12:0361(78)NG - Federal Employees MTC and Navy, Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, CA -- 1983 FLRAdec NG

 12 FLRA No. 78
 
 FEDERAL EMPLOYEES METAL
 TRADES COUNCIL
 Union
 
 and
 
 DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY,
 MARE ISLAND NAVAL SHIPYARD,
 VALLEJO, CALIFORNIA
 Agency
 
                                            Case No. O-NG-607
 
                 DECISION AND ORDER ON NEGOTIABILITY ISSUE
 
    The petition for review in this case comes before the Authority
 pursuant to section 7105(a)(2)(E) of the Federal Service
 Labor-Management Relations Statute (the Statute), and presents issues
 relating to the negotiability of the following Union proposal:
 
          The Federal Employees Metal Trades Council proposes that the
       searching of hand held items such as lunch boxes, purses and brief
       cases be conducted at the perimeter entrances to Mare Island Naval
       Shipyard (North, Main Gates and Ferry Landing).
 
 Upon careful consideration of the entire record, including the parties'
 contentions, the Authority makes the following determination.
 
    The dispute herein arose when the Agency decided to institute
 security searches at access points to its Controlled Industrial Area
 (CIA).  More particularly, the Agency decided to conduct searches of
 hand-held items such as lunch boxes, purses and briefcases at the CIA
 gates in order to prevent the theft of property and the transfer of
 contraband to and from the controlled area.  The Union's proposal would
 require the Agency to conduct these searches at the entrances to the
 shipyard.
 
    Section 7106(a)(1) of the Statute reserves to management the right to
 determine the internal security practices of the agency, and there is no
 dispute that management herein has the right to institute searches of
 hand-held items in order to prevent theft and transfer of contraband.
 /1/ With respect to the specific internal security practice of searching
 employees' hand-held items, the Agency has determined to limit its
 application to those employees who enter and leave the controlled area.
 The Union states that, in order to make the Agency's security plan more
 effective, it is seeking in its proposal to require the Agency to extend
 the practice of searching employees to all employees who enter and leave
 the shipyard at the entrance gates.  /2/ Thus, contrary to the Union's
 contention that the proposal only concerns where the searches will be
 conducted and establishes a negotiable procedure under section
 7106(b)(2) of the Statute, the proposal has the effect of substantively
 modifying the Agency's practice by requiring the Agency to search all
 employees who enter or leave the shipyard, including those who have no
 access to the controlled area.  In this regard, the proposal conflicts
 with the Agency's decision that to prevent theft of property and
 transfer of contraband to and from the CIA, it is necessary only to
 search employees' hand-held items as they enter and leave the controlled
 area.  Therefore, the Union proposal is outside the duty to bargain
 under section 7106(a)(1) of the Statute because it is inconsistent with
 the Agency's right to determine its internal security practices.
 
    Accordingly, pursuant to section 2424.10 of the Authority's Rules and
 Regulations, IT IS ORDERED that the Union's petition for review be, and
 it hereby is, dismissed.  Issued, Washington, D.C., July 29, 1983
                                       Barbara J. Mahone, Chairman
                                       Ronald W. Haughton, Member
                                       Henry B. Frazier III, Member
                                       FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY
 
 
 
 
 
 
 --------------- FOOTNOTES$ ---------------
 
 
    /1/ Cf. American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local
 15 and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, North
 Atlantic Region, 2 FLRA 875 (1980) (an agency's right to determine
 internal security practices under the Statute extends to the
 establishment of rules to prevent disruption of its operations,
 unwarranted disclosure of privileged information, and destruction of its
 property).
 
 
    /2/ Union Reply Brief at 1.