18:0787(96)NG - NTEU and Treasury, Bureau of Governmental Financial Operations -- 1985 FLRAdec NG

 18 FLRA No. 96
 
 NATIONAL TREASURY EMPLOYEES UNION 
 Union 
 
 and 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY, 
 BUREAU OF GOVERNMENTAL FINANCIAL 
 OPERATIONS 
 Agency
 
                                            Case No. 0-NG-758
 
                 DECISION AND ORDER ON NEGOTIABILITY ISSUE
 
    The petition for review in this case comes before the Authority
 pursuant to section 7105(a)(2)(E) of the Federal Service
 Labor-Management Relations Statute (the Statute), and raises an issue
 concerning the negotiability of one provision of a negotiated agreement
 which was disapproved by the Agency head pursuant to section 7114(c) of
 the Statute.  Upon careful consideration of the entire record, including
 the parties' contentions, the Authority makes the following
 determination.  /1/
 
                              Union Provision
 
          Vacancies will not be filled from outside the Bureau, absent
       just cause, if employees facing separation are qualified and
       available for such vacancies.
 
    Contrary to the Agency's claim, the provision herein is to the same
 effect as the Union proposal in American Federation of Government
 Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 2782 and Department of Commerce, Bureau of the
 Census, Washington, D.C., 6 FLRA 314 (1981) which the Authority found to
 be negotiable pursuant to section 7106(b)(3) of the Statute.  The
 proposal in that case provided that employees involuntarily downgraded
 without personal cause would be "(e)xcept for good cause . . .
 repromoted at the first opportunity." In that case, the Authority noted
 that the Union reasonably interpreted the language of its proposal as
 only requiring the Agency to consider but not necessarily to select a
 repromotion eligible employee for a vacant position.  The Authority
 determined that as used in the Union's proposal, "good cause" for
 deciding not to promote a repromotion el