Following an investigation of the requests for assistance, arising from negotiations over compressed work schedules (CWS) for facilities and laundry employees represented by both locals at the correctional facilities, the Panel determined that the disputes should be resolved on the basis of single written submissions from the parties. The parties were informed that after considering the entire record, the Panel would take whatever action it deemed appropriate to resolve the impasse, which may include the issuance of a Decision and Order. Written submissions were made pursuant to this procedure, and the Panel has now considered the entire record.

    The Employer’s mission is to protect society by confining offenders in the controlled environments of prisons and community-based facilities that are safe, humane, and appropriately secure. The FCI houses convicted felons who are U.S. citizens, while the FDC houses convicted felons who are illegal aliens. Local 1007 represents approximately 230 employees at the FDC, and Local 3957 represents approximately 225 at the FCI. Unit employees work as correctional officers, maintenance workers, medical services personnel, accountants, food services personnel, facilities foremen, and recreation and laundry workers. They range in grade from GS-5 through -11. The parties’ master collective bargaining agreement was due to expire on March 8, 2001, but its terms continue in effect until negotiations over a successor agreement are completed.

1. Facilities Foremen (Case Nos. 01 FSIP 67 and 68)

    This schedule would improve efficiency in a number of ways. To begin with, facilities coverage would be increased from 40 to 50 hours per week, and additional time each day when inmates are away from the workplace would give foremen more time to complete paperwork and other "administrative duties prior to inmate work call." Also, scheduled days off such as Monday or Friday would give an incentive to employees to accomplish their work within 4 days as opposed to 5, and would boost morale by allowing employees to enjoy 3-day weekends. Another potential benefit is that foremen, who currently have little time to participate in shakedowns, would now be able to take part in such searches. Additionally, a 4-10 schedule "would have a positive impact on employees because it would reduce sick leave abuse." In this regard, "the fact that 10 hours would be charged to the individual as opposed to 8 would serve as a deterrent to abuse." These benefits were apparent to at least one other Federal prison which has adopted a comparable schedule for facilities employees. Finally, the Employer has failed to establish that employees’ having Mondays and Fridays off would be less efficient than the Employer’s proposal allowing only Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays off. In this regard, the Employer has conceded that employees are available to do on-call emergency plumbing, heating/air conditioning, and electrical work on the weekend.

    A facility foreman’s primary function is to supervise inmates. Because the 5-4/9 schedule results in less down time during which foremen are not supervising inmates, it is superior to a 4-10 schedule. In this regard, under a 5-4/9 schedule, foremen would spend all but 1½ hours per day supervising inmate work details, whereas under the Union’s 4-10 proposal, foremen would spend almost 3 hours a day in activities that do not involve supervising inmates. Additionally, in contrast to the Union’s proposal, which would result in 50 percent of the facilities foremen being absent on 2 days each week, the 5-4/9 schedule permits the spread of such absences over 6 days in the space of 2 weeks, thereby reducing the number of foremen taking each CWS day off. The limited number of off days under the Union’s proposal are problematic because that plan results in "all inmate details [being] doubled." Furthermore, "if any additional foremen are on sick or annual leave, other details will be tripled or quadrupled." However, even though maximizing the number of off days has the effect of limiting the number of foremen absent on any given day, absences on Mondays are undesirable because of the heavy demand for repairs of plumbing, heating/air conditioning, and electrical systems after the weekend. Friday off days are also undesirable because repair requests tend to be heavy on Fridays. In another related development, other departments may soon negotiate compressed schedules under which additional prison staff will take off on Mondays and Fridays, resulting in understaffing and an increase in security concerns on those days. Finally, because staffing is lighter during extended training, and because of the loss of 1 day of productivity during Federal holidays, the schedule should be suspended during annual refresher training and after Federal holidays.