Midamerican Energy v. Intern. Workers Local 499
| Citation | 228 F.Supp.2d 949 |
| Decision Date | 18 October 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. 4-02-CV-90037.,4-02-CV-90037. |
| Parties | MIDAMERICAN ENERGY COMPANY, Plaintiff, v. INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS LOCAL 499, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of Iowa |
Brenton D. Soderstrum, Des Moines, IA, Frank B. Harty, Des Moins, IA, for Plaintiff.
MacDonald Smith, Sioux City, IA, for Defendant.
Plaintiff MidAmerican Energy Company ("MidAmerican") brought this action under Section 301 of the National Labor Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 185(a) challenging the decision of a labor arbitrator requiring MidAmerican to reinstate an employee, Ronald Turner, ("Turner") who was terminated after violating certain safety regulations at the liquid natural gas ("LNG") storage facility where he was employed (the "Award"). The Court now has before it Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment urging the Court to vacate the Award and Defendant's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment urging the Court to enforce the Award and compel the reinstatement of Turner pursuant to its terms. For the reasons set forth below, Plaintiff's Motion is denied and Defendant's Motion is granted.
MidAmerican is a power utility which owns and operates an LNG plant in Waterloo, Iowa, where natural gas is stored in two 5 million gallon tanks on site. MidAmerican is party to a collective bargaining agreement (the "Agreement") with Defendant International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 499 (the "Union"), which represents hourly maintenance, security, and production personnel employed at the facility. The Agreement contains provisions on the terms and conditions of employment. Articles VI of the Agreement provides for binding arbitration in the event of a dispute.1 Turner is an employee covered by the Agreement. He was hired by MidAmerican in 1980 and worked at the Waterloo facility as an "LNG Technician" for fourteen or fifteen years. His work record prior to the incident which triggered his termination was excellent.
The facts as presented during arbitration are as follows. On June 2, 2001, Turner received a call at work from his wife informing him that his teenage son could not be located. Turner then disabled approximately 40 security and monitoring devices in the control room, which were designed to provide fire warning, gas detection, perimeter security, and other similar services. He then left the plant in a MidAmerican vehicle, leaving his own vehicle parked in front of the plant so that his absence would be undetected. Turner was gone for approximately three hours. Some time after Turner abandoned his post, the plant's supervisor, David Pinkham, received an anonymous phone call notifying him that a company vehicle had been seen driving through a Waterloo neighborhood. Pinkham then proceeded to the plant and found it vacant. Plant rules provide, in part, that (Award at 5). By leaving the plant unattended, Turner also caused MidAmerican to be in violation of federal and state regulations requiring continuous monitoring of the LNG facility. See, e.g. 49 C.F.R. § 193.2441(c). When Turner returned to the plant at approximately 3:00 or 3:30 in the morning of June 3, 2001, Pinkham informed him that he was suspended pending an investigation of the matter. Management later determined that Turner should be terminated for "breach of [his] responsibility for the safety of our operations . . .". (Award at 4). MidAmerican was required to self-report the incident to the Iowa State Utilities Board, which found the company in violation of mandated safety and security standards as a result of the incident.
Turner filed a union grievance challenging his termination, alleging a violation of Article V, Section 8 of the Agreement which provides that "[t]he Company shall not discharge, demote, or suspend a regular employee without just cause." The parties referred the matter to arbitration and submitted the following issues: (1) Was Turner terminated for just cause? and (2) If not, what shall the appropriate remedy be? During arbitration, MidAmerican argued that Turner's abandonment of the facility and his deliberate attempts to conceal his actions constituted such a serious breach of his responsibilities that termination was warranted, particularly in light of the serious risks to the surrounding community were an explosion to have occurred. The Union countered that Turner's long tenure and excellent record weighed against such a serious penalty and that his actions had been motivated by concern for his son.
On December 26, 2001, the arbitrator entered the Award, ordering Turner's termination to be reduced to a penalty of suspension without back pay. MidAmerican was ordered to reinstate Turner in either his original position, or, in its discretion, to transfer him to another position in the bargaining unit where he would be subject to more direct supervision.2 The arbitrator did not credit Turner's justification for leaving his post, but rather based his decision on Turner's long "and otherwise unblemished" record, together with the fact that throughout the proceedings, Turner "admitted to the charges against him," "took responsibility for his actions," and "knew them to be a violation of the trust that the Employer had placed in him." The arbitrator also found that Turner "cooperated at all times with Management" during their investigation and "consistently owned up to what he did." (Award at 8, 12-13).
On or about January 4, 2002, Pinkham received an anonymous phone call stating that Turner had lied about his whereabouts on June 2, 2001 and identifying Carol Carey ("Carey") as having relevant information. Pinkham subsequently contacted Carey, who informed him that Turner was with her on June 1-2, 2001 and was not looking for his son, contrary to Turner's sworn testimony during the arbitration proceedings. MidAmerican later deposed Carey, who testified that she was having an extramarital relationship with Turner and that Turner was at her house during the hours he was away from the facility.
MidAmerican filed its appeal in this Court on January 17, 2002 challenging the Award. The Union counterclaimed for enforcement of the Award. Both parties have now moved for summary judgment.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c) provides that summary judgment "shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." An issue is "genuine," "if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A fact is "material" if the dispute over it might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law. Id.
The moving party has the burden of demonstrating the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505. In meeting its burden, the moving party may support his or her motion with affidavits, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions. See Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548. Once the moving party has carried its burden, the nonmoving party must go beyond the pleadings and, by affidavits or by the depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, designate the specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c), (e); Celotex Corp., 477 U.S. at 322-323, 106 S.Ct. 2548; Anderson, 477 U.S. at 257, 106 S.Ct. 2505. In order to survive a motion for summary judgment, the nonmoving party must present enough evidence for a reasonable jury to return a verdict in his or her favor. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 257, 106 S.Ct. 2505.
On a motion for summary judgment, the Court is required to "view the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party and give that party the benefit of all reasonable inferences." United States v. City of Columbia, 914 F.2d 151, 153 (8th Cir.1990). The Court does not weigh the evidence or make credibility determinations. See Anderson, 477 U.S. at 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505. The Court only determines whether there are any disputed issues and, if so, whether those issues are both genuine and material. Id.
Federal law, and in particular the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947, 29 U.S.C. § 173(d) "reflect[s] a decided preference for private settlement of labor disputes without the intervention of government." United Paperworkers Int'l Union v. Misco, Inc., 484 U.S. 29, 36, 108 S.Ct. 364, 98 L.Ed.2d 286 (1987). Accordingly, a court's review of a labor arbitration award is extremely limited. Iowa Electric Light and Power Co. v. Local 204, IBEW, 834 F.2d 1424, 1426-27 (8th Cir. 1987). "The courts are not authorized to reconsider the merits of an award even though the parties may allege that the award rests on errors of fact or on misinterpretation of the contract." Misco, 484 U.S. at 36, 108 S.Ct. 364. An award is legitimate unless it 1) exceeds the arbitrator's contractual authority, or 2) fails to "draw its essence from the collective bargaining agreement," but rather merely represents the arbitrator's "own brand of industrial justice." Id. at 38, 108 S.Ct. 364; United Steelworkers of America v. Enterprise Wheel & Car Corp., 363 U.S. 593, 597, 80 S.Ct. 1358, 4 L.Ed.2d 1424 (1960). The "courts, therefore, have no business...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Gits Mfg. Co., L.L.C. v. Local 281 Intern. Union
...for private settlement of labor disputes without the intervention of government.' " See MidAmerican Energy Co. v. Int'l Bhd. of Elec. Workers Local 499, 228 F.Supp.2d 949, 955 (S.D.Iowa 2002) (quoting United Paperworkers Int'l Union v. Misco, Inc., 484 U.S. 29, 36, 108 S.Ct. 364, 98 L.Ed.2d......