Capraro v. United Parcel Service Co.

• Decision Date: 10 May 1993
• Docket Number: No. 92-5454,92-5454
• Citation: 993 F.2d 328
• Parties: 143 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2260, 125 Lab.Cas. P 10,680 Charles A. CAPRARO, Jr., Appellant, v. UNITED PARCEL SERVICE CO.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit

Page 328

993 F.2d 328

143 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2260, 125 Lab.Cas. P 10,680

Charles A. CAPRARO, Jr., Appellant, v. UNITED PARCEL SERVICE CO.

No. 92-5454.

United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit.

Argued March 18, 1993.

Decided May 10, 1993.

Alexander W. Ross, Jr. (argued), Rakoski & Ross, P.C., Marlton, NJ, for appellant Charles A. Capraro, Jr.

Matthew R. Westfall, C. Laurence Woods, III, Tony C. Coleman (argued), Debbie D. O'Connell, Westfall, Talbott & Woods, Louisville, KY, David W. MacGregor, Proskauer, Rose, Goetz & Mendelsohn, Clifton, NJ, for appellee United Parcel Service Co.

Before: STAPLETON, ROTH, and LEWIS, Circuit Judges.

OPINION OF THE COURT

STAPLETON, Circuit Judge:

Plaintiff Charles Capraro appeals a grant of summary judgment for defendant United Parcel Service (UPS) in a suit stemming from UPS's termination of Capraro's employment. The district court granted summary judgment to UPS, holding that the state law claims set forth in Capraro's nine count complaint were preempted by the Railway Labor Act (RLA). On appeal, Capraro argues that preemption was inappropriate for three reasons: (a) Capraro's state law claims relied on sources other than the collective bargaining agreement and could be adjudicated without reference to that agreement; (b) as a probationary employee, Capraro had no grievance or arbitration rights under the collective bargaining agreement, and thus, recourse to the RLA-mandated procedure would have been meaningless and futile; and (c) Capraro made out a prima-facie case of anti-union motivation. Because we conclude that the proper forum for Capraro's claims is the statutorily mandated grievance and arbitration procedure and that neither prejudice nor inappropriate predisposition preclude Capraro from effectively availing himself of that procedure (with or without judicial help), we will affirm.

I.

Capraro was hired as an airplane pilot by UPS on February 5, 1990, and was terminated on January 31, 1991--five days before his status as a "probationary employee," as defined under the collective bargaining agreement, ¹ would have ended. During his time at UPS, Capraro received satisfactory performance reviews and was never disciplined. However, on January 31, 1991, Capraro allegedly was called into his supervisor's office, told he had a "bad attitude," and was given the opportunity to resign or be terminated immediately. He was given a one-way ticket back to his home in New Jersey on a flight leaving within the hour.

Capraro was told by both his supervisor and his union representative that he had no arbitration or grievance rights under the collective bargaining agreement. He therefore filed a nine count complaint against UPS. ² The first three counts--wrongful discharge, breach of contract, and promissory estoppel- --rely on statements in UPS's policy books and personnel guides and on oral representations Capraro allegedly received when he was hired that he could be fired only for "just cause." Capraro contends that no "just cause" exists here. Count IV of the complaint alleges that UPS's management tortiously interfered with Capraro's contract of employment with UPS. In Count V, Capraro charges that UPS employees defamed him through their statements concerning the reasons for which he was supposedly discharged (i.e., "poor technical skills," a "bad attitude," and "unsatisfactory performance"). Count VI alleges a fraudulent scheme on the part of UPS to fire probationary employees on fabricated charges. In support of this theory, Capraro claims to know of between three and six other probationary employees terminated as he was, and also points to some evidence that the one negative document in his file might have been "fabricated." ³ Counts VII, VIII, and IX allege "outrageous conduct," intentional and/or negligent infliction of emotional distress, and negligence on the part of UPS, arising from the manner in which it terminated Capraro.

The collective bargaining agreement provides in part:

Period of Probation

Crewmembers shall be on probation for the first (1st) twelve (12) months of accumulated service as a crewmember with the Company. Termination of a crewmember's employment during his probationary period for any reason shall result in the removal of such crewmember from the crewmember's seniority list, and such termination or any disciplinary action shall not be subject to the grievance and arbitration provisions of this Agreement.

* * * * * *

Discipline and Discharge

1. (a) If an incident occurs which results in the suspension or discharge of a crewmember, he shall be notified and entitled to a prompt and complete hearing....

(c) Within ten (10) calendar days after receipt of such notice, such crewmember may file a written grievance with the Manager of Flight, or his designee, challenging the propriety of the action taken.

* * * * * *

2. If the grievant is not satisfied with the decision of the Manager of Flight, or his designee, he may appeal such decision to the "United Parcel Service System Board of Adjustment." Such appeal shall be made in writing within fifteen (15) calendar days from the date of receipt by the grievant of the decision of the Manager of Flight, or his designee.

3. Nothing in this Article shall be construed as extending the rights of this Article to a crewmember during his probationary period.

* * * * * *

Extra Contract Agreements

The Employer agrees not to enter into any agreement or contract with their employees, individually or collectively, which in any way conflicts with the terms and provisions of this Agreement. Any such agreement shall be null and void.

App. at 68-70, Supp.App. at 5 (emphasis added).

An affidavit of Capraro's union representative indicates that he advised Capraro, inter alia, as follows:

[t]he Union had just recently attempted to file an arbitration claim on behalf of a similarly discharged probationary pilot, which arbitration claim was promptly rejected by the assigned arbitrator due to the status of that individual as a "probationary employee". I therefore advised Mr. Capraro that any resort to administrative remedies would be utterly futile.

App. at 60. The record does not disclose whether the arbitrator in the prior case refused to hear the arbitration claim or entertained it and denied relief because of the employee's probationary status.

The district court properly exercised jurisdiction over this case pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1332. It granted summary judgment for UPS, holding that the RLA preempted Capraro's claims and that the RLA's grievance and arbitration procedure is mandatory in cases of this kind.

We exercise jurisdiction over this appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291. Summary judgment is appropriate only where "there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and ... the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). Our review of a grant of summary judgment is plenary. Jefferson Bank v. Progressive Casualty Ins. Co., 965 F.2d 1274, 1276 (3d Cir.1992).

II.

A.

The RLA was passed by Congress, in large part, "to provide for the prompt and orderly settlement of all disputes growing out of the interpretation of application of agreements covering rates of pay, rules, or working conditions" in the industries covered. ⁴ Association of Flight Attendants, AFL-CIO v. USAir, 960 F.2d 345, 347 (3d Cir.1992). In order to accomplish this goal, carriers and their employees are required to establish Boards of Adjustment to resolve so-called "minor disputes"--disputes "growing out of grievances, or out of the interpretation or application of agreements concerning rates of pay, rules, or working conditions." 45 U.S.C. § 184 (1988). ⁵

Minor disputes must be submitted to a grievance process and, if unresolved there, to a Board of Adjustment for binding arbitration. Federal courts generally become involved in such disputes only to compel arbitration or to enforce awards resulting from arbitration. See USAir, 960 F.2d at 347-48; see also Union Pac. R.R. Co. v. Sheehan, 439 U.S. 89, 94, 99 S.Ct. 399, 402, 58 L.Ed.2d 354 (1978) ("Congress considered it essential to keep these so-called 'minor' disputes within the Adjustment Board and out of courts.").

A natural corollary of the rule that minor disputes must be submitted to the mandatory grievance and arbitration procedure of the RLA is that parties are precluded from obtaining a judicial forum for certain state law claims. As we have recently held, "the mere assertion of an independent state-law claim does not enable a party to avoid arbitration otherwise compelled by the Railway Labor Act, because 'if the resolution of [that] state-law claim depends upon the meaning of a collective-bargaining agreement, the application of state law ... is preempted.' " Pennsylvania Fed'n of Bhd. of Maintenance Employees v. National R.R. Passenger Corp., 989 F.2d 112, 115 (3d Cir.1993) (quoting Lingle v. Norge Div. of Magic Chef, Inc., 486 U.S. 399, 405-06, 108 S.Ct. 1877, 1881, 100 L.Ed.2d 410 (1988)).

Capraro argues that his claims are not based upon the collective bargaining agreement, but upon state law. He suggests that his claims do not require interpretation of the collective bargaining agreement and thus that providing a judicial forum will not "wreak havoc with the general scheme of RLA arbitration"--a fear expressed in cases involving RLA preemption. See, e.g., Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Ry. Co. v. Buell, 480 U.S. 557, 566, 107 S.Ct. 1410, 1416, 94 L.Ed.2d 563 (1987). Capraro notes that his claims implicate New Jersey law designed to promote "fair employment practices" and that the state has a strong policy interest in protecting its citizens through these laws. Cf. Farmer v. United Bhd. of Carpenters & Joiners, 430 U.S. 290, 302, 97 S.Ct. 1056, 1064, 51 L.Ed.2d 338 (1977) ("[I]nflexible application of the doctrine [of federal preemption] is to be avoided where the State has a substantial interest in regulation of the conduct at...