Dahnke v. Teamsters Local 695
| Decision Date | 18 July 1990 |
| Docket Number | 88-3217 and 88-3238,Nos. 88-3156,s. 88-3156 |
| Citation | 906 F.2d 1192 |
| Parties | 134 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2844, 116 Lab.Cas. P 10,203, 17 Fed.R.Serv.3d 216 Frederick DAHNKE, Plaintiff, and Kelly & Haus, Counsel for Frederick Dahnke, Appellants, Cross-Appellees, v. TEAMSTERS LOCAL 695, a/w International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen & Helpers of America; Stokely USA, Inc., Defendants-Appellees, Cross-Appellants. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit |
Carol Rubin, William Haus, Kelly & Haus, Madison, Wis., for plaintiff-appellant.
Frederick Perillo, Previant, Goldberg, Uelman, Gratz, Miller & Brueggeman, Donald J. Driscoll, Marshall Berkoff, Michael, Best & Friedrich, Milwaukee, Wis., for defendants-appellees.
Carol Rubin, Kelly & Haus, Madison, Wis., for appellant.
Before CUDAHY, POSNER and KANNE, Circuit Judges.
Frederick Dahnke, an employee at Stokely USA's Poynette, Wisconsin facility, was fired after he accrued twelve points under the company's No Fault Absentee Program. He challenged his termination, arguing that Stokely discharged him without just cause and that Teamsters Local 695 breached its statutory duty to represent him fairly. The district court awarded summary judgment to the defendants and imposed Rule 11 sanctions on the plaintiff and his lawyer. We affirm in part, vacate in part and remand.
In May 1980, Stokely hired Frederick Dahnke as a fork-lift operator. As a result, Dahnke became a member of the bargaining unit represented by Teamsters Local 695 and was therefore entitled to the benefits included in the collective bargaining agreement negotiated by the Union and the Company.
Approximately six years later, Stokely instituted a "No Fault Absentee Program"; under the Program, Stokely assessed each employee a prescribed number of points each time he arrived late for work. Stokely assessed one-third of a point for "tardiness" (one to seven minutes late), two-thirds of a point for "lateness" (eight or more minutes late), one point for absence and three points for unexcused absence. 1 At the same time, Stokely issued written warnings to employees when they accumulated certain point levels; once an employee accrued twelve points, however, he was discharged from his job.
The No Fault Absentee Program engendered substantial employee criticism; indeed, after its implementation, Local 695 filed a grievance claiming that Stokely had breached the collective bargaining agreement by unilaterally adopting the Program. Stokely and Local 695 settled the dispute before the arbitration hearing was to take place; the parties agreed that the Program would become effective with the 1987-1988 collective bargaining agreement, but that all employees would start with a clean slate. Stokely employees ratified the Program in January 1987.
As a Stokely employee, Fred Dahnke was subject to the No Fault Absentee Program. In February 1987, Stokely sent Dahnke a warning notice that he had accrued three points under the Program. One month later, Stokely warned Dahnke that he had accrued five points; two months after that, when Dahnke had accumulated eight points, Stokely sent him this message: Seemingly undeterred (he did not protest any of the points assessed against him), Dahnke accrued five more points by August 24, 1987, and, when he did not report to work the next day, he was discharged for having accrued more than twelve points under the Program.
With the assistance of employee-steward Dave Ebert, Dahnke filed a grievance contesting his discharge, alleging that the No Fault Program had been applied arbitrarily. Pursuant to the grievance process, Union Business Agent Sam Anderson called a meeting to discuss Dahnke's complaint: Anderson met with Union stewards Ebert and Jim Crawford, Company Personnel Manager Lyle Mathwich and Distribution Center Manager Darrell Vogt. At the meeting, Mathwich assured Anderson that he was unaware of exceptions to the No Fault Program, but he added that he would investigate the allegation. Anderson also asked Mathwich about Union steward Ebert's contention that the punch clock was defective. Mathwich explained that while the face of the clock occasionally strayed by one or two minutes, the punched time was always accurate. Nonetheless, Mathwich promised to investigate this allegation as well.
After ensuring that Dahnke's points had been assessed and totaled properly, Anderson concluded that the grievance lacked merit and declined Dahnke's request to pursue the matter further. Anderson based his decision on Dahnke's failure to protest any of the points he accrued before the discharge, as well as Dahnke's inability to demonstrate that the time clock contributed to his continued tardiness. Further, Anderson learned of only a few instances where the No Fault Program had not been applied uniformly; he surmised that these would be insufficient to persuade Stokely (or, ultimately, an arbitrator) that Dahnke was somehow prejudiced by a few incorrect applications of the Program. On October 9, 1987, Anderson wrote to Dahnke and told him:
I do not believe the arbitration procedure would result in your reinstatement, as I have tested like attendance policies in the past and have lost. Therefore, I am not taking any further steps on your grievance....
Letter from Sam Anderson to Fred Dahnke (Oct. 9, 1987).
On February 25, 1988, Dahnke filed a complaint with the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission alleging that Stokely had discharged him without just cause (in violation of the collective bargaining agreement) and that Teamsters Local 695 had breached its duty of fair representation to him. Pursuant to section 301(a) of the Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 185), the defendants requested that the case be removed to federal district court. On August 30, 1988, the district court granted the defendants' motions for summary judgment and imposed Rule 11 sanctions, in the amount of the defendants' attorney's fees, on Dahnke and his attorney for bringing a "frivolous" action. Dahnke and counsel appeal from the district court's decision; Local 695 and Stokely cross-appeal.
Dahnke argues that we must reverse the district court's decision because Judge Shabaz misstated the proper standard for summary judgment. Judge Shabaz wrote:
There is no issue for trial unless there is sufficient evidence favoring the non-moving party that a jury would return a verdict for that party. If the evidence is merely colorable or is not significantly probative, summary judgment may be granted. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. 242, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).
Order at 2 (W.D.Wis. Aug. 30, 1988) (emphasis supplied). Whether the inclusion of the word "would" was merely a typographical error or an intentional insertion is unclear; in any event, the standard for summary judgment applied by the district court, as written, is an incorrect statement of law. Anderson requires a district judge to deny a motion for summary judgment if the jury might or could return a verdict for the plaintiff, not if the jury would return such a verdict. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249, 251-55, 257, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 2511-14, 2514, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). This error does not necessarily require that we reverse or remand, however; if we agree with Judge Shabaz's conclusion that there is no evidence supporting Dahnke's claim, the application of the district court's standard will amount to harmless error. In any event, we are required to review de novo a district court's grant of summary judgment. Puckett v. Soo Line R.R., 897 F.2d 1423, 1425 (7th Cir.1990).
A motion for summary judgment should be granted "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). Further, "[i]n reviewing a summary judgment, we must view the record and the inferences drawn from it in the light most favorable to the non-moving party." Schlifke v. Seafirst Corp., 866 F.2d 935, 937 (7th Cir.1989). A scintilla of evidence is not enough to defeat a motion for summary judgment, however: the nonmovant must go beyond the pleadings by affirmatively demonstrating the existence of a genuine issue of material fact. Id. at 938.
Dahnke presents two claims to this court: he argues that Local 695 breached its duty to provide him with fair representation, and he contends that Stokely violated its collective bargaining agreement with Local 695 by discharging him. Each of these claims will be considered in turn.
Dahnke asserts first that the district court failed to draw reasonable inferences from Business Agent Sam Anderson's decision to drop his grievance. Dahnke argues that Anderson's inaction demonstrates Anderson's hostility toward him, as well as Local 695's breach of its duty to represent him fairly.
We must, again, conduct a de novo review of whether the district court drew reasonable inferences from the evidence submitted by the parties. Judge Shabaz wrote that neither party presented any evidence tending to show that Anderson exhibited hostility toward Dahnke. 2 Dahnke did sign a petition seeking Anderson's removal from office but presented no evidence demonstrating that Anderson saw his name on the petition or that Anderson became hostile because of it. Anderson stated in an affidavit that he was not aware that Dahnke signed the petition. Supplemental Affidavit of Sam Anderson at 2 (Aug. 11, 1988).
Certainly, we do not rely solely upon affidavits when questions of motive and intent arise in summary judgment proceedings. Egger v. Phillips, 669 F.2d 497, 502 (7th Cir.1982), reh'g...
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