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58 FLRA No. 168
AFGE, Local 3240 and U. S., Dept. of the Air Force, 325th Support Group, Air Education and Training Command Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, 0-NG-2665 (Decided July 15, 2003)
This case is before the Authority on a negotiability appeal filed by the Union under section of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute and concerned the negotiability of two proposals. The Authority found that the proposals are outside the duty to bargain because they are inconsistent with the statutory mandate for uniformity under 349 of the Authorization Act.
Section 349 of the Authorization Act required DoD, no later than October 1, 1995, to take such steps as may be necessary to provide a uniform health benefits program for employees of the Department of Defense assigned to a nonappropriated fund instrumentality of the Department.
The Authority noted that the Authorization Act and its legislative history demonstrate that Congress intended DoD to establish one health benefits program with uniform provisions, including premium contribution rates, for all DoD NAF entities. Section 349 does not provide discretion to the heads of any of the six DoD components and their subordinate agencies to establish separate health benefit programs.
The Authority further noted that bargaining would be inconsistent with the clear Congressional mandate of uniformity that was intended to address the differences in premium contribution rates throughout DoD for NAF employees. Accordingly, the proposals were found to be contrary to the Authorization Act and therefore, outside the duty to bargain.