34:0208(44)RO - ARMY, SAVANNA ARMY DEPOT ACTIVITY SAVANNA, ILLINOIS and NFFE and NAGE -- 1990 FLRAdec RO

 34 FLRA NO. 44



                 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
                 SAVANNA ARMY DEPOT ACTIVITY
                      SAVANNA, ILLINOIS
                          (Activity)

                             and

           NATIONAL FEDERATION OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES
                         (Petitioner)

                             and

         NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES
                (Labor Organization/Incumbent)

                          5-RO-80010

ORDER DENYING APPLICATION FOR REVIEW AND REQUEST FOR STAY

    		      January 11, 1990

     Before Chairman McKee and Members Talkin and Armendariz.

I. Statement of the Case

     This case is before the Authority on an application for
review filed by the National Association of Government Employees,
AFL - CIO (the Incumbent), under section 2422.17(a) of the
Authority's Rules and Regulations. After a representation
election in which a majority of the valid votes counted was not
cast for either the Incumbent or the National Federation of
Federal Employees (the Petitioner), the Incumbent filed
objections to the election results with the Regional Director.

     The Incumbent contended that conduct by the Petitioner prior
to the election warranted setting the election aside. In his
Decision and Order on Objections, the Regional Director concluded
that the Petitioner's conduct did not warrant setting the
election aside. The Incumbent seeks review of the Regional
Director's determination.

     Inasmuch as the Authority had two vacancies when this
application for review was received, Acting Chairman McKee issued
an Interim Order on February 28, 1989, directing that
consideration of the application be deferred until further
notice. The Interim Order preserved the parties' rights under the
Statute to Authority consideration of the Regional Director's
decision.

     By letters dated June 9 and July 7, 1989, the Incumbent
requested that Acting Chairman McKee stay a run-off election.
According to the Incumbent, the Regional Director set the run-off
election for August 1, 1989, and informed the Incumbent that the
ballots would be impounded until the Authority ruled on the
application for review.

     The Authority now considers the Incumbent's application for
review and request for a stay of the run-off election. For the
reasons set forth below, we conclude that the application for
review and the request for a stay of the election should be
denied.

II. Regional Director's Decision

     An election was held on August 16,  1988, in the following
unit: "All non-supervisory WG and GS employees of the Savanna
Army Depot Activity, U.S. Army Defense Ammunition Center and
School, U.S. Army Communications Element - Savanna, and
Occupational Health Nursing Office, including those employees
employed in fire prevention and protection, and in the Security
Office (sic)." Regional Director's Decision at 1. Of the valid
votes counted, the National Federation of Federal Employees
(NFFE) received 38, the National Association of Government
Employees (NAGE) received 36, and 9 votes were cast against
exclusive recognition.

     Following the election, NAGE filed objections to conduct by
NFFE which NAGE alleged improperly affected the election results.
Specifically, NAGE asserted that statements in a flyer which NFFE
distributed just prior to the date of the election "'disturbed
the laboratory conditions of the election.'" Id. at 2. In
addition, NAGE asserted that distribution of the flyer occurred
at a time which prevented "'a timely and effective'" response.
Id. 

     The Regional Director found that some bargaining unit
employees received the NFFE flyers by mail on the Friday or
Saturday prior to the Tuesday election. Other unit employees
received the flyers through a distribution at the Activity the
day before the election, which was held on Tuesday, August 16, 
1988. The Regional Director found that the flyer did not contain
"clear or substantial misrepresentations" of fact. Id. at 3.
Additionally, the Regional Director determined that the
statements did not "threaten or intimidate and did not otherwise
interfere" with a reasonable employee's free choice in the
election. Id. The Regional Director concluded that the flyer was
campaign propaganda "easily recognizable as such by the
reasonable employee" and "of the type which employees themselves
may intelligently evaluate." Id. As the Regional Director found
that NAGE's objections concerning the content of the flyer were
without merit, be found it unnecessary to address N