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59 FLRA No. 134
U. S. Dept. Of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Detention Center Houston, Texas and AFGE, Local 1030 Council of Prison Locals (Britton, Arbitrator) 0- AR-3600 (Decided March 11, 2004)
The Arbitrator found that the Agency violated the parties' collective bargaining agreement by failing to conduct a roster committee that considered preference requests in order of seniority. As a remedy, the Arbitrator ordered the Agency to conduct a roster committee in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement. The Authority set aside the award noting that it excessively interfered with management's right to assign work under § 7106(a)(2)(B) of the Statute.
The Authority found that the award denied the Agency the ability to assign the employees as it deemed necessary. The award prevented management from determining the particular duties to be assigned, when work assignments would occur, and to whom or what position the duties would be assigned. In addition, the Agency would be required to confine work assignments to senior employees who chose a specific rotation and precluded management from assigning work to other employees. On balance, the Authority found that the intrusion on the exercise of management's right to assign work outweighed any benefits to employees.