Fairview Southdale Hosp. v. Minnesota Nurses Ass'n

• Decision Date: 22 August 1991
• Docket Number: No. 91-1133,91-1133
• Parties: 138 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2105, 119 Lab.Cas. P 10,886 FAIRVIEW SOUTHDALE HOSPITAL, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. MINNESOTA NURSES ASSOCIATION, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Page 809

943 F.2d 809

138 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2105, 119 Lab.Cas. P 10,886

FAIRVIEW SOUTHDALE HOSPITAL, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. MINNESOTA NURSES ASSOCIATION, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 91-1133.

United States Court of Appeals,

Eighth Circuit.

Submitted June 13, 1991.

Decided Aug. 22, 1991.

James Dawson, Minneapolis, Minn., for plaintiff-appellant.

Phillip Finkelstein, St. Paul, Minn., for defendant-appellee.

Before ARNOLD and WOLLMAN, Circuit Judges, and RONEY ^*, Senior Circuit Judge.

PER CURIAM:

This case presents the narrow question of whether the arbitrator in a labor dispute between Fairview Southdale Hospital and the Minnesota Nurses Association exceeded his authority by relying on past practice to conclude that free parking for nurses was an employee benefit which the Hospital could not unilaterally terminate without bargaining with the Association. The Hospital maintains that a provision in the collective bargaining agreement specifically limits employee benefits which cannot be unilaterally changed to those listed within the agreement itself, and that free parking was not listed. The district court upheld the arbitrator's decision. We affirm.

Since its inception in 1965 until the Fall of 1989, Fairview Southdale Hospital provided free parking to the registered nurses represented by the Association. In 1988, the Hospital began construction on a new parking garage to accommodate an expansion in hospital facilities. Due to the increased costs associated with this project, hospital administrators decided to pass some of the expenses on to the hospital employees. Under the plan advanced by the Hospital, employees would pay 12cents per hour up to a maximum of $9.60 every two weeks. No issue concerning free parking for Association members was raised at any time during negotiation of the current 1989-1992 labor agreement. The Hospital's decision to discontinue free parking was not made until negotiations on that agreement were concluded. The Association objected to the proposal and after discussions between the parties failed to produce an agreement, filed a grievance.

The dispute was submitted to arbitration under the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement. The arbitrator concluded that while free parking was not a benefit protected by the agreement itself, it was part of the relationship between the parties which could not be unilaterally terminated outside the context of collective bargaining negotiations. The arbitrator rejected the Hospital's contention that the contract itself was the sole source of protected benefits and correspondingly that the use of past practices was a violation of the terms of the agreement. The district court on review concluded that the contract clause was ambiguous and that as a result the arbitrator had not contravened the agreement by holding that the past practice was binding. The Hospital now appeals.

On review of an arbitration award, our sole function is to determine if the arbitrator properly considered the contractual arrangement between the parties when making his decision. The only requirement is that the decision "draw[ ] its essence from the collective bargaining agreement." United Steelworkers of America v. Enterprise Wheel & Car Corp., 363 U.S. 593, 597, 80 S.Ct. 1358, 1361, 4 L.Ed.2d 1424 (1960). Even if a court concludes that the arbitrator has incorrectly interpreted the agreement, it still must uphold such a decision.

[T]he question of interpretation of the collective bargaining agreement is a question for the arbitrator. It is the arbitrator's construction which was bargained for; and so far as the arbitrator's decision concerns construction of the contract, the courts have no business overruling him because their interpretation of the contract is different from his.

United Steelworkers, 363 U.S. at 599, 80 S.Ct. at 1362; see also United Paperworkers Int'l Union v. Misco, Inc., 484 U.S. 29, 38, 108 S.Ct. 364, 371, 98 L.Ed.2d 286 (1987) ("as long as the arbitrator is even arguably construing or applying the contract" the award should not be overturned even if "a court is convinced he committed serious error"). If an arbitrator, however, clearly violates one of the conditions or provisions of the contract, then courts should vacate the award. Northwest Airlines v. Int'l Ass'n Machinists, 894 F.2d 998 (8th Cir.1990) (arbitration award that reinstated employee violated explicit provision permitting termination); St. Louis Theatrical Co. v. St. Louis Theatrical Brotherhood, 715 F.2d 405 (8th Cir.1983) (vacating decision to reinstate employee when collective bargaining agreement permitted termination); Truck Drivers & Helpers Local 784 v. Ulry-Talbert Co., 330 F.2d 562 (8th Cir.1964) (arbitrator improperly failed to enforce provision in agreement permitting termination for dishonesty).

An arbitrator is fully justified in looking to the past relationship of the parties in determining the proper scope of the collective bargaining agreement. "The labor arbitrator's source of law is not confined to the...