BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION

**HUMAN RESOURCES**

**Portland, Oregon**

**PERSONNEL LETTER NO. 296-1** **DATE:** June 6, 2003

**SUBJECT**: Bargaining Unit Coverage Determinations

**I. [Purpose of Issuance]{.underline}:** To establish procedures for
documenting bargaining unit codes and to document termination of dues
withholding (if any) when an employee moves from a bargaining unit
position.

**II. [Purpose of Revision]{.underline}:** To update organizational and
position references and to clarify the criteria for excluding positions
from bargaining units. This issuance supersedes Personnel Letter No.
296-6, dated September 19, 1995.

**III. [Reference]{.underline}:** 5 USC, Chapter 71, Labor Relations

**IV. [Policy]{.underline}:** The bargaining unit code must be entered
on the Position Description cover sheet and into HRMIS by Personnel
Services on the following personnel actions in accordance with OPM
documentation requirements: appointment or conversion to an appointment;
change in position; or any other action that results in a change in the
employee's bargaining unit status (see Section X. regarding details and
other temporary actions). Determining the proper code is a part of the
position classification process. Codes will be entered accurately to
ensure that generated lists of bargaining unit employees are up to date
and any union dues deductions are processed properly.

**V.** **[Responsibilities]{.underline}:**

> **A.** [Human Resources Specialists with classification
> authority]{.underline} are responsible for ensuring that coding on the
> Position Description cover sheet and into HRMIS is accurate. While
> Human Resources Assistants may actually complete the coding, the Human
> Resources Specialist with classification authority has final
> responsibility for the accuracy of the information entered.
>
> **B.** [Labor Relations]{.underline} staff is responsible, upon
> request, for providing guidance on related Federal Labor Relations
> Authority (FLRA) case law.

**VI.** **[Bargaining Unit Status Codes]{.underline}:**

8888 -- Position is excluded from any bargaining unit.

0160 -- Position is included in the Columbia Power Trades Council
(CPTC).

0165 -- Position is included in the Professional Division of the
Laborer's (PDL) International Union, Local 335.

0170 - Position is included in the American Federation of Government
Employees (AFGE), Local 928.

**VII. [Positions Included in Bargaining Units]{.underline}:**

> **A.** [CPTC]{.underline}. All hourly positions (except those listed
> in Section VIII.) are included in the CPTC unit, including Chief,
> Foreman, and other supervisory positions.
>
> **B**. [PDL]{.underline}. All professional positions (except those
> listed in Section IX. are included in the PDL unit. The definition of
> "professional" is in 5 USC 7103(a)(14). The definition is generally
> equivalent, but not necessarily identical, to those occupations for
> which the Office of Personnel Management has established a positive
> education qualification requirement (for example, one exception is
> positions in the 1102 classification series, which are included in the
> AFGE bargaining unit). Professional occupations include, but are not
> limited to, the following:

  ------------ --------------------------- ------------ ----------------------------
  **Series**   **Title**                   **Series**   **Title**

  110          Economist Series            1301         General Physical Science
                                                        Series

  150          Geography Series            1310         Physics Series

  401          Gen. Biological Science     1315         Hydrology Series
               Series                                   

  460          Forestry Series             1320         Chemistry Series

  480          General Fish and Wildlife   1340         Meteorology Series
               Administration Series                    

  482          Fishery Biology Series      1350         Geology Series

  486          Wildlife Biology Series     1370         Cartography Series

  510          Accounting Series           1373         Land Surveyor Series

  511          Auditing Series             1410         Librarian Series

  800s         Engineering and Architect   1520         Mathematical Series
               (2-grade interval) Series                

  905          Attorney Series             1529         Mathematical Statistician
                                                        Series
  ------------ --------------------------- ------------ ----------------------------

> **C**. [AFGE]{.underline}. All annual positions, except those in the
> PDL unit and those listed in Section IX, are included in the AFGE
> unit.

**VIII. [Hourly Positions Excluded From CPTC]{.underline}.** Hourly
students hired on temporary appointments that cannot lead to conversion
to a career-conditional appointment (e.g., Student Temporary Employment
Program appointees) are excluded from the bargaining unit, as they do
not share a community of interest. (Student Career Experience Program
appointees are included in the bargaining unit.)

**IX**. **[Annual Positions Excluded from Bargaining
Units]{.underline}:** Annual positions filled by the following types of
employees are excluded from the PDL and AFGE.

> **A.** [Supervisors]{.underline}.

1.  This refers to "any individual with authority to hire, direct,
    assign, promote, reward, transfer, furlough, lay off, recall,
    suspend, discipline, **[or]{.underline}** remove employees, to
    adjust their grievances, **[or]{.underline}** to effectively
    recommend such action if the exercise of the authority is not merely
    routine or clerical in nature, but requires the consistent exercise
    of independent judgment." Hence, the definition includes employees
    with the actual authority to effect any of the listed actions, as
    well as employees who "effectively recommend" (as defined above)
    such actions.

2.  Case law from the FLRA interprets the phrase "independent judgment"
    as judgment that must be based on each particular situation and not
    simply dictated by established procedures or directed by higher
    officials.

> 3\. Work leader and team leader positions must be reviewed carefully,
> as some may meet the definition above. The key criterion is likely to
> be whether they consistently exercise independent judgment.
>
> **B.** [Management Officials]{.underline}.
>
> 1\. This refers to any individual who formulates, determines,
> **[or]{.underline}** effectively influences BPA or other agency
> policies.
>
> 2\. To effectively influence policies, the individual must actively
> participate in the ultimate determination of the policy and not simply
> render expert advice or provide resource information. A position can
> meet the definition of a management official even though it does not
> meet the definition of a supervisor. Careful job analysis is required
> in applying the management official definition. Guidance from FLRA
> case law includes the following:
>
> a\. In 7 FLRA No. 4, the FLRA elaborated on the statutory definition
> and ruled that a position meets the definition of a management
> official if the duties require an employee to: (1) create, establish
> or prescribe general principles, plans, or courses of action for an
> agency; (2) decide upon or settle upon general principles, plans, or
> courses of action for an agency; or (3) bring about or obtain a result
> as to the adoption of general principles, plans, or courses of action
> for an agency.
>
> b\. The FLRA subsequently ruled in 48 FLRA No. 23, that an employee
> who interprets regulatory and policy guidance and has decision-making
> authority, even when the laws have not been fully defined by the
> Courts, is simply implementing policy rather than "shaping" policy,
> and, therefore, does not meet the definition of a management official.
> (In this case, the FLRA ruled that grade 14 Contract Specialists were
> not management officials.)
>
> **C.** [Confidential Employees]{.underline}.
>
> 1\. This refers to any employee who serves in a confidential capacity
> to another employee who formulates or effectuates management policies
> in the field of labor-management relations. This would include such
> employees as secretaries, personal assistants, and key advisors to any
> of the following: management members of BPA labor negotiating
> committees, labor relations staff, or any other employees involved in
> determining or carrying out management policies in the area of
> labor-management relations.
>
> 2\. With respect to other secretary and similar positions (e.g.,
> office manager, personal assistants, etc.) the following positions
> will likely meet the definition of a confidential employee but should
> be reviewed to determine if they meet the definition in the preceding
> paragraph:
>
> a\. Those reporting to a Tier II or higher-level manager, or to a
> Deputy position at such level, typically grade 15 and SES (this
> applies only to manager positions; hence, secretarial positions
> reporting to an Account Executive are not automatically excluded from
> the bargaining unit);
>
> b\. Those reporting to a Regional Manager or Deputy Regional Manager;
> and
>
> c\. Those reporting to other manager positions, provided the manager
> has a significant labor relations activity workload (typically does
> not apply to first-level and second-level managers.)

3.  All remaining secretarial positions will normally be included in the
    AFGE bargaining unit unless they meet the definition in paragraph
    IX.C.1.

> **D**. [Employees Engaged in Personnel Work in Other Than a Purely
> Clerical Capacity]{.underline}. Positions in BPA that are covered in
> this category include all human resource and equal employment
> specialists, as well as all two-grade interval administrative support
> positions (e.g., Administrative Specialist, etc.). It also includes
> one-grade interval positions (such as Administrative Technician, Human
> Resources Assistant, Equal Employment Assistant, etc.) that require
> personnel work in other than a purely clerical capacity. As a general
> rule, such one-grade interval positions at grade GS-8 or higher will
> be excluded from the bargaining unit, while those below grade 8 must
> be examined closely with respect to actual duties performed. This rule
> of thumb should be regarded as a starting point, not a final
> determination.
>
> **E**. [Employees Engaged in Certain Investigative or Audit
> Work.]{.underline} This refers to any position that primarily involves
> investigative or audit work to ensure that other BPA employees perform
> honestly and with integrity any duties that affect the internal
> security of BPA.
>
> **F.** [Term, Temporary, and Student Appointees]{.underline}.

1.  Term appointees are included in the bargaining unit.

2.  As a general rule, temporary appointees, including students, are
    included in the bargaining unit unless there is no reasonable
    expectation of their continued employment beyond a short period of
    time (i.e., more than 120 days). Each position must be reviewed
    carefully against this criterion. Some illustrative guidance is
    provided below:

    a.  Employees who are appointed under an authority that allows for
        conversion to a permanent appointment (e.g., SCEP appointees)
        are included in the bargaining unit.

    b.  Temporary employees, regardless of the duration of their initial
        appointments, are included in the bargaining unit if there
        is: (1) an indication that the appointment might be extended to
        provide for more than 120 days (or has been extended to provide
        for more than 120 days of service without a break); or (2) the
        purpose of the temporary appointment is to assess the
        appointee's potential for another appointment, when such action
        is consistent with regulatory requirements and merit system
        principles (e.g., employing a STEP appointee for the purpose of
        assessing the employee's suitability for a SCEP appointment).

    c.  A temporary appointee hired for 120 or less days with no
        indication that an extension of the appointment will be
        considered to provide for more than 120 days is excluded from
        the bargaining unit, regardless of whether they have been
        appointed previously for such short periods (e.g., a summer hire
        who was hired for the summer the previous year).

**X**. **[Procedures]{.underline}:**

> **A**. The Human Resources Specialist with classification authority
> ensures that the correct bargaining unit code is designated on the
> Position Description cover sheet. Staff responsible for entering data
> into HRMIS will ensure that the codes are entered accurately. All
> questions regarding whether proper codes have been determined will be
> referred initially to the Human Resources Specialist with
> classification authority.

B.  [Changes to Bargaining Unit Status Codes When an Employee Moves to
    New Duties]{.underline}.

> 1\. Bargaining unit codes must be updated whenever there is a change
> in position, or a change in duties without a change in position.
>
> 2\. A detail does not trigger a change in bargaining unit status
> unless an annual employee in a bargaining unit position is detailed to
> perform duties that would otherwise exclude the employee from a
> bargaining unit position under Section IX.
>
> 3\. Temporary promotions are treated the same as any other position
> change. An updated bargaining unit status code is to be designated for
> the new position whenever an employee receives a temporary promotion.
>
> **C**. [Permanent Termination of Dues Withholding to Labor
> Organizations.]{.underline} When an employee moves permanently from a
> bargaining unit position to a position that is either excluded from a
> bargaining unit or included in a different bargaining unit, the SF-50
> is used to document the termination of dues withholding. In such
> cases, the following statement will be entered in the remarks section
> of the SF-50:
>
> *"This action terminates the allotment (if any) for labor organization
> dues."*
>
> **D**. [Suspension of Dues Withholding to Labor
> Organizations]{.underline}.
>
> 1\. When an employee moves temporarily from a bargaining unit position
> to a position that is either excluded from a bargaining unit or
> included in a different bargaining unit, the SF-50 is used to document
> the suspension of dues withholding. In such cases, the following
> statement will be entered in the remarks section of the SF-50.
>
> *"This action suspends the allotment (if any) for labor organization
> dues."*
>
> 2\. When the temporary action ends and the employee is returned to
> his/her previous position, or is moved to another position in the same
> bargaining unit as the previous position, the SF-50 is used to
> document the restoration of dues withholding. In such cases, the
> following statement will be entered in the remarks section of the
> SF-50:
>
> *"This action resumes the allotment (if any) for labor organization
> dues."*
>
> 3\. If the temporary action ends and the employee is not returned to
> the previous position, or to another position in the same bargaining
> unit as the previous position, the requirements of paragraph X.C.
> above will apply, and an SF-50 will be used to document termination of
> eligibility for an allotment.

Godfrey C. Beckett

Manager, Human Resources, Diversity and EEO