AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO, LOCAL 916 and JUNE A. MESARICK

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO, LOCAL 916 Respondent
and JUNE A. MESARICK Charging Party	Case No. 76-CO-10038

Mr. Jimmie D. Green For the Respondent
Bruce Conant, Esquire Matthew L. Jarvinen, Esquire For the General Counsel
Before: WILLIAM B. DEVANEY Administrative Law Judge

This proceeding, under the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute, Chapter 71 of Title 5 of the United States Code, 5 U.S.C. § 7101, et seq. ⁽¹⁾, and the Rules and Regulations issued thereunder, 5 C.F.R. § 2423.1, et seq., concerns an alleged statement by the Union President to the charging party, to the effect, that if she filed an unfair labor practice charge her grievance would be dropped.

This case was initiated by a charge filed on June 12, 1991 (G.C. Exh. 1(a)), which alleged violations of §§ 16(b) (1), (2), (3), (5) and (6) of the Statute. The Complaint and Notice of Hearing issued on May 28, 1992 (G.C. Exh. 1(b)), alleged violation of § 16(b)(1) only and set the hearing for August 28, 1992, at a time and place in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to be designated later. By Order dated June 15, 1992 (G.C. Exh. 1(d)) the time and place of the hearing was set and, pursuant thereto, a hearing was duly held on August 28, 1992, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, before the undersigned. All parties were represented at the hearing, were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to introduce evidence bearing on the issue involved, and were afforded the opportunity to present oral argument which each party waived. At the conclusion of the hearing, pursuant to the request of Respondent to which General Counsel had no objection, October 14, 1992, was fixed as the date for mailing post-hearing briefs. General Counsel timely mailed a brief, received on October 19, 1992, which has been carefully considered. Respondent on October 28, 1992, mailed a brief, received on November 2, 1992. As Respondent's brief was not timely mailed it is rejected and has not been considered. Upon the basis of the entire record, including my observation of the witnesses and their demeanor, I make the following findings and conclusions.

1. The Respondent, American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 916 (hereinafter, "Union"), is the exclusive representative of a bargaining unit of employees at the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker Air Force Base (hereinafter, "Tinker AFB").

2. The Charging Party, June A. Mesarick, is employed at Tinker AFB as a GS-7 Supply Technician, having worked herself up from a GS-2 Clerk-typist to her present job which is to research requisitions for aircraft parts.

3. Although employed by the Air Force for more than 20 years and having received fully satisfactory performance evaluations in recent years (Res. Exh. 4, p. 6), Ms. Mesarick contends that management continuously lies about her (Tr. 31); that Tinker AFB tapped her home telephones, stole her keys and broke into her house, and stole her address book and planted it at the Union hall (Tr. 30, 63). Tinker AFB previously proposed to reprimand Ms. Mesarick for making false statements (Tr. 26, 28), but Ms. Mesarick said the supervisor lied about her (Tr. 28). In 1990, Ms. Mesarick told several persons that she had talked to Becky, who had died about a month earlier (Res. Exh. 4, pp. 9-11).

4. In March, 1988, Ms. Mesarick received a suspension of one day; she filed a grievance which she said went to arbitration in about May, 1989; and she said that Ms. Cheryl Prentice, who is in charge of arbitrations for the Union, told her that she had won (Tr. 16).⁽²⁾ Nevertheless, Ms. Mesarick said that she continued to talk to Ms. Prentice every couple of months about the grievance; that, ". . . they were supposed to have hearing over again for 40 different people . . ." (Tr. 17). She stated that, ". . . they finally told me that -- after two years they told me to forget it, that it was -- that case was out in limbo, and I could just forget about it." (Tr. 17).

5. Ms. Mesarick wrote to Mr. Eugene Marshall, President of the Union, on November 19, 1990, in which she stated, in part,

"This is a request for information on the five cases the union has had in arbitration

regarding me from 1988 to the present. Ms. Prentice advised me several weeks ago

the cases were in limbo indefinitely because Tinker AFB has refused to follow

thru. . . ." (G.C. Exh. 1(a), attachment).

6. On November 29, 1990, the Union and Tinker AFB entered into the following memorandum of agreement,

"On Thursday, November 29, 1990, the parties came to agreement on Mesarick

Case No. 15771. The Parties formalized an agreement in which the Union would

withdraw Mesarick Case No. 15771 from the Expedited Arbitration arena. This will

consider the Case No. 15771 closed, and not subject to further arbitration." (Res.

Exh. 1; Tr. 66-67).

7. On May 5, 1991, Ms. Mesarick wrote President Marshall again and stated, in part,

"Please advise the latest status on Grievance # 15771. . . . Enclosed is cy of 19

Nov 1990 letter I personally handed to you and you never answered to date." (G.C.

Exh. 1(a), attachment).

Ms. Mesarick stated that Mr. Marshall told her there was no reason for him to write her because he talked to her and didn't have to write (Tr. 18).

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