National Association of Government Employees and Department of the Air Force, Scott Air Force Base (Authority decision, October 31, 1984)

Final FLRA decision. This is a final order of the Federal Labor Relations Authority in a negotiability case. An aggrieved person may seek judicial review by filing a petition in an appropriate United States court of appeals within 60 days after issuance under 5 U.S.C. § 7123(a). Filing a petition does not stay the Authority's order unless the court orders a stay under 5 U.S.C. § 7123(c).

Plain-English summary

NAGE proposed preserving a practice in which employees with commissary privileges bought food for coworkers without those privileges. It also proposed limits on unannounced searches of employees and their carried items. The Authority held that both proposals interfered with Scott Air Force Base's internal security plan to protect commissary stock from unauthorized use and theft. It found both outside the duty to bargain and dismissed the petition.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: 5 U.S.C. § 7106(a)(1).
• Outcome: Both proposals outside the duty to bargain; petition dismissed.
• Key point: The agency could set commissary access and search practices to protect its property.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v16 p361 ]

16:0361(57)NG

The decision of the Authority follows:

16 FLRA No. 57

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYEES, SEIU, AFL-CIO
Union

and

DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE,
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, ILLINOIS
Agency

Case No. O-NG-871

DECISION AND ORDER ON NEGOTIABILITY ISSUES

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 raises issues relating to the negotiability of two Union proposals. Upon careful consideration of the entire record, including the parties' contentions, the Authority makes the following determinations.

Union Proposal 1

Continue the practice of letting employees purchase items from the commissary during breaks and lunch periods.

Union Proposal 2

Relative to unannounced inspections: The employer agrees that it will only inspect the contents of any article when it has sufficient and reasonable grounds to suspect that the employee has stolen an item(s) and is attempting to transport it from the premises. The Employer agrees that before such an inspection is made that the union President or designee will be notified and permitted to provide a representative to be present at the inspection on official time. The employee will be given the opportunity to exercise any rights allowed by law and will be informed of those specific rights orally and in writing in a language understandable by the particular employee. The Employer agrees that it will not conduct unannounced searches of employees. (Only the underlined portions of Union Proposal 2 are in dispute.)

In agreement with the Agency, the Authority concludes that the two Union proposals herein interfere with the Agency's right pursuant to section 7106(a)(2)(1) of the Statute to determine its internal security practices. In this regard, an agency's right to determine its internal security practices includes the right to determine policies and actions which are part of its plan to secure or safeguard its physical property against internal or external risks. See American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, National Immigration and Naturalization Service Council and U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, 8 FLRA 347 (1982) at 362, reversed as to other matters sub nom. Department of Justice v. FLRA, 709 F.2d 724 (D.C. Cir. 1983).

The record indicates that the first proposal pertains to employees of the Scott Air Force Base commissary. The Agency decided to terminate a prior practice of allowing such employees with authorized commissary privileges, for example, retired military employees and employees who are military dependents, to purchase food items for other commissary employees who are not authorized such commissary privileges. The Agency argues that this change was an essential component of its plan to safeguard its property, i.e., in this case, to prevent pilferage and unauthorized use of commissary stock.

Union Proposal 1 is intended to continue this previous practice of permitting employees who are not authorized to purchase from the commissary to obtain commissary stock indirectly through employees who are authorized access. In this manner the proposal would negate management's decision to safeguard commissary stock by insuring that such stock is not transferred to employees who are not entitled to obtain it from the commissary. Thus, Union Proposal 1 interferes with the Agency's right to determine its internal security practices under section 7106(a)(1) of the Statute and is outside the duty to bargain. See American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 15 and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, North Atlantic Region, 2 FLRA 874 (1980).

Union Proposal 2 prevents the Agency from conducting unannounced searches of commissary and other employees at any time. It further limits searches of hand carried items to circumstances in which the Agency has "sufficient and reasonable grounds" to believe that a theft has occurred and the employee is attempting to transport the stolen item off the premises. This Union proposal interferes with the Agency's right to determine its internal security practices pursuant to section 7106(a)(1) of the Statute by limiting the Agency's ability to conduct unannounced searched in furtherance of its plan to safeguard its property. See Federal Employees Metal Trades Council and Department of the Navy, Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California, 12 FLRA No. 78 (1983). Thus, Union Proposal 2 is outside the duty to bargain.

Accordingly, pursuant to section 2424.10 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations, IT IS ORDERED that the Union's petition for review be, and it hereby is, dismissed. Issued, Washington, D.C., October 31, 1984 Henry B. Frazier III, Acting Chairman Ronald W. Haughton, Member FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY