Board of Contract Appeals

                 General Services Administration

                      Washington, D.C. 20405







                                   

                   ___________________________



                         February 5, 2004

                   ____________________________





                         GSBCA 16255-TRAV





                In the Matter of BENJAMIN P. WOOD





     Benjamin P. Wood, Atlanta, GA, Claimant.



     Robert M. Jackson, Manager, NAS Implementation Center, Federal Aviation

Administration, Atlanta, GA, appearing for Department of Transportation.



HYATT, Board Judge.



     Claimant, Benjamin P. Wood, seeks reimbursement of expenses related to travel for

temporary duty.  The Board has no authority to review his claim because he is a member of

a union whose collective bargaining agreement includes claims for travel reimbursement in

the grievance procedure governing disputes between union members and the agency.



                            Background



     Claimant is an electronic equipment technician for the Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA) in the Southern Region.  Claimant travels frequently on official

business and, with the authorization of the FAA, uses a recreational vehicle (RV) for this

purpose.  The FAA, on an annual basis, issues to claimant a limited open travel authorization

(LOA) for the use of a personally owned mobile dwelling.  The LOA provides for a flat daily

per diem rate to cover lodging, meals, and various miscellaneous expenses.  Expenses

ordinarily associated with the use of an RV include park lodging, park fees, insurance, RV

maintenance, and the like.



     In December 2002, Mr. Wood was detailed to Key West, Florida, for an assignment

expected to last approximately thirty days.  The flat rate authorized for Mr. Wood at this time 

was $65 per day.  Upon receiving this assignment, and prior to traveling to Key West, 

claimant contacted his office and explained that the pre-authorized $65 flat rate would not

suffice for Key West, particularly in December, when winter rates are in effect.  The FAA

amended claimant's travel orders to authorize a higher rate of reimbursement for the

assignment in Key West; the orders authorized a rate of eighty percent of the per diem rate

for commercial lodgings in Key West.  Mr. Wood performed the travel and stayed in his RV. 

Subsequently, the FAA determined that this was not permitted under its regulations and

reduced his reimbursement to the actual cost of RV hookup plus sixty percent of the meals

and incidental expenses allowance for the Key West area.  Mr. Woods filed a grievance with

the union, challenging the FAA's actions and seeking to be reimbursed in accordance with

his travel orders as amended prior to his travel.



     Mr. Wood's grievance action was denied initially, and has been elevated to the next

step in the process.  Claimant states that the reduction in his reimbursements has created a

financial hardship.  He also states that while he understands that the Board does not generally

review claims involving matters subject to union procedures, he would like us to reconsider

this precedent and evaluate his case on a special basis.  The FAA has declined to respond to

claimant's request for review.



                            Discussion



     On numerous occasions, the Board has recognized that if a claim concerning travel

or relocation expenses is subject to resolution under the terms of a grievance procedure

mandated within a collective bargaining agreement, we lack authority to settle the claim

using our administrative procedures unless the agreement explicitly and clearly excludes the

claim from its procedures.  Bernadette Hastak, GSBCA 13938-TRAV, et al., 97-2 BCA 

 29,092; accord, e.g., Edmund J. Wiatr, Jr., GSBCA 16005-TRAV, 03-1 BCA   32,228;

Rhonda N. Smith, GSBCA 15966-TRAV, 03-1 BCA   32,151; Guillermo Chavez, GSBCA

15805-RELO, 03-1 BCA   32,144 ( 2002); Mona Lisa Dogans, GSBCA 15861-TRAV, 02-2

BCA   32,000; Rebecca L. Moorman, GSBCA 15813-TRAV, 02-2 BCA   31,893; see also

Dunklebarger v. Merit Systems Protection Board, 130 F.3d 1376 (Fed. Cir. 1997).  Under the

collective bargaining agreement applicable here, the grievance procedure is the exclusive

avenue for redress available to claimant.  We have no authority to carve out the exception to

the rule that claimant requests.  The Board cannot resolve this matter.  Accordingly, this

claim is dismissed.







                                   __________________________________

                                   CATHERINE B. HYATT

                                   Board Judge