14:0079(18)NG - AFGE Local 3424 and Federal Home Loan Bank Board, San Francisco, CA -- 1984 FLRAdec NG

 14 FLRA No. 18
 
 AMERICAN FEDERATION OF
 GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO
 LOCAL 3424
 Union
 
 and
 
 FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK BOARD
 SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
 Agency
 
                                            Case No. O-NG-719
 
                DECISION AND ORDER ON NEGOTIABILITY ISSUES
 
    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 two Union proposals:
 
                             Union Proposal 1
 
          Overhead for weekend travel from a temporary duty station to
       the employee's official residence during an assignment shall be
       based on the following:
 
          When the cost of staying at his/her temporary duty station on
       weekends exceeds the cost of travel by his/her POV to his/her
       official residence and return, such employee will be entitled to
       overhead up to a maximum of three hours each way.  However, travel
       by POV each way must be arranged so that one hour of travel is on
       the employee's own time.
 
          Flight schedules must also be arranged so that one hour of
       travel is on the employee's own time.
 
                             Union Proposal 2
 
          For each four (4) week period which a unit employee is in a
       continuing per diem status, and the per diem status will last
       another five (5) work days, the District Director will authorize
       the employee to return to the Official Duty Station at the end of
       the 4th week.  The employee will travel to and from the Official
       Duty Station by the most expeditious means of transportation
       practicable.
 
    Upon careful consideration of the entire record, including the
 parties' contentions, the Authority makes the following determinations.
 According to the Union's stated intent, Union Proposal 1 requires the
 Agency to grant employees a maximum of 3 hours of duty time for
 traveling, each way, when an employee on temporary duty assignment
 wishes to return to the employee's residence on the weekends and the
 cost of staying at the temporary duty assignment exceeds the cost of
 traveling.  Thus, the express language of the proposal would preclude
 the assignment of work for a maximum of 6 hours to those employees who
 travel to their residence at the end of the workweek and return to their
 temporary duty assignment in the beginning of the workweek.  In this
 regard, the proposal is substantively identical to Proposal 2 in
 American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 3483 and
 Federal Home Loan Bank Board, New York District Office, 13 FLRA No.
 80(1983), which precluded the assignment of bank examination duties
 during hours at the beginning and end of the workday to those employees
 whose commute between residence and workplace exceeded one hour each
 way.  In that case, the Authority relied upon its decision in National
 Treasury Employees Union and NTEU Chapter 80 and Department of Treasury,
 Internal Revenue Service, Central Region, 8 FLRA No. 38(1982) to find
 the proposal outside the duty to bargain since it removed management's
 discretion to assign work to employees under section 7106(a)(2)(B) of
 the Statute.  Thus, for the reasons set forth in the Internal Revenue
 Service decision, the Authority finds that Union Proposal 1 in the
 present case is outside the duty to bargain because it directly
 interferes with the Agency's right to assign work under section
 7106(a)(2)(B) of the Statute.  /1/
 
    With respect to Union Proposal 2, the Union's stated intent is to
 require the Agency to grant the amount of administrative travel time
 necessary to complete a round trip from the temporary duty assignment to
 the employee's residence by the most expeditious means of transportation
 practicable.  Based upon the record, it appears administrative travel
 time would be within the basic workweek of 40 hours.  /2/ Accordingly,
 the effect of Union Proposal 2 is to preclude the assignment of work
 during duty hours for those hours of travel.
 
    Accordingly, pursuant to section 2424.10 of the Authority's Rules and
 Regulations, IT IS ORDERED that the petition for review as to Union
 Proposals 1 and 2 be, and it hereby is, dismissed.  /3/
 
    Issued, Washington, D.C., March 16, 1984
                                       Barbara J. Mahone, Chairman
                                       Ronald W. Haughton, Member
                                       Henry B. Frazier III, Member
                                       FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY
 
 
 
 
 
 
 --------------- FOOTNOTES$ ---------------
 
 
    /1/ Of course, management must exercise its rights under section
 7106(a)(2) in accordance with applicable laws.  In this case,
 specifically, 5 U.S.C. 6101(b)(2) requires an agency to arrange travel
 during the scheduled workweek "to the maximum extent practicable."
 However, this proposal would require travel during the scheduled
 workweek even where not practicable and is thus inconsistent with
 management's right to assign work.
 
 
    /2/ See also Title 5 CFR 610.
 
 
    /3/ In view of the decision herein, it is unnecessary to address the
 Agency's additional contentions.