16:0648(95)AR - Overseas Education Association and DOD Dependents Schools -- 1984 FLRAdec AR

 16 FLRA No. 95
 
 OVERSEAS EDUCATION
 ASSOCIATION
 Union
 
 and
 
 DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
 DEPENDENTS SCHOOLS
 Agency
 
                                            Case No. O-AR-437
 
                                 DECISION
 
    This matter is before the authority on an exception to the awarD of
 Arbitrator Howard G. Gamser filed by the Union under section 7122(a) of
 the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute and part 2425 of
 the Authority's Rules and Regulations.
 
    The Union filed a grievance in this case which the Agency claimed was
 barred by the Union having earlier raised the same issue as an unfair
 labor practice.  The Arbitrator noted that before the grievance had been
 filed, the Union had filed an unfair labor practice charge on the same
 issue and that the regional director of the Authority had refused to
 issue a complaint which refusal was sustained by the General Counsel of
 the Authority.  Thus, the Arbitrator determined that under section
 7116(d) of the Statute, /1/ the matter in dispute was barred from being
 processed as a grievance.  In this regard the Arbitrator essentially
 reasoned that since the Union had earlier filed a timely unfair labor
 practice charge over substantially the same issue and the Regional
 Director had refused to issue a complaint, and the Office of the General
 Counsel of the Authority denied the Union's request for review of the
 Regional Director's decision, this constituted an election by the Union
 of that procedure under section 7116(d).  As the Arbitrator put it:
 "Where the timely filed charge is concerned with subject matter
 substantially identical to that later found to be the basis for an
 appeal under the grievance procedure which has been negotiated, the
 arbitrator is without competence to decide the merits already passed
 upon by the General Counsel and not subject to appeal fr