National Air Traffic Controllers Association, AFL-CIO (Union) and United States, Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration (Agency) (Authority decision, March 2, 2005)

Final FLRA decision. The Authority denies the union's exception 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 address an unfair labor practice.

Plain-English summary

The air traffic controllers union challenged an arbitration award involving the Federal Aviation Administration. The Authority denied the union's exception after finding that it had not established that the award was based on a nonfact under 5 U.S.C. § 7122(a). The published decision does not describe the grievance, the arbitrator's ruling, or the particular fact challenged. Its result is therefore limited to leaving the award in place.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: 5 U.S.C. § 7122(a).
• Outcome: Union exception denied; arbitration award left in place.
• Key point: The union did not show that a clearly erroneous central fact required setting aside the award.

Full text (FLRA public release)

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60 FLRA No. 129

NATIONAL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS

ASSOCIATION, AFL-CIO

(Union)

and

UNITED STATES

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION

(Agency)

0-AR-3918

_____

DECISION

March 2, 2005

_____

Before the Authority: Dale Cabaniss, Chairman, and

Carol Waller Pope and Tony Armendariz, Members

This case is before the Authority on an exception to an award of Arbitrator Jay E. Grenig filed by the Union under § 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 exception.

Under § 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, and Authority precedent, the Authority concludes that the award is not deficient on the ground raised in the exception and set forth in § 7122(a). See United States Dep't of the Air Force, Lowry AFB, Denver, Colo., 48 FLRA 589, 593-94 (1993) (award not deficient as based on a nonfact where excepting party either challenges a factual matter that the parties disputed at arbitration or fails to demonstrate that the central fact underlying the award is clearly erroneous, but for which a different result would have been reached by the arbitrator).

Accordingly, the Union's exception is denied.