ARTICLE 11

OFFICIAL TIME

1. POLICY. Bargaining Unit Employees serving as the Union President, first, second or third Vice Presidents, the Secretary/Treasurer, the Chief Steward, one steward per twenty (20) bargaining unit Employees, and who are representing the Union on committees, may be approved for the use of official time in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement as outlined below:
   1. Purpose. Time spent in an official time capacity will be limited to the preparation for and performance of representational activities.
      

      (1) Official time will not be approved for activities which constitute internal Union business such as the collection of dues, signing up members, conducting Union meetings, or electing officers.

      (2) Official time will not be approved for representation of Employees outside the bargaining units covered by this Agreement.

   2. Proper Use. Official time will only be used when the Employee would otherwise be in a duty status. If Union assistance is required for a bargaining unit Employee on another shift, the Union representative may be temporarily assigned to that shift as necessary to accomplish representation.
      
   3. Approval. The use of official time requires the advance approval of the Union representative's immediate supervisor. The procedures for requesting official time are as follows:
      

      (1) The Union and bargaining unit Employees will request official time in excess of &#frac12; hour a day in advance to the fullest extent possible. The Employer agrees that advance requests for official time will normally be approved. However, the Employer reserves the right to approve the time, but requests it be performed at a certain time, if to do otherwise would interfere with the accomplishment of the Employee's official duties. The Union agrees to cooperate with the Employer in the scheduling of official time.

      (2) The Employer understands that on rare occasions, such as when an Employee is in extreme emotional duress, has been threatened verbally or physically, is the subject of an investigation by a criminal authority, a bargaining unit Employee invokes Weingarten rights in a meeting already in progress, the Union representative may need immediate release to perform representational activities. The Employer agrees to approve immediate official time in these types of circumstances.

      (3) The Union representative or Employee will inform the supervisor of the reason for the official time at the time of the approval request, and will provide a location and/or telephone number where he/she may be reached.

      (4) The Union representative will notify the supervisor upon his/her return from official time. If the supervisor is not physically present, the Union representative may leave a phone mail or e-mail message for the supervisor to provide this notification.

      (5) If the Union representative must enter a different work area, he/she will check in with the supervisor of that area to obtain approval to conduct representational activities. The supervisor will normally approve such a request unless precluded from doing so by work requirements or schedules. This contact may be made in advance of the actual official time by the Union representative in person, by telephone or via e-mail.

   4. Time accounting procedures. The Union will be authorized and will account for official time as follows:
      

      (1) Up to two (2) hours per day for the purpose of staffing the Union office in accordance with the provisions of the Union Rights and Representation Article.

      (2) Time and attendance requirements. All Union representatives and bargaining unit Employees who are approved for official time must record the time used on their official time and attendance records. The following categories will be used for the reporting of official time

      (a) Grievances (formal)

      (b) Labor Management Relations Council Meetings (LMRC) (includes committee meetings)

      (c) Negotiations

      (d) FLRA

      (e) Weingarten/Formal Discussion

      (f) FMCS/FSIP

      (g) Other third party representation

      (f) Alternative Dispute Resolution Meetings

      (h) Travel

      (i) Other

      (3) Purpose. A reasonable amount of official time will be authorized for the following purposes (The number in ( ) following each purpose is provided as a guideline for the number of hours normally required per occurrence, but is not an absolute restriction.):

      (a) conferring with Employees on matters for which remedial relief may be sought under this Agreement (1);

      (b) investigating matters for which Employees may seek remedial relief under this Agreement (2);

      (c) interviewing witnesses (&#frac12; hour for each witness);

      (d) reviewing documents of the Employer which are not available during non-duty hours such as personnel regulations, Bureau policies, etc. (1);

      (e) preparing a grievance or grievance appeal (2-4);

      (f) preparing a statutory complaint or appeal (2-4);

      (g) preparing a reply to a proposed disciplinary adverse or unacceptable performance action (2-4);

      (h) preparing for joint labor-management activities authorized by this Agreement (minor impact 2-4/major impact 4-6);

      (i) preparing for arbitration of a grievance or adverse action (8);

      (j) preparing a reconsideration statement in connection with the denial of a within-grade step increase or for a performance appraisal (2-4);

      (k) attending Union sponsored training (limited 100 total hours per year when the training is not limited to Union business, but includes general education in labor-management relations); (Note: If the number of Reston Library employees serving as Union officials increases, the Parties agree to bargain an increase in the number of hours provided here as appropriate.)

      (l) to meet with National representatives of the Union in connection with a grievance, arbitration, or ULP charge;

      (m) to participate in a FLRA investigation or hearing preparation as a representative of the Union;

      (n) to prepare or maintain records and reports required of the Union by the Department of Labor (4);

      (o) being present at formal discussions as provided in this Agreement (actual length of meeting);

      (p) to orient new Employees as provided for in this Agreement (&#frac12; hour per month);

      (q) attending meetings with Employees to present oral replies related to proposed actions, denial of a within grade step increase or performance appraisal (decided by official receiving replies);

      (r) representing an Employee in Weingarten meetings as provided for by this Agreement (actual length of meeting);

      (s) any other activity for which the Civil Service Reform Act allows Employees to use official time (to be determined by the nature of the request).

2. COOPERATION. The Parties agree to be flexible in their application of the provisions of this Article while at the same time being diligent in exercising their respective responsibilities to guard against waste, fraud and abuse, and to protect the public trust.

   If either Party experiences problems with the granting or use of official time or the administration of this Article, a special session of the members of the Labor/Management Relations Council will be held to resolve them. If after a good faith effort during the meeting, resolution is not reached, either of the Parties may request the use of a mediator or file a grievance under the provisions of this Agreement.

3. RELATIONSHIP TO PERFORMANCE OF OFFICIAL POSITION. Union representatives are responsible for achieving the critical results as defined by their individual performance plan. The Employer agrees that Union representatives will not be penalized in their performance appraisal solely for their use of official time as long as that use is in accordance with the provisions of this Article.