ARTICLE 40 ARBITRATION SECTION 1 - GENERAL A. This Article establishes procedures for the arbitration of disputes between the Union and Agency which are not satisfactorily resolved by the negotiated grievance procedure contained in this Master Agreement. If a grievance is not satisfactorily resolved under this Agreement, such grievance shall, upon written notification to the other Party, be referred to arbitration. Only the Union President or the Center Director (or their designees) may invoke binding arbitration. B. Arbitration may be invoked within twenty (20) workdays after receipt of the final decision on the grievance. C. We agree that settlement discussions will be conducted prior to incurring an obligation to pay an arbitrator, in a cooperative effort to resolve the dispute before arbitration. SECTION 2 - SELECTION OF AN ARBITRATOR A. Within ten (10) workdays from the date of the request for arbitration, the Parties shall jointly request the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) to provide a list of seven (7) impartial persons qualified to act as arbitrators. The Parties shall meet within five (5) workdays after the receipt of such list. If they cannot mutually agree upon one of the listed arbitrators, a toss of a coin, or other mutually agreeable method, will determine which Party will strike the first name. The Union and the Agency shall alternately strike one arbitrator's name from the list. The remaining person shall be the duly selected arbitrator. B. If either Party refuses (or fails) to participate in the selection process, the other Party may select an arbitrator (from the FMCS list, or the agreed upon list when the Parties have adopted alternative procedures). If an arbitrator has not been selected within 60 days after invoking arbitration, the arbitration will be untimely, absent mutual consent. SECTION 3 - COST OF ARBITRATION A. The Parties agree to share equally the cost of regular fees, including reasonable travel expenses, of the arbitrator selected and assigned to a case. The Parties may wish to consult on the "reasonableness" of the arbitrator's charges. The travel and per diem shall not exceed that authorized by the Joint Travel Regulations (Vol. 2). B. The arbitration hearing will be held on the Agency's premises during the regular shift hours, Monday through Friday. In the event that it is necessary for the hearings to be held in facilities not under the administrative control of the Agency, the cost of such facilities shall be borne equally by the Agency and the Union. Any necessary travel expenses of the grievant, a Union representative (if employed by the Agency), and witnesses approved in accordance with Section 6 of this Article, will be reimbursed by the Agency. C. Employees serving as Union representatives, necessary grievant and Agency witnesses, who have direct knowledge of the circumstances and factors bearing on the case, shall be in a duty status to participate in the arbitration proceedings (i.e., without loss of pay or charge to annual leave). D. By mutual consent, arbitration may be conducted as oral proceedings with no verbatim transcript and no filing of briefs. In the event only one of the Parties desires a transcript of the proceedings, that Party shall be responsible for making arrangements for and the full cost of the transcript. If the other Party later wishes a copy of the transcript, that Party shall pay for half of the original cost. SECTION 4 - AUTHORITY OF ARBITRATOR A. We agree that the jurisdiction and authority of the arbitrator's opinions will be confined exclusively to the interpretation and application of the provisions of this Agreement and Departmental regulations. B. The arbitrator will have no authority to add to, subtract from, alter, amend, or modify any provision of this Agreement. C. The arbitrator will have the authority to make an aggrieved employee whole to the extent such remedy is not prohibited by statute, higher-level regulations, decisions of appropriate higher authority, or this Agreement. D. The arbitrator's decisions will be final and binding. However, the Parties reserve the right to take exceptions to any award to the Federal Labor Relations Authority in accordance with its rules and regulations. SECTION 5 - PROCEDURES/TIME FRAMES A. We encourage the Parties to meet within fifteen (15) calendar days following the selection of an arbitrator to develop a joint submission which identifies the facts and exhibits to be jointly stipulated, and the precise issues to be resolved by the arbitrator. If the Parties are in disagreement as to the issue(s), the positions of the Parties will be separately stated. A joint stipulation is encouraged in the interest of avoiding unnecessary delays in the arbitration hearing. B. The Parties shall endeavor, wherever possible, to stipulate the facts involved in a case prior to the opening of the arbitration hearing. C. The arbitrator shall render and serve a written award on the Parties to this Agreement within 30 calendar days of the close of the hearing. SECTION 6 - WITNESSES A. At least ten (10) workdays before the opening of the arbitration hearing, the Parties shall exchange lists of witnesses whom they expect to have testify. The lists shall contain a summary statement concerning the proposed testimony of each proposed witness. B. Except in unusual situations, the arbitrator will not have the authority to keep the record open in order to hear testimony of additional witnesses. SECTION 7 - GRIEVABILITY/ARBITRABILITY DECISIONS The arbitrator shall have the authority to make all grievability and/or arbitrability determinations. The arbitrator shall make grievability and/or arbitrability determinations prior to addressing the merits of the original grievance. SECTION 8 - EXTENSION OF TIME LIMITS Time limits in this Article may be extended by mutual written consent of the Parties.