American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1906 (Union) and United States Department of Defense, Defense Contract Management Agency (Agency) (Authority decision, August 20, 2010)

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 1906 challenged an arbitration award involving the Defense Contract Management Agency. The Authority denied its exceptions under the rule limiting challenges to an arbitrator's procedural arbitrability ruling. The short decision does not state the grievance's subject, the procedure at issue, or the arbitrator's remedy. The union did not show a statutory procedural violation or another qualifying ground to overturn the ruling, so the award remains in place.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: 5 U.S.C. § 7122(a)
• Outcome: Union exceptions denied; arbitration award remains in place.
• Key point: The union did not establish a basis to disturb the arbitrator's procedural arbitrability ruling.

Full text (FLRA public release)

XX FLRA No

65 FLRA No. 2

FEDERAL
LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY

WASHINGTON,
D.C.

_____

AMERICAN
FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES

LOCAL 1906

(Union)

and

UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

DEFENSE CONTRACT
MANAGEMENT AGENCY

(Agency)

0-AR-4663

_____

DECISION

August 20, 2010

_____

Before the
Authority: Carol Waller Pope, Chairman, and

Thomas M. Beck and
Ernest DuBester, Members

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

Susan R. Meredith 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 exceptions.

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 grounds raised in the exceptions and set forth in § 7122(a). See U.S. Dep’t of Transp., Fed. Aviation Admin., Portland, Me., 64 FLRA 772, 774 (2010) (arbitrator’s determination of procedural arbitrability of a grievance is not deficient when excepting party fails to establish that the determination is contrary to procedural requirements established by statute that apply to the parties’ negotiated grievance

procedure or is deficient on grounds that do not directly challenge the procedural-arbitrability determination).

Accordingly, the Union’s exceptions
are denied.