Veterans Administration and National Federation of Federal Employees (Authority decision, September 24, 1985)

Final FLRA decision. The Authority resolves exceptions to an arbitration award. Under 5 U.S.C. § 7123(a)(1), orders involving arbitral awards are generally excluded from judicial review unless they involve an unfair labor practice under 5 U.S.C. § 7116. This decision does not state that it involves one.

Plain-English summary

A union grievance challenged the VA's refusal to negotiate a proposal for a local supplementary agreement. The arbitrator found that the parties' master agreement directed this type of dispute to the Authority instead of arbitration and denied the grievance. The union argued that the arbitrator misread the federal labor statute. The Authority held that the award rested on the parties' agreement and denied the union's exception.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Arbitration review under 5 U.S.C. § 7122(a).
• Outcome: Union exception denied; arbitrator's denial of the grievance left in place.
• Key point: The union did not show that the statute made the arbitrator's application of the master agreement deficient.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v20 p231 ]

20:0231(30)AR

The decision of the Authority follows:

20 FLRA No. 30

VETERANS ADMINISTRATION
Agency

and

NATIONAL FEDERATION OF FEDERAL
EMPLOYEES
Union

Case No. 0-AR-761

DECISION

This matter is before the Authority on an exception to the award of Arbitrator Robert J. Ables filed by the Union under section 7122(a) of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute and part 2425 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations.

The grievance in this case concerns a Union proposal offered during negotiations for a local supplementary agreement to the parties' master agreement. The Activity refused to negotiate contending that there was no existing obligation to bargain, and as a result a grievance was filed and submitted to arbitration claiming that in the circumstances presented, there was an obligation to bargain under the master agreement. After examining the relevant provisions of the parties' master agreement, the Arbitrator determined in the circumstances presented that under the terms of the master agreement, arbitration was not available to resolve the grievance. He noted that in the master agreement the parties had expressly agreed to resolve such disputes before the Authority and not by means of arbitration. Accordingly, as his award, the Arbitrator denied the grievance.

In its exception the Union contends that the award is deficient because it is based on an erroneous interpretation of the Statute. Specifically, the Union essentially argues that the Arbitrator erroneously ruled that under section 7117 of the Statute, the parties' dispute was subject to resolution by means of a petition for review of a negotiability issue.

The Authority concludes that the Union has failed to establish that the award is based on an erroneous interpretation of the Statute. As noted, the Arbitrator expressly based his award on specific provisions of the parties' master agreement; he in no manner based his award on provisions of the Statute. In denying the grievance, the Arbitrator determined in the circumstances presented that under the terms of the master agreement, arbitration was not available to resolve the grievance. In this regard, the Authority has specifically recognized that an arbitrator is empowered to resolve issues relating to the interpretation of a master collective bargaining agreement including, as in this case, issues relating to the obligation to bargain respecting a local supplementary agreement under applicable provisions of the master agreement. Louis A. Johnson Veterans Administration Medical Center, Clarksburg, West Virginia and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2384, 15 FLRA No. 74(1984). Thus, the Union has not shown in its exception in what manner section 7117 of the Statute applies to render deficient the award which simply applies the express agreement of the parties to a relevant factual situation. Cf. Overseas Education Association and Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DODDS), Pacific Region, 13 FLRA 535(1983) (wherein an exception that the award was contrary to section 7116(d) of the Statute was denied by the Authority because the arbitrator expressly based his award on a specific provision of the parties' agreement and because it had not been shown that section 7116(d) applied to render deficient the award which simply applied the express agreement of the parties to a relevant factual situation). Therefore, the exception constitutes nothing more than disagreement with the Arbitrator's interpretation and application of the parties' agreement, and it is well established that such disagreement provides no basis for finding the award deficient. Accordingly, the Union's exception is denied.

Issued, Washington, D.C., September 24, 1985 (s) HENRY B. FRAZIER III Henry B. Frazier III, Acting Chairman (s) WILLIAM J. MCGINNIS JR. William J. McGinnis, Jr., Member FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY