Oklahoma Air Logistics Center, Tinker Air Force Base and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 916 (Authority decision, November 10, 1987)

Final FLRA decision. The Authority denies the union's exceptions to an arbitration award upholding a one-day suspension. Under 5 U.S.C. § 7123(a)(1), an order involving an arbitral award is generally excluded from judicial review unless it involves an unfair labor practice under 5 U.S.C. § 7116. This decision does not decide an unfair labor practice.

Plain-English summary

An arbitrator upheld a one-day suspension of an employee at Tinker Air Force Base for failing to request leave properly. The union challenged the suspension and argued that the arbitrator had mishandled witnesses and evidence. The Authority found no showing that the award violated law or regulations, or that the arbitrator's handling of the case supplied a recognized ground for setting the award aside. It denied the union's exceptions, leaving the suspension in place.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Arbitration exceptions under 5 U.S.C. § 7122(a).
• Outcome: Union's exceptions denied; one-day suspension remained upheld.
• Key point: Disagreement with the arbitrator's fact findings and hearing decisions did not establish a defect in the award.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v30 p20 ]

30:0020(5)AR

The decision of the Authority follows:

30 FLRA NO. 5
30 FLRA 20

10 NOV 1987

OKLAHOMA AIR LOGISTICS
CENTER, TINKER AIR FORCE
BASE, OKLAHOMA

Activity

and

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF
GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES,
LOCAL 916, OKLAHOMA CITY,
OKLAHOMA

Union

Case No. 0-AR-1419

DECISION

I. Statement of the Case

This matter is before the Authority on exceptions to the award of Arbitrator A. J. Carter filed by the Union under section 7122 (a) of the Federal Service Labor - Management Relations Statute (the Statute) and part 2425 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations. We deny the exceptions.

II. Background and Arbitrator's Award

The parties stipulated and submitted to arbitration the issue of whether a 1-day suspension of the grievant for failure to properly request leave was in accordance with the parties' collective bargaining agreement. On threshold issues, the Arbitrator ruled that the Agency was required to make available all witnesses requested by the Union while noting that this ruling was limited to this case. The Arbitrator rejected the Union's objection to management exhibits offered to support its position that the penalty imposed was consistent with prior cases of a similar nature. On the merits, the Arbitrator denied the grievance, finding that the suspension was in accordance with the agreement.

III. Discussion

In its exceptions the Union contends that the award is contrary to the collective bargaining agreement and Air Force
[PAGE] regulations on discipline, merit system principles, and sick leave. The Union also contends that the Arbitrator made numerous incorrect determinations; that the discipline was never properly supported; that contrary to the Arbitrator's ruling, the Activity did not make available all Union witnesses; and that the Arbitrator erred by admitting the exhibits objected to by the Union.

We conclude that the Union has failed to establish that the Arbitrator's award is deficient on any of the grounds set forth in section 7122(a) of the Statute: specifically, that the award is contrary to any law, rule, or regulation or that the award is deficient on other grounds similar to those applied by Federal courts in private sector labor relations cases. See, for example, Federal Correctional Institution, Petersburg, Virginia and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2052, Petersburg, Virginia, 13 FLRA 108 (1983) (Exceptions which attempted to relitigate the merits of the case before the Authority provided no basis for finding the award deficient; the exceptions constituted nothing more than disagreement with the arbitrator's findings of fact, reasoning, conclusions, evaluation of the evidence and testimony, and interpretation and application of the agreement.); U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration and American Federation of Government Employees, Local No. 547, 24 FLRA 959 (1986) (the fact that the arbitrator conducted the hearing in a manner that a party finds objectionable does not provide a basis for finding an award deficient).

Accordingly, the Union's exceptions are denied.

Issued, Washington, D.C., November 10, 1987

Jerry L. Calhoun, Chairman

Jean McKee, Member

FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY [PAGE 2]