In a January 15, 2026 decision, NLRB Region 25 Regional Director Colleen M. Maples ruled that notification specialists at South Central Indiana Rural Electric Membership Corporation share sufficient community of interest with vegetation management field crews to be included in the bargaining unit represented by International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1393. The decision rejected the employer's argument that notification specialists are supervisors under Section 2(11) of the National Labor Relations Act.

The case arose after a November 2024 certification where notification specialists voted subject to challenge but their ballots were not determinative of the election outcome. The union filed a unit clarification petition in March 2025 seeking their inclusion.

Supervisory Status

The Regional Director applied the three-part test from Oakwood Healthcare, Inc. (348 NLRB 686, 2006), which requires showing an employee: (1) exercises one of twelve supervisory functions, (2) uses independent judgment (not merely routine or clerical authority), and (3) acts in the employer's interest.

The employer argued notification specialists are supervisors when serving as "Acting Superintendents" during absences. However, the decision found they substitute less than 10% of their work time (ranging from 4.87% to 8.05% among the three current notification specialists), failing to meet the "regular and substantial" substitution standard. Even when substituting, they lack actual supervisory authority, they cannot assign work independently, approve timecards, discipline employees, or make hiring/firing recommendations. Instead, they primarily serve as points of contact who relay issues to management.

Community of Interest

Applying the traditional community-of-interest standard from MV Transportation, Inc. (373 NLRB No. 8, 2023), which uses the same standard that would have applied before the election, the Regional Director found notification specialists share sufficient interests with field crew employees. The employer argued for application of the "overwhelming community of interest" standard from American Steel Construction (372 NLRB No. 23, 2022), but this was rejected because the union consistently sought to include notification specialists, making the traditional standard applicable.

The decision analyzed traditional community-of-interest factors from United Operations, Inc. (338 NLRB 123, 2002):

• Common supervision: All report to the same Superintendents and Department Manager
• Functional integration: Notification specialists obtain member permission before field crews can begin vegetation clearing work
• Frequent contact: Daily interaction at facilities and on jobsites
• Similar terms and conditions: Same hourly pay scale (notification specialists earn same rate as Foreman A at $32.35/hour), benefits, work schedule (7am-3pm), and policies
• Interchange: Notification specialists regularly fill in for field crew roles (~5 times/month operating equipment) and typically progress from field crew positions
• Administrative organization: All part of same Vegetation Management Department

Only the skills and functions factor was deemed neutral, as notification specialists' primary duties (member notifications) differ from field crews' manual labor, though they have similar training and experience.

Key Points

• Notification specialists ruled non-supervisory: Substitute for superintendents less than 10% of work time; lack independent judgment authority when substituting
• Traditional community-of-interest standard applied: Not the alternative "overwhelming community of interest" standard because union consistently sought inclusion of notification specialists from the outset
• Supervisory authority requires "regular and substantial" substitution: Less than 10% generally insufficient; 20%+ typically required
• Independent judgment standard: Must act free from control of others, not merely relay instructions from management
• Community of interest factors favor inclusion: Common supervision, functional integration, frequent contact, similar terms/conditions, interchange, and administrative organization all support inclusion
• Unit clarification resolves challenged ballots: Standard applied is same as would have been used before election
• MV Transportation precedent applied: Decision follows NLRB guidance that unit clarification for employees who voted subject to challenge uses the same standard that would have applied pre-election

Primary Source Author: Colleen M. Maples, Regional Director, NLRB Region 25

Primary Source: Decision and Order Clarifying Unit, South Central Indiana Rural Electric Membership Corporation, Case 25-UC-363925 (NLRB Region 25, Jan. 15, 2026)

Primary Source Link: https://apps.nlrb.gov/link/document.aspx/09031d4583fe98c8

Supplemental Links

• NLRB Section 2(11) Supervisor Definition
• NLRB Administrative Law Judge Decisions Resource
• MV Transportation Unit Clarification Standard (373 NLRB No. 8)
• American Steel Construction Community of Interest Standard - NLRB
• Community of Interest Test - Congressional Research Service
• NLRB Basic Guide to the National Labor Relations Act
• NLRB Overview and Functions