American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1625 and Fleet Combat Training Center, Atlantic, U.S. Department of the Navy (Authority decision, March 26, 1984)

Final FLRA decision. The Authority dismissed the negotiability petition without deciding the provision's legal validity. Under 5 U.S.C. § 7123(a), a person aggrieved by a final Authority order may generally seek judicial review within 60 days of issuance. A review petition does not itself stay the order.

Plain-English summary

AFGE Local 1625 appealed the Navy's disapproval of a provision in a newly signed labor agreement. The Navy served its disapproval more than 30 days after the agreement was executed. The Authority held that the agreement had already become effective under the statutory time limit, leaving no negotiability dispute for this type of appeal. It dismissed the petition without deciding whether the provision complied with law or regulation. The Authority said that question could arise in another appropriate proceeding.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Agency review of negotiated agreements under 5 U.S.C. § 7114(c)(3).
• Outcome: Negotiability petition dismissed without a ruling on the provision's validity.
• Key point: An agency disapproval served after the 30-day review period did not create a negotiability appeal over the agreement.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v14 p162 ]

14:0162(32)NG

The decision of the Authority follows:

14 FLRA No. 32

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO, LOCAL 1625
Union

and

FLEET COMBAT TRAINING CENTER,
ATLANTIC, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY
Activity

Case No. O-NG-899

ORDER DISMISSING PETITION FOR REVIEW

This matter is before the Authority pursuant to section 7105(A)(2)(E) of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute on a petition for review of a negotiability issue filed by the Union. For the reasons indicated below, the Union's appeal must be dismissed.

From the submissions of the parties, the record before the Authority in this case indicates that on June 21, 1983, the local parties executed a collective bargaining agreement and submitted it to the Secretary of the Navy for review and approval pursuant to section 7114(c) of the Statute. Subsequently, in a memorandum addressed to the Commanding Officer of the Activity, the Secretary of the Navy disapproved a provision in the local parties' agreement as contrary to agency regulation. It appears from the Agency's submission that this memorandum was served on the Union on July 29, 1983.

Section 7114(c)(3) of the Statute provides that an agreement which has not been approved or disapproved by the Agency involved within 30 days after the date of its execution becomes effective and binding on the parties on the 31st day, without the approval of the Agency, subject only to the requirements of applicable law, rule, or regulation.

Consequently, since the Agency's disapproval was served on the Union more than 30 days after the contract was executed, the entire agreement as negotiated and executed by the parties became effective and binding on July 22, 1983. Thus, the petition for review raises no dispute concerning the terms of such agreement which is cognizable under section 7117 of the Statute.

However, our conclusion that the petition is not cognizable in the present proceeding does not, of course, mean that any provisions in the agreement which are contrary to the Statute or any other applicable law, rule or regulation, are enforceable. Rather, a question as to the validity of such provisions may be raised in other appropriate proceedings (such as grievance arbitration and unfair labor practice proceedings) and, if the agreement provisions are found to be violative of the Statute or any other applicable law, rule or regulation, they would not be enforceable but would be deemed void and unenforceable. American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 1858 and U.S. Army Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, 4 FLRA 361(1980); Point Mugu Joint Council of National Association of Government Employees, Local R12-33 and National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1374 and Department of the Navy, Pacific Missile Test Center, Point Mugu, California, 8 FLRA 389(1982).

Accordingly, since the Union's petition for review does not meet the conditions for review under section 7117 of the Statute and section 2424.1 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations, and apart from other considerations, it is hereby dismissed.

For the Authority.

Issued, Washington, D.C., March 26, 1984
Harold D. Kessler, Director, Case
Management