American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1858 and United States Department of the Army, U.S. Army Contracting Command-Redstone, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama (agency decision, July 6, 2023)

Final FLRA decision. This is a final order of the Federal Labor Relations Authority involving an arbitral award under 5 U.S.C. § 7122. Judicial review under 5 U.S.C. § 7123(a) generally does not extend to such an order unless the order involves an unfair labor practice under 5 U.S.C. § 7116. This abbreviated decision does not state that it involves an unfair labor practice.

Plain-English summary

AFGE Local 1858 filed exceptions to an arbitration award involving Army Contracting Command-Redstone, and the agency opposed them. The Authority selected the matter for an expedited, abbreviated decision. It found that the union's filing did not raise a recognized ground for review under the Authority's regulations. The filing also offered no other legally recognized basis for setting aside the award. The Authority therefore dismissed the exceptions without describing the underlying grievance or the arbitrator's ruling.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: 5 U.S.C. §§ 7122(a) and 7123(a)(1); 5 C.F.R. §§ 2425.6(a), 2425.6(e)(1), and 2425.7
• Outcome: The Authority dismissed the union's exceptions in an expedited, abbreviated decision.
• Key point: Exceptions must identify a recognized ground for review or another legally supported basis for setting aside an arbitration award.

Full text (FLRA public release)

73 FLRA No. 115

AMERICAN FEDERATION

OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES

LOCAL 1858

(Union)

and

UNITED STATES

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY

U.S. ARMY

CONTRACTING COMMAND-REDSTONE

REDSTONE ARSENAL, ALABAMA

(Agency)

0‑AR‑5871

ORDER DISMISSING EXCEPTIONS

July 6, 2023

Before the Authority: Susan Tsui Grundmann, Chairman, and Colleen Duffy Kiko, Member

This matter is before the Authority on exceptions to an award of Arbitrator Kenneth Starr filed by the Union under § 7122(a) of the Federal Service Labor‑Management Relations Statute[1] and part 2425 of the Authority’s Regulations.[2] The Agency filed an opposition to the Union’s exceptions.

We have determined that this case is appropriate for issuance as an expedited, abbreviated decision under § 2425.7 of the Authority’s Regulations.[3]

The Union’s exceptions do not raise a recognized ground for review listed in § 2425.6(a)‑(c) of the Authority’s Regulations[4] and do not otherwise demonstrate a legally recognized basis for setting aside the award. Therefore, we dismiss the exceptions under § 2425.6(e)(1) of the Authority’s Regulations.[5]

[1] 5 U.S.C. § 7122(a).

[2] 5 C.F.R. pt. 2425.

[3] Id. § 2425.7 (“Even absent a [party’s] request, the Authority may issue expedited, abbreviated decisions in appropriate cases.”).

[4] Id. § 2425.6(a)-(c).

[5] Id. § 2425.6(e)(1); see also AFGE, Loc. 2272, 67 FLRA 335, 335 n.2 (2014) (exceptions are subject to dismissal under § 2425.6(e)(1) of the Authority’s Regulations if they fail to raise a recognized ground for review or, in the case of exceptions based on private-sector grounds not currently recognized by the Authority, if they provide insufficient citation to legal authority establishing the grounds upon which the party filed its exceptions) (citing AFGE, Loc. 3955, Council of Prison Locs. 33, 65 FLRA 887, 889 (2011)).