International Broth. of Elec. Workers, Local 1228, AFL-CIO v. Freedom WLNE-TV, Inc., AFL-CI
| Decision Date | 06 March 1985 |
| Docket Number | No. 84-1821,INC,WLNE-T,AFL-CI,P,84-1821 |
| Parties | 119 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2199, 102 Lab.Cas. P 11,442 INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS, LOCAL 1228,laintiff, Appellee, v. FREEDOM, Defendant, Appellant. . Heard |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — First Circuit |
Arthur M. Brewer, Baltimore, Md., with whom William J. Rosenthal, Earle K. Shawe, Baltimore, Md., Charles Hieken, Waltham, Md., and Shawe & Rosenthal, Baltimore, Md., were on brief, for defendant, appellant.
Joseph G. Sandulli, Boston, Mass., for plaintiff, appellee.
Before COFFIN and TORRUELLA, Circuit Judges, and RE, * Judge.
Freedom WLNE-TV, Inc. (Freedom) appeals from a district court order compelling it to submit to binding arbitration the question of whether Freedom's contract with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1228, AFL-CIO (the Union), by its own terms, continues in effect beyond its stated expiration date. 590 F.Supp. 1228. The issue, one of contract interpretation, was appropriately referred, in the first instance, to the arbitrator for determination. Accordingly, we affirm.
Freedom and the Union entered into a collective bargaining agreement (the Agreement) on November 16, 1982 which was to remain in effect through August 15, 1983, and from year to year thereafter "unless changed or terminated in the manner hereinafter made and provided." Art. 22.1. The contract required the party wishing to terminate the Agreement to notify the other in writing at least 60 days prior to the expiration date. The Agreement further provided that, "[p]ending and during the negotiation of a new contract or amendments to this contract, business of the Employer shall continue in accordance with all the terms of this contract." Negotiations to renew the contract began in May, 1983, when the Union advised Freedom of its desire to amend the current contract, and apparently continued through at least mid-September with each side proposing, although never agreeing upon, different versions of an extension agreement.
On September 22, 1983, the Union filed a grievance which challenged Freedom's alleged use of non-union employees for certain broadcasting work. Freedom refused to process the grievance because it concerned work which was undertaken after the expiration of the contract. The Union filed a subsequent grievance on September 28, claiming that Freedom's refusal to process the earlier grievance unilaterally terminated the contract. Freedom again declined to process the grievance. On October 3, the Union sought to arbitrate the question, "[t]o what extent the contract, by its own terms, (Article 22) continues in effect beyond August 15, 1983 and what is the proper remedy." Freedom refused arbitration claiming that its obligation to arbitrate, like its obligation to process grievances, expired with the contract on August 15 due to the parties' failure to reach an extension agreement.
On cross-motions for summary judgment, the district court ordered Freedom to submit to binding arbitration. It is from that order that Freedom appeals.
There is no duty to submit labor disputes to arbitration absent a contractual agreement between the parties to be so bound. United Steelworkers of America v. Warrior & Gulf Navigation Co., 363 U.S. 574, 582, 80 S.Ct. 1347, 1352, 4 L.Ed.2d 1409 (1960). Generally it is up to the court to determine, in the first instance, whether the parties have entered into a contract which imposes the duty to arbitrate, id., and whether that contract is still binding upon them, see e.g., Rochdale Village, Inc. v. Public Service Employees Union, 605 F.2d 1290, 1295 (2d Cir.1979); International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America v. International Telephone and Telegraph Corp., 508 F.2d 1309, 1313 (8th Cir.1975). Where, however, the determination of whether a contract is still in effect depends solely upon construction of the collective bargaining agreement, the issue of contract termination may appropriately be decided by the arbitrator. Corallo v. Merrick Central Carburetor, Inc., 733 F.2d 248, 253 (2d Cir.1984); Rochdale Village v. Public Service Employees, 605 F.2d at 1296-1297.
Parties to a collective bargaining agreement are contractually bound to arbitrate only disputes which properly come within the scope of the...
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