Albert Einstein Medical Center v. Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board
Albert Einstein Medical Center v. Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
Before us is a motion filed on behalf of the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board (PLRB) seeking to quash appeals taken from decisions of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County which affirmed two final orders of the PLRB certifying the Pennsylvania Nurses Association (PNA) as the exclusive bargaining representative of two nursing units at the Albert Einstein Medical Center, Northern Division (Einstein). The PLRB asserts that recent amendments to the federal Labor-Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. §141 et seq., preempt continuing appellate review of these prior PLRB certifications,
As of August 26, 1974, the federal amendments here involved brought nonprofit hospitals, such as Einstein, within the coverage of national labor relations law and policy. In our recent decisions, found at In re Employees of Harrisburg Hospital, 24 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 634, 358 A.2d 134 (1976); Pennsylvania Labor Relation Board v. Columbia Hospital, 21 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 236, 344 A.2d 740 (1975); and Albert Einstein Medical Center v. Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board, 17 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 91, 330 A.2d 264 (1975), we have confronted some of the transitional problems involved with these federal amendments as they relate to review of certification orders by the PLRB. What emerges as the import of these cases is that state appellate review will be exercised to examine bargaining unit certification orders which have been issued by the PLRB prior to the date when federal coverage took affect so long as the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ■not docketed or entertained consideration of any representation proceeding by the same group of employees involved in the PLRB certification. Compare, Albert Einstein Medical Center, supra, with Harrisburg Hospital, supra, and Columbia Hospital, supra. In such oases we see no inherent conflict with federal policy resulting from our review of PLRB certifications because our review is limited to a consideration of the validity of the certification at a time when federal law and policy did not apply. As a result, it would seem that, unless the NLRB has chosen to or has been asked to consider whether or not a bargaining unit certified by the PLRB is appropriate an exhaustion of state appellate remedies would not interfere with the federal jurisdiction over nonprofit hospital labor relationships.
Order
And Now, this 21st day of September, 1976, the motion filed on behalf of the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board to quash the appeals in the above captioned cases is hereby denied.
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