The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
Circuit has ruled that a collective bargaining agreement
reached between the Federal Aviation Administration and
an employee union is not enforceable because the Office
of Management and Budget never gave it final approval,
which the agreement was allegedly contingent upon.
In its petition before the Federal Labor Relations
Authority, the American Federation of State, Country and
Municipal Employees argued that the Federal Aviation
Administration engaged in unfair labor practices when
it refused to carry out the agreement because it was
pending approval from OMB–even though the agency and
union appeared to have ironed out the terms.
FLRA dismissed the petition, saying the agreement–
covering four Washington D.C. based FAA units–was
tentative and nonbinding, But the union appealed on the
grounds that the dismissal was not supported by
substantial evidence and was a departure from FLRA
precedent.
However, after review of the negotiations and witness
testimony, the appeals court found in favor of FLRA.