National Treasury Employees Union and Internal Revenue Service, Ogden Service Center (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 changes concerning how the IRS Ogden collection branch accounted for employee work time. The agency disputed any obligation to bargain, citing its master agreement and the limited effect on working conditions. The Authority found that the real dispute was whether a bargaining duty existed, which might require factual findings under agreement or unfair labor practice procedures. It dismissed the negotiability petition without ruling on the seven proposals.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Negotiability review under 5 U.S.C. §§ 7105(a)(2)(E) and 7117(a).
• Outcome: Petition dismissed without ruling on the proposals’ negotiability.
• Key point: The Authority directed the parties to other procedures for the underlying duty to bargain dispute.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v12 p314 ]

12:0314(69)NG

The decision of the Authority follows:

12 FLRA No. 69

NATIONAL TREASURY EMPLOYEES UNION
Union

and

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY,
INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE
OGDEN SERVICE CENTER, OGDEN,
UTAH
Agency

Case No. O-NG-697

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 relating to the negotiability of seven Union proposals. For the following reasons, the Union's petition for review must be dismissed.
/1/

The record indicates that the Union sought to negotiate over proposed changes to the method of accounting for employee work time in the Agency's collection branch. The Agency contends, inter alia, that such changes were proposed to comply with the requirements of the parties' master agreement and that the instant appeal, in essence, constitutes a dispute over interpretation of that agreement. The Agency also asserts that it is under no obligation to bargain because the proposed changes will only minimally affect the working conditions of bargaining unit employees.

The Authority concludes that the circumstances herein do not give rise to a negotiability dispute which the Authority may properly review at this time pursuant to section 7117 of the Statute and part 2424 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations. The essence of the dispute between the parties now concerns the question of the Agency's obligation to bargain, i.e., whether the changes initiated by management are consistent with relevant provisions of the parties' master agreement and/or whether local working conditions have in fact been changed, and not the negotiability of the proposals themselves. Thus, resolution of the dispute, which may involve factual issues, should be accomplished through use of whatever mechanisms the parties have established for that purpose in their negotiated agreement or by means of the investigatory and formal hearing procedures established for reviewing unfair labor practice charges under section 7118 of the Statute and part 2423 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations. See, e.g., Overseas Education Association, Inc. and Department of Defense Dependents Schools, 12 FLRA No. 15 (1983). Indeed, the Union has filed such an unfair labor practice charge.

Accordingly, apart from other considerations, IT IS 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 Union's response to the Agency's statement of position was not filed with the Authority within the time limits required by section 2424.7 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations and, thus, has not been considered.