National Association of Agriculture Employees, Branch 11 and Department of Agriculture (Authority decision, May 30, 1984)

Final FLRA decision. The Authority dismissed a local union's negotiability appeal as moot after a related unfair labor practice proceeding established that there was no local bargaining duty on the disputed subject. 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

National Association of Agriculture Employees Branch 11 challenged the department's refusal to bargain locally over establishing lunch periods. The union also filed an unfair labor practice charge and chose to pursue that proceeding first. The General Counsel concluded that the duty to bargain over national policy remained at the national level, while local bargaining authority covered only impact and implementation issues that the local union had not raised. With no duty to bargain locally over the proposal presented, the Authority dismissed the negotiability appeal as moot without deciding its substance.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Negotiability review under 5 U.S.C. § 7105(a)(2)(E).
• Outcome: Local negotiability petition dismissed as moot.
• Key point: The local union sought to bargain over establishment of lunch periods, beyond its delegated local bargaining authority.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v14 p759 ]

14:0759(100)NG

The decision of the Authority follows:

14 FLRA No. 100

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF AGRICULTURE
EMPLOYEES, BRANCH 11
Union

and

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agency

Case No. O-NG-715

ORDER DISMISSING NEGOTIABILITY APPEAL

The petition for review in this case comes be fore the Authority pursuant to section 7105(a)(2)(E) of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (the Statute).

This appeal was filed based on the Agency's allegation that it did not have an obligation to bargain over the establishment of lunch periods with the petitioning local Union. The Union also filed an unfair labor practice charge alleging that the Agency had committed an unfair labor practice by unilaterally implementing lunch periods without engaging in impact and implementation bargaining with the Union. Pursuant to section 2424.5 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations, the Union elected to proceed with the unfair labor practice charge and to suspend further action on the negotiability appeal.

Upon investigation, the Regional Director concluded that further proceedings on the Union's charge were not warranted. The Union thereupon appealed the Regional Director's determination to the General Counsel. The General Counsel denied the Union's appeal, noting that the Union was a local component of a nationwide unit and that, unless altered by mutual agreement, the duty to bargain concerning conditions of employment therefore existed only at the national level. The General Counsel further noted that the Union's national president had delegated authority to local components to bargain about the impact and implementation of the establishment of lunch periods, but had also expressly stated that "national policy changes shall be negotiated at the national level." Therefore, the General Counsel concluded that the Agency did not violate the Statute, because the local union had only sought to bargain over the establishment of lunch periods, a matter to which the Agency's duty to bargain at the local component level did not extend, but had not sought to negotiate related impact and implementation matters.

In the absence of a duty to bargain between the parties, issues as to the scope of bargaining are not appropriate for resolution by the Authority. National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1363 and Headquarters, U.S. Army Garrison, Yongsan, Korea, 8 FLRA 200 (1982), and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1363 and Headquarters, U.S. Army Garrison, Yongsan, Korea, 8 FLRA 134 (1982). Thus, inasmuch as the General Counsel has determined that there was no obligation on the Agency to bargain at the local level, except for impact and implementation proposals, the Authority concludes that the negotiability issue raised in the instant appeal is now moot.

Accordingly, pursuant to section 2424.10 of the Authority's Rules and Regulation, IT IS ORDERED that the Union's petition for review be, and it hereby is, dismissed. Issued, Washington, D.C., May 30, 1984 Barbara J. Mahone, Chairman Ronald W. Haughton, Member Henry B. Frazier III, Member FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY