15:0899(169)CU - HHS, SSA and AFGE -- 1984 FLRAdec RP

 15 FLRA No. 169
 
 DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
 Activity/Petitioner
 
 and
 
 AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT
 EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO
 Labor Organization
 
                                            Case no. 3-CU-30007
 
                            DECISION AND ORDER
 
    Upon a petition duly filed with the Federal Labor Relations Authority
 under section 7111(b)(2) of the Federal Service Labor-Management
 Relations Statute (the Statute), a hearing was held before a hearing
 officer of the Authority.  The hearing officer's rulings made at the
 hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
 
    Upon the entire record in this case, including the parties'
 contentions, the Authority finds:  American Federation of Government
 Employees, AFL-CIO (the Union), was certified in 1979 as the exclusive
 representative of a nationwide consolidated unit consisting of
 approximately 60,000 Social Security Administration employees, including
 employees at 29 of its 33 teleservice centers (TSCs).  Included in the
 consolidated unit was a previously certified unit described as "all
 nonsupervisory General Schedule employees of the District Office
 Operations, Social Security Administration employed in any of the
 Washington Metropolitan Area Social Security offices." The TSC at
 Laurel, Maryland, was included in this latter unit description.
 Following the consolidation, in 1982, a reorganization caused the Laurel
 TSC to be closed and its employees relocated to two separate new TSCs,
 in Westminster, Maryland and Manassas, Virginia.  At that time, 27 unit
 employees moved to Westminster which was established with a total
 complement of 32, and 23 unit employees moved to Manassas which had a
 total complement of 31.  These two TSCs each service portions of the
 geographic area previously in the Laurel TSC area of responsibility.
 
    The Petitioner, The Department of Health and Human