Bryant v. Verizon Communications, Inc.
| Decision Date | 01 May 2008 |
| Docket Number | No. 05 CIV. 8112(CM).,05 CIV. 8112(CM). |
| Citation | 550 F.Supp.2d 513 |
| Parties | Barbara BRYANT, Plaintiff, v. VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC., Communications Workers of America Local 1103 and Communications Workers of America, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York |
Armani Baraka Scott, Scott & Mason-Kinsey LLP, Brooklyn, NY for Plaintiff.
Carrie Corcoran, Michael A. Kalish, Epstein Becker & Green, P.C., Amy S Young, Semel, Young & Norum, New York, NY, for Defendants.
DECISION AND ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS' MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
In this action Plaintiff Barbara Bryant alleges race and gender discrimination on the part of her former employer, Verizon Communications (Verizon), and her national and local labor unions, the Communications Workers of America (CWA), and CWA Local 1103. Before the court are the summary judgment motions of Verizon and the Union Defendants.
For the reasons discussed below, the motions for summary judgment are granted.
Plaintiff Barbara Bryant is an African-American female who was employed for 27 years by Defendant Verizon and its predecessors. Def. Verizon R. 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 1.
Defendant Verizon Communications, Inc. is a telecommunications company in the business of providing phone and other communication services to a variety or corporate and individual customers. Compl. ¶ 2.
Defendant CWA is an international labor union representing workers in the telecommunications industry, including workers at Verizon. Def. Union R. 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 1 Defendant Local 1103 is a local union affiliated with CWA responsible for representing workers in Bryant's previous job title. Id. ¶ 2.
The relevant facts concern Plaintiffs employment at Verizon, including several incidents that led to Plaintiffs being disciplined and eventually terminated, and the Union Defendant's representation of Plaintiff during those disciplinary proceedings. The facts are undisputed, or presented in the light most favorable to Plaintiff.
Barbara Bryant began working for Verizon in 1978. From that time until 1997 she held a series of clerical positions. Def. Verizon R. 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 2.
In 1997 Bryant applied for "The Next Step Program," a special program bargained for by the union and Verizon. Id. 113. Employees in the Program receive special technical training, including one day a week of college courses. Id. ¶ 5. Participants in the Program take on the job title of Telecommunications Technical Associate (TTA) and are trained for a position as either a Field or Office Technician. Id. ¶ 4, ¶ 7.
Bryant was accepted into the Program in September of 1997. She became eligible when she passed an entry exam, and was selected in part due to her seniority at Verizon. Id. ¶ 3. Verizon selected Bryant to perform the duties of a Field Technician. Id. ¶ 7. Field Technicians work outdoors, installing and repairing Verizon's telephone lines. Besides the additional training the program provided, Bryant also began to receive a significantly higher salary than she had earned in her previous positions. Id. ¶ 4.
September 1997 also marked the beginning of Local 1103's representation of Bryant. Def. Union R. 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 4. Bryant had been represented by CWA through other locals since about 1985. Def. Union Mem. at 2.
In its capacity as representative, Local 1103 plays a crucial role in smoothing out employer/employee conflicts through the grievance system. Pursuant to the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between Verizon and CWA, employee grievances are handled in a four-step process. Def. Union R. 56.1 Stmt. ¶¶ 5-8. At the first step, a local union representative grieves the employer action and represents the employee's interest in a meeting with the employer. If the union and the employer are unable to mutually resolve the grievance, it is appealed to a second step. At the second step, the Local again presses the employee's grievance. If the grievance is denied at the second step, the Local can then pass the appeal on to the National, who sits with Verizon at the third step. Finally, if no resolution is reached after the third step, the National can submit the matter to binding arbitration. The decision whether or not to arbitrate rests solely with the National.
Between 1978 and 1997 Bryant had few difficulties with her employer. However, Bryant began to struggle in the Next Step Program. During the six-month probationary period following her promotion, Verizon attempted to have Plaintiff returned to her clerical position because of the difficulty she was experiencing learning her new position. Verizon Ex. 7 at D 3070, Ex. 17 at 15-18. Due to the intercession of Local 1103, Bryant was able to remain in the Program. Id.
However, her problems continued. Performance evaluations from her time as a Telecommunication Technical Associate show that Plaintiff had difficulty learning the requisite skills and could not complete jobs without assistance. Verizon Ex. 18 at D 873 (first half of 1998) ("Barbara is not able to work alone yet"); Verizon Ex. 16 at D 1474-79 (second half of 1998) ("Barbara is not qualified as a field technician yet," "Barbara does less than one job per day," "needs to show marked improvement [in problem solving] in order to show that she is capable of doing this job," "needs to improve in [technical proficiency], she is new in the field but behind others with the same time in title"); Verizon Ex. 20 at D 1199 (2001 evaluation) ("[Bryant] appears lost at work," "needs to learn all aspects of the job again and again," "has improved but is still not close to others in gang"). During her seven years as a technician, Bryant took frequent and lengthy leaves of absence, which, though authorized, contributed to Plaintiffs difficulties mastering her position. Verizon Ex. 19 (2000 evaluation) (Bryant not ratable due to lengthy absence); Verizon Ex. 38 (2002 absence record) (Bryant absent 51 working days, excluding 20 days vacation and 5 personal days); Verizon Ex. 39 (2003 absence record) (Bryant absent 219 working days, excluding 24 days vacation and 6 personal days).
In February 2001, after Bryant had been a Field Technician for four years, her supervisor Bill Damson and her union representative Vincent Gaiante met with Bryant to discuss her "inability to perform her every day tasks as a field technician" and her "lack of field knowledge." Verizon Ex. 26. During this discussion it was made clear to Plaintiff that, if she did not show improvement, further action or discipline might be necessary. Id. Bryant failed to improve, and in November 2001, she was given a warning and placed on Verizon's Service Excellence Plan. Ex. 28. After her union grieved, however, Verizon agreed to remove the warning. Verizon Ex. 30.
In 2002, Bryant was removed from the Next Step Program because of her failure to meet the Program's academic requirements. Verizon Exs. 32-34. In particular, Bryant was unable to maintain the required 2.0 grade point average. Id. Nonetheless, she was able to remain in the job title of Field Technician, and this enabled her to continue receiving a higher salary. Id. However, Bryant continued to struggle as a Field Technician. PL's Ex. 5 (2002 evaluation) ("Barbara seems lost at times [and] needs to improve," "Below group standard," "has gotten worse [in Quantity/Productivity]!!"); Verizon Ex. 40 (first half of 2003) ( ; Verizon Ex. 41 (October 2003 letter) (Bryant "appear[s] lost").
The basis for Plaintiffs dismissal from Verizon was a series of alleged "work time violations." A work time violation occurs when a Field Technician fails to perform work during work hours, or fails to-properly account for her time. Def. Verizon R. 56.1 Stmt, ¶ 29. Verizon does not tolerate such infractions and punishes them severely, because Field Technicians perform their duties off-site and without supervision, traveling alone from one job to the next. Id. ¶¶ 28-30.
Work time violations and the appropriate punishment for them was the subject of a 1986 Agreement between Verizon and the CWA. Id. ¶ 31; Def. Union R. 56.1 Stmt. ¶¶ 8-11. Under the 1986 Agreement, the discipline for a first work time violation is a suspension of up to 30 days and a final written warning. If an employee with more than five years of employment at Verizon goes on to commit a second work time violation within two years, his/her employment is terminated. Id. ¶ 8. The 1986 Agreement also limits the union's right to arbitrate work time violations to the issue of whether or not a work time violation occurred. Def. Verizon R. 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 31.
Plaintiffs first work time violation occurred at a job site in New Rochelle, New York, in April 2001. Plaintiff was assigned as a helper for an installation crew that included her self and two men, one of whom, Ronnie Bough, was African American. Verizon Ex. 2 (Bryant deposition) at 61-67. Plaintiff claims that she left the site at 12:15pm to retrieve some supplies at the request of her coworkers. When she returned at 2:00pm, her supervisor, Bill Damson, confronted her and informed her that she would be disciplined for being "off the job." Damson apparently took the position that, as a helper, she should not have gone for supplies, and that lunch could only be taken from 12pm to 1pm, unless he was notified. Id. at 64-71.
Bryant was punished according to the 1986...
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