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57 FLRA No. 35
Sheppard Air Force Base, Wichita Falls, Texasand AFGE, Local 779 and AFGE, Local 1731, Case No. DA-RP-80031 (Decided May 8, 2001)
The RD concluded that the Agency had standing to file the petition to consolidate the units over the objection of both local unions; and that the proposed unit was not appropriate. The Authority denied the application for review of the RD's decision to dismiss the petition to consolidate units.
Under § 7112(d) of the Statute, two or more bargaining units represented by the same union may be consolidated if the Authority considers the larger unit to be appropriate. The reference in § 7112(d) to the consolidation of "appropriate" units incorporates the appropriate unit criteria established in § 7112(a). In order for a unit to be considered appropriate, all three criteria--community of interest, effective dealings, and efficiency of agency operations--must be met. The Authority has identified a number of factors that indicate whether these statutory criteria are met,
In this case, the Authority found that the specific factual circumstances demonstrated a basic impediment to the establishment of the relationship between management and the exclusive representative of the proposed consolidated unit, which strikes at the heart of the effective dealings criterion. The Authority noted that the certifications of exclusive representation for the existing units are held by separate local unions, and there is no apparent, or asserted, bargaining representative for the consolidated unit. Without an identified labor organization to serve as the exclusive representative, it is not possible to find that the consolidated unit would promote effective dealings between a labor organization and the Agency. Thus, the Authority found no basis for granting review of the RD's determination.