[ v33 p879 ]
33:0879(124)NG
The decision of the Authority follows:
33 FLRA No. 124
FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY
WASHINGTON, D.C.
NATIONAL TREASURY EMPLOYEES UNION
and
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY
0-NG-1604
ORDER DISMISSING PETITION FOR REVIEW
July 28, 1989
On September 28, 1988, the National Treasury Employees Union (the Union) filed a petition for review of a negotiability issue pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 7117(c) and 5 C.F.R. § 2424.1. The U.S. Department of Treasury (the Agency) filed a Statement of Position on November 2, 1988. The Union filed a response thereto on November 17, 1988.
The issue presented in the petition for review was the negotiability of a ground rules provision that was part of a ground rules agreement negotiated by the Union and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on August 26, 1988. The ground rules provision, enumerated as Section 10 in the ground rules agreement, established an impasse resolution procedure for use in the parties' up-coming contract negotiations. Among other things, the provision contained various dates by which certain actions were to take place. The provision was disapproved by the Agency on September 23, 1988, under section 7114(c) of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute.
On May 2, 1989, the Authority issued an Order to Show Cause directing the Union to demonstrate why its petition for review should not be dismissed on the basis that the provision at issue was moot. A review of the provision indicated that the dates specified therein had already passed. The Union was asked to explain in what manner the provision should not be considered moot. The Union filed a response with the Authority on May 12, 1989. The Agency also filed a submission with the Authority on May 25, 1989. For a reason other than that expressed in the show cause order, the petition for review must be dismissed because it is moot.
While the petition for review in this case was pending before the Authority, the Union filed a petition for review in another case, captioned Case No. 0-NG-1638. In Case No. 0-NG-1638, the Union appealed an Agency head disapproval of an amended ground rules provision, negotiated by the Union and IRS on November 10, 1988, which also established an impasse resolution procedure.(*) A review of the provision in Case No. 0-NG-1638 indicates that it is a replacement for the provision in dispute in Case No. 0-NG-1604. That is, the provision in Case No. 0-NG-1638 expressly provides:
1) The groundrules agreement executed by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) on August 26, 1988 is hereby amended as follows:
a) Section 10 is deleted and is replaced by the following--[the full text of the procedure then follows]
Thus, the parties in the amended ground rules provision dated November 10, 1988, deleted from the August 26, 1988, ground rules agreement, the ground rules provision which is the subject of the petition for review in Case No. 0-NG-1604. Consequently, the dispute concerning the provision in Case No. 0-NG-1604 has been rendered moot. The petition for review in Case No. 0-NG-1604, therefore, is dismissed.
For the Authority.
____________________________
Clyde B. Blandford,
Jr.
Acting Executive Director
FOOTNOTES:
(If blank, the decision does not
have footnotes.)
*/ The petition for review in Case No. 0-NG-1638 is currently pending before the Authority.