29 FLRA NO. 105

ASSOCIATION OF CIVILIAN
TECHNICIANS

     Union

     and

PENNSYLVANIA NATIONAL
GUARD

     Agency

Case No. 0-AR-1298

DECISION

I. Statement of the Case

This matter is before the Authority on exceptions to the award of Arbitrator Francis X. Quinn filed by the Agency under section 7122(a) of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (the Statute) and part 2425 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations. 1 We deny the Agency's exceptions.

II. Background and Arbitrator's Award

A grievance was filed by four civilian technicians and submitted to arbitration. The issue concerned the arbitrability and the merits of whether the Agency violated the parties' collective bargaining agreement and pertinent agency regulations when it failed to post the position of aircraft pneudraulic system mechanic and filled it with an Active Guard/Reserve (AGR) status employee. The Arbitrator determined that the dispute was arbitrable and that the Agency violated the collective bargaining agreement and agency regulations by failing to post the position in question. Accordingly, as his award, he sustained the grievance and directed that the position should be posted in accordance with the procedure set forth in the collective bargaining agreement and agency regulation.

III. First Exception

A. Contentions

The Agency contends that the Arbitrator exceeded his statutory authority by deciding that the disputed position was part of the bargaining unit and was required to be posted in accordance with the merit promotion procedure of the collective bargaining agreement. The Agency maintains that the Arbitrator decided the question of the bargaining-unit status of the disputed position whi