Int'l Bhd. of Elec. Workers, Local 1547, AFL-CIO v. Alaska Commc'ns Sys. Holdings, Inc.

• Decision Date: 11 December 2019
• Docket Number: Case No. 3:19-cv-00160-SLG
• Citation: 424 F.Supp.3d 598
• Parties: INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS, LOCAL 1547, AFL-CIO, Plaintiff, v. ALASKA COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS HOLDINGS, INC., Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Alaska

424 F.Supp.3d 598

INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS, LOCAL 1547, AFL-CIO, Plaintiff,

v.ALASKA COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS HOLDINGS, INC., Defendant.

Case No. 3:19-cv-00160-SLG

United States District Court, D. Alaska.

Signed December 11, 2019

Justin Weaver Roberts, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Anchorage, AK, for Plaintiff.

Daniel Albanil Adlong, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C., Costa Mesa, CA, Matthew James Kelley, Pro Hac Vice, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C., Indianapolis, IN, Russell S. Buhite, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart P.C., Seattle, WA, for Defendant.

ORDER RE MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Sharon L. Gleason, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Before the Court at Docket 11 is Plaintiff International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union No. 1547's ("IBEW 1547") Motion for Summary Judgment. Defendant Alaska Communications Systems Holdings, Inc. ("Alaska Communications") responded in opposition at Docket 16. IBEW 1547 replied at Docket 19. Also before the Court, at Docket 14, is Alaska Communications' Motion for Summary Judgment. IBEW 1547 responded in opposition at Docket 17, and filed an amended opposition at Docket 18-1. Alaska Communications replied at Docket 20. Oral argument was not requested and was not necessary to the Court's determination.

BACKGROUND

IBEW 1547 and Alaska Communications are parties to a Collective Bargaining Agreement ("CBA").¹ Alaska Communications is a telecommunications service provider and IBEW 1547 is the Alaskan affiliate of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.² IBEW 1547 is the "certified bargaining agent for all [Alaska Communications'] employees within the job classifications included in the designated bargaining unit" and the CBA "sets forth wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment of all of [Alaska Communications'] employees in the Bargaining Unit."³

A. Provisions of the Collective Bargaining Agreement

The following provisions of the CBA are relevant to the parties' dispute:

Article I – Purpose, Scope, Duration, and General Provisions

Section 1.3 Scope of Agreement:

This Agreement is applicable, within the State of Alaska, to all work within the scope of those job descriptions listed in the wage schedule in Appendix 1 and will be applicable to other positions or job classifications as agreed between the Union and Company.⁴

Section 1.9 Recognition:

The Company recognizes the Union as the exclusive bargaining agent for the purpose of collective bargaining with respect to wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment for all employees in the bargaining unit consisting of the job classifications in this Agreement.

...

(B) If the Company purchases or acquired the assets of an entity not signatory to the IBEW, or the Company creates an Alaskan subsidiary, or obtains controlling interest in an Alaska-based joint venture or other business, the Company agrees to extend voluntary recognition to the IBEW upon an appropriate showing of IBEW's majority support among any group of employees employed by such entities eligible for representation. Thereafter, such employees shall be integrated by the Parties into appropriate classifications covered by this Agreement. Voluntary recognition also will be granted if IBEW demonstrates majority support among any employees of the Company eligible for representation who are not currently in the Bargaining Unit.⁵

Article IV – Grievance and Arbitration Process

Section 4.1 Purpose:

The purpose of this procedure is to provide a means whereby complaints and grievances may be adjusted or resolved promptly and fairly.⁶

Section 4.3 Definitions and Presentation of Grievances:

"Grievances" shall mean, and be limited to, disputes or differences arising under the term of this Agreement between the Company and the Union, or employees so represented, with respect to the interpretation or application of any specific provision of this Agreement....

The grievance shall be processed in accordance with the following steps:

Step 1

Within five working days after the grievance is presented at Step 1, a meeting shall be held with the grievant, the department head of the activity, or designated representative, and the appropriate Shop Steward, or designated representative. The department head shall make a reply in writing not later than five working days after the meeting. If this reply is unsatisfactory, the grievance may be appealed to Step 2 provided such appeal is made within five working days following the receipt of the reply.

Step 2

Within ten working days after the grievance is appealed to Step 2, a meeting shall be held between the appropriate Vice President of the Company, or designated representative and the Chief Shop Steward or designated representative. Written documentation explaining reason for disagreement along with any supporting information must be included with the grievance appeal. The Vice President shall make a reply in writing not later than five working days after meeting with the Union's representative. If this reply is unsatisfactory, the Union will provide written notice to the Vice President of Human Resources within ten working days following receipt of the Step 2 reply. The Union will have up to 20 working days to complete its internal review process. If after its review process is completed the Union wishes to advance the grievance further, the Union shall submit a written request to the Vice President of Human Resources for a meeting of the Grievance Review Committee (GRC). The GRC will be convened within ten working days of receipt of the written request from the Union. If the grievance is not resolved by the GRC, the grievance may be appealed to arbitration provided written notice of such appeal is given to the Vice President of Human Resources within ten working days following meeting of the GRC.⁷

Section 4.4 Arbitration

...

The Parties agree that the decision or award of the arbitrator shall be final and binding on each of the Parties and that they will abide thereby, subject to such laws, rules and regulations as may be applicable. The authority of the arbitrator shall be limited to determining questions directly involving the interpretation or application of specific provisions of this Agreement, and no other matter shall be subject to arbitration hereunder. The arbitrator shall have no authority to add to, subtract from, or to change any of the terms of this Agreement, to change an existing wage rate, or to establish a new wage rate. In no event shall the same question be the subject of arbitration more than once.⁸

B. The Parties' Dispute

The parties' dispute centers around a group of Alaska Communications' employees, the majority of whom work and reside in Oregon. IBEW 1547 seeks their inclusion under the terms of the CBA but Alaska Communications maintains that the CBA does not apply outside of the State of Alaska, and thus, does not apply to the employees in question. The events between the parties unfolded as follows:

On or about August 3, 2018, IBEW 1547 requested that Alaska Communications participate in a card check and voluntary recognition process for a group of employees in Oregon.⁹ On August 22, 2018, Alaska Communications denied the request.¹⁰ Shortly thereafter, IBEW 1547 filed a petition for a self-determination election with the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB") on behalf of the group of employees.¹¹ The parties had a hearing before the NLRB beginning on September 18, 2018.¹² On December 18, 2018, a regional director of the NLRB issued a ruling finding that the defined group of employees¹³ "constitute[s] an appropriate voting group for the purpose of collective bargaining as part of the existing Alaska Unit" and that a "self-determination election will be ordered for these employees."¹⁴ The group in question was made up of the twelve employees in Oregon, as well as two employees in Alaska added by the regional director.¹⁵

Alaska Communications filed a request for review of the decision, but the NLRB denied the request finding "no substantial issues warranting review."¹⁶ While the request for review was pending, as well as after it was denied, IBEW 1547 requested that Alaska Communications negotiate terms for the newly integrated employees.¹⁷ Each time, Alaska Communications refused to negotiate or declined to answer.¹⁸ On January 30, 2019, the NLRB conducted a ballot count and the voting group elected to be represented by the Union and be integrated into the existing bargaining unit.¹⁹

In the interim, IBEW 1547 hired a neutral third party to conduct a card count for the voting group, which took place on January 11, 2019.²⁰ The card count confirmed that there was majority support for representation among the employees.²¹ On January 28, 2019, with that confirmation in hand, IBEW 1547 requested voluntary recognition for the group of employees under Section 1.9(B) of the CBA.²² Alaska Communications denied voluntary recognition.²³

On February 7, 2019, IBEW 1547 filed a grievance pursuant to Article IV of the CBA.²⁴ The parties engaged in the stepwise process laid out therein: they held Step I and a Step II grievance meetings, Alaska Communications provided responses,²⁵ and the parties held a Grievance Review Committee meeting.²⁶ The process culminated on April 10, 2019, when IBEW 1547 notified Alaska Communications that it was submitting the grievance to arbitration.²⁷ On April 17, 2019, Alaska Communications responded: "[a]s the work in question is not within the State of Alaska it does not fall under the scope of the collective bargaining agreement ... and is therefore not subject to the grievance and arbitration process of the CBA."²⁸ On May 17, 2019, after IBEW 1547 had requested and received a list of arbitrators from the American Arbitration Association ("AAA"),²⁹ Alaska Communications reiterated to IBEW 1547 that it "will not arbitrate this issue [as it] ... is both substantively and procedurally...