Professional Documents
Culture Documents
No. 95-2344
Plaintiff - Appellant,
v.
Defendant - Appellee.
____________________
____________________
Before
_____________________
David A. Handzo,
_________________
with
Smith,
______
____________________
____________________
Plaintiff-Appellant Boston
&
Maine
Corporation (the
"B&M") challenges
the district
court's
summary
judgment
Maintenance
of
challenged the
awards
to
Way
for
Defendant-Appellee
Employees
(the
Brotherhood
"BMWE").
The
B&M
of
had
the
BMWE-affiliated
claimants.
The
BMWE
sought
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
__________
In
March
their
right to
Maine
Central
Terminal
1986,
the
self-help in
BMWE-member
a dispute
Railroad Company
(the "PT").
The MEC's
(the
employees exercised
with two
"MEC")
and the
carriers, the
and the
Portland
PT's BMWE-represented
employees
In April
1986, the B&M issued notices that jobs left vacant by sympathetic
positions
would
be
filled
by
permanent
or their
replacements.
The
When
May 16,
was halted on
to return to
work.
When
were
-2-
forfeited their
seniority
by
bargaining
"[e]mployees
not
complying
agreement
with
("the
CBA"),
their
13
the collective
required
that
from
immediate
permitted to
of
which
triplicate, with
Rule
supervising
return to
officer."
work until
The
sometime
after
seniority in
compliance with
a permanent injunction
granted by
F. Supp. 1092
(D. Me.),
808 F.2d
150, 160
830 (1987).
Although this
injunction against
The B&M,
application
the
CBA
jurisdiction of
the
appropriate adjustment
However, at no time
and
was
cert.
_____
court vacated
thus
the
dispute involving
to the interpretation
of
v.
within
the
boards to
or
exclusive
resolve.
injunction did
the
B&M rescind
its
July 23,
1986,
memorandum restoring
the
claimants' seniority.
In
district
accordance
court
entered
with the
an
Board
or Public
Law
order
mandate
of
referring
this court,
the
the
contractual
Board, whichever
is
applicable."
-3-
As
an
3 Second
Second, to
at issue.
In
U.S.C.
153
4669 to
Board.
On May 10,
member
neutral
resigned as
from the
the neutral
Benn, and on
August 3, 1993,
With
Wesman as
the neutral
member, Public
Law Board
Public
--
member dissenting --
B&M's actions.
These
to compensate
[each claimant] . . .
removal
of
1986[,]
for
date and
his
seniority
the
entitled,
to
which he
was
erroneous
seniority.
removal
to restoration
. . may
consequence
of
his
[Claimants
of any
as
of
restoration of
. . also entitled
lost
that
properly
are] .
have
19,
of his assumption
following
seniority on
May
interval between
the date
the position
on
[their]
of
.
the
.
-4-
The
B&M has
refused to
ordered by
the four
Instead,
district
a motion
pay the
back pay
with the
court seeking to have the awards set aside; in response, the BMWE
filed a
awards.
motion
for summary
judgment seeking
to enforce
these
motion, as well
as the
BMWE's motion.
Award No. 6
the reasoning of
to grant
the
refer to
which is incorporated in
Awards Nos. 7,
9 and
10.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
STANDARD OF REVIEW
__________________
We
applying
examine
the same
grant
of
summary
decisional standards
judgment
as the
de novo,
________
district court.
Wyner v. North Am. Specialty Ins. Co., 78 F.3d 752, 754 (1st Cir.
_____
____________________________
1996).
As
courts review
such, we
must apply
the normal
arbitration decisions
standard by
pursuant to the
RLA.
which
See
___
Trial v. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Ry., 896 F.2d 120, 123 (5th
_____
________________________________
Cir. 1990).
"Judicial review
of an arbitration award
1989).
aside
only
if:
(1) the
is among the
873 F.2d
425, 428
Brotherhood
___________
(1st Cir.
Board
failed
to
comply
with
the
or (3)
the product
-5-
of fraud or
corruption.
45
U.S.C.
153 First
review
(q).
While
the limited
scope of
judicial
arbitrator,"
Georgia-Pacific
Corp.
_______________________
v.
Local
27,
United
____________________
Paperworkers Intern. Co., 864 F.2d 940, 944 (1st Cir. 1989), "as
_________________________
a general
open to
judicial challenge,"
Cir. 1992).
Where, as here,
issues of fraud or
Uni n
_____
corruption are
not raised, we ask "whether the arbitrators did the job they were
told
to
do --
not
whether
they did
it
well, correctly,
or
reasonably,
but simply
whether they
did it."
Brotherhood of
_______________
DISCUSSION
DISCUSSION
__________
December
court's
order
employees,
memorandum
but
that
the B&M
restoring
claimants were
restored
the
failed to
such
seniority
retract
seniority,
deprived of their
of the district
of
the
its July
23, 1986,
whether
Public
The
issue
affected
of
the
in its
district
court
it concluded that
"the
finding
of contractual
meaning."
-6-
Me. 1995).
94-321-P-C,
so concluded
determinations"
to
which "[c]ourts
at 15.
are bound
to
factual
defer .
. .
Id.
___
On
appeal,
directs that
apply the
the B&M
the role of a
provisions of
contends
that,
because the
RLA
to interpret or
a collective bargaining
agreement, and
because the instant parties' agreement did not expand the Board's
jurisdiction
authority.
court's prior
in question required
the
____________________
We
district court
the
CBA.
In
review
of
RLA
arbitration, the
factual
45 U.S.C.
obligated to
Federal Rule
153 First(q).
make
of Civil
findings of
fact
Procedure 52(a),
for the
see
___
court was
purposes
Makuc v.
_____
of
American
________
it lacked jurisdiction to
review the factual findings of the panel, Boston & Maine Corp. v.
____________________
-7-
our
The
party is in breach of a
'requires
agreement.
45
U.S.C.
the
interpretation
[and]
application'"
of
that
153, First
(1) (RLA)).
However, there,
we were
an
arbitrable "minor"
before an appropriate
See
___
45
U.S.C.
dispute,
which was
arbitration board --
153, First
(providing
not first
litigated
as the RLA
directs.
that
arbitration
of
See, e.g.,
___ ____
323 (1972).
Our
is
under
jurisdiction.
construed
rather than
In that
as limiting
the job of
an arbitration board
the Board
exercising the
full
exercise of its
language cannot
to interpreting
be
the contract,
authority afforded
it by
the
parties.
We
turn to
the question
arbitrator's authority.
the
Board's
sole
provisions of the
The B&M
authority
CBA that
was
of the
proper scope
asks us to adopt
to
apply and
of the
interpret
the
before it,
and
exceeded that
authority.
We cannot accept
-8-
such a
restrictive
before that
both
the
"once an
CBA and
issue has
been committed
the submission
authority
by
taking
taken into
El Dorado
_________
into
account provisions
same far-reaching
to the
other
of the
to arbitration,
should be
itself
We have stated
of his
than
the
Id.
___
In
arbitrator's interpretation of
entitled to the
is normally accorded
agreement
itself."
Id. at 321.
___
As
of his
authority by electing
B&M
we rejected as
Similarly,
a result,
Id.
___
could
to consider
We do so again here.
claims that
the arbitrator
failed to
Rule 13
Board
concluded
pursuant
retract
reversal,
to the
that
because
this restoration
the
B&M had
district court's
issue
of
restored
ruling in
these
1986, and
pursuant to
the First
whether the
B&M
The
rights
did not
Circuit's 1986
properly
terminated
the
differs
-9-
parties, we
cannot alone
of its
on Rule 13.
that
The parties'
grievances" shown
the
interpretation
submission.
jurisdiction only of
on an attached list
conclude
submission agreement in
fact stated
Board's
of the
mootness
"claims and
We defer,
ruling
is
plausible
grievances" language
We
in the
Board's conclusion
Concrete, Inc.
______________
1989)
v. Cunningham,
__________
(deferring
"seniority
and
to
the
recall"
866 F.2d
arbitrator's
issue
also
283,
ruling
allowed
Cf. Pack
___ ____
285-86 (9th
that
Cir.
submitted
consideration
of
propriety of discharge").
an
arbitrator's
present a
decision
that
the existing
justiciable controversy,
in and of
record
does
not
itself, oversteps
We conclude that
B&M's
the
-10-
that arbitration
to
the
interpretation
of
the
agreement
set
before
them.
U.S.
arbitration boards "to resolve th[e] entire dispute not only upon
the contract
of .
. . [contracts] between
'involved'
'evidence
these
in the
as to
overall
dispute, and
usage, practice
agreements."
Id.
___
(quoting
upon consideration
and custom'
pertinent to
of
all
Pitney, 326 U.S. 561, 567 (1946)); see also International Bhd. of
______
________ _____________________
certainly made in
current practice
to the CBA.
light of
consideration of
the
found moot
the issue of
whether the
to do
complaining
CBA, pursuant
presented
are no
longer 'live'
or the
parties lack
a legally
v.
Geraghty,
________
McCormack, 395
_________
the
445
U.S.
388,
396
(1980)
(quoting
Powell
______
v.
or alternatively, when
-11-
U.S. at 397.
Geraghty, 445
________
whether
the
Board
was
correct
as
legal
matter
us
own
role
in
constrained
reviewing
the
CBA
and
complaining
manner
that
an
arbitrator's
in
its
However, for
decision.
We
are
F.2d at 921.
of that determination
Southern
________
to do."
768
of"
the relevant
employees.
cannot
practice
The Board
even
be
between
the
B&M and
characterized
as
the
job, in a
arbitrary
or
capricious
--
deferential to
a standard
which would
the Board's
decision.
Senate
Labor
permitted
See
___
be adequately
Loveless v.
________
Committee
courts to
still not
rejected
vacate
"arbitrary or capricious").
language
that
arbitral awards
under
Eastern
_______
that the
would
the RLA
have
as
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
__________
As a
result
of the
foregoing,
the judgment
of
the
-12-