16:0305(47)RO - Naval Medical Command, National Capital Region and Local 14, Federal Firefighters Association and Local 361, AFGE -- 1984 FLRAdec RP

 16 FLRA No. 47
 
 NAVAL MEDICAL COMMAND
 NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION
 Activity
 
 and
 
 LOCAL 14, FEDERAL FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION
 Petitioner
 
 and
 
 LOCAL 361, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT
 EMPLOYEES, (AFL-CIO)
 Intervenor
 
                                            Case No. 3-RO-30017
 
                            DECISION AND ORDER
 
    Upon a petition duly filed with the Authority under section 7111 of
 the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (the Statute), a
 hearing was held before a hearing officer of the Authority.  The
 Authority has reviewed the hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing
 and finds that they are free from prejudicial error.  They are hereby
 affirmed.
 
    Upon careful consideration of the entire record, including the
 parties' contentions, the Authority finds:  Local 14, Federal
 Firefighters Association (Firefighters) seeks to represent a unit of all
 nonsupervisory general schedule (GS) Fire Prevention and Protection
 employees of the Naval Medical Command, National Capital Region,
 Bethesda, Maryland 20814.  Since 1963, these employees have been part of
 a unit represented by Local 361, American Federation of Government
 Employees (AFL-CIO) (AFGE).  The Activity and AFGE contend that granting
 the petition would result in unnecessary fragmentation of an appropriate
 unit.
 
    The Authority established as a general standard in severance issues
 that it "is bound by the three criteria for determining the
 appropriateness of any unit . . . ." /1/ Such a standard is mandated by
 section 7112(a)(1) of the Statute.  /2/ In applying the three criteria
 to the circumstances of this case, the Authority concludes that
 severance should be denied.  The record establishes that the
 Activity-wide unit currently represented by AFGE is appropriate as all
 of the Activity's employees, including the Fire Prevention and
 Protection employees, share a community of interest at the Activity
 level and that such unit promotes effective dealings and efficiency of
 agency operations.  Thus, all of the Activity's employees share a common
 mission, are subject to the same merit promotion policies and
 competitive areas, and have been part of a long-standing, established
 bargaining unit.  Further, the weight of the evidence fails to
 demonstrate that the Fire Prevention and Protection employees have not
 been represented fairly or that their bargaining concerns have been
 overlooked by AFGE.  /3/ Finally, in agreement with the Activity and the
 Intervenor and noting particularly the long-standing, established
 Activity-wide bargaining unit, it is concluded that effective dealings
 and efficiency of operations of the Activity will be promoted by
 avoiding unnecessary fragmentation.  Accordingly, the Authority
 concludes that the Firefighter's petition seeks an inappropriate unit
 and therefore must be dismissed.  U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod,
 Otis Air Force Base, Pocasset, Massachusetts, 10 FLRA 543 (1982) and
 Department of the Navy, Naval Air Station, Moffett Field, California, 8
 FLRA 10 (1982).
 
                                   ORDER
 
    IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petition in Case No. 3-RO-30017 be, and
 it hereby is, dismissed.  Issued, Washington, D.C., October 30, 1984
                                       Henry B. Frazier III, Acting
                                       Chairman
                                       Ronald W. Haughton, Member
                                       FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY
 
 
 
 
 
 
 --------------- FOOTNOTES$ ---------------
 
 
    /1/ International Communications Agency, 5 FLRA 97 at 99 (1981).
 
 
    /2/ Section 7112(a)(1) provides:
 
    Sec. 7112.  Determination of appropriate units for labor organization
 representation
 
          (a)(1) The Authority shall determine the appropriateness of any
       unit.  The Authority shall determine in each case whether, in
       order to ensure employees the fullest freedom in exercising the
       rights guaranteed under this chapter, the appropriate unit should
       be established on an agency, plant, installation, functional, or
       other basis and shall determine any unit to be an appropriate unit
       only if the determination will ensure a clear and identifiable
       community of interest among the employees in the unit and will
       promote effective dealings with, and efficiency of the operations
       of, the agency involved.
 
 
    /3/ AFGE and the Activity have had numerous collective bargaining
 agreements over the past twenty years, the most recent agreement having
 expired in February of 1982.