Opinion ID: 497949
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: recreational facilities

Text: 48 The second question before the court is whether the Authority was correct in determining that a proposal relating to employees' use of recreational facilities, while in a nonduty status, was not within the duty to bargain because it did not relate to conditions of employment as defined by section 7103(a)(14). 49 Pursuant to sections 7114(a)(14) and 7103(a)(12) of the Act, an agency has a duty to bargain in good faith over matters directly affecting the conditions of employment of bargaining unit employees. The term conditions of employment is defined as personnel policies, practices, and matters whether established by rule, regulation, or otherwise, affecting working conditions.... 5 U.S.C. Sec. 7103(a)(14). 50 In deciding whether a proposal involves a condition of employment the Authority considers (1) [w]hether the matter proposed to be bargained pertains to bargaining unit employees; and (2) the nature and extent of the effect of the matter proposed to be bargained on working conditions of those employees. Antilles Consolidated Education Association and Antilles Consolidated School System, 22 F.L.R.A. 235, 237 (1986) (emphasis omitted). The record must establish that there is a direct link between the proposal and the work situation or employment relationship of the bargaining unit employees. See, e.g., International Association of Fire Fighters, AFL-CIO, CLC, Local F-116 and Department of the Air Force, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, 7 F.L.R.A. 123 (1981). 51 In interpreting the statutory definition of conditions of employment, the Authority has consistently determined that proposals which relate to the involvement of employees in nonwork activities while in a nonduty status, are outside the duty to bargain unless a direct relationship can be established between the proposal and the work situation or employment relationship. See, e.g., Department of Defense, Department of the Army, Fort Buchanan, San Juan, Puerto Rico and AFGE, Local 2614, 24 F.L.R.A. 971 (1986); Department of the Air Force, Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, and AFGE, Local 1836, AFL-CIO, 23 F.L.R.A. 605 (1986); Antilles Consolidated Education Association and Antilles Consolidated School System, 22 F.L.R.A. 235 (1986). 52 The Union contends that Proposal 3 relates to a condition of employment under the broad interpretation of the term in Department of Defense v. FLRA, 685 F.2d 641 (D.C.Cir.1982). In that case, the court affirmed the Authority's determination that union proposals regarding an agency's changes in policy over the rationing of goods at the agency's post exchange, and the registration of motor vehicles were negotiable. The Authority found that ration controls concerned conditions of employment because they were related to the employer's duty to provide essential facilities and services to all civilian employees serving overseas. Id. at 647. The Authority also found that motor vehicle registration concerned conditions of employment because an employee's failure to register a motor vehicle could result in sanctions by the employer. Id. Those proposals, however, are clearly distinguishable since in the present case no direct relationship can be shown between Proposal 3 and the work situation or employment relationship. 53 As additional support for its contention that the words conditions of employment should be read broadly, the Union cites American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO and Air Force Logistics Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, 2 F.L.R.A. 604 (1980). In that case, the proposal dealt with the establishment of a day care center for the benefit of the employees. The Authority found the proposal negotiable on the ground that the proposal related directly to the work situation and employment relationship of the employees because the existence of a day care facility had an effect on employee tardiness and absenteeism. 54 The Union in this case makes a similar argument and contends that employee absenteeism and use of leave is directly related to an employee's ability to exercise, and the maintenance of general good health. In this case, however, the Union has provided no evidence, and the record does not otherwise establish, that access to the facilities in question is directly related to the employee's work situation. The Union maintains that the proposal relates to a condition of employment because its aim is to help employees perform their duties more effectively. In support of its contention, the Union cites reports which maintain that physically active employees perform better and are absent less. That data, however, is not conclusive evidence that employee access to the recreational facilities will have any effect on the working conditions of the employees. Even if some connection were to exist between the activity being considered and the unit employees' work situations or employment relationships, that connection would not establish a duty to bargain on the matter if it is merely remote and speculative. See National Association of Air Traffic Specialists and Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, 6 F.L.R.A. 588, 593 (1981). 55 The Authority has uniformly found proposals to permit employees to utilize agency recreational facilities during nonduty hours to be nonnegotiable as not relating to personnel policies, practices, or matters affecting working conditions of bargaining unit employees. See e.g., Antilles Consolidated Education Association and Antilles Consolidated School System, 22 F.L.R.A. 235 (1986); National Association of Government Employees, Local R5-168 and Department of the Army, Headquarters 5th Infantry Division and Fort Polk, Louisiana, 19 F.L.R.A. 552 (1985); American Federation of Government Employees, Local 225 and U.S. Army Armament Research and Development Command, Dover, New Jersey, 11 F.L.R.A. 630 (1983). 56 Finally, the Union contends that this court should recognize the broad interpretation given the words conditions of employment in private sector labor law, which has permitted negotiations over a variety of proposals for employees engaging in nonduty activity during nonduty hours. See, e.g., Chemtronics, Inc. and Industrial Production Employees, Local 42, 236 N.L.R.B. 178, 98 L.R.R.M. 1559 (1978); Donn Products, Inc. & American Metals Corporation and Furniture Workers, Local 450, AFL-CIO, 229 N.L.R.B. 116, 95 L.R.R.M. 1033 (1977); Elgin Standard Brick Manufacturing Co., 90 N.L.R.B. 1467, 26 L.R.R.M. 1343 (1950). 57 In support of its contention, the Union cites the recent decision of National Treasury Employees Union v. FLRA, 810 F.2d 295 (D.C.Cir.1987) (NTEU). In that case the National Treasury Employees Union appealed a decision by the Authority which held that the Internal Revenue Service had no duty to bargain over union-initiated proposals made during the term of a collective-bargaining agreement. The court applied private sector labor law in setting aside the decision of the Authority on the ground that it was contrary to the purpose of the Act and the intent of the legislature to promote and encourage collective bargaining. 58 The court, in NTEU, quoting Library of Congress v. FLRA, 699 F.2d 1280, 1286 (D.C.Cir.1983), stated that [t]he lack of any prior judicial decisions under the [Act], especially when combined with the relative paucity of applicable legislative history, makes analogies to comparable legal developments in the private sector relevant and useful as a guide for this court's reasoning. NTEU, 810 F.2d at 300. The court, however, recognized that the relevance or applicability of private sector labor law to the law of the public sector will vary depending upon the specific issues raised. Id. (citing Library of Congress, 699 F.2d at 1287). Accordingly, private sector labor law is inapplicable to the present case because of the guidance provided by prior judicial decisions on employee use of recreational facilities. Furthermore, the legislative history of the statute makes clear the meaning of the words conditions of employment. 59 This court has recognized the statutory goal of equalizing the positions of labor and management at the bargaining table. American Federation of Government Employees v. FLRA, 750 F.2d 143, 148 (D.C.Cir.1984). It was also the intent of Congress, however, to recognize that the special needs of government required certain protections for management in the collective bargaining process. See NTEU, 810 F.2d at 301. In NTEU, there was no indication that the Authority's denial of the union's right to bargain was an appropriate means of furthering the statutory goals, because, as the court noted, the statutory scheme protects governmental needs, not by restricting the circumstances of bargaining, but by limiting the areas that are subject to bargaining. Id. By denying the negotiability of the union's midterm proposal, the Authority was not challenging the proposal on the basis of its subject matter, but rather restricting the circumstances of the collective-bargaining process. In this case, the proposal for employee access to recreational facilities must be decided within the statutory scheme limiting the areas subject to bargaining. To apply private sector labor law to the proposal in this case would violate the express congressional intent to preserve certain management prerogatives in the collective-bargaining process through a system of subject matter limitations.