16:0271(38)RO - Army Engineer Center and Fort Belvoir and Local 16, Federal Firefighters Association and Local 1052, AFGE -- 1984 FLRAdec RP

 16 FLRA No. 38
 
 U.S. ARMY ENGINEER CENTER
 AND FORT BELVOIR
 Activity
 
 and
 
 LOCAL 16, FEDERAL FIREFIGHTERS
 ASSOCIATION
 Petitioner /1/
 
 and
 
 LOCAL 1052, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF
 GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES
 Intervenor
 
                                            Case No. 3-RO-30021
 
                            DECISION AND ORDER
 
    Upon a petition duly filed by the Authority under section 711 of the
 Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (the Statute), a
 hearing was held before a hearing officer of the Authority.  The
 Authority has reviewed the hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing
 and finds that they are free from prejudicial error.  They are hereby
 affirmed.
 
    Upon careful consideration of the entire record, including the
 parties' contentions, the Authority finds:  Local 16, Federal
 Firefighters Association (Petitioner) seeks to represent a unit of all
 General Schedule fire prevention and protection employees employed by
 the employer at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.  Since November 1968, these
 employees have been part of a unit represented by Local 1052, American
 Federation of Government Employees (AFGE).  /2/ The Activity and AFGE
 contend that granting the petition would result in unnecessary
 fragmentation of an existing unit and would not ensure a clear and
 identifiable community of interest or promote effective dealings or
 efficiency of agency operations.
 
    In International Communication Agency, 5 FLRA 97 (1981), the
 Authority stated that when deciding a question concerning severance,
 such as that involved herein, it must apply the three criteria set forth
 in section 7112(a)(1) of the Statute for determining the appropriateness
 of any unit.  Thus, in resolving the instant case, the Authority must
 determine whether the unit