| NORTH PLATTE POLICE OFFICERS UNION, | | | Case No. 247 |
| INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF POLICE | | | |
| OFFICERS, LOCAL 582, | | | |
| | | ||
| Petitioner, | | | |
| | | ||
| v. | | | OPINION |
| | | ||
| CITY OF NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA, | | | |
| a Municipal Corporation, | | | |
| | | ||
| Respondent. | | |
Appearances:
For the Petitioner: J. Murry Shaeffer
For the Respondent: William A. Harding
Before: Wall, P.J.; Kratz and Green, J#.J#.
WALL, P.J.:
This case brings before us the determination of the proper bargaining unit in the North Platte police department. We find that we have jurisdiction of the parties and the subject matter.
Petitioner union contends that the unit should be made up solely of sworn police officers to the exclusion of all others in the department. Petitioner cites §48-816, R.R.S. Nebr. 1943, authorizing the inclusion of supervisory personnel in police and fire units, as overcoming the departmental preference presumption in §48-838, R. R. S. Nebr. 1943.
We do not agree. Section 48-838 presumes the proper unit to be at least departmental in size in municipalities. Section 48-816 was enacted to permit supervisors to be included in a police or fire unit, not to limit a police or fire unit to police officers or fire fighters. There is no other evidence to overcome the presumption. We hold the proper unit here to be all full time and regular part-time employees of the North Platte Police Department, except the Chief and the officers reporting directly to him. When the two Lieutenants presently reporting directly to the Chief return to reporting directly to the Captain, the Lieutenants shall become part of the bargaining unit.
IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED that a secret ballot election be conducted with a reasonable time from the date of this Opinion within the unit above described.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Court's representative in the conduct of such election shall be Judge Benjamin M. Wall, and that the election shall be held under the immediate supervision of the Clerk of the Court, Janet Stewart Arnold.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Janet Stewart Amold is appointed hearing examiner to determine initially all questions arising during the election process.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that counsel for the parties shall meet with the Clerk of the Court on May 2, 1978 at 10:00 A.M., to agree upon or have determined all matters not covered by Rule 9.
_______________________________