Board of Contract Appeals

                 General Services Administration

                      Washington, D.C. 20405





                          _____________



                           May 9, 2002

                          _____________





                         GSBCA 15820-TRAV





                 In the Matter of JAMES C. HENZIE





     James C. Henzie, Livingston, MT, Claimant.



     Franklin C. Walker, Assistant Superintendent, National Park Service, Department of

the Interior, Yellowstone National Park, WY, appearing for Department of the Interior.



DeGRAFF, Board Judge.



     James C. Henzie is an employee of the Department of the Interior at Yellowstone

National Park.  During the past several years, Mr. Henzie performed temporary duty

assignments within Yellowstone National Park, and Interior paid him per diem allowances

at rates less than the maximum per diem rate prescribed in the Federal Travel Regulation

(FTR).  Interior pays reduced per diem rates to employees who perform temporary duty at

locations where lodging and meal preparation facilities are provided by Interior. 



     Wage grade employees of Yellowstone National Park, including Mr. Henzie, are

members of a collective bargaining unit that is represented by an employee union.  The union

and Interior reached an agreement regarding the amount of some reduced per diem rates for

at least part of the time that Mr. Henzie performed his temporary duty assignments. 

Mr. Henzie does not want to accept the terms of that agreement and does not think that the

union adequately represents his interests.  Mr. Henzie does not believe either that his

temporary duty locations warranted reduced per diem rates, or that his per diem rates should

have been reduced as much as they were.  He submitted a claim to Interior for per diem

allowances in excess of the reduced rates he was paid during the past six years.  When

Interior did not pay his claim, he asked us to review Interior's decision.



     The employee union and agency management at Yellowstone National Park entered

into a collective bargaining agreement which provides that with certain specified exceptions

not relevant here, the agreement's procedure is the exclusive procedure available to a

bargaining unit employee for the resolution of a grievance.  The agreement explains that a

grievance includes a complaint by an employee concerning the violation, misinterpretation,

or misapplication of any law, rule, or regulation affecting conditions of employment.  Labor-

Management Agreement between Yellowstone National Park and Local Union No. 322,

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) AFL-CIO, Article VII.  Even

though Mr. Henzie is not a member of the union, he is a bargaining unit employee and the

terms of the collective bargaining agreement apply to him.  5 U.S.C.   7114(a)(1) (2000);

American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2000, AFL-CIO and William R.

Massengale, 14 F.L.R.A. 617 (1984); Labor-Management Agreement between Yellowstone

National Park and Local Union No. 322, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers

(IBEW) AFL-CIO, Article I, section 2.  



     Mr. Henzie's claim is a grievance that is subject to resolution under the terms of the

collective bargaining agreement's procedures.  Although a grievance does not include a

matter that is specifically provided for by Federal statute, 5 U.S.C.   7103(1)(14), no statute

specifically provides the per diem rate that must be paid when an agency makes lodging and

meal preparation facilities available at a temporary duty location.  The FTR gives an agency

the discretion to pay a reduced per diem rate when it determines in advance of the temporary

duty that lodging and/or meal costs will be lower than the maximum per diem rate.  But, the

FTR does not establish the amount of such a reduced rate.  41 CFR 301-11.200 (2001).  



     On numerous occasions, we have recognized that if a claim is subject to resolution

under the terms of a grievance procedure mandated by a collective bargaining agreement, we

lack the authority to settle the claim using our administrative procedures.  Ervin T. Upchurch,

GSBCA 15459-TRAV (May 4, 2001) (citing cases).  Because the disagreement between

Mr. Henzie and Interior is a grievance that must be resolved by using the collective

bargaining agreement's grievance procedure, the Board cannot resolve this claim.  The

collective bargaining agreement's grievance procedure is the exclusive means available to

Mr. Henzie for resolving his disagreement with Interior.  



     The claim is dismissed.







                                   ___________________________________

                                   MARTHA H. DeGRAFF

                                   Board Judge