13:0088(23)CU - Adjutant General of New Hampshire, State Military Reservation,Concord, NH, 157th Air Refueling Group, New Hampshire Air NG and Granite State Chapter, ACT -- 1983 FLRAdec RP

 13 FLRA No. 23
 
 ADJUTANT GENERAL OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
 STATE MILITARY RESERVATION
 CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE
 157th AIR REFUELING GROUP
 NEW HAMPSHIRE AIR NATIONAL GUARD
 Activity/Petitioner
 
 and
 
 GRANITE STATE CHAPTER, ASSOCIATION OF
 CIVILIAN TECHNICIANS
 Labor Organization /1/
 
                                            Case No. 1-CU-20007
 
                    DECISION AND ORDER CLARIFYING UNIT
 
    Upon a petition duly filed with the Federal Labor Relations Authority
 under section 7111(b)(2) of the Federal Service Labor-Management
 Relations Statute (the Statute), a hearing was held before a hearing
 officer of the Authority.  The hearing officer's rulings made at the
 hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
 
    Upon careful consideration of the entire record, including the
 parties' contentions, the Authority finds:  The Granite State Chapter,
 Association of Civilian Technicians (ACT) was certified on June 5, 1973
 as the exclusive bargaining representative for a unit of all Wage Board
 and General Schedule Air National Guard technicians employed in the
 State of New Hampshire.  Essentially, the petition seeks to clarify the
 unit status of four employees who the Activity/Petitioner contends
 should be excluded from the bargaining unit on the grounds that they are
 supervisors, management officials or both.  /2/ SUPERVISORS /3/
 
    The Activity/Petitioner contends that the following individuals are
 supervisors within the meaning of section 7103(a)(10) of the Statute and
 should be excluded from the unit:  Thomas Bunting, Flight Instructor
 (Fixed Wing), GS-2181-GM13 Chief, Scheduling Section KC 135A);  John
 Recher, Flight Instructor (Fixed Wing), GS-2181-GM13 Chief,
 Standardization/Evaluation (KS 135A);  and Hubert Burkhead, Flight
 Instructor (Fixed Wing), GS-2181-GM13 Chief, Training Branch (KC 135A).
 Of these, the record establishes that Burkhead assigns and directs the
 work of civilian subordinates and that such duties are not merely
 routine or clerical in nature but require the consistent exercise of
 independent judgment.  Accordingly, Burkhead is a supervisor within the
 meaning of section 7103(a)(10) of the Statute and should be excluded
 from the unit.  /4/ The Authority further concludes that neither Bunting
 nor Recher exercise any of the statutory indicia of supervisory
 authority.  Therefore, they are not supervisors within the meaning of
 section 7103(a)(10) of the Statute.  MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS /5/
 
    The Activity/Petitioner contends that the following individuals are
 management officials within the meaning of section 7103(a)(11) of the
 Statute and should be excluded from the unit:  Joseph Wright, Flight
 Instructor (Fixed Wing), GS-2181-GM13 Chief of Safety;  Thomas Bunting,
 Flight Instructor (Fixed Wing), GS-2181-GM13 Chief, Scheduling Section
 (KC 135A);  and John Recher, Flight Instructor (Fixed Wing),
 GS-2181-GM13 Chief, Standardization/Evaluation (KC 135A).  In the lead
 case of Department of the Navy, Automatic Data Processing Selection
 Office, 7 FLRA No. 24 (1981), the Authority interpreted the statutory
 definition of "management official" to include those individuals who:
 (1) create, establish or prescribe general principles, plans, or courses
 of action for an agency;  (2) decide upon or settle upon general
 principles, plans or courses of action for an agency;  or (3) bring
 about or obtain a result as to the adoption of general principles, plans
 or courses of action for an agency.  Applying these criteria to the
 instant case, the Authority finds that Wright, Bunting, and Recher are
 management officials and should be excluded from the bargaining unit.
 Thus, the record establishes that Wright, the Activity's expert on
 flying safety, has established Activity policy in the area of minimum
 weather criteria for operation of the Activity's aircraft as well as
 with respect to maximizing flying safety.  He instituted changes in the
 Activity's flying procedures to cope with problems resulting from the
 air traffic controllers' strike and has instituted changes in the Air
 Force Occupational Safety and Health Standard on bulk storage which has
 affected Air Force installations all over the world.  Bunting has
 authored numerous policy regulations and operational procedures
 including the Major Accident Response Exercise, Use of Flight Crew
 Vehicles, Aerospace System Security, Pyramic Alert Notification/Recall
 and Disaster Warning/Notification Procedures, Mandatory Calls to
 Operations Control Center, and Crew Rest and Flight Duty Period
 Restrictions.  Recher has promulgated numerous policy procedures used by
 the Activity in the areas of flying, ground activities, testing
 activities and examinations, including the Standards of Evaluation
 Criteria used in grading the performance of employees, the Fuel and
 Alternative Airfield Requirements, and Minimum Interval Takeoff
 Training.  It follows that the responsibilities of all three of these
 employees require and authorize them to formulate, determine, or
 influence the policies of the agency within the meaning of section
 7103(a)(11) of the Statute as interpreted by the Authority.
 Accordingly, the Authority finds that they are management officials and
 should be excluded from the unit.
 
                                   ORDER
 
    IT IS ORDERED that the unit sought to be clarified herein be, and it
 hereby is, clarified by excluding from said unit the following
 individuals:  Joseph Wright, Flight Instructor (Fixed Wing),
 GS-2181-GM13 Chief of Safety;  Thomas Bunting, Flight Instructor (Fixed
 Wing), GS-2181-GM13 Chief, Scheduling Section (KC 135A);  John Recher,
 Flight Instructor (Fixed Wing), GS-2181-GM13 Chief,
 Standardization/Evaluation (KC 135A);  and Hubert Burkhead, Flight
 Instructor (Fixed Wing), GS-2181-GM13 Chief, Training Branch (KC 135A).
 
 Issued, Washington, D.C., September 27, 1983
 
                                       Barbara J. Mahone, Chairman
                                       Ronald W. Haughton, Member
                                       Henry B. Frazier III, Member
                                       FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY
 
 
 
 
 
 
 --------------- FOOTNOTES$ ---------------
 
 
    /1/ The names of the Activity/Petitioner and the Labor Organization
 appear as amended at the hearing.
 
 
    /2/ During the course of the hearing the parties stipulated that the
 incumbent in the job classification of Aircraft Engineer Mechanic
 Foreman, WS-8602-07 was a supervisor and should be excluded from the
 unit.  The Authority deems such a stipulation to be a motion to amend
 the petition which is hereby granted.
 
 
    /3/ Section 7103(a)(10) of the Statute defines a "supervisor" as:
 
       . . . an individual employed by an agency having authority in the
       interest of the agency to hire, direct, assign, promote, reward,
       transfer, furlough, layoff, recall, suspend, discipline, or remove
       employees, to adjust their grievances, or to effectively recommend
       such action, if the exercise of the authority is not merely
       routine or clerical in nature but requires the consistent exercise
       of independent judgment. . . .
 
 
    /4/ Therefore, it is unnecessary to determine whether or not Burkhead
 is also a management official within the meaning of the Statute.
 
 
    /5/ Section 7103(a)(1) of the Statute defines a "management official"
 as:
 
       . . . an individual employed by an agency in a position the duties
       and responsibilities of which require or authorize the individual
       to formulate, determine, or influence the policies of the agency.
       . . .