Ford Motor Co. v. Plant Protection Ass'n Nat., 84-3718
| Decision Date | 13 August 1985 |
| Docket Number | No. 84-3718,84-3718 |
| Citation | 770 F.2d 69 |
| Parties | 120 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2008, 103 Lab.Cas. P 11,635 FORD MOTOR COMPANY, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. PLANT PROTECTION ASSOCIATION NATIONAL, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit |
John P. Malone, Jr., argued, Cleveland, Ohio, for defendant-appellant.
Ronald L. Coleman, argued, Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, Cleveland, Ohio, for plaintiff-appellee.
Before LIVELY, Chief Judge, MARTIN, Circuit Judge, and TIMBERS, Senior Circuit Judge *.
In this case the court must determine whether two awards of an arbitrator drew their essence from a collective bargaining agreement between Ford Motor Company (Ford) and Plant Protection Association National (PPA). This is a recurring issue in the federal courts and the guiding principles have been established in decisions of the Supreme Court and this court. The particular circumstances in a given case can make application of these principles problematic.
Ford and PPA entered into a collective bargaining agreement which was effective PPA filed two grievances claiming (1) that its members were being transferred and their functions at Northville were being assumed by non-PPA members in violation of the collective bargaining agreement; and (2) that the installation of the electronic security system monitored by non-PPA personnel violated a contractual prohibition against using outside agencies to perform security functions historically performed by unit members and a Ford policy of not using non-PPA personnel for work normally and traditionally assigned to members of the union.
for three years beginning in late 1979. The agreement covered all plant security guards in three Ford plants at Monroe, Northville and Ypsilanti, Michigan. In late 1981 Ford decided to close the Northville plant because it was technologically outdated. However, following negotiations with the United Auto Workers, it was determined that the plant would remain open with reduced operations. Ford then decided that it no longer needed plant security guards at Northville, and it contracted with a private company, Guardian, to install and monitor an electronic burglar and fire alarm system. After this system was installed Ford transferred the Northville plant security guards, who were PPA members, to the Ypsilanti plant.
Ford denied both grievances. With regard to the first grievance, Ford asserted that no "security rounds" were being made at the Northville plant and, thus, the transfers were in compliance with the agreement. As to the second grievance, Ford stated that there had been no improper assignment of work since the electronic system did not require the type of physical presence-monitoring performed by PPA members, and that it alone had the right under "management rights" provisions of the agreement to determine the kind and degree of security required at a given plant.
The positions of the parties focused on several particular provisions of the collective bargaining agreement. In Article I of the agreement Ford recognized PPA as the exclusive bargaining agent of included employees for "rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other conditions of employment." In Article V, PPA recognized Ford's "Rights of Management." In pertinent part, Article V provided:
RIGHTS OF MANAGEMENT
The Union recognizes that the management of the Company's business, including the hiring of employes and the maintenance of order and efficiency in its plants and operations, is the sole responsibility of the Company and that the Company must be free to exercise these rights effectively, as hereinafter provided. In recognition of these principles, the following provisions are agreed to:
Section 1: General
The Company retains the sole right to hire, layoff and assign employes and to determine the starting and quitting time and the number of hours to be worked subject only to such regulations and restrictions governing the exercise of these rights as are expressly provided in this Agreement.
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The Company retains the sole responsibility to determine the methods and means by which, and the extent to which, its property shall be protected, and its rules shall be enforced and, subject only to such restrictions as may be expressly provided by this Agreement, retains the sole responsibility to assign the duties, posts and responsibilities to employes.
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It is understood and agreed that any of the powers and authority the Company had prior to the signing of this Agreement are retained by the Company excepting those specifically abridged or granted by this Agreement.
The grievance procedure, culminating in binding arbitration, was set out in Article IV of the agreement. The following provisions of Article IV, Section 7 are pertinent to the positions of the parties:
Section 7: Powers of Arbitrator
(a) It shall be the function of the arbitrator, and he shall be empowered, except as his powers are limited below, after due investigation to make a decision in cases of alleged violation of the terms of this Agreement.
(1) He shall have no power to add to, or subtract from, or modify any of the terms of any agreement.
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(3) He shall have no power to substitute his discretion for the Company's discretion in cases where the Company is given discretion by this Agreement or by any supplementary agreement, except that where he finds a disciplinary layoff or discharge is in violation of the standards set up in this Agreement, he may make appropriate modifications of the penalty.
(4) He shall have no power to decide any question which, under this Agreement, is within the responsibility of Management to decide. In rendering decisions, an arbitrator shall have due regard to the responsibility of Management and shall so construe the Agreement that there will be no interference with such responsibilities except as they may be specifically conditioned by this Agreement.
(b) In the event that a case is appealed to an arbitrator on which he has no power to rule, it shall be referred back to the parties without decision or recommendations on its merits.
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(d) There shall be no appeal from an arbitrator's decision. It shall be final and binding on the Union, its members, the employe or employes involved and the Company. The Union shall not encourage any of its members, in any appeal to any court or Labor Board, from a decision of an arbitrator.
PPA also relied on a group of letters from Ford to the union bearing the same date as the collective bargaining agreement. Letter No. 10 concerned the use of non-PPA members to perform tasks "normally and historically" assigned to PPA members:
During recent negotiations, the Union expressed concern that the Company had made use of Supervisors, other non-bargaining employes and outside agencies to perform security and fire protection duties which have historically been performed by the bargaining unit in those plants in which the PPA is the certified Collective Bargaining Agent.
The parties understand that certain other security and fire protection functions, including fire prevention work has been assigned to both included and excluded employes. However, it is the policy of the Company that under normal circumstances excluded employes or employes of outside agencies will not be utilized to perform work which has been normally and historically assigned to members of the bargaining unit at those locations in which the PPA is the representative.
Letter No. 14 concerned the use of new technology:
During these negotiations, the Union expressed concern regarding the potential impact of new technology on employes and on the scope of the bargaining unit. This is to advise that where the introduction of new or advanced technology at a plant location affects the job responsibilities of included employes, local management will discuss the matter with the Union. Such discussion will take place in advance of implementation of such technological change as is practicable.
After grievance procedures failed to resolve the dispute, Ford and PPA presented it to an arbitrator. The arbitrator concluded that the letters were part of the collective bargaining agreement and that while the agreement did not explicitly prohibit subcontracting, Letter No. 10 stated Ford's policy not to subcontract PPA work "under normal circumstances." The arbitrator also found that Ford agreed in Letter No. 14 to meet and discuss new technology with PPA before adopting it. In his decision the arbitrator found that the installation of the security system affected "integral working conditions of the unit" and changes in working conditions that required bargaining. The award ordered the former Northville PPA members returned to the Northville plant and any loss in wages or seniority restored. The arbitrator did not order Ford to remove the electronic system, but concluded that it "would be patently unfair to stand idly by while the bargaining unit was wiped out."
Ford returned the PPA members to the Northville plant in compliance with the award. However, Ford next placed the devices which monitored the Northville electronic system in its Ypsilanti plant and again transferred Northville PPA members to Ypsilanti where they were given responsibility for monitoring the Northville electronic security system.
PPA then filed suit in district court charging that Ford had not complied with the arbitration award. When Ford and PPA agreed to submit the compliance issue to arbitration before the same arbitrator, the complaint was dismissed without prejudice. At a new hearing before the arbitrator the parties disagreed on whether Ford had "discussed" the electronic system and its monitoring as required by the first award or had "bargained" on this issue. The second award did not settle this question,...
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