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 15 FLRA No. 106
 
 DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE,
 OFFICE OF DEPENDENTS EDUCATION /1/
 Activity
 
 and
 
 OVERSEAS EDUCATION ASSOCIATION
 NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION
 Petitioner/Labor Organization
 
 and
 
 OVERSEAS FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
 AFT, AFL-CIO
 Intervenor/Labor Organization
 
                                            Case No. 3-AC-30009
 
                            DECISION AND ORDER
 
    Upon a petition duly filed with the Federal Labor Relations Authority
 under section 7111(b)(2) of the Federal Service Labor-Management
 Relations Statute (the Statute), a hearing was held before a hearing
 officer of the Authority.  The hearing officer's rulings made at the
 hearing are free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
 
    Upon the entire record, including the parties' contentions, the
 Authority finds:  The Petitioner, Overseas Education Association,
 National Education Association (OEA), seeks to amend its certification
 of representative by changing the name of the Activity from Department
 of Defense Dependents Schools (DODDS) to Department of Defense, Office
 of Dependents' Education, and further seeks to amend the description of
 its bargaining unit contained in the Regional Director's "Certification
 of Representative," dated June 22, 1982, which was issued pursuant to an
 election directed by the Authority in Department of Defense Dependents
 Schools, 6 FLRA 297 (1981).
 
    Pursuant to the above "Certification of Representative," OEA was
 certified as the exclusive bargaining representative for the following
 unit of employees:
 
          All nonsupervisory professional school-level personnel employed
       by the Department of Defense Dependents Schools, Atlantic Region;
       excluding all nonprofessional employees, substitute teachers,
       management officials, supervisors and employees described in
       section 7112(b)(2), (3), (4), (6), and (7) of the Statute.
 
          All nonsupervisory professional school-level personnel employed
       by the Department of Defense Dependents Schools, Germany North
       Region;  excluding all nonprofessional employees, substitute
       teachers, management officials, supervisors and employees
       described in section 7112(b)(2), (3), (4), (6) and (7) of the
       Statute.
 
          All nonsupervisory professional school-level personnel employed
       by the Department of Defense Dependents Schools, Germany South
       Region;  excluding all nonprofessional employees, substitute
       teachers, management officials, supervisors, and employees
       described in section 7112(b)(2), (3), (4), (6) and (7) of the
       Statute.
 
          All nonsupervisory professional school-level personnel employed
       by the Department of Defense Dependents Schools, Pacific Region;
       excluding all nonprofessional employees, substitute teachers,
       management officials, supervisors and employees described in
       Section 7112(b)(2), (3), (4), (6) and (7) of the Statute.
 
    In addition, also as a result of elections directed in DODDS, 6 FLRA
 297 (1981), the Intervenor, Overseas Federation of Teachers, AFT,
 AFL-CIO (OFT), was certified as the exclusive representative for a unit
 of employees in the Activity's Mediterranean Region, and the Panama
 Canal Federation of Teachers, Local 29, AFT, AFL-CIO (PCFT), was
 certified as the exclusive bargaining representative in a unit of
 employees in the Activity's Panama Region.
 
    The OEA seeks to amend its certified bargaining unit description to
 read as follows:
 
          All nonsupervisory professional school-level personnel employed
       by the Department of Defense, Office of Dependents' Education,
       except those employed in the current Panama and Mediterranean
       Regions;  excluding all nonprofessional employees, substitute
       teachers, management officials, supervisors and employees
       described in Section 7112(b)(2), (3), (4), (6) and (7) of the
       Statute.
 
    The OEA states that it seeks the above-noted change in its unit
 description to make clear that its level of recognition is at the
 Activity's national level.  Thus, OEA notes that the election directed
 by the Authority in DODDS, supra, resulted in its certification at the
 national level although the certification of representative indicated a
 region-by-region description of the unit.  Further, OEA maintains that
 it seeks the change in the name of the Activity only to assure that the
 certification reflects the "true name" of the Activity as established by
 the Defense Dependents' Education Act of 1978, 20 U.S.C. 921 et seq.
 (Supplement II, 1978).
 
    The Activity opposes the proposed amendment of certification changing
 the Activity's name on the ground that there has been no actual change
 in its name and the proposed change would cause confusion.  The Activity
 supports only such amendment of the certification as would reflect a
 merger of the DODDS Germany North Region and the DODDS Germany South
 Region which occurred because of a reorganization subsequent to the June
 22, 1982 certification.  It maintains that further amendment as sought
 by OEA, which in effect would describe its unit as including all
 professional school-level personnel of the Activity except those two
 units currently represented by other labor organizations, including the
 Intervenor, is not proper, since any future reorganizations could result
 in the inclusion in the Petitioner's proposed unit description of
 regions currently represented by other labor organizations or regions
 not yet created.
 
    The OFT also opposes the proposed amendment to the OEA's certified
 bargaining unit description.  Its primary concern is that such an
 amendment could mean that the creation of a new region by DODDS or a
 change in the existing Mediterranean or Panama Regions would allow the
 OEA to automatically accrete employees without the filing of a CU or
 representation petition.  Further, OFT asserts, there is no dispute
 among the parties that the level of recognition for the OEA unit is at
 the Activity's national level.
 
    There is no assertion of any change in OEA's certified unit
 subsequent to the certification on June 22, 1982, except for the merger
 of DODDS Germany North Region and Germany South Region.  Therefore, the
 Authority shall grant the petition to amend certification to reflect
 this change in organization.  However, further amendment of
 certification, as sought by the Petitioner, shall be denied.  Thus, an
 amendment to certification petition is intended to accommodate a nominal
 or technical change of an activity or exclusive representative.  See,
 e.g., National Aeronautics and Space Administration Headquarters,
 Administration Division, 12 FLRA No. 37 (1983).  As there has been no
 change in the Activity's name, nor has there been any reorganization or
 other change in the certified unit other than as noted above in respect
 to the DODDS Germany North Region and Germany South Region subsequent to
 OEA's certification, there is no basis for such amendment.
 
                                   ORDER
 
    IT IS ORDERED that the unit of employees for which the Overseas
 Education Association, National Education Association was certified as
 the exclusive representative on June 22, 1982, be amended by deleting
 reference to Department of Defense Dependents Schools, Germany North
 Region and Germany South Region, and substituting in its place,
 Department of Defense Dependents Schools, Germany Region.
 
    IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the remainder of the petition in Case No.
 3-AC-30009 be, and it hereby is, dismissed.
 
    Issued, Washington, D.C., August 9, 1984
                                       Barbara J. Mahone, Chairman
                                       Ronald W. Haughton, Member
                                       Henry B. Frazier III, Member
                                       FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY
 
 
 
 
 
 
 --------------- FOOTNOTES$ ---------------
 
 
    /1/ The name of the Activity in the caption appears as it was set
 forth by the Petitioner/Labor Organization in the petition herein.  The
 Activity considers that its proper designation continues to be the
 Department of Defense Dependents Schools, as it was identified in the
 certification of representative which the Petitioner/Labor Organization
 seeks to amend. 
 
 
 

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