DECISION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
I. Statement of the Case
This case requires that we examine the negotiability of two proposals to provide premium pay for work on holidays and on Sundays, respectively. The matter is before the Board pursuant to §7105(a)(2)(E) of the Federal Service Labor Management Relations Statute (“FSLMRS”), 5 U.S.C. §7105(a)(2)(E), as applied by §220(c)(1) of the Congressional Accountability Act (“CAA”), 2 U.S.C. §1351(c)(1).
The petitioner International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 26 (“IBEW Local 26” or “Union”) is the certified representative of a unit of electricians employed in the Construction Management Division of the Office of the Architect of the Capitol (“Employing Office” or “AOC”). These employees are employed on an “as-needed” basis for various construction projects undertaken by the Employing Office. The parties are negotiating for an initial collective bargaining agreement that will cover terms and conditions of employment, including pay.
The Union has submitted a proposal that would require covered employees who work on holidays to be paid not less than two times the straight-time rate for all time worked. Under a separate proposal, the employees who undertake a tour of duty including worktime on a Sunday would receive in addition to their basic rate of pay a premium of 25% of the basic hourly rate, or a greater rate if provided by applicable law. The Employing Office contends that these proposals are nonnegotiable.
As framed by the arguments of AOC, this case raises the identical legal issues that are presented in Plumbers Local 5, United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada and Office of the Architect of the Capitol (“Plumbers Local 5”), 01-LRM-01, also decided this day. In that case, the negotiability of a holiday premium pay proposal offered by Plumbers Local 5 is disputed. The AOC advanced essentially the same arguments there that it presented here. The Board has ruled today in Plumbers Local 5 that the grounds asserted by AOC for non-negotiability are not well founded. For the same reasons articulated in that decision, we likewise conclude here that the premium pay proposals of IBEW Local 26 are negotiable.
