Opinion ID: 407565
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: arguments of the amici curiae

Text: 190
191 The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is a federal employee union with approximately 300,000 members. AFGE Brief at 1. The AFGE participated as amicus curiae before the FLRA, and it has filed a brief in that capacity with this court as well. For the most part, AFGE's arguments parallel those raised by PATCO which have already been dealt with in the preceding sections of this opinion. The AFGE does, however, offer two arguments not heretofore addressed. While we find little merit to these additional contentions, we address them briefly in order to dispose of all material points in issue. 192 First, the AFGE contends that the Authority may not delegate to an Administrative Law Judge its power under section 7120(f) to revoke a union's exclusive recognition status. The AFGE notes that section 7105(e)(2) of the Act allows the FLRA to delegate its power to decide unfair labor practices under section 7118, but makes no mention of the FLRA's revocation power under section 7120(f). 5 U.S.C. § 7105(e)(2) (Supp. IV 1980). We find this argument wholly unpersuasive. In this case, the A.L.J. held a hearing on the underlying unfair labor practice complaint against PATCO and recommended findings of fact and an appropriate remedy to the FLRA. The FLRA reviewed the A.L.J.'s recommendations, adopted them as its own factual findings, and decided on its own authority to revoke PATCO's exclusive recognition status. The plain language of section 7120(f) requires no more. See PATCO at 25. 193 Second, the AFGE argues that the Authority may not invoke section 7120(f) at all in the instant proceeding. In support of this argument, the AFGE notes that section 7120 as a whole is entitled Standards of conduct for labor organizations and that section 7120(d) empowers the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Labor Management Relations, and not the FLRA, to issue regulations to carry out the purposes of the section and to accept complaints of violations. 5 U.S.C. § 7120(d) (Supp. IV 1980). Thus, according to the AFGE, the FLRA lacks the statutory authority to revoke a striking union's exclusive recognition status under section 7120(f). We cannot accept the AFGE's exaggerated reasoning. The AFGE's argument totally ignores the plain language of section 7120(f), which empowers the Authority to revoke a union's exclusive recognition status, and the legislative history behind the subsection. See text at note 77 supra. The heading of the section of a statute and the placement of a particular subsection cannot cast doubt upon an otherwise unambiguous congressional grant of authority. Habib v. Raytheon Co., 616 F.2d 1204, 1210 n.8 (D.C.Cir.1980). 194
195 Mr. Skirlick is a PATCO member and a nonstriking air traffic controller. He correctly points out that his appearance before this court is the first appearance of a nonstriking controller in this or any other proceeding stemming from PATCO's 1981 strike. Mr. Skirlick contends that these legal proceedings have failed to consider the effects of the revocation remedy on the nonstriking controllers, many of whom, according to Mr. Skirlick, are members of a less militant, minority faction within PATCO. 196 Essentially, Mr. Skirlick argues that when the striking PATCO members left their jobs on August 3, they violated federal law. No later than August 5, when President Reagan terminated the striking air traffic controllers, they ceased to be federal employees. Since the strikers were no longer air traffic controllers, Mr. Skirlick argues, they also ceased to be PATCO members. Therefore, when the FLRA revoked PATCO's exclusive recognition status, it decertified a union composed entirely of nonstriking controllers. That union, so composed, had committed no unfair labor practices and therefore could not properly be decertified. 197 Mr. Skirlick's argument obviously depends on his contention that the striking air traffic controllers automatically lost their union membership when their employment was terminated. The record before the FLRA and therefore before this court, however, contains no such finding. The record does not contain a copy of the PATCO Constitution and By-Laws, and we thus cannot confirm Mr. Skirlick's necessary premise. Cf. Camp v. Pitts, 411 U.S. 138, 93 S.Ct. 1241, 36 L.Ed.2d 106 (1973) (per curiam) (in absence of statutory de novo review, court may not create new evidentiary record on appeal from agency decision). Furthermore, Mr. Skirlick conveniently fails to indicate whether internal union procedures may exist by which a PATCO member can contest his dismissal from the union. Moreover, terminated air traffic controllers may challenge their dismissals from federal employment. See 5 U.S.C. §§ 7511-7513, 7701 (Supp. IV 1980). 90 In that case, a striking air traffic controller's removal from PATCO might be stayed pending the outcome of the appeal of his termination or rescinded if his appeal were ultimately successful. Because Mr. Skirlick cannot support his assertion that PATCO is now officially composed only of nonstriking air traffic controllers, we cannot accept his argument that the revocation of PATCO's exclusive recognition status was invalid. 198 Furthermore, insofar as the revocation remedy is concerned, we think Mr. Skirlick's argument must fail even if it is true that PATCO is now officially composed only of nonstriking air traffic controllers. PATCO's status as exclusive representative has been revoked because the duly authorized leaders of the National union called, participated in and condoned an unlawful strike. When the strike action commenced, the union leaders were in their positions of authority. When the air traffic controllers walked out, they were at that time still government employees. (Indeed, they could not have been on strike or fired unless they were government employees.) Therefore, it does not matter that these employees were subsequently fired and then, as a consequence, ceased to be union members. What does matter is that there was an unlawful strike, authorized by the leadership of PATCO and engaged in by a vast majority of the PATCO membership. In these circumstances, the FLRA could properly act to revoke the exclusive representative status of the union. 91 199 Thus, Mr. Skirlick's argument is novel but specious. The harms that he alleges will accrue to the nonstriking air traffic controllers are a necessary consequence of majority rule. The principle of exclusive representation by the majority union is well established in American labor law, see R. Gorman, Basic Text on Labor Law 374-81 (1976), and we cannot ignore it merely because its implications are occasionally troubling. Cf. Emporium Capwell Co. v. Western Addition Community Organization, 420 U.S. 50, 95 S.Ct. 977, 43 L.Ed.2d 12 (1975) (principle of majority rule renders attempts by a racial minority to protest an employer's allegedly discriminatory practices outside of the collectively bargained grievance machinery unprotected activities). As intriguing as it may be, Mr. Skirlick's contention is wholly unpersuasive. 200 Finally, we note that we perceive nothing that prevents the presently employed air traffic controllers from attempting to form a new labor organization. See 5 U.S.C. § 7111 (Supp. IV 1980); 5 C.F.R. § 2422.3(a), (d)(3) (1981). If a majority of Mr. Skirlick's co-workers share his view that union representation is desirable, they may acquire the rights and obligations of union representation in the federal sector through the appropriate statutory process.