OPINION
This matter is before the Court on defendants’ motion to dismiss plaintiffs complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted under Rule *27 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or, in the alternative, for summary judgment under Rule 56. Upon consideration of the motion, opposition, and reply, the Court will grant defendant’s motion to dismiss.
I. BACKGROUND
Plaintiffs are the National Postal Professional Nurses (“NPPN”), a union which represents nurses emрloyed by the United States Postal Service (“USPS”) as career postal employees, and six individual career postal nurses. Postal nurses are employed at 51 postal facilities throughout the United States. Complaint ¶ 12. Their duties include pre-employment health assessments for applicants to employment, treatment of USPS employees in need of medical care, reviewing medical reports for workеrs’ compensation claims, administering drug tests, and health education. Id. ¶ 11. They are supervised by Occupational Health Nurse Administrators (“OHNA”) and/or physicians. Id. ¶ 13. Some of the OHNAs and postal physicians are contract employees, and not career postal employees. Id. ¶ 16. Career postal nurses at various facilities around the country, including ones in Maryland, Massachusetts, Texas, Ohio, and Florida, have been оr are currently being supervised by contract OHNAs and physicians. Id. ¶¶ 19-23.
According to plaintiffs, defendant’s employment of non-career service supervisors has made NPPN’s handling of claims, grievances, and disciplinary action “more difficult” because “the supervisory and management officials who take the actions and who hear the claims and grievances” are “not familiar” or are “less familiar” than career service supervisors with the “USPS-NPPN collective bargaining agreement, the USPS Employee Labor Relations Manual, and Postal medical and health manuals.” Complaint ¶ 40. Plaintiffs therefore have brought suit seeking declaratory and injunctive relief in this Court, asserting that the Court has jurisdiction over its claim pursuant to 39 U.S.C. §§ 409 and 1208. Id. ¶ 9. They ask the Court to declare that that the employment of contract OHNAs and contract physicians violates Seсtion 1001 of the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 (“PRA”), 39 U.S.C. § 101 et seq., and enjoin the USPS from employing OHNAs and physicians without appointing them to career service under the PRA. Complaint at 8-9.
II. DISCUSSION
Defendant moves to dismiss or, in the alternative, for summary judgment arguing that (1) plaintiffs do not have standing to bring suit; (2) plaintiffs have failed to exhaust their contractual remedies under the collective bargaining agreement with the USPS prior to filing suit; and (3) plaintiffs incorrectly rely on provisions of the PRA that do not provide an independent cause of action.
A Applicable Legal Standards
A motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure may not be granted unless it appears beyond doubt that plaintiff can prove no set of facts that supports its claim entitling it to relief.
See Summit Health, Ltd. v. Pinhas,
When addressing a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), the Court generally may not look outside the facts contained within the four corners of the complaint,
see Gordon v. National Youth Work Alliance,
Summary judgment may be granted if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories and admissions on file, together with the affidavits or declarations, if any, demonstrate that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). Material facts are those that “might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law.”
Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.,
In opposing a motion for summary judgment, the non-moving party’s opposition must consist of more than mere unsupported allegations or denials and must be supported by affidavits or other competent evidence setting forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e);
Celotex Corp. v. Catrett,
B. Subject Matter Jurisdiction
Defendant’s first argument, that plaintiffs do not have standing, is not properly the subject of a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) or a motion for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56 оf the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Because defendant’s challenge to plaintiffs’ standing is a challenge to the Court’s subject matter jurisdiction over plaintiffs’ claim, the argument should have been made pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
See, e.g., Worth v. Jackson,
When deciding a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under Rule 12(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Court may dispose of the motion on the basis of the complaint alone or may consider certain materials beyond the pleadings. “[Wjhere necessary, the court may consider the comрlaint supplemented by undisputed facts evidenced in the record, or the complaint supplemented by undisputed facts plus the court’s resolution of disputed facts.”
Herbert v. National Academy of Sciences,
In this case, not only has defendant failed to bring its standing argument рursuant to the proper Rule, but it has barely explained that argument, devoting all of two short paragraphs to it in its motion to dismiss. See Defendant’s Memorandum in Support of Motion to Dismiss, or in the Alternative, for Summary Judgment (“Def.Mot.”) at 3^4. Defendant states briefly that the plaintiffs have no personal interest in how the USPS employs OHNAs and physicians to supervise career postal nurses, and no interest in the authority that they exercise becausе the same authority would be exercised by supervisors who were career civil servants under the PRA. See id. Defendant does not identify which prong or prongs of the Lujan test plaintiffs have failed to meet. Plaintiffs respond with a variety of sworn declarations intended to demonstrate the “adverse effects” to them arising from the employment of contract OHNAs and physicians. See Plaintiffs’ Memorandum in Opposition to Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss, or in the Alternative, for Summary Judgment (“Pis’ Opp.”) at 8-11, Declaration оf Idell Mitchell, Declaration of Ajo James, Declaration of Annu Rajan.
It is undisputed that this Court has original, though not exclusive, jurisdiction over “all actions brought by or against the Postal Service,” a category into which this suit clearly falls. 39 U.S.C. § 409. Given the defendant’s failure to engage in any further analysis of the standing requirement beyond the bald statement that the plaintiffs have no interest in this matter or to provide the Court with any additional in *30 formation in support of its argument, and in view of plaintiffs’ declarations to the contrary, the Court will deny defendant’s motion to dismiss for lack of standing.
C. Plaintiffs’ Claim Under the Postal Reorganization Act
1. Failure to Exhaust under the Collective Bargaining Agreement
Defendant next argues that plaintiffs have failed to exhaust their contractual remedies under the collective bargaining agreement between NPPN and the USPS, and that Section 1001 of the PRA, under which plaintiffs purport to bring their claim, does not give rise to a private right of action. Def. Mot. at 4-9. Plaintiffs maintain that it is unnecessary for them to comply with the requirements of the NPPN-USPS collective bargaining agreement’s grievance-arbitration procedures because their claim is brought independent of that agreement on a separate statutory basis pursuant to 39 U.S.C. § 1001(b). Pis’ Opp. at 11-23.
The Court is dubious of plaintiffs’ contention that the claim they bring falls outside the scopе of those matters addressed in their collective bargaining agreement. First, the nature of the harms alleged in the complaint and described in the declarations provided in opposition to defendant’s motion seem to fall within those described by the NPPN-USPS agreement. The gravamen of plaintiffs’ complaint is that supervision by non-career employees has adversely affected the working conditions of carеer postal nurses. See Complaint ¶40. The declarations of various individual plaintiffs provided in support of their opposition to defendant’s motion describe a variety of improper workplace incidents and actions that they claim to be the result of contract supervisors not receiving proper training in USPS rules and regulations. See, e.g., Declaration of Idell Mitchell ¶ 9 (“The work of [postal nurses] at the Southern Maryland fаcility has been significantly adversely affected by the USPS’ use of contract OH-NAs and contract Doctors”), ¶ 13 (describing incident in which contract OHNA first ordered postal nurse to perform pre-em-ployment drug test test while off-duty, in violation of USPS drug testing procedures, and then subsequently disciplined the postal nurse for refusing to perform the invalid test); Declaration of Ajo James ¶ 4 (“The work of [postal nurses] in Dallas has been significantly adversely affected by the USPS’ use of contract OHNAs and contract Doctors”), ¶ 12 (asserting that contract physician supervisor has not handled overtime, assignments, and vacation by seniority, in violation of the NPPN collective bargaining agreement); Declaration of Annu Rajan ¶ 9 (describing contract physician supervisor’s requirement that postal nurses work without “out of schedule” pay in violation of collective bargaining agreement and USPS Employee Labor Relations Manual).
Such complaints regarding non-career service supervisors would seem to fall within the definition of a “grievance” provided in the collective bargaining agreement between the NPPN and USPS:
A grievance is defined as a dispute, difference, disagreement or complaint between the parties related to wages, hours, and conditions of employment. A griеvance shall include, but is not limited to, the complaint of an employee or of the Union which involves the interpretation, application of, or compliance with the provisions of this Agreement.
Article 15, Section 15.01, Agreement between the United States Postal Service and National Postal Professional Nurses, 1999-2004 (“Agreement”). The alleged behavior or misbehavior of the contract *31 supervisors would also seem to be irrelevant to whether their appointment violates any part of the PRA — that is, if the PRA actually prohibits these contract employees from supervising postal nurses, it would prohibit those who were model supervisors as well as the less able ones.
Furthermore, plaintiffs’ argument that this suit is not concerned with the collective bargaining agreement conflicts with the basis on which they have filed their own complaint.
See
Pis’ Opp. at 12. In the complaint, plaintiffs’ state that the Court’s subject matter jurisdiction arises at least in part from 39 U.S.C. § 1208.
See
Complaint ¶ 9. That section of the PRA expressly grants jurisdiction to the Court over suits arising from the violations of contracts between the USPS and labor organizations. 39 U.S.C. § 1208. To bring suit under that provision, however, plaintiffs would first have to have exhausted the provisions of their collective bargaining agreement.
See Roman v. United States Postal Service,
2. Implied Right of Action under the Postal Reorganization Act
Despite its reservations regarding plaintiffs’ apparent attempt to reframe what seems to be an issue that should be handled under their collective bargaining agreement, the Court will assume for purposes of further analysis that plaintiffs’ claim is brought solely to address whether the employment of contract physicians and OHNAs violates Section 1001 of the PRA. Under such a construction, plaintiffs complaint must be dismissed under Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted because 39 U.S.C. § 1001 does not give rise to an implied private right of action.
The key inquiry in determining whether a statute contains an implied right of action is legislative intent.
See Thompson v. Thompson,
Section 1001 of the PRA provides in general terms for the appointment and status of USPS employees, both in career and contract positions. 39 U.S.C. § 1001. Plaintiffs cite this Section as a whole, and specifically to Sections 1001(a) and (b) within the body of their complaint. Complaint ¶¶ 29-31, 34-36. In their opposition to defendant’s motion, howеver, they assert that their private right of action arises solely from Section 1001(b) of the PRA. See Pis’ Opp. at 16-17. That portion of Section 1001 states:
Officers and employees of the Postal Service (other than those individuals appointed under sections 202, 204, and 1001(c) of this title) shall be in postal career service, which shall be a part of the civil service. Such appointments and promotions shall be in accordance with the procedures established by the Postal Service. The Postal Service shall establish procedures, in accordance with this title, to assure its officers and employees meaningful opportunities for promotion and career development and to assure its officers and employees full protection of their employment rights by guaranteeing them an opportunity for a fair hearing on adverse actions, with representatives of their own сhoosing.
39 U.S.C. § 1001(b). Plaintiffs also cite as support a House of Representatives Report noting the poor working conditions of USPS employees in 1970, at the time the PRA was passed. Pis’ Opp. at 17 (quoting H.R. Rep. No. 91-1104, at 3 (1970)). They claim that this House Report demonstrates a Congressional intent “to protect the interests of employees and generally promote more effective labor-management relations.” Id. Taking the рart of Section 1001(b) stating that “officers and employees of the Postal Service ... shall be in the postal career service, which shall be a part of the civil service” in conjunction with the further statement in Section *33 1001(c) that the USPS may hire contract employees for certain positions, plaintiffs argue that the Court therefore can infer that Congress intended a private right of action to enforce Sеction 1001(b) and to prevent the employment of contract physicians and OHNAs by the USPS. See id. at 17-18.
The Court does not find plaintiffs’ analysis of the PRA persuasive. Section 1001(b) by its terms does not set forth any explicit prohibition on the hiring of contract employees, much less create a cause of action for enforcing such a prohibition. Read as a whole, Section 1001 provides a number of general prescriptions setting forth а personnel scheme, but containing no provisions for enforcement or relief. 39 U.S.C. § 1001. Included in that Section is the right of the USPS, consistent with applicable laws, regulations, and collective bargaining agreements, “to direct officers and employees of the Postal Service in the performance of official duties,” “to hire, promote, transfer, assign, and retain officers and employees in positions within the Pоstal Service,” “to maintain the efficiency of the operations entrusted to it,” and “to determine the methods, means, and personnel by which such operations are to be conducted.” 39 U.S.C. § 1001(e). Even if plaintiffs were correct that a private right of action could be implied in this Section, its language would seem to grant the USPS a wide latitude in its employment practices not inconsistent with the employment of contract employees in various positions.
Upon examination of the statutory language and the legislative history cited by the plaintiffs, this Court agrees with other courts that have found that “the general prescriptive character of § 1001(b), which merely directs the Postal Service to establish personnel management procedures” does not indicate a Congressional intent to create a private remedy.
Blaze v. Payne,
III. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the Court will grant defendant’s motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim. A separate Order consistent with this Opinion shall issuе this same day.
SO ORDERED.
ORDER
For the reasons stated in the separate Opinion issued this same day, it is hereby
ORDERED that defendant’s motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim [3] is GRANTED; it is
FURTHER ORDERED that this case is DISMISSED from the docket of the Court; and it is
*34 FURTHER ORDERED that this Order and Judgment shall constitute FINAL JUDGMENT in this case. This is a final appealable order. See Fed. R.App. P. 4(a).
SO ORDERED.
Notes
. The plaintiffs analyze this issue under the four factors set forth by the Supreme Court in
Cort v. Ash,
Later decisions of the Supreme Court have held that the
Cort
factors are not entitled to equal weight, and that the first three actually relate to the central inquiry, which is Congressional intent.
See Touche Ross v. Reding-ton,
