National Treasury Employees Union and U.S. Department of Treasury (Authority decision, July 28, 1989)

Final FLRA decision. The Authority dismisses the union's negotiability petition because the disputed provision was replaced and the dispute became moot. An aggrieved person may seek judicial review by filing a petition in an appropriate United States court of appeals within 60 days after issuance under 5 U.S.C. § 7123(a).

Plain-English summary

The National Treasury Employees Union sought review after Treasury disapproved a ground rules provision for upcoming negotiations with the Internal Revenue Service. The provision set out an impasse procedure and deadlines. While that review was pending, the parties negotiated an amendment that expressly deleted and replaced the challenged provision. The Authority dismissed the petition as moot because the original provision was no longer in the agreement. A separate petition involving the replacement provision remained pending.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Negotiability review under 5 U.S.C. § 7117(c).
• Outcome: Petition dismissed as moot; negotiability of the deleted provision was not decided.
• Key point: The parties' express replacement of the challenged bargaining provision ended the dispute over that provision.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v33 p879 ]
33:0879(124)NG

The decision of the Authority follows:

33 FLRA No. 124

FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS
AUTHORITY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

NATIONAL TREASURY EMPLOYEES
UNION

and

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
TREASURY

0-NG-1604

ORDER DISMISSING PETITION FOR
REVIEW

July 28, 1989

On September 28, 1988, the National Treasury Employees Union (the Union) filed a petition for review of a negotiability issue pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 7117(c) and 5 C.F.R. § 2424.1. The U.S. Department of Treasury (the Agency) filed a Statement of Position on November 2, 1988. The Union filed a response thereto on November 17, 1988.

The issue presented in the petition for review was the negotiability of a ground rules provision that was part of a ground rules agreement negotiated by the Union and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on August 26, 1988. The ground rules provision, enumerated as Section 10 in the ground rules agreement, established an impasse resolution procedure for use in the parties' up-coming contract negotiations. Among other things, the provision contained various dates by which certain actions were to take place. The provision was disapproved by the Agency on September 23, 1988, under section 7114(c) of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute.

On May 2, 1989, the Authority issued an Order to Show Cause directing the Union to demonstrate why its petition for review should not be dismissed on the basis that the provision at issue was moot. A review of the provision indicated that the dates specified therein had already passed. The Union was asked to explain in what manner the provision should not be considered moot. The Union filed a response with the Authority on May 12, 1989. The Agency also filed a submission with the Authority on May 25, 1989. For a reason other than that expressed in the show cause order, the petition for review must be dismissed because it is moot.

While the petition for review in this case was pending before the Authority, the Union filed a petition for review in another case, captioned Case No. 0-NG-1638. In Case No. 0-NG-1638, the Union appealed an Agency head disapproval of an amended ground rules provision, negotiated by the Union and IRS on November 10, 1988, which also established an impasse resolution procedure.(*) A review of the provision in Case No. 0-NG-1638 indicates that it is a replacement for the provision in dispute in Case No. 0-NG-1604. That is, the provision in Case No. 0-NG-1638 expressly provides:

1) The groundrules agreement executed by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) on August 26, 1988 is hereby amended as follows:

a) Section 10 is deleted and is replaced by the
following--[the full text of the procedure then
follows]

Thus, the parties in the amended ground rules provision dated November 10, 1988, deleted from the August 26, 1988, ground rules agreement, the ground rules provision which is the subject of the petition for review in Case No. 0-NG-1604. Consequently, the dispute concerning the provision in Case No. 0-NG-1604 has been rendered moot. The petition for review in Case No. 0-NG-1604, therefore, is dismissed.

For the Authority.

__________
Clyde B. Blandford,
Jr.
Acting Executive Director

FOOTNOTES:
(If blank, the decision does not
have footnotes.)

*/ The petition for review in Case No. 0-NG-1638 is currently pending before the Authority.