Navy Public Works Center, Pearl Harbor, Honolulu, Hawaii v. Federal Labor Relations Authority

Title VII of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, Pub.L.No.95-454, 92 Stat. 1111 (1978), codified the law of labor-management relations in the federal public sector. 5 U.S.C. § 7101 et seq. The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) was created to administer that Title, subject to review by the courts. In this case, the FLRA determined that a union proposal, which arose in the course of collective bargaining between a union and the Navy Public Works Center (Navy) was negotiable. IBEW, Local 1186 v. Navy Public Works Center, Pearl Harbor, Honolulu, Hawaii, 4 FLRA No. 32 (1980). The Navy petitions for review and the FLRA cross-applies for enforcement of the resulting decision and order, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 7123 (a) and (b). We agree with the Navy’s contention that the proposal in question is nonnegotiable. We, therefore, refuse to enforce the FLRA decision and order.

I.

INTRODUCTION

Title VII imposes a broad duty on a federal employer to bargain over conditions of employment with the authorized employee representative. 5 U.S.C. § 7117 . There are, however, certain limitations upon that duty. One limitation is set forth in the management rights section of the Title. That…