11/26/2024: Employees in Two Bargaining Units Simultaneously
A regional election decision involving dual-function employees.
Tuacahn Center for The Arts, 27-RC-349529 (Regional Election Decision)
On November 25, 2024, NLRB Region 27 Regional Director Matthew S. Lomax issued a Decision and Direction of Election addressing whether certain employees at Tuacahn Center for the Arts in Ivins, Utah could vote in a representation election for shop employees.
Tuacahn operates a 2,000-seat outdoor Amphitheatre and a 400-seat indoor Hafen Theatre, along with several production shops that create scenery, props, costumes, and handle technical equipment. IATSE Local 720 already represented employees at both theaters and sought to also represent shop employees who build and maintain production elements.
The central issue was whether 11 employees who worked both in the shops and theaters qualified as "dual-function" employees eligible to vote in the shop unit election. These employees spent varying amounts of time between shop work (like painting scenery or repairing equipment) and theater work (like operating equipment during performances).
The Regional Director analyzed each disputed employee's work patterns using Board precedent that allows employees to vote if they regularly perform unit work sufficient to demonstrate substantial interest, even if less than half their time. The analysis focused on:
Whether shop work was regular and substantial
If shop duties were distinct from theater work
If employees had a reasonable expectation of returning to shop work
Whether shop work was merely incidental to primary theater duties
Based on this analysis, the Regional Director included four employees in the unit:
Catherine Alder (Scenic Run Crew Lead who regularly painted scenery)
Joshua DeMie (Scenic Run Crew Lead with majority shop work)
Tessa Parsons (Property Run Crew Lead with regular shop work)
Taylor Schroath (Pyrotechnics Technician who worked substantially in scenic shop)
Five employees were excluded because their shop work was either incidental to their primary duties or insufficient evidence showed regular shop involvement:
Scott Hill (Head of Video)
Dakota Lamb (Head of Electrics)
Stone Randolph (Scenic Changeover Crew)
Stephen Simpson (Head of Audio)
Nass Williams (Wardrobe Lead)
Two additional employees, Kyle McCoy and Matthew Monge, will vote subject to challenge per party agreement.
The Regional Director directed an election for December 12, 2024. If the shop employees vote for representation, they will be added to IATSE Local 720's existing unit. The decision demonstrates the NLRB's approach to determining voting eligibility when employees work across multiple departments with existing union representation.
Significant Cases Cited
Martin Enterprises, Inc., 325 NLRB 714 (1998): Established criteria for dual-function employees' eligibility based on substantial unit work.
Columbia College, 346 NLRB 726 (2006): Clarified inclusion criteria for employees holding distinct dual roles within separate bargaining units.
Oxford Chemicals, 286 NLRB 187 (1987): Affirmed eligibility where employees spend 25% of time in bargaining unit work.
KCAL-TV, 331 NLRB 323 (2000): Recognized that employees can belong to multiple units if their job functions are distinct and separable.