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57 FLRA No. 124
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1494 and U.S. Dept. of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Prison Camp, Alderson, West Virginia (Shaw, Arbitrator), 0-AR-3424 (Decided December 14, 2001)
The Arbitrator granted, in part, and denied, in part, a grievance that alleged that the Agency violated various regulations and sections of the parties' collective bargaining agreement in connection with the Agency's handling of a sewage spill. The Arbitrator found that the Agency had not violated certain regulations by failing to place employees who had been exposed to asbestos while responding to the spill into a medical surveillance program. The Authority denied the Union's exception.
The Authority rejected the Union's claim that the Arbitrator should have found that the asbestos work performed was Class I work as it involved the removal of TCI, which the Union maintained was the same material as TSI. The Authority noted that nothing in the cited regulation provided any support for concluding that the award was in violation of law.The Authority found that the Union was merely disagreeing with the Arbitrator's factual determination that the materials removed by the employees constituted the type of materials falling under Class II work. The Authority noted that disagreement with the Arbitrator's evaluation of the evidence and her reasoning and conclusions provided no basis for finding the award deficient.