Hudson v. Chicago Transit Authority
| Decision Date | 09 July 2004 |
| Docket Number | No. 01-2014.,01-2014. |
| Parties | Robert HUDSON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITY, a municipal corporation, Defendant-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit |
Richard J. Gonzalez (argued), Chicago-Kent College of Law, Chicago, IL, for Plaintiff-Appellant.
Michelle L. Patail (argued), Chicago Transit Authority Law Department, Chicago, IL, for Defendant-Appellee.
Before BAUER, EASTERBROOK, and RIPPLE, Circuit Judges.
Robert Hudson filed suit against the Chicago Transit Authority on July 7, 1998, alleging breach of contract, retaliation and racial discrimination. Fourteen counts of his twenty-count complaint are Title VII discrimination and retaliation claims based on promotions given to other CTA employees that Hudson thought he deserved. The remaining six counts are based on allegations that the CTA breached a 1995 settlement agreement that settled a prior discrimination suit brought by Hudson. The district court granted CTA summary judgment for all of Hudson's claims except for two of his breach of contract claims. The court then dismissed those remaining two claims for lack of jurisdiction. Hudson appeals the court's order granting the CTA summary judgment on his claims. We affirm.
Hudson was hired by the CTA as an electrician in February 1977. In September 1995, Hudson settled a lawsuit with the CTA. The lawsuit claimed racial discrimination and retaliation by the CTA. The settlement agreement provided, in part, that Hudson would be placed into a new position titled "Maintenance Construction Material Coordinator." The agreement stated that:
CTA shall use reasonable efforts to afford to Mr. Hudson the same rights, privileges and opportunities afforded to all other Coordinators. Such rights, privileges and opportunities are not absolute, and Mr. Hudson is not automatically entitled to identical treatment as every other Coordinator .... As a coordinator, Mr. Hudson shall rotate into the Manager's position.
The Plaintiff, employed at the CTA's West Shops facility, filed a suit claiming that the CTA discriminated against him again because he is African-American and retaliated against him for filing the prior discrimination suit. His new claims arose out of promotions given to certain Caucasian CTA employees in 1997 and 1998 at the CTA's West Shops facility.
Plaintiff claims he was denied eight different promotions for four different positions in 1997 and 1998: Manager Rail Customer Facilities Projects; Manager Rail Customer Facilities Maintenance; General Maintenance Manager; and Senior Coordinator. Three of the promotions that the Plaintiff complains of went to Caucasian males for the position of Manager Rails Customer Facilities Projects or simply called Project Manager. One of these positions was not posted, but was filled directly by Jack Hartman, Senior Vice President of Facilities Management and Engineering. The other two positions were posted and the Plaintiff applied for just one of those.
Hartman promoted Mike Kelly to the position of Project Manager directly. The CTA does not require postings be made for all job vacancies in management positions. For this particular position, a posting was not required by the CTA's Human Resources Department. At the time of his promotion, Kelly had been an electrician at the CTA for 23 years. According to Hartman, Kelly proved he was worthy of a promotion by his hard work and initiative. Hartman became familiar with Kelly's work during the months prior to Kelly's promotion because Kelly worked with a team of employees who were assigned to improve the appearance and state of repair of the CTA's facilities as part of the Neighborhood Station Improvement Program, ("NSIP"). Hartman was particularly impressed that Kelly put in long hours and worked on weekends. For instance, Kelly created a user's manual for the CTA's power washers to address problems with washers that often broke down because of frequent misuse. Kelly had also previously acted as Senior Coordinator of the CTA's emergency response crews that responded to emergencies involving CTA buses, trains, and other equipment and facilities.
The second Project Manager position was posted in April 1997. Forty-seven employees applied for the position. Eleven applicants were chosen for interviews, including the Plaintiff. Hartman conducted the interviews and all interviewees were asked the same questions that had been approved in advance by the Human Resources Department.
Hartman chose Tom Drozd for this Project Manager position. Drozd spent two years at Washburn Trade school in the 1970s and had been a sheet metal worker since the mid-1980s. Like Kelly, Hartman had the chance to observe Drozd on other occasions. He believed he was a self-starter who had proved his good work ethic on previous assignments. Hartman was also impressed that Drozd had rehabilitated a building with over 60 apartment units as a side job and refinished a boat. Based on the interview, Hartman concluded that while Hudson was suitable, he was not recommended for the position. Hartman thought that Drozd had a drive that was not exhibited by the other applicants, including Hudson.
In 1998, Kelly retired and the CTA posted the Project Manager position again. Hudson chose not to apply. The salary set for the position by Human Resources was less than the amount Hudson was earning at the time. The promotion went to Mike Harjung. Harjung, before his promotion, worked as a Coordinator over bricklayers, carpenters, maintenance repairmen and flagmen doing special projects. One of the first projects Harjung worked on at the CTA was cleaning the subway rights-of-way, including the subway sewers. Harjung had a background in plumbing and worked previously for the City of Chicago Water Department.
In the spring of 1998, Harjung demonstrated his problem-solving skills by repairing a sewer in front of the CTA's West Shops facility in just two days, even though others had been trying to fix it for a month. Based on his experience and good reputation for being a hard worker, plus an unsolicited recommendation from the Deputy Commissioner of the City of Chicago Water Department, the interviewers believed Harjung to be more than qualified for the position.
Hudson also complains about the promotion of George Grecco, a Caucasian male, to the position of Manager Rail Customer Facilities Maintenance ("Manager Rail Facilities"). Hudson did not apply for the position although it was posted in the spring of 1997. The posting summarized the responsibilities for the position as follows: "assists the General Manager in development and administration of department's programs, policies and goals, administers discipline to janitors and responds to grievances." Hudson did not apply for this position because he did not want to supervise janitors even though the posting listed references to responsibilities beyond the supervision of janitors. Hudson also admits that he did not have the special training required for electricians who repaired elevators and escalators.
John Johnson was promoted to the position of General Maintenance Manager. This position was not posted and from the briefs it is unclear who conducted the interviews. CTA believes that the recommendations and interviews were handled by an African-American, Randy Simmons, who is now deceased. The promotion was approved by George Haenisch, who was Vice President at West Shops. Johnson had over twenty years of experience at the CTA and had previously worked as a machinist in the fabricated parts group and as Senior Coordinator in the Utility Repair Section, where he supervised tradesmen in utilities. Haenisch believed that Johnson's responsibilities as Senior Coordinator involved a lot of supervision of tradesmen and that Johnson did that job well. Haenisch testified that the tradesmen at West Shops and at the Utility Repair Section may have different work but are capable of transferring between the two areas.
In February 1998, a single posting was made for a Senior Coordinator Electrical Construction position and three Senior Coordinator Construction positions. Hudson applied for the Senior Coordinator positions and was interviewed once for all four positions by Vice President Patrick Harney and David Cargill, the General Manager of West Shops. During the interview, Hudson gave only one-word answers to questions and did not elaborate on how he would improve CTA operations. Cargill believed that Hudson lacked the supervisory experience necessary for the job because he had never acted as a foreman or leader at the CTA. Hudson was not recommended for any of the four positions. A Caucasian male was chosen for the Senior Coordinator Electrical Construction position. The three Senior Coordinator Construction positions went to an African-American male and two Caucasian males. Hudson does not complain about the offer made to the African-American male.
Summary judgment should be granted if "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact." FED. R. CIV. P. 56(c). We view all evidence and the reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Miller v. American Family Mutual Ins. Co., 203 F.3d 997, 1003 (7th Cir. 2000). However, the nonmoving party must come forward with specific facts that show there is a genuine issue for trial. Id. We conduct a de novo review of the district court's order granting...
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