American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2723 and Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Contract Management Command, Sunnyvale, California (Authority decision, June 30, 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 2723 challenged an arbitrator's award in a dispute with the Defense Contract Management Command in Sunnyvale. The Authority found no ground under the statutory review standard to set aside the award and denied the union's exceptions. The release does not describe the underlying grievance or most of the union's objections. A footnote addresses the union's claim that the arbitrator improperly received the agency's prehearing brief. Because the union also received a copy, the Authority found no private communication and rejected that objection.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Arbitration review under 5 U.S.C. § 7122(a); asserted communication rule at 5 U.S.C. § 579.
• Outcome: Union's exceptions denied; arbitration award left in place.
• Key point: Service of the agency's prehearing brief on the union defeated the claim of a private communication with the arbitrator.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v54 p504 ]
54:0504(52)AR

The decision of the Authority follows:

54 FLRA No. 52

FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

_____

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYEES

LOCAL 2723

(Union)

and

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

DEFENSE CONTRACT MANAGEMENT COMMAND

SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA

(Agency)

0-AR-3062

_____

DECISION

June 30, 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 Barry Winograd 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 filed 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.

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

*/ The Union's claim that the
Arbitrator violated 5 U.S.C. § 579 by engaging in an improper ex parte contact with the Agency -- receiving the Agency's prehearing brief -- is unsupported. As it is undisputed that the Union was properly served with a copy of the brief, no ex parte contact occurred. Cf. 5 C.F.R. § 2414.3(b) (defining "ex parte communications" as an oral or written communication concerning which "notice to all parties is not given"). Accordingly, we need not determine whether 5 U.S.C.
§ 579 applies in arbitration proceedings under the Statute. As no ex parte contact occurred, the Union's claim that the Arbitrator violated 5 C.F.R. part 2414 also is supported. In addition, part 2414 applies to Authority Members, Administrative Law Judges, and other Authority employees; it does not apply to arbitrators. See 5 C.F.R.
§ 2414.2.