Amalgamated Transit Union Local No. 1576, Int'l Ass'n of Machinists v. Snohomish Cnty. Pub. Transp. Benefit Area

• Decision Date: 23 December 2013
• Docket Number: No. 69641–6–I.,69641–6–I.
• Citation: 178 Wash.App. 566,316 P.3d 1103
• Court: Washington Court of Appeals
• Parties: AMALGAMATED TRANSIT UNION LOCAL NO. 1576, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 160, and Lance Norton, Appellants, v. SNOHOMISH COUNTY PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION BENEFIT AREA, d/b/a Community Transit, Respondent.

178 Wash.App. 566

316 P.3d 1103

AMALGAMATED TRANSIT UNION LOCAL NO. 1576, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 160, and Lance Norton, Appellants,

v.SNOHOMISH COUNTY PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION BENEFIT AREA, d/b/a Community Transit, Respondent.

No. 69641–6–I.

Court of Appeals of Washington,

Division 1.

Dec. 23, 2013.

Clifford Freed, Jillian M. Cutler, Frank Freed Subit & Thomas LLP, Seattle, WA, for Appellants.

Matthew R. Hendricks, Hendricks Bennett PLLC, Edmonds, WA, for Respondents.

LEACH, C.J.

¶ 1 Amalgamated Transit Union Local No. 1576, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 160, and Lance Norton (collectively Amalgamated) appeal the trial court's grant of summary judgment to the Snohomish County Public Transportation Benefit Area, d/b/a Community Transit. Amalgamated seeks a judgment declaring a provision of Community Transit's bylaws void. Amalgamated contends that this provision conflicts with RCW 36.57A.050 because it prohibits a nonvoting board member from attending any board executive session held to discuss personnel matters. Because the bylaws prohibit what the state law requires by removing the board chair's discretion to determine when the nonvoting member can attend these executive sessions, we reverse and remand to the trial court for entry of judgment in favor of Amalgamated.

FACTS

¶ 2 Community Transit is a public transportation benefit area created to provide regional transportation services to a portion of Snohomish County. ¹ The bylaws of this municipal corporation establish a board of directors to serve as its legislative authority. Until 2010, nine elected officials selected by the component cities and Snohomish County comprised this board.

¶ 3 In 2010, the Washington Legislature amended RCW 36.57A.050 to add a nonvoting member to public transportation benefit area legislative authorities. ² The amendments granted to certain labor organizations authority to recommend this new member. A Community Transit representative provided testimony to the legislature opposing these amendments.

¶ 4 The current version of RCW 36.57A.050 states,

The nonvoting member is recommended by the labor organization representing the public transportation employees within the local public transportation system. If the public transportation employees are represented by more than one labor organization, all such labor organizations shall select the nonvoting member by majority vote. The nonvoting member shall comply with all governing bylaws and policies of the authority. The chair or cochairs of the authority shall exclude the nonvoting member from attending any executive session held for the purpose of discussing negotiations with labor organizations. The chair or cochairs may exclude the nonvoting member from attending any other executive session.

¶ 5 Amalgamated Transit Union Local No. 1576 and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 160 represent certain Community Transit employees. In August 2010, these unions recommended Lance Norton as the nonvoting member of Community Transit's governing board.

¶ 6 Community Transit's governing board conducts monthly meetings. These include a public portion and may include a closed executive session. On September 1, 2011, the board amended its bylaws. Section 3.3(c) of the amended bylaws states,

The Chairperson or the Acting Chairperson shall exclude the nonvoting member of the Board from attending any executive session held for the purpose of discussing negotiations with labor organizations or matters relating to the personnel of Community Transit. The Chairperson or the Acting Chairperson may allow the nonvoting member to attend an executive session if he or she finds that the attendance by the nonvoting member at the executive session would be in the best interest of the Corporation or not be detrimental to its operations. The decision of the Chairperson or Acting Chairperson shall be final and binding. If the non-voting [sic] member attends an executive session of the Board of Directors, such non-voting [sic] member shall not disclose any information obtained in such executive session to anyone and shall not use such information to further the interest, either directly or indirectly, of any collective bargaining unit or employee(s) of the Corporation.

¶ 7 On October 27, 2011, Amalgamated sued Community Transit, seeking a declaratory judgment voiding section 3.3(c) of the amended bylaws because it conflicts with RCW 36.57A.050. In October 2012, the parties submitted cross motions for summary judgment.³ The trial court granted Community Transit's motion for summary judgment and denied Amalgamated's motion for summary judgment.

¶ 8 Amalgamated appeals.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 9 We review de novo a trial court's order granting summary judgment.⁴ When reviewing a summary judgment order, we view all of the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party.⁵ “Summary judgment is appropriate ‘if ... there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and ... the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.’ ” ⁶ We also review issues of statutory interpretation de novo.⁷

ANALYSIS

¶ 10 We must decide two issues: (1) does Amalgamated have standing to challenge Community Transit's bylaws and (2) does the challenged bylaw conflict irreconcilably with RCW 36.57A.050. We conclude that Amalgamated has standing and the challenged bylaw is void.

¶ 11 We address the standing issue first. The Uniform Declaratory Judgments Act (UDJA), chapter 7.24 RCW, states, “A person ... whose rights, status or other legal relations are affected by a statute, municipal ordinance, contract or franchise, may have determined any question of construction or validity arising under the instrument, statute, ordinance, contract or franchise and obtain a declaration of rights, status or other legal relations thereunder.” ⁸ To have standing, a plaintiff “must have some protectable interest that has been invaded or is about to be invaded.” ⁹ “ ‘Standing requirements tend to overlap the requirements for justiciability under the UDJA.’ ” ¹⁰

¶ 12 We apply a two-part test to determine if a party has standing under the UDJA.¹¹ “ ‘First, a party must be within the zone of interests to be protected or regulated by the statute in question. Second, the party must have suffered an injury in fact.’ ” ¹² The party seeking standing must establish both parts of this test.¹³ To establish injury under the UDJA, a party must allege “harm personal to the party” that is “substantial rather than speculative or abstract.” ¹⁴

¶ 13 Community Transit does not contest that Amalgamated meets the first prong of the test but claims that Amalgamated did not suffer an injury in fact. It alleges, “[Amalgamated] cannot point to a single executive session where the nonvoting member was unlawfully excluded. Thus, any alleged ‘injury’ is purely speculative.” Community Transit asserts that because the bylaws limit the chair's discretion, “[o]nly the board chair, not [Amalgamated], has any possible standing to complain.”

¶ 14 The record contains no evidence about the purpose for any specific executive session, but Norton testified by declaration, “Since I began serving on the Board, I have been excluded from every executive session except one, which addressed a potential real estate purchase. I have never participated in an executive session pertaining to personnel matters. I am the only Board member who is excluded from these executive sessions.”

¶ 15 Although the record does not disclose if the board excluded Norton because of the amendment to its bylaws, we hold that Amalgamated has standing to sue. We agree with Amalgamated that a qualitative difference exists between an absolute bar to attendance at executive sessions addressing personnel matters and a right to attend those sessions subject to the chair's discretionary right of exclusion. By statute, Norton had the right to have the chair decide on a session-specific basis if Norton could attend an executive session addressing personnel matters other than negotiations with labor organizations. The unions recommending Norton had a similar right with respect to their chosen representative. The bylaws eliminated these rights.

¶ 16 The bylaws impose upon the board the obligation to hire, supervise, and evaluate Community Transit's chief executive officer. Presumably, the board will hold future executive sessions to discuss these and other personnel matters. Even if it did not do so between the time that the board amended its bylaws and the time that Amalgamated brought this action, the bylaws will undoubtedly result in Norton's automatic exclusion from these executive sessions in the future. Amalgamated will not receive the benefit of the chair's exercise of discretion about attendance.

¶ 17 We next address the merits of the parties' claims. Amalgamated contends that section 3.3(c) of Community Transit's governing board's bylaws conflicts irreconcilably with RCW 36.57A.050 and is void. Community Transit claims that if section 3.3(c) of the board's bylaws conflicts with RCW 36. 57A.050, we should invalidate the statute on equal protection grounds. We agree with Amalgamated that the bylaw provision conflicts with RCW 36.57A.050 and find Community Transit's arguments unpersuasive.

¶ 18 Amalgamated asserts, “The text of RCW 36.57A.050 is clear on its face and does not require construction.” Amalgamated claims,

RCW 36.57A.050 creates a narrow prohibition on the nonvoting labor representative's participation in executive sessions: the nonvoting member is prohibited only from attending executive sessions pertaining to negotiations with labor organizations. In sharp contrast to Section 3.3(c) of the Community Transit bylaws, RCW 36.57A.050 gives the Board's Chair discretion to permit the nonvoting labor representative to attend executive sessions pertaining to all other topics,...