Opinion ID: 559551
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Collective Bargaining by Title 38 Professionals

Text: 15 The record in this case does not reveal when negotiations first began between VA officials and unions representing Title 38 employees. Collective bargaining rights for federal workers generally were first recognized in 1969 under Executive Order No. 11,491. Exec.Order No. 11,491, 3 C.F.R. 861 (1966-70), reprinted in 1969 U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News 2948. See 5 U.S.C.A. Sec. 7101, Historical Note. The Order required federal agencies to bargain with a properly certified union over personnel policies and practices and matters affecting working conditions, so far as may be appropriate under applicable laws and regulations. Exec.Order No. 11,491 Sec. 11(a), reprinted in 1969 U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News at 2953-54. 16 In 1974, officials of the Fargo VA Medical Center entered into a collective bargaining agreement with the North Dakota State Nurses' Association, then the exclusive representative of the nurses now represented by petitioner herein. This agreement was amended on December 30, 1976, to provide in article XII as follows: 17 Vacancies in the positions of head nurse, supervisor, specialty positions and newly created positions will be filled from among the best qualified and available nurses. The Center agrees that such selection will not be based solely on educational achievement, and will take every means to insure that the principles of equal opportunity are strictly adhered to. 18 Fargo VA officials thus had already engaged in collective bargaining with professional nurses when Congress enacted the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978. Codified as the Labor-Management Relations chapter of Title 5, the purpose of the Act was to lay the foundation for open and mutually beneficial labor-management relations throughout the federal sector. Veterans Administration Medical Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota v. FLRA, 705 F.2d 953, 957 (8th Cir.1983). The Act guarantees that [e]ach employee shall have the right ... to engage in collective bargaining with respect to conditions of employment, 5 U.S.C. Sec. 7102, 3 but preserves the authority of federal agency management officials (1) to determine the mission, budget, organization, number of employees, and internal security practices of the agency, and (2) to hire, assign, direct, layoff, or discipline employees. Id. Sec. 7106(a). The Act requires an agency 4 to recognize, bargain in good faith, and consult with a properly certified union in an effort to reach agreement with respect to conditions of employment. Id. Secs. 7114, 7117. The general duty to bargain is limited to matters not inconsistent with any Federal law or not specifically provided for by Federal statute. Id. Secs. 7117; 7103(a)(14)(C). 5 See generally Fort Stewart Schools v. FLRA, --- U.S. ----, 110 S.Ct. 2043, 2046-49, 109 L.Ed.2d 659 (1990). The Federal Labor Relations Authority was created to administer the Act. 5 U.S.C. Secs. 7104-05. 19 On February 28, 1980, the Federal Labor Relations Authority certified the American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, as the exclusive representative of a national consolidated bargaining unit consisting of certain VA professional employees, including nurses. 6 In April 1980, the VA entered into an interim collective bargaining agreement with the union. Because no Master Agreement has ever been reached between the VA and the union, this Interim Agreement remains in effect and provides in article 4 that: 20 The terms of any local agreement which was in effect at the time of the consolidated unit certification shall remain in effect until final approval of the Master Agreement. 7 21 The same year the VA reached an interim agreement with the American Federation of Government Employees, Congress amended the DM & S statute in an effort to enhance the VA's ability to recruit and retain sufficient numbers of capable, qualified health-care professionals and personnel. S.Rep. No. 96-747, 96th Cong. 2d Sess. 26 (1980), reprinted in 1980 U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News 2463, 2464. The 1980 DM & S amendments included several provisions relating to personnel. With regard to nurses, the 1980 amendments authorized a pilot program and study to evaluate the impact of various administrative actions on the VA's ability to recruit and retain qualified nurses, amended Title 38 provisions relating to premium pay, and provided the VA Administrator with authority to modify rates of pay as necessary on a local, regional, or nationwide basis to meet rates paid by private hospitals. See Veterans' Administration Health-Care Amendments of 1980, Pub.L. No. 96-330, Secs. 111-112, 118, 94 Stat. 1037-38, 1040-41 (1980); Explanatory Statement of Compromise Agreement on H.R. 7102/S. 2534, 1980 U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News 2557, 2562-63, 2565-66. Although the Senate bill contained express language requiring the Administrator to consult with the exclusive representative of any employees as is required under any collective bargaining agreement prior to implementing several of these provisions, the bill enacted by the Congress excluded this language. The Explanatory Statement of the Compromise Agreement indicated the reason for the deletion was to avoid confusion. The Statement explains: 22 It was the Senate's intention, as expressed in the Senate Committee report, in including the consultation provisions to assure that nothing in the bill could be construed as negating recognized collective bargaining rights, including consultation rights. Those provisions are not included in the compromise bill in recognition of the Committees' agreement that such a specific reference to such rights is unnecessary and could engender confusion. In deleting those provisions, the Committees wish to make clear that they do not intend that any of the changes made by the legislation to the VA's health-care personnel authorities detract in any way from employee rights under existing collective bargaining agreements between the VA and its employees. 23 Explanatory Statement, 1980 U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News at 2563. 24 Other sections of the 1980 amendments spoke directly to the relationship between Title 38 and Title 5 civil service system provisions. Section 105 of the amendments provided that Title 38 employees were not to be included in the Senior Executive Service established by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978. Pub.L. No. 96-330, Sec. 105, 94 Stat. 1036-37 (1980). See 5 U.S.C. Secs. 3136 & 3397. 8 Section 116 added a new section 4119 to Title 38, which states: 25 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no provision of title 5 or of any other law pertaining to the civil service system which is inconsistent with any provision of this subchapter shall be considered to supersede, override, or otherwise modify such provision of this subchapter except to the extent that such provision of title 5 or of such other law specifically provides, by specific reference to a provision of this subchapter, for such provision to be superseded, overridden, or otherwise modified. 26 Pub.L. No. 96-330, Sec. 116, 94 Stat. 1030, 1039 (1980) (codified at 38 U.S.C. Sec. 4119). This provision was inserted in the final bill in response to section 102 of the House bill. In addition to exempting Title 38 professionals from the Senior Executive Service, section 102(c) of the House bill would have provided that [p]art-time appointments under [section 4114 of the DM & S statute] shall be made without regard to chapter 34 of title 5, which governs general civil service part-time employment. See H.R. 7102, 96th Cong. 2d Sess. Sec. 102(c). The Senate bill contained no similar language regarding part-time positions, and the Explanatory Statement reveals only that in reaching a compromise, committee members agreed to 27 an amendment to clarify that the general relationship between title 38 medical personnel system provisions in subchapter I of chapter 73 of title 38 and provisions in title 5 or elsewhere pertaining to the civil service personnel system is such that no provisions from title 5 or elsewhere (whether heretofore or hereafter enacted) shall be considered to supersede, override, or otherwise modify title 38 provisions unless such other provision does so expressly by specific reference to the title 38 provision. 28 Explanatory Statement, 1980 U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News at 2565.