Opinion ID: 770959
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Right to Union Representation

Text: 22 In the grievance, the union contended that Giove's rights to representation were violated and that these violations resulted in Giove's lying to Special Agent Roberts. Specifically, the union asserted that under Article 6 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the FAA and the controllers, Giove should have been afforded representation: (a) during the interview with Special Agent Roberts; (b) during the deposition with the attorneys from Magana, Cathcart & McCarthy; and (c) in subsequent meetings with FAA management that had the potential of resulting in discipline. The union claimed that with union representation during the interview, Giove would have been counseled to tell the truth and would have followed that advice. The union also claimed that the FAA further erred by not stopping the deposition and providing representation to Giove when it became clear that Giove had lied to Special Agent Roberts. 23 The arbitrator found that the FAA did not commit error because Giove had no right to union representation at the interview with Special Agent Roberts. The arbitrator based her decision on the preliminary nature of the FAA investigation at the time of the interview and its generality. The arbitrator noted that Giove was not being investigated because no one, except Giove, knew the identity of the source of the disclosures. The arbitrator further found that because Giove was given an opportunity to seek representation before both the deposition and the meeting with his manager, there was no FAA error. 24 In this appeal, Giove argues that the arbitrator improperly interpreted or applied Article 6, Section 1 of the CBA and that this was a harmful error. Giove argues that the interview with Special Agent Roberts was a meeting regarding a potential disciplinary situation and that, accordingly, Article 6, Section 1 of the CBA provided him a right to be notified of his right to union representation at the interview and required the FAA to advise him of that right. See Agreement Between the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, MEBA/AFL-CIO and the Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Transportation, August 1993, at 12 (Article 6, Section 1) (CBA). In support of his argument that the interview concerned a potential disciplinary situation, Giove maintains that the purpose of the FAA investigation was to determine the source of the disclosures and that the FAA considered the disclosures to be subject to discipline as a violation of 49 C.F.R. 9.5, which broadly prohibits DOT employees from disclosing job-related material or information relating thereto. In support of his argument that this alleged error was harmful, Giove maintains that a union representative would have counseled him to tell the truth and he would have heeded that advice. Thus, the lie upon which Giove's removal was based, in part, would not have occurred. 25 The FAA responds that the interview did not concern a potential disciplinary situation because it did not result from individualized suspicion of Giove. Thus, according to the FAA, Article 6, Section 1 of the CBA does not apply and no right to union representation existed. Further, the FAA argues that in order to show harm arising from the failure to provide notice of union representation, Giove must make two assumptions, neither of which are supported by the evidence. First, Giove must assume that once notified, he would have requested union representation, even though he did not request it before the deposition or the meeting with the manager of the Grand Junction tower. Second, Giove must assume that he would have been truthful, even though he had previously deceived his supervisor regarding an unauthorized absence. 26 The CBA is a contract and the interpretation of a contract is a matter of law that this court reviews without deference. See Muniz v. United States, 972 F.2d 1304, 1309 (Fed. Cir. 1992); see also Harris v. Dep't of Veterans Affairs, 142 F.3d 1463, 1467 (Fed. Cir. 1998); Mays v. United States Postal Serv., 995 F.2d 1056, 1059 (Fed. Cir. 1993). In interpreting a contract, [w]e begin with the plain language. McAbee Constr., Inc. v. United States, 97 F.3d 1431, 1435 (Fed. Cir. 1996). We give the words of the agreement their ordinary meaning unless the parties mutually intended and agreed to an alternative meaning. Harris, 142 F.3d at 1467. In addition, [w]e must interpret the contract in a manner that gives meaning to all of its provisions and makes sense. McAbee, 97 F.3d at 1435. Further, [b]usiness contracts must be construed with business sense, as they naturally would be understood by intelligent men of affairs. N. German Lloyd v. Guar. Trust Co., 244 U.S. 12, 24 (1917); Deloro Smelting & Refining Co. v. United States, 317 F.2d 382, 387 (Ct. Cl. 1963) (quoting N. German Lloyd, 244 U.S. at 24). If terms are susceptible of more than one reasonable interpretation, then they are ambiguous. McAbee, 97 F.3d at 1435. However, for there to be an ambiguity both interpretations must be reasonable. See Metric Constructors Inc. v. Nat'l Aeronautics & Space Admin., 169 F.3d 747, 751 (Fed. Cir. 1999). 27 Article 6, Section 1 of the CBA provides in relevant part: 28 When it is known in advance that the subject of a meeting is to discuss or investigate a disciplinary, or potential disciplinary situation, the employee shall be so notified of the subject matter in advance. The employee shall also be notified of his/her right to be accompanied by a Union representative . . . . If during the course of a meeting it becomes apparent for the first time that discipline or potential discipline could arise, the Employer shall stop the meeting and inform the employee of his/her right to representation if he/she so desires, and provide a reasonable opportunity to both obtain representation and confer confidentially before proceeding with the meeting, if requested. . . . 29 CBA at 12-13 (emphasis added).  ( As explained, the parties' disagreement centers on the interpretation of potential disciplinary situation. 30 As stated above, we begin with the plain language of the contract. To give[ ] meaning to all of [the contract's] provisions, we look to the entire contract. McAbee, 97 F.3d at 1435. Although the CBA contains eighty-eight articles, none of the other eighty-seven articles in the contract impact the interpretation of Article 6. Thus we focus our attention on the language of Article 6 itself, which contains five sections. We begin with Section 1. 31 Section 1 relates to meetings with an individual employee where a disciplinary or potential disciplinary situation is to be discussed, whether the subject of the meeting is known beforehand or only becomes clear during the meeting. The language requiring a disciplinary[ ] or potential disciplinary situation is, admittedly, not clear on its face. For example, it could be interpreted narrowly to require proof of misconduct by a specific employee, or more broadly to require only suspicion of misconduct without evidence that an employee was responsible. However, as explained below, only one interpretation appears reasonable to this court. 32 It is reasonable to conclude that the Section 1 notification of representation rights is not triggered during a general background investigation or preliminary investigation in which the FAA is gathering facts or investigating accusations. Only when the FAA has sufficient evidence to indicate that a disciplinary or potential disciplinary situation exists and to suspect one or more particular employees of committing the misconduct would union involvement be appropriate. A more expansive interpretation would require managers to provide a notification anytime an agency problem, arguably a potential disciplinary situation, was discussed with even unsuspected employees, because some employee present might have been involved. Such an expansive interpretation would hinder problem- resolution, inhibit interaction between management and union members, and unduly constrain the FAA in its responsibility to manage its work and its employees. It would also frustrate the FAA's ability to perform background investigations and to follow up on accusations of wrongdoing. 33 Thus, two requirements must be met before notice under Section 1 of the CBA must be given to an employee. First, there must be employee misconduct subject to disciplinary or potential disciplinary action. Second, the employee or employees at the meeting must be among those suspected by the FAA of committing the misconduct. 34 This court's decision in Frank v. Dep't of Transp., 35 F.3d 1554 (Fed. Cir. 1994) is consistent with our interpretation of Section 1. In Frank, an employee was removed for submitting an adulterated urine specimen. See id. at 1556. As with this case, the employee contended that his right to notification of union representation had been violated at an investigatory meeting by the FAA. See id. at 1559. The notification of union representation rights was conditioned, as in this case, on the existence of a disciplinary, or potential disciplinary situation. Id. at 1559 n.10 (quoting the collective bargaining agreement). The Frank court did not need to interpret that language, instead determining that any error on the part of the FAA was harmless. See id. at 1559. However, the employee in Frank would clearly have met the two requirements we have posited above. The employee had submitted a urine sample and the specimen collectors immediately observed that the temperature reading was sufficiently low to indicate that the specimen was not in fact urine. See id. at 1555. The specimen collectors then tested the temperature a second time and that test also indicated that the specimen was not urine. See id. Thus, the evidence clearly indicated employee misconduct subject to disciplinary action and Frank, the employee, was obviously suspected of that misconduct. 35 Our interpretation of Section 1 is also supported by the only other case we have found that actually interprets similar language. The Tenth Circuit interpreted language from an earlier collective bargaining agreement between the FAA and the controller's union providing that: [n]o disciplinary action may result from a meeting between an employee and his supervisor and/or other management official unless the employee is advised that such meeting is for the purpose of discussing discipline or potential discipline, and the employee is allowed Union representation, if he so desires. Giesler v. Merit Sys. Prot. Bd., 686 F.2d 844, 845 (10th Cir. 1982). 36 In Giesler, an air traffic controller took sick leave to go hunting with a friend, in clear violation of the FAA's sick leave policy. See id. After the hunting trip was over, rumors of the infraction began to spread. See id. Giesler's supervisor informally confronted him, without advance warning and without a union representative, and Giesler denied having used sick leave to go hunting. See id. Giesler's supervisor then scheduled a more formal meeting at which Giesler did have a union representative, and Giesler again denied the accusation. See id. Only at a third meeting, again with a union representative present, did Giesler admit to the ruse. See id. The Giesler court held, however, that the controller had no right to union representation at the first meeting with his supervisor because of its informal nature. Id. at 848. The Giesler court thus refused to impose unreasonable restrictions on the FAA supervisors. 37 We must also examine the remaining sections of Article 6 to ensure that our interpretation has not robbed them of meaning. See McAbee, 97 F.3d at 1435. Section 2 relates to interviews where criminal proceedings may result. Section 3 concerns formal discussions between the FAA and one or more employees about employment conditions. Section 4 provides that the meetings addressed by Section 1 and Section 3 can be conducted by telephone. Section 5 addresses the extent of the confidentiality between an employee and a union representative, and is not inconsistent with our interpretation of Section 1 as requiring notification of union representation only after an FAA investigation has proceeded beyond the initial stages to the point where certain employees are suspected of misconduct. Sections 2-5, therefore, are not affected by our interpretation of Section 1. 38 To summarize, Article 6 of the CBA is intended to strike a balance between the right and obligation of the agency to conduct investigations without unreasonable restrictions or encumbrances, and the right of each FAA employee to be notified in advance and provided with union representation before any discussion takes place regarding conduct for which the employee may be subjected to discipline. The CBA does not provide employees with a blanket right of union representation during any and all stages of FAA investigations. To the contrary, we hold that the terms of Article 6, Section 1 of the CBA are triggered only when an investigation has moved to the stage where: (1) employee misconduct subject to possible disciplinary action is discovered, and (2) the employee being questioned, or about to be questioned, is suspected by the FAA investigator to be among those who may have engaged in such misconduct. It is only at that point that the FAA becomes obligated to notify the employee of the employee's right to union representation before questioning may take place. 39 We now review the arbitrator's decision in light of our interpretation of the CBA. The arbitrator found that Special Agent Roberts was investigating the facts and had not gathered enough evidence to confirm that any employee misconduct had occurred, much less to place Giove among those suspected of committing any misconduct. Specifically, the arbitrator found that at the time of Giove's interview with Special Agent Roberts no one knew who sent the information to the plaintiffs attorney. Certainly the Grievant [Giove] knew, but, at that point he was the only one who did. The arbitrator also found that Special Agent Roberts' inquiry was a general investigation and that [i]t wasn't [Giove] who was being investigated. These findings are supported by substantial evidence. 40 When Special Agent Roberts interviewed Giove, the investigation was still at a preliminary or background stage and the only information available was the contents of the disclosures received by Magana, Cathcart & McCarthy. These disclosures included evidence that the source of the information was familiar with tower instructions, operations, and protocol, but they did not provide enough information to allow the FAA to suspect an air traffic controller, or Giove in particular, of improperly disclosing that information. In particular, the record contains no evidence precluding a manager, a janitor, or even a visitor from obtaining much of the information that was disclosed. Further, the record contains no evidence precluding the possibility, at the time of Giove's interview with Special Agent Roberts, that much of the information was either publicly available (such as the NOTAM) or fabricated (such as the accusation of destroying the NOTAM). Special Agent Roberts admitted that his investigation was preliminary and that he needed to verify the accuracy of the disclosures. He specifically testified that part of his investigation was to determine whether the NOTAM had in fact been posted and, if so, whether it had been removed. The FAA also appears to have stated that the investigation was directed toward identifying the NOTAM and verifying the accuracy of the allegations. 41 Because the arbitrator's findings are supported by substantial evidence and reveal that neither of the two requirements of Section 1 were met, Giove did not have a right to notice under Section 1 of the CBA at the time of the interview with Special Agent Roberts. Therefore, we hold that the arbitrator's decision that Giove was not denied representation in violation of . . . the contract is correct as a matter of law.