Dyno Nobel v. United Steel Workers of America, No. 98-CV-1685.

• Court: United States District Courts. 2nd Circuit. United States District Court of Northern District of New York
• Writing for the Court: Kahn
• Citation: 77 F.Supp.2d 307
• Decision Date: 09 December 1999
• Docket Number: No. 98-CV-1685.
• Parties: DYNO NOBEL, INC., Plaintiff, v. UNITED STEEL WORKERS OF AMERICA and its Local 13226, Defendants.

Page 307

77 F.Supp.2d 307 DYNO NOBEL, INC., Plaintiff,
v.
UNITED STEEL WORKERS OF AMERICA and its Local 13226, Defendants. No. 98-CV-1685. United States District Court, N.D. New York. December 9, 1999.

Joseph C. Dole, Bond, Schoeneck Law Firm, Syracuse, NY, for Plaintiff.

Joel Field, Office of Joel Field, White Plains, NY, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM — DECISION AND ORDER

KAHN, District Judge.

This case involves an employer's attempt to vacate an arbitration award to a former employee. Presently before the Court are (i) defendant United Steelworkers, Local 13226's ("Local 13226") motion to dismiss the complaint, (ii) defendant Local 13226's motion to confirm the arbitration award, and (iii) Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment. For the reasons set forth below, defendant Local 13226's motions are granted and Plaintiff's motion denied.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff is a multi-national corporation engaged in the manufacture and sale of explosives, explosive devices, and hazardous chemicals. It owns and operates a manufacturing plant in Port Ewen, New York. Defendants United Steelworkers of America and Local 13226 are the collective bargaining representatives of the hourly-paid production and maintenance employees at the Port Ewen plant.

Plaintiff and Defendants are parties to a collective bargaining agreement governing the terms and conditions of employment for represented employees at the Port Ewen facility (the "Agreement"). Article V of the Agreement delineates a procedure for dispute resolution, the final step of which is binding arbitration. Article V, 6(B) prohibits an arbitrator from adding to the terms of the Agreement, and Article III provides Plaintiff with the right to discharge employees for "proper cause."

The dispute in this case arose from Plaintiff's discharge of Norman Buzzanco, an employee at the Port Ewen facility, for what Plaintiff alleges were "repeated safety

Page 308

violations." Buzzanco was hired on May 3, 1990, at which time Plaintiff furnished him with a booklet governing safety rules and practices. The booklet required him to observe the standing operating procedures and specific rules for his work area. Various infractions followed, resulting in written and verbal warnings. On May 23, 1995, Buzzanco received a five day suspension for failing to verify a set up sheet for the press that was running in the Plug Press Room. The suspension notice advised Buzzanco that further violations could result in termination.

On January 8, 1998, Buzzanco was working in the Fuse Press Room, where a block of 499 fuses are installed in a block of 499 detonator shells. These detonators are used in the construction and mining industries. If the alignment is not correct at the time of installation, the situation becomes literally explosive. Buzzanco was responsible for confirming proper setup of the press before beginning a new operation, and certifying his verification in writing. Richard Dyson, a co-employee, was responsible for changing the press height, and failed to do properly on this date. Buzzanco did not detect the error, and the press jammed, but fortunately no explosion occurred. Plaintiff conducted an investigation, and Buzzanco admitted that he had not checked the press height and his written verification was therefore false. Plaintiff terminated Buzzanco's employment effective January 12, 1998.

Defendants filed a grievance, which Plaintiff denied, and an arbitration was ultimately held before Michael S. Lewandowski in Kingston, New York. Lewandowski issued his Opinion and Award (the "Award") on September 30, 1998, in which he concluded that Buzzanco had committed the safety violation charges; that Buzzanco had referred to the violation as "what's the big deal"; that the safety violation created a potential for explosion; that Plaintiff had clear safety procedures in force; that a past set-up error had resulted in an explosion; and that Buzzanco had committed similar safety violations in the past.

Despite these findings, the arbitrator concluded that discharge was too severe a penalty for Buzzanco's infraction and ordered his reinstatement after a two month suspension without pay. Lewandowski reasoned that more than three years had passed since Buzzanco had been disciplined for any violation, and in that time he had been error-free. He also observed that Plaintiff did not act consistently in disciplining employees for the type of conduct at issue here. Rather than comply, Plaintiff commenced this action.

II. ANALYSIS

A. Motion to Dismiss and Confirm the Arbitration Award

1. General Standard Governing Judicial Review of Arbitration Awards

As is standard practice in agreements between a union and a company, the parties in this case agreed to have their disputes settled by a neutral arbitrator and to accept the arbitrator's findings of fact and...