Naval Medical Command, National Capital Region and Local 14, Federal Firefighters Association (Authority decision, October 30, 1984)

Final FLRA decision. The Authority dismisses a representation petition seeking a separate firefighter unit. This is an appropriate unit determination under 5 U.S.C. § 7112. Section 7123(a)(2) excludes such an order from judicial review in a court of appeals.

Plain-English summary

Local 14 of the Federal Firefighters Association sought to represent fire prevention and protection employees at the Naval Medical Command in Bethesda. They had long belonged to a broader unit represented by AFGE Local 361. The Authority found that the existing activity wide unit shared a community of interest and promoted effective dealings and efficient operations. It also found insufficient evidence that AFGE had failed to represent the firefighters fairly. The Authority dismissed the petition because a separate unit would fragment an appropriate existing unit. The outcome is marked other because the Authority decided an original representation petition; there was no Regional Director decision to affirm or set aside.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: 5 U.S.C. §§ 7111 and 7112(a)(1).
• Outcome: Petition for a separate firefighter unit dismissed on the merits.
• Key point: A longstanding activity wide unit remained appropriate, and unnecessary fragmentation was disfavored.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v16 p305 ]

16:0305(47)RO

The decision of the Authority follows:

16 FLRA No. 47

NAVAL MEDICAL COMMAND
NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION
Activity

and

LOCAL 14, FEDERAL FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION
Petitioner

and

LOCAL 361, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, (AFL-CIO) Intervenor

Case No. 3-RO-30017

DECISION AND ORDER

Upon a petition duly filed with the Authority under section 7111 of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (the Statute), a hearing was held before a hearing officer of the Authority. The Authority has reviewed the hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing and finds that they are free from prejudicial error. They are hereby affirmed.

Upon careful consideration of the entire record, including the parties' contentions, the Authority finds: Local 14, Federal Firefighters Association (Firefighters) seeks to represent a unit of all nonsupervisory general schedule (GS) Fire Prevention and Protection employees of the Naval Medical Command, National Capital Region, Bethesda, Maryland 20814. Since 1963, these employees have been part of a unit represented by Local 361, American Federation of Government Employees (AFL-CIO) (AFGE). The Activity and AFGE contend that granting the petition would result in unnecessary fragmentation of an appropriate unit.

The Authority established as a general standard in severance issues that it "is bound by the three criteria for determining the appropriateness of any unit . . . ." /1/ Such a standard is mandated by section 7112(a)(1) of the Statute. /2/ In applying the three criteria to the circumstances of this case, the Authority concludes that severance should be denied. The record establishes that the Activity-wide unit currently represented by AFGE is appropriate as all of the Activity's employees, including the Fire Prevention and Protection employees, share a community of interest at the Activity level and that such unit promotes effective dealings and efficiency of agency operations. Thus, all of the Activity's employees share a common mission, are subject to the same merit promotion policies and competitive areas, and have been part of a long-standing, established bargaining unit. Further, the weight of the evidence fails to demonstrate that the Fire Prevention and Protection employees have not been represented fairly or that their bargaining concerns have been overlooked by AFGE. /3/ Finally, in agreement with the Activity and the Intervenor and noting particularly the long-standing, established Activity-wide bargaining unit, it is concluded that effective dealings and efficiency of operations of the Activity will be promoted by avoiding unnecessary fragmentation. Accordingly, the Authority concludes that the Firefighter's petition seeks an inappropriate unit and therefore must be dismissed. U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod, Otis Air Force Base, Pocasset, Massachusetts, 10 FLRA 543 (1982) and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Station, Moffett Field, California, 8 FLRA 10 (1982).

ORDER

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petition in Case No. 3-RO-30017 be, and it hereby is, dismissed. Issued, Washington, D.C., October 30, 1984 Henry B. Frazier III, Acting Chairman Ronald W. Haughton, Member FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY

--------------- FOOTNOTES$ ---------------

/1/ International Communications Agency, 5 FLRA 97 at 99 (1981).

/2/ Section 7112(a)(1) provides:

Sec. 7112. Determination of appropriate units for labor organization representation

(a)(1) The Authority shall determine the appropriateness of any unit. The Authority shall determine in each case whether, in order to ensure employees the fullest freedom in exercising the rights guaranteed under this chapter, the appropriate unit should be established on an agency, plant, installation, functional, or other basis and shall determine any unit to be an appropriate unit only if the determination will ensure a clear and identifiable community of interest among the employees in the unit and will promote effective dealings with, and efficiency of the operations of, the agency involved.

/3/ AFGE and the Activity have had numerous collective bargaining agreements over the past twenty years, the most recent agreement having expired in February of 1982.