American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3872 and U.S. Department of the Air Force, Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho (Authority decision, July 22, 1998)

Final FLRA decision. The Authority denies the union's exceptions to an arbitration award. 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 identify an unfair labor practice issue.

Plain-English summary

AFGE Local 3872 challenged an arbitrator's award in a dispute with Mountain Home Air Force Base. The Authority concluded that the union had not shown the award to be deficient under the statutory grounds for arbitration review and denied its exceptions. The decision does not describe the underlying grievance or the union's specific objections. A footnote says that an order questioning jurisdiction had been issued through administrative error; the Authority confirmed that the exceptions were properly before it. The arbitration award therefore stands.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Arbitration review under 5 U.S.C. § 7122(a).
• Outcome: Union's exceptions denied; arbitration award left in place.
• Key point: The Authority reviewed the exceptions despite an erroneous jurisdiction order and found no ground to disturb the award.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v54 p593 ]
54:0593(61)AR

The decision of the Authority follows:

54 FLRA No. 61

FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

_____

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYEES

LOCAL 3872

(Union)

and

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE

MOUNTAIN HOME AIR FORCE BASE, IDAHO

(Agency)

0-AR-3055

_____

DECISION

July 22, 1998

_____

Before the Authority: Phyllis N. Segal, Chair; Donald S. Wasserman and Dale Cabaniss, Members.

This matter is before the Authority on exceptions to an award of Arbitrator Kent J. Collings 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 Regulations.(

• ) The Agency did
  not file an opposition to the Union's exceptions.

Under section 7122(a) of the Statute, an award is deficient if it is contrary to any law, rule, or regulation; or it is deficient on other grounds similar to those applied by Federal courts in private sector labor-management relations. Upon careful consideration of the entire record in this case, the Authority concludes that the award is not deficient on any of the grounds raised in the exceptions and set forth in section 7122(a).

Accordingly, the Union's exceptions are denied.

FOOTNOTE:

*. The Authority subsequently issued,
through administrative error, an Order to Show Cause why the exceptions should not be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, to which the Union responded. There is no dispute, and we confirm here, that the exceptions are properly before the Authority under section 7122 of the Statute. Accordingly, there is no need to address the Union's response to the Order.