American Federation of Government Employees, Local 916 and U.S. Department of the Air Force, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma (Authority decision, December 10, 1992)

Final FLRA decision. The Authority denies reconsideration of an order dismissing arbitration exceptions. 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

AFGE Local 916 asked the Authority to reconsider dismissal of its exceptions to an arbitration award involving Tinker Air Force Base. The Authority had ordered the union to correct a service sheet that did not show delivery to the agency's representative, but the union missed the deadline. In seeking reconsideration, the union said it had used the right office routing symbol despite naming the wrong person. The Authority found no proof that the proper official had received the exceptions and no explanation for the missed correction deadline. It denied reconsideration without reaching the arbitration merits.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Reconsideration under 5 C.F.R. § 2429.17; service under § 2429.27(a).
• Outcome: Reconsideration denied; dismissal of exceptions remains in place.
• Key point: A party seeking reconsideration must show extraordinary circumstances, including a reason for missing a correction deadline.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v46 p920 ]
46:0920(83)AR

The decision of the Authority follows:

46 FLRA No. 83

FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYEES

LOCAL 916

(Union)

and

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, OKLAHOMA

(Agency)

0-AR-2316

ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION

December 10, 1992

Before Chairman McKee and Members Talkin and
Armendariz.

I. Statement of the Case

This matter is before the Authority on a motion filed by the Union seeking reconsideration of an Authority Order dismissing the Union's exceptions to an arbitration award. The Authority dismissed the exceptions because the Union failed to respond to an earlier Order granting the Union an opportunity to correct a deficiency in its exceptions. The Agency did not file an opposition to the Union's motion for reconsideration.

For the following reasons, we conclude that the Union has not established extraordinary circumstances warranting reconsideration of the Authority's Order dismissing the exceptions. Accordingly, we will deny the motion for reconsideration.

II. Background

The Union filed exceptions to an award of Arbitrator Raymond R. Hawkins. By Order dated July 30, 1992, the Authority notified the Union that its exceptions did not comply with the procedural requirement set forth in section 2429.27(a) of the Authority's Rules and Regulations that any document filed with the Authority must be served on "all counsel of record or other designated representative(s) of parties[.]" The Order stated that the Union had not furnished a statement of service showing that the Agency's representative of record at the arbitration hearing, Janice E. Fields, was served. The Union was directed to correct the deficiency by August 12, 1992, and was notified that failure to do so could result in dismissal of the exceptions.

The Union did not timely respond to the Authority's July 30 Order. Accordingly, by Order dated August 21, 1992, the Authority dismissed the Union's exceptions.

III. The Union's Motion for Reconsideration

The Union requests that the Authority reconsider the August 21 Order and review the Union's exceptions on their merits.

The Union asserts that it properly served the Agency's representative with its exceptions. It contends that it followed the parties' practice of sending all correspondence regarding arbitrations to the Agency's labor relations office, which distributes the correspondence to the appropriate official. The Union maintains that the exceptions' service page showed the correct routing symbol for the Agency's representative at the hearing. The Union states that the incorrect name on the service sheet was "merely a typo from a form letter." Motion for Reconsideration at 1. The Union argues that the failure to state the correct name was "a minor technicality" and that, in any event, a different office has the responsibility for responding to exceptions and "the Agency showed no harm done." Id.

The Union does not explain why it did not timely respond to the July 30 Order.

IV. Analysis and Conclusion

Section 2429.17 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations permits a party that can establish the existence of "extraordinary circumstances" to request reconsideration of a final decision or order of the Authority. We conclude that the Union has failed to establish such extraordinary circumstances in this case.

The Union does not deny that the service sheet accompanying its exceptions did not contain the correct name of the Agency's representative. The Union argues, however, that because it used the correct routing symbol and because the Agency response to exceptions is prepared in a different office, the deficiency resulted in no harm to the Agency. In view of the fact that the Agency did not respond to the exceptions and the Union has not demonstrated that in fact the appropriate official received the exceptions, we conclude that the Union has not established that the Agency suffered no harm from the improper service. Compare American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2663 and Veterans Administration Medical Center, Kansas City, Missouri, 32 FLRA 619 (1988) (the union was not prevented from fully setting forth its position in response to the agency's statement of position prior to the issuance of the Authority's decision and could not establish that it had been harmed by the manner in which the statement of position was served).

In addition, the Union has not even attempted to explain why it did not respond in a timely manner to the Authority's July 30 Order. Thus, the Union has not established extraordinary circumstances within the meaning of section 2429.17 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations warranting reconsideration of the Authority's order dismissing the Union's exceptions. See generally, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Area II, Philadelphia Region and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1923, 42 FLRA 1105 (1991).

V. Order

The Union's motion for reconsideration is denied.

FOOTNOTES:
(If blank, the decision does not
have footnotes.)