DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY HEADQUARTERS ARMAMENT, MUNITIONS, AND CHEMICAL COMMAND ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL ROCK ISLAND, ILLINOIS and LOCAL 15, NATIONAL FEDERATION OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES

United States of America

BEFORE THE FEDERAL SERVICE IMPASSES PANEL

    The Department of the Army, Headquarters, Armament, Munitions, and Chemical Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Rock Island, Illinois (Employer), and Local 15, National Federation of Federal Employees (Union), filed a joint request for assistance with the Federal Service Impasses Panel (Panel) to consider a negotiation impasse under the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (Statute), 5 U.S.C. § 7119.

    After investigation of the request for assistance, the Panel determined that the impasse should be resolved through an informal conference between a Panel representative and the parties. If no settlement were reached, the Panel representative was to notify the Panel of the status of the dispute; the notification would include the final offers of the parties and the representative's recommendations for resolving the matter. Following consideration of this information, the Panel would take whatever action it deemed appropriate to resolve the impasse, including the issuance of a binding decision.

    Pursuant to the Panel's determination, Staff Associate Harry E. Jones met with the parties on September 29, 1993, at Rock Island, Illinois. At that meeting, the parties were unable to reach agreement on the one outstanding issue. Mr. Jones has reported to the Panel, and it has now considered the entire record.

    The Employer is the worldwide manager (purchaser, manufacturer, and distributor) of armament, munitions, and chemicals for the Department of the Army. The bargaining unit consists of approximately 2,800 nonprofessional General Schedule employees who range in grade from GS-2 through -14. The parties' collective-bargaining agreement expired in November 1992, but remains in effect pending the implementation of a successor.

    The single issue in dispute is the starting time for employees on flexitime and 5-4/9 work schedules.⁽¹⁾

1. The Union's Position

    The Union's proposal is as follows:

Start Times: AWS -- 0630 to 0830; Flexitime -- 0600 to 830. 

If an employee elects AWS, the tour start time is no earlier than 0630. In so choosing AWS, the employee forfeits the right to return to a flexitime schedule beginning at 0600. 

If an employee elects flexitime, the tour start time is no earlier than 0600. If an employee submits a formal written schedule change (AMCCOM Form 239-R) past 0630, the employee forfeits the right to return to an 0600 start time.

This proposal would require those employees who select the 5-4/9 option to begin work between 6:30 and 8:30 a.m. while allowing those who elect to remain on a 5-day per week, 8-hour per day schedule, with flexitime, to begin work between 6 and 8:30 a.m. Currently, approximately 25 percent of employees start before 6:30 a.m. Since some of those employees are likely to elect the 5-4/9 option, they would forfeit the right to return to an earlier start time if they subsequently return to a flexitime schedule. Also, since some employees who elect to continue on the latrter type of schedule may, at some point, change to a starting time of 6:30 a.m. or later, those employees would also forfeit the right to return to a 6 a.m. start time. Through this process, combined with normal attrition, all employees would eventually have a starting time of 6:30 a.m. or later. This "grandfather" approach is fair, given that some employees carpool with other Rock Island workers who start at 6 a.m. In addition, the earlier start time is beneficial to the Employer since employees interact with customers in a wide range of time zones. Overall, the proposal balances the interests of the Employer with those of employees who have come to rely on a 12-year practice.

    The Employer's proposal fails to recognize that employees have had the option of starting work at 6 a.m. since 1981 and that there has been no adverse impact on the mission. Moreover, many employees have structured carpool and dependent care arrangements around the 6 a.m. start time; a change to 6:30 a.m. would have a disruptive effect on employees' personal lives. A 6-month grandfather period is not adequate, given that the benefits which may accrue to the Employer are merely speculative. Furthermore, the 6-year-old study relied on by the Employer to demonstrate reduced productivity during unsupervised work time lacks credibility, as no description of the methodology is provided; in this regard, the document containing the results appears to be more of an opinion rather than a comprehensive evaluation of the flexitime program. Generally speaking, the Employer's plan is overly disruptive and is likely to have a negative impact on employee morale.

2. The Employer's Position

    The Employer proposes the following:

Start Times: AWS -- 0630 to 0830; Flexitime -- 0600 to 0830. 

If an employee elects AWS, the tour start time is no earlier than 0630. In so choosing AWS, the employee forfeits the right to return to a flexitime schedule beginning at 0600. 

If an employee elects flexitime, the tour start time is no earlier than 0600. If an employee submits a formal written schedule change (AMCCOM Form 239-R) past 0630, the employee forfeits the right to return to an 0600 start time. If an employee elects flexitime, start time is 0600 to 0830 for a period not to exceed 6 months. If an employee elects a schedule change, the earliest start time must be 0630 and may not revert to 0600 or 0615.

Its proposal is identical to the Union's except for its last two sentences. Unlike the Union's proposal, its "grandfathering" of employees who remain on flexitime is limited to a 6-month period; after that, all employees would be required to begin work at 6:30 a.m. or later. A 6:30 a.m. start time is consistent with the start times of some employees at other installations with whom AMC employees frequently interact,⁽²⁾ TECOM Aberdeen, Maryland 6:30 and is necessary to maximize the interaction between supervisors and front-line employees. Moreover, since some employees have greater expertise with certain types of products, having them available during more regular hours will have a beneficial impact on the overall mission. The proposal also provides a reasonable accommodation to unit employees