National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1141 and Department of the Interior, Albany Research Center, Bureau of Mines (Authority decision, July 14, 1983)

Final FLRA decision. The Authority dismissed the negotiability petition without ruling on the proposals’ merits. An aggrieved person may seek judicial review of a final Authority order in an appropriate United States court of appeals within 60 days after issuance under 5 U.S.C. § 7123(a).

Plain-English summary

The union proposed bargaining over the effect of student volunteers at the Albany Research Center. The agency said the arrangement did not change working conditions and therefore created no bargaining duty. The Authority held that the parties first had to resolve that factual duty to bargain dispute through unfair labor practice procedures. It dismissed the negotiability petition without ruling on any of the ten proposals.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Negotiability review under 5 U.S.C. §§ 7105(a)(2)(E) and 7117(a).
• Outcome: Petition dismissed without a negotiability ruling on the ten proposals.
• Key point: A factual dispute over whether working conditions changed belonged in an unfair labor practice case.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v12 p304 ]

12:0304(66)NG

The decision of the Authority follows:

12 FLRA No. 66

NATIONAL FEDERATION OF FEDERAL
EMPLOYEES, LOCAL 1141
Union

and

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
ALBANY RESEARCH CENTER
OF THE BUREAU OF MINES
Agency

Case No. O-NG-515

ORDER DISMISSING PETITION FOR REVIEW

The petition for review in this case comes before the Authority pursuant to section 7105(a)(2)(E) of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (the Statute), and presents issues concerning the negotiability of ten Union proposals. /1/ For the following reasons, the Union's petition for review must be dismissed.

The record in this case indicates that the Union sought to negotiate ten proposals concerning the impact and implementation of the Agency's agreement with a local community college to use student volunteers at the Agency pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 3111. However, the Agency contends that no change in personnel policies, practices or general working conditions resulted from the agreement, since it has been using such volunteers since the early 1960's, and the new volunteers will perform the same work as previous volunteers. Consequently, the Agency asserts that, in the absence of any change in working conditions, it is under no obligation to bargain regarding the impact or implementation of the volunteer service agreement. The Union, on the other hand, contends that changes in the working conditions of bargaining unit employees will result from the use of volunteers.

Thus, a threshold factual dispute between the parties concerns whether, under these circumstances, the Agency has any duty to bargain over these proposals. Such a dispute is not appropriate for resolution under the negotiability procedures established by section 7117 of the Statute and part 2424 of the Authority's Rules and , Regulations. Rather, the dispute concerns questions appropriate for resolution under the unfair labor practice procedures set forth in section 7118 of the Statute. See National Treasury Employees Union and Department of the Treasury, U.S. Customs Service, Washington, D.C., 4 FLRA No. 62 (1980).

Accordingly, apart from other considerations, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Union's petition for review be, and it hereby is, dismissed. Issued, Washington, D.C., July 14, 1983 Barbara J. Mahone, Chairman Ronald W. Haughton, Member Henry B. Frazier III, Member FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY

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

/1/ The Agency's contention that the Union's petition for review should be dismissed as untimely cannot be sustained. The record indicates that the Union, upon receiving an unrequested allegation of nonnegotiability, elected to exercise its right under section 2424.3 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations to submit a written request for another allegation. Since the Union filed its petition for review within 15 days of service on it of the requested written allegation, its petition is timely in accordance with section 2424.3. See National Production, Maintenance, and Public Employees Union, Local No. 1276, Affiliated with LIUNA, AFL-CIO and Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Depot Tracy, Tracy, California, 9 FLRA No. 127 (1982).