FLRA PUNISHES UNION WITH DISPARATE TREATMENT
Personally, I think FLRA is wrong, especially since it treats management much better in the same situation. But here is what it did last week and is very likely to do in the future. A union took a case to arbitration arguing that management violated its agreement when it failed to give an employee official time to engage in L-M activity. The arbitrator disagreed and dismissed the grievance. When the union filed exceptions with the FLRA arguing that the arbitrator ignored the statutory law entitling employees to official time in that situation, the FLRA hit the union like a speeding locomotor ruling …
that because the union failed to raise the statutory argument before the arbitrator it would refuse to consider it. Given that the labor-management statute repeatedly requires that LM decisions conform to laws, it is odd that FLRA will not even consider an allegedly illegal arbitration decision because of a procedural nicety. But it is absolutely wrong that FLRA will not let unions raise statutory violations before it for the first time when it lets management do it all the time.
For example, if an agency files exceptions with FLRA alleging an arbitrator went too far with her remedy, FLRA will let it raise a management rights 7106 statutory claim to overturn the decision even if the agency never made the argument in the arbitration.
So, the world is not fair and here is more proof. But that still means that unions must raise all possible arguments as early as possible in a grievance. Toss in the kitchen sink when you draft a grievance. If there are federal regulations or statutes that have a relationship to your contract violation claim, cite them in the grievance if you can. But be absolutely sure to raise them in arbitration.
If you want to read more about this case, click on AFGE and SBA, 74 FLRA 1 (2024). If you have more time on your hands ask why you union is not doing something to get FLRA to treat unions just like it does agencies when an arbitrator allegedly violates the law.
