16:0350(53)AR - Grievance of Jay Edelson, AFGE Local 12 and Labor -- 1984 FLRAdec AR

 16 FLRA No. 53
 
 GRIEVANCE OF JAY EDELSON,
 AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT
 EMPLOYEES, LOCAL 12
 Union
 
 and
 
 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
 Agency
 
                                            Case No. O-AR-757
 
                        ORDER DISMISSING EXCEPTIONS
 
    This case is before the Authority on exceptions to the award of
 Arbitrator Edward D. Friedman filed by the Union pursuant to section
 7112(a) of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute and
 section 2425.1 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations.  For the
 reasons stated below, the Union's exceptions must be dismissed as
 untimely filed.
 
    It is undisputed that the Arbitrator's undated award was received by
 the Agency and the Union's representative of record on March 26, 1984.
 Under section 7122(b) of the Statute, as amended, /1/ and section
 2425.1(b) of the Authority's Rules and Regulations, as amended, /2/
 which amendments are applicable to exceptions pending or filed with the
 Authority on or after March 2, 1984, and under sections 2429.21 and
 2429.27 of the Rules and Regulations, which are also applicable to
 computation of the time limit here involved, any exceptions to the
 Arbitrator's award in this case had to be filed with the Authority no
 later than the close of business on April 24, 1984.  The Union's
 representative of record however, appears to argue that the exceptions
 should be accepted as timely.  In support of this position, the Union's
 representative of record argues that the arbitrator's award was never in
 fact served on the grievant or Local 12.  Rather, the Union's
 representative of record provided the grievant with the arbitrator's
 award on March 27, 1984.  Thus, the time limit for filing the exceptions
 should begin to run from that date.
 
    Contrary to the Union's arguments, since in the circumstances of this
 case Local 12 existed through its representative of record, for purposes
 of service, service of the award on the Union's representative of record
 constituted service on Local 12.  Thus, since it is undisputed the
 Union's representative of record received the award on March 26, 1984,
 and filed the exceptions with the Authority on behalf of Local 12 on
 April 25, 1984, one day late, it immediately and clearly becomes
 apparent that the exceptions are untimely and must be dismissed on that
 basis.  If the exceptions were in fact filed by the Union's
 representative of record on behalf of the grievant, even though the
 grievant did not receive the arbitrator's award until March 27, 1984,
 the grievant did not participate as a "party" at the arbitration
 proceeding.  See Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Department of the Navy,
 Bremerton, Washington and Bremerton Metal Trades Council, 14 FLRA No. 30
 (1984).  Consequently, the grievant is not entitled to file exceptions
 to the arbitrator's award, and any exceptions filed on behalf of the
 grievant would be dismissed pursuant to section 2425.1(a) of the
 Authority's Regulations.
 
    Accordingly, as the Union's exceptions were untimely filed, they are
 hereby dismissed.  For the Authority.  Issued, Washington, D.C., October
 31, 1984
                                       Jan K. Bohren
                                       Executive Director/Administrator
 
 
 
 
 
 
 --------------- FOOTNOTES$ ---------------
 
 
    /1/ Section 7122(b) of the Statute was amended by the Civil Service
 Miscellaneous Amendments Act of 1983 (Pub. L. No. 98-224, Sec. 4, 98
 Stat. 47, 48 (1984)) to provide that the 30-day period for filing
 exceptions to an arbitrator's award begins on the date the award is
 served on the filing party.
 
 
    /2/ 49 Fed.Reg. 22623 (1984).