American Federation of Government Employees, Local 919, Council of Prison Locals 33 (Union) and United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth, Kansas (Agency) (Authority decision, January 29, 2010)

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 identify an unfair labor practice issue.

Plain-English summary

AFGE Local 919 challenged an arbitration award involving the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth. The union argued that the award rested on a factual error. The Authority denied the exception because the union had not shown the kind of clearly erroneous central fact that would change the result. This short release does not describe the underlying grievance, the award, or its remedy.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: 5 U.S.C. § 7122(a).
• Outcome: Union exception denied; arbitration award remains in place.
• Key point: A nonfact challenge requires a clearly erroneous central fact that would change the award's result.

Full text (FLRA public release)

XX FLRA No

64 FLRA No. 74

FEDERAL
LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY

WASHINGTON,
D.C.

_____

AMERICAN
FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES

LOCAL 919

COUNCIL OF PRISON
LOCALS 33

(Union)

and

UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

FEDERAL BUREAU OF
PRISONS

UNITED STATES
PENITENTIARY

LEAVENWORTH,
KANSAS

(Agency)

0-AR-4583

_____

DECISION

January 29, 2010

_____

Before the
Authority: Carol Waller Pope, Chairman, and

Thomas M. Beck and
Ernest DuBester, Members

This matter is before the Authority on an exception to an award of Arbitrator

Charles J. Crider 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 U.S. Dep’t of the Air Force, Lowry Air Force Base, Denver, Colo., 48 FLRA 589, 593-94 (1993) (award not deficient as based on a nonfact where excepting party either challenges a factual matter 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.