Cite as: 526 U. S. 86 (1999)
Opinion of the Court
however, finds little support for such a strong negative implication.
Subsection (a) of the management rights provision withdraws from collective bargaining certain subjects that it reserves exclusively for decision by management. It specifies, for example, that federal agency "management official[s]" will retain their authority to hire, fire, promote, and assign work, and also to determine the agency's "mission, budget, organization, number of employees, and internal security practices." § 7106(a).
Subsection (b), however, permits a certain amount of collective bargaining in respect to the very subjects that subsection (a) withdrew. Subsection (b) states:
"Nothing in this section shall preclude any agency and any labor organization from negotiating—
"(1) at the election of the agency, on the numbers, types, and grades of employees or positions assigned to any organizational subdivision, work project, or tour of duty, or on the technology, methods, and means of performing work;
"(2) procedures which management officials . . . will observe in exercising any authority under this section; or
"(3) appropriate arrangements for employees adversely affected by the exercise of any authority under this section by such management officials." § 7106(b) (emphasis added).
The two subsections of the management rights provision, taken together, do not help the Agency. While the provision contemplates that bargaining over the impact and implementation of management changes may take place during the term of the basic labor contract, subsection (b) need not be read to actually impose a duty to bargain midterm. The italicized clause, "[n]othing in this section shall preclude," indicates only that the delegation of certain rights to man-
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