United States Department of the Air Force, Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 916 (Authority decision, September 13, 1994)

Final FLRA decision. This Authority order dismisses a second request to reconsider an arbitration case and ends this request before the Authority. 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 order concerns standing to request reconsideration and does not decide an unfair labor practice.

Plain-English summary

An employee at Tinker Air Force Base asked the Authority a second time to reconsider an order in an arbitration dispute involving the Air Force and AFGE Local 916. He argued that his participation at the arbitration hearing made him a party. The Authority found that the arbitration parties were the agency and union, and the record did not make the employee a party under its rules. It dismissed the request for lack of standing and said it would consider no further motions from him in this case. A footnote also states that the request was filed after the reconsideration deadline.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Party and reconsideration rules at 5 C.F.R. §§ 2425.1(a) and 2429.17.
• Outcome: Second reconsideration request dismissed; no further requests from the employee will be entertained in this case.
• Key point: Being the employee affected by an arbitration award did not make him a party entitled to seek Authority reconsideration.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v50 p5 ]
50:0005(2)AR

The decision of the Authority follows:

50 FLRA NO. 2

FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE

OKLAHOMA CITY AIR LOGISTICS CENTER

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, OKLAHOMA

(Agency)

and

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYEES

LOCAL 916

(Union)

0-AR-2582

(49 FLRA 1068 (1994))

ORDER DISMISSING REQUEST FOR
RECONSIDERATION

September 13, 1994

The grievant, Michael R. Smith, has filed a request for reconsideration of the Authority's Order Dismissing Request for Reconsideration, issued May 20, 1994, 49 FLRA 1068, in the above-captioned case. For the following reasons, the grievant's second request for reconsideration must be dismissed.

The Authority's Regulations provide that "[e]ither party to an arbitration proceeding may file an exception to an arbitrator's award rendered pursuant to the arbitration." 5 C.F.R. § 2425.1(a). The Authority's Regulations also provide that "[a]fter a final decision or order of the Authority has been issued, a party to the proceeding before the Authority who can establish . . . extraordinary circumstances . . . may move for reconsideration of such final decision or order." 5 C.F.R.
§ 2429.17.

The caption of the award indicates that the parties to the arbitration proceeding are the Union, American Federation of Government Employees, Local 916, and the Agency, U.S. Department of the Air Force, Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma.

The grievant asserts that it is "readily apparent throughout the text" of the transcript of the arbitration hearing that he was "a joint party with union", and, therefore, the Authority should assert jurisdiction over this matter. Although the grievance concerned the grievant, nothing in the record establishes that the grievant is a "party" within the meaning of 5 C.F.R.
§§ 2425.1(a), 2429.17.

As the grievant was not a party to the proceeding, the grievant does not have standing under 5 C.F.R. § 2425.1(a) to file exceptions to the arbitrator's award or to file a request for reconsideration of the Authority's decision under 5 C.F.R. § 2429.17.

Accordingly, the grievant's second request for reconsideration is dismissed.(*) The Authority will not entertain any further motions, requests, or arguments by the grievant in the above-captioned case. See American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2017 and U.S. Department of the Army, Army Signal Center and Fort Gordon, Fort Gordon, Georgia, 46 FLRA 693 (1992).

For the Authority.

_____
Alicia N. Columna
Director, Case
Control Office

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

*/ In addition, the grievant's request for
reconsideration was untimely filed. The date of the Authority's Order Dismissing Request for Reconsideration was May 20, 1994. A request for reconsideration of that Order had to be filed with the Authority no later than June 6, 1994. The grievant's request for reconsideration was filed (postmarked) on August 6, 1994.