VA St. Louis and AFGE Local 2192 (Authority decision, July 22, 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 grievance challenged the content of performance standards at a VA facility. An arbitrator accepted the grievance and decided its merits. The Authority held that establishing those standards was reserved to management and set aside the entire award.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Arbitration review under 5 U.S.C. § 7122(a) and management rights under § 7106(a)(2).
• Outcome: Arbitration award set aside in full.
• Key point: A grievance directly challenging performance standard content could not be resolved by arbitration.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v19 p248 ]

19:0248(30)AR

The decision of the Authority follows:

19 FLRA No. 30

VETERANS ADMINISTRATION,
ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI
Activity

and

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF
GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, LOCAL 2192
Union

Case No. O-AR-956

DECISION

This matter is before the Authority on exceptions to the award of Arbitrator Thomas J. Erbs 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 following grievance was filed and submitted to arbitration:

Pursuant to Article 13, Section 2B of the Master Agreement between the Veterans Administration and the American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2192 hereby grieves the performance standard for production set by management for the position of Veterans Claims Examiner.

The Arbitrator determined that the grievance was arbitrable, but he denied the grievance on the merits.

In its exceptions the Union contends that the award is contrary to applicable regulations. Because the Authority has determined, for the reasons which follow, that the grievance was not arbitrable, it need not address or resolve the Union's exceptions. See, e.g., Veterans Administration Medical Center, Kerrville, Texas and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 2281, 15 FLRA No. 22 (1984).

The Authority has uniformly found deficient, as contrary to management's rights to direct employees and to assign work under section 7106(a)(2)(A) and (B) of the Statute, arbitration awards which have determined grievances challenging an agency's establishment of performance standards to be grievable and arbitrable. National Treasury Employees Union and U.S. Customs Service, 17 FLRA No. 12 (1985); American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1917 and United States Immigration and Naturalization Service, 15 FLRA No. 147 (1984) (both cases citing American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 1968 and Department of Transportation, Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, Massena, New York, 5 FLRA 70, 79-80 (1981), aff'd sub nom. AFGE Local 1968 v. FLRA, 691 F.2d 565 (D.C. Cir. 1982), cert. denied, 461 U.S. 926 (1983). In terms of this case, it is clear that the grievance directly challenged the Activity's exercise of its authority to establish performance standards. Consequently, the Authority concludes that the award, by finding the grievance arbitrable and resolving the grievance on the merits, is deficient in its entirety as contrary to section 7106(a)(2)(A) and (B) of the Statute. Accordingly, the award is set aside.

Issued, Washington, D.C. July 22, 1985

Henry B. Frazier III, Acting
Chairman
William J. McGinnis, Jr., Member
FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY