Free Response to Cross Motion - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:04-cv-00856-GWM

Document 153-5

Filed 12/03/2007

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TALLMAN - CROSS 1 2 3 4 folder and called Admin. MR. MAGER: Your Honor, if I could have a quick minute I may have no further questions. THE COURT: MR. MAGER: 6 7 8 9 I0 Ii 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Q (Pause.) MR. MAGER: THE COURT: Nothing further, Your Honor. Thank you, Mr. Mager.

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Certainly. Thank you.

Mr. Scaramastra? MR. SCARAMASTRA: THE COURT: (Pause.) CROSS EXAMINATION BY MR. SCARAMASTP~A: Ms. Tallman, good afternoon. Good afternoon. Yes. Just one second.

Q

We've met before but for the record I'm Don

Scaramastra and I represent the shipwrights in this matter. Needless to say I have a few questions for you before we let you go. I wanted to turn first to the scope of the work that you performed leading up to the resolution of the grievance. Okay. In other words, I want to understand what your role was a little bit further. During the course of your handling of this Heritage Reporting Corporation (202) 628-4888

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Case 1:04-cv-00856-GWM

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TALLMAN - CROSS 1 2 3 4 grievance you didn't conduct any legal research into the merits of the grievance, did you? A Q I did not conduct0any legal research. All right. And you didn't, you didn't ask

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anyone in the Human Resources Office to perform that 6 7 8 9 i0 ii 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 research, did you? A Q No. Okay. And at the time you signed the

January 18, 2000 grievance decision you had no idea whether and under what circumstances the shipyard was legally required to pay High Pay to Shop 64 shipwrights; right? A I didn't involve the lawyers. I had not

checked into the lega! aspect. Q So the answer to my question is that that's

right, you didn't have any idea? A Q Can you ask it again? Sure, I'll ask it again. At the time you signed the grievance decision you still had no idea whether and under what circumstances the shipyard was legally required to pay High Pay to Shop 64 shipwrights, did you? A Not from doing legal research. Okay. And not from any other source;

Q correct?

Heritage Reporting Corporation (202) S28-4888

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Case 1:04-cv-00856-GWM

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TALLMAN 1 2 3 4 A Q

CROSS

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I knew of my union contract, sir. Right. And you knew that Appendix 2 to that

union contract was modeled ~fter federal regulations, didn't you? A Yes. And Appendix 2 contained a schedule of the

6 7 8 9 i0 Ii 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 CFR.

Q

circumstances under which the shipwright had to pay an environmental differential; right? A Q Excuse me, would you repeat? I can. Appendix 2 to the collective bargaining agreement contained, identified those circumstances under which the shipyard had to pay an environmental differential, didn't it? A Q A Q Yes. Okay. Yes. But at the time you signed the grievance And that included high work?

decision you had no understanding as to whether and under what circumstances the Code of Federal Regulations required the shipyard to pay High Pay to shipwrights; correct? A I knew the contract was modeled after the

Q

Right. Heritage Reporting Corporation (202) 628-4888

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Case 1:04-cv-00856-GWM

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TALLMAN - CROSS 1 2 3
A

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I had not read the CFR. And so you had no idea what the CFR provided

with respect to High Pay; r6ght? A Right. Q Okay. Did it occur to you, Ms. Tallman,

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given that you were face with the largest grievance that you had ever seen or handled and given that the contractual provisions that resolved the matter were modeled on federal regulations that it might make sense to talk to a lawyer? A Q No. I gather you didn't discuss the advisability

of talking to a lawyer with any other members of the management team while you were handling the grievance; is that right? A Q No. And you didn't discuss that issue with your

boss Jerry Main? A Q father; A Q A Q No. And by the way, Jerry Main is Tyson Main's is that right? You don't know? No, he is. He is. Okay. Just took me by surprise. Okay. At the time you were handling the Heritage Reporting Corporation (202) 628-4888

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Case 1:04-cv-00856-GWM

Document 153-5

Filed 12/03/2007

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TALLMAN - CROSS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 I0 II 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Q Tallman? A Yes, I do. Okay. You weren't familiar with the High Pay grievance you didn't consider yourself an expert in the Federal Wage System, did you? A I did not consider myself an expert in the

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Federal Wage System. Q A Q And you don't today either? I do not today. Turn if you would to Plaintiffs' Exhibit 1

which are excerpts from what we have tentatively identified as the Operating Manual for the Federal Wage System. THE COURT: Which exhibit is this? MR. SCARAMASTRA: Plaintiffs' i. THE COURT: Thank you. BY MR. SCARAMASTRA: Do you have that in front of you, Ms.

Q

contents of Plaintiffs' Exhibit 1 at any time while you were handling the shipwrights' High Pay grievance, were you? A I had not read this. All right. And, fair enough. To your

Q

knowledge you didn't as]< someone else to research the contents of the Office of Personnel Management's Heritage Reporting Corporation (202) 628-4888

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