A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/685218
2016 CBA Tentati ve Agreement Page 21 of 2 17 b. An arbitrator on the panel may be removed from th e list by either Party by giving a thirty (30) day written notice to the arbitrator with a copy to the other Party. Upon receipt of written notice, no further cases will be assigned to that arbitrator, but the arbitrator will hear and decide any case(s) al ready assigned to him/her. Additionally, the Parties may mutually agree to remove an arbitrator from the panel at any time. In any case where an arbitrator has been removed, another arbitrator shall be mutually selected to fill the vacancy. c. Within ten (10 ) calendar days after a request for arbitration, the Parties shall meet for the purpose of mutually selecting an arbitrator from the panel or by alternately striking names until one (1) remains. The Parties agree to cooperate in the scheduling process to e nsure cases are heard as expeditiously as possible. As a general concept, cases shall be scheduled in order of receipt of the request. At the request of either Party, disciplinary/adverse action cases or those determined to be of urgent nature shall be giv en priority. Once an arbitrator has been selected, the arbitrator will be contacted within seven (7) days for available dates. The Parties shall normally secure the first available mutually agreed upon date. The scheduling process shall normally be complet ed within thirty (30) days from the date of receipt of a request for arbitration. If, after requesting arbitration, the Union fails, for a period of one hundred eighty (180) days, to participate in the scheduling of a case before an arbitrator, any continu ing liability shall be tolled. If, after requesting arbitration, the Union fails to participate in the scheduling of a case before an arbitrator for three hundred sixty (360) days, the grievance shall be deemed to have been withdrawn with prejudice. If the Agency fails to respond to the Union's request to schedule a case before an arbitrator within one hundred eighty (180) days, the grievance shall be considered to have been granted. d. For grievances filed under any section of this Article, once a date has b een scheduled, any changes to scheduled hearing dates shall be mutually agreed upon by the Parties. In the event of a cancellation by the arbitrator, the moving Party may request the selection process be restarted in accordance with this Section. The griev ance shall be heard at a site mutually agreeable to the Parties. In the event the Parties cannot agree on the date(s) or location, the arbitrator shall be contacted to make the decision. e. When the grievance is denied in full or sustained in full, the arbit rator's fees and expenses shall be borne by the Party that did not prevail. The arbitration decision must be sustained in full or denied in full for the said Party to incur the arbitrator's fees and expenses. In all other cases submitted for arbitration th at are not sustained in full or denied in full, the arbitrator's fees and expenses of arbitration incurred shall be borne equally by the Parties. f. The Parties must mutually agree to any postponement or cancellation of any scheduled arbitration hearing. Unl ess mutually agreed upon, any costs associated with the cancellation of an arbitration will be borne by the cancelling Party. If a verbatim transcript of the hearing is made and either Party desires a copy of the transcript, that Party will bear the expens e of the copy or copies they obtain. The Parties will share equally the cost of the transcript, if any, supplied to the arbitrator. Section 10. The Union advocate, if an employee of the FAA, shall be granted sixteen (16) hours of official time for prepara tion for the hearing. Additional release time may be granted, unless staffing and workload do not permit. Such time may be annual leave, leave without pay, or a combination thereof at the discretion of the employee. The grievant and/or the Union advocate