 report to the IFT Operations Manager. The IFT Field Supervisors supervise employees from all three bargaining units. No Operations Manager supervises both EMS and IFT employees. There are no shared Field Supervisors or Operations Managers between employees in Maricopa County and employees in other counties.

There are three on-duty supervisors at Station 1 and three on-duty supervisors at Station 3. There is one Administrative Supervisor on duty per day at Station 1 and at Station 3. Field Supervisors cannot terminate or suspend employees, but can place employees on administrative leave.23 Nevertheless, Field Supervisors can provide corrective frontline corrective action including coachings, counselings, or memos to file.

If an investigation results in finding wrong doing by an employee, an Administrative Supervisor investigates, and the human resources department and the Operations Manager review the investigation file and make a recommendation for corrective action. At times, there is then discussion with a union.

Minor discipline can be handled by the Operations Manager. If there is suspension, termination, or anything that involves pay, a Regional Director and the Regional Chief Operating Officer would need to be involved.

The complete text of the document may be found here: (https://apps.nlrb.gov/link/document.aspx/09031d4582b5f2ea).