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17 a. The Parties will create a panel of three (3) mutually acceptable Arbitrators. Either Party may unilaterally remove an Arbitrator from the panel and another Arbitrator will be mutually selected to fill the vaca ncy. Arbitrators selected for panels must also agree to hear Expedited Arbitration cases as provided for in Section 16. b. If the Employer and the Union fail to settle any grievance arising under the Negotiated Grievance Procedure, such dispute wil l, upon written notice by the Party requesting Arbitration to the other Party, be referred to Arbitration, unless the initiating Party chooses to withdraw the Arbitration request. Such written notice must be by certified receipt or hand delivered not late r than twenty (20) calendar days following the conclusion of the last step of the Negotiated Grievance Procedure. c. Within twenty (20) calendar days after receipt of the request, an Arbitrator will be selected from the panel by the Parties or by al ternately striking names until one remains. d. The grievant, and the Union Advocate, if a BUE, will be given a reasonable amount of official time to prepare for the hearing. BUEs serving as Union Representatives, if employed by the Marine Corps Air Station, and the aggrieved BUE will be excused from duty to participate in the Arbitration proceedings without loss of pay or charge to annual leave. The Employer agrees to adjust their schedule(s) to allow them to participate in a duty status. e. The Union advocate during Arbitration, if a BUE, will be in a duty status to present the grievance. Unless prohibited by operational considerations, the Employer agrees to adjust the schedule of participating BUE witnesses to allow them to appear in a du ty status, including travel time. Each Party will bear the expense of its own witnesses who are not employed by the DOD. The Parties will exchange lists of potential witnesses to an Arbitration hearing twenty (20) days prior to the scheduled hearing. Th is Section will not require the payment of overtime. f. The grievance will be heard by the Arbitrator as promptly as practicable on a date, time, and site mutually agreeable to the Parties. The Arbitrator will submit his/her decision to the Parties as soon as possible, but in no event later than thirty (30) calendar days following the close of the record before him/her unless the Parties waive this requirement. In matters covered under 5 U.S.C. 4303 and 5 U.S.C. 7512 which have been raised under thi s Negotiated Grievance Procedure, the Arbitrator will be governed by 5 U.S.C. 7701 (c)(1). The decision of the Arbitrator is final and binding. However, the Parties retain their rights under 5 U.S.C. 7122 and 7123. g. The expenses and reasonable c ompensation of the Arbitrator will be borne equally by the Parties. The Parties must mutually agree to any postponement or cancellation of any scheduled arbitration hearing. If either Party desires a verbatim transcript of the hearing, that Party will be ar the full transcript expense incurred, including the cost of the transcript, if any, provided to the Arbitrator. In the event both Parties desire a verbatim transcript of the hearing, the Parties will share equally the cost of the transcript, if any, pr ovided to the Arbitrator. h. The Arbitrator will confine himself/herself to the precise issue submitted for Arbitration and will have no authority to determine any other issues not so submitted to him/her. In matters

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