40:0012(2)NG - - AFGE Local 1482 and Navy, Marine Corps Logistics Base, Barstow, CA - - 1991 FLRAdec NG - - v40 p12

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40 FLRA No. 2

FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES

LOCAL 1482

(Union)

and

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE

BARSTOW, CALIFORNIA

(Agency)

0-NG-1902

DECISION AND ORDER ON NEGOTIABILITY ISSUES

April 2, 1991

Before Chairman McKee and Members Talkin and Armendariz.

I. Statement of the Case

This case is before the Authority on a negotiability appeal filed under section 7105(a)(2)(E) of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (the Statute) and concerns the negotiability of six proposals.⁽¹⁾/ The proposals were submitted by the Union in response to changes proposed by the Agency in regulations prescribing rules for the operation of two and three-wheeled vehicles on the Marine Corps Logistics Base (Base).

Because we find that the proposals directly interfere with the management's right to determine its internal security practices under section 7106(a)(1) of the Statute, we conclude that the proposals are nonnegotiable.

II. Background

The proposed regulations, Base Order P5500.13, governing the operation of two and three-wheeled vehicles on the Base require, among other things, that operators of those vehicles wear specified personal protective equipment. That equipment includes: (1) safety helmets which meet Department of Transportation standards; (2) eye protection; (3) high visibility garments, such as reflective vests; (4) footwear; and (5) clothing covering the torso and legs. These requirements would "primarily impact on motorcycle operators and riders," and would apply to any individual, military or civilian, operating such vehicles on the Base. Statement of Position (Statement) at 2.

III. Proposals 2-7

Proposals 2-7 concern changes to and/or deletions from Base Order P5500.13, Security, Law Enforcement & Motor Vehicle Regulations.⁽²⁾ The proposals are as follows:

Proposal 2. 3002.2 - sixth line after "all" delete the rest of the sentence and add "requirements of the CVC [California Vehicle Code].

[The proposal substitutes the requirements of the California Vehicle Code for the requirements of the regulation.]

Proposal 3. 3002.2a - delete.

[The proposal would delete the requirement for employees to wear helmets.]

Proposal 4. 3002.2b - delete.

[The proposal would delete the requirement for employees to wear eye protection.]

Proposal 5. 3002.2c - delete.

[The proposal would delete the requirement for employees to wear highly visible clothing, such as reflective vests.]

Proposal 6. 3002.2d - delete.

[The proposal would delete the requirement for employees to wear certain footwear.]

Proposal 7. 3002.2e - delete.

[The proposal would delete the requirement that employees wear clothing covering the upper torso and legs.]

IV. Positions of the Parties

1. Agency

The Agency contends that Proposal 2 would exclude unit employees from that portion of its regulations requiring the use of personal protective equipment and would, instead, require them to comply with "less stringent requirements" of the CVC. Statement at 2. The Agency asserts that Proposals 3-7 would delete requirements to wear specific items of personal protection equipment, including helmets, eye protection, reflective vests, footwear and certain clothing. The Agency contends that these proposals, taken together, would replace the requirements of its regulations with the requirements governing the operation of two and three-wheeled vehicles imposed by the State of California.

According to the Agency, the purpose of the regulations in dispute is "to protect agency personnel and property from injury, damage, and destruction arising from traffic accidents on the [Base]." Id. The Agency asserts that an agency's right to determine internal security practices includes the right to determine policies and actions which are part of its plan to secure or safeguard its personnel and physical property. In support of its position, the Agency cites International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Truck Drivers, Warehousemen & Helpers of Jacksonville, Local Union 512 and Department of the Navy, Consolidated Civilian Personnel, Jacksonville, Florida, 32 FLRA 1200 (1988) (Department of the Navy) and National Association of Government Employees, SEIU, Local R7-51 and Department of the Navy, Navy Public Works Center, Great Lakes, Illinois, 30 FLRA 415 (1987), among other Authority decisions. The Agency contends that the requirement to wear the safety equipment at issue is part of a plan adopted by the Agency to guard against harm to its property and personnel. The Agency concludes that because Proposals 2-7 remove management's requirements as to the use of specified protective equipment, the proposals "directly and excessively interfere with [management's] right to determine its internal security practices" under section 7106(a)(1) of the Statute and are, therefore, nonnegotiable. Statement at 2.

2. Union

The Union contends that the proposals should be found negotiable because the Agency "[has] not shown any compelling need for the regulations in [dispute] which far exceed[] the CVC requirements of the State of California." Response at 3 (emphasis in original).

According to the Union, Proposal 2 would require civilians operating a motorcycle at the Base "to abide by the State of California Vehicle Code only." Petition for Review at 3. The Union asserts that "there is no reason for [the] additional safety gear [requirements proposed by the Agency] since the State of California" has no such requirements. Id. (emphasis in original). As to Proposal 3, the Union states that because employees of the Agency are beyond the age requirement of the CVC for wearing helmets, there should be no requirement for employees to wear helmets. With respect to Proposals 4, 5, 6 and 7, which concern, respectively, eye protection, highly visible clothing, footwear, and clothing covering the upper torso and legs, the Union contends that the CVC does not require this equipment and, therefore, there is "no reason" for the requirements provided in the Agency's regulations. Id. at 4-5.

V. Analysis and Conclusions

For the reasons discussed below, we find that Proposals 2-7 directly interfere with management's right to determine its internal security practices under section 7106(a)(1) of the Statute and conclude, therefore, that the proposals are nonnegotiable.

Management's right to determine its internal security practices under section 7106(a)(1) of the Statute includes the right to determine the policies and actions that are a part of its plan to secure or safeguard the personnel and the physical property of the Agency. See National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 2050 and Environmental Protection Agency, 36 FLRA 618, 631 (1990); Department of the Navy, 32 FLRA at 1204; National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 15 and U.S. Army Armament, Munitions and Chemical Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Rock Island, Illinois, 30 FLRA 472, 475 (1987) (Rock Island). Where an agency shows a link or reasonable connection between its goal of safeguarding personnel or property and its practice or decision designed to implement that goal, a proposal which directly interferes with or negates the agency's practice or decision conflicts with the agency's right under section 7106(a)(1). American Federation of Government Employees, Council 214 and Department of the Air Force, Air Force Logistics Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, 34 FLRA 977, 983 (1990).

The Agency states that the requirement in its regulations that operators of two and three-wheeled vehicles, including motorcycles, wear personal protective equipment is a part of the plan that it has adopted to protect Agency personnel and property from injury and to prevent damage and destruction resulting from traffic accidents on the Base. We find that the Agency has established a link between its goal of safeguarding personnel and property and its requirement that operators of two and three-