Mobil Oil Corp. v. Local 8-766, Oil, Chemical & Atomic Workers Intern. Union, 78-1535

Citation600 F.2d 322
Decision Date22 June 1979
Docket NumberNo. 78-1535,78-1535
CourtUnited States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (1st Circuit)
Parties101 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2721, 86 Lab.Cas. P 11,375 MOBIL OIL CORPORATION, Petitioner-Appellant, v. LOCAL 8-766, OIL, CHEMICAL & ATOMIC WORKERS INTERNATIONAL UNION, Respondent-Appellee.

James J. Dean, New York City, with whom Putney, Twombly, Hall & Hirson of New York City, Joseph F. Ryan, and Lyne, Woodworth & Evarts, Boston, Mass., were on brief, for petitioner-appellant.

Nathan S. Paven, Boston, Mass., with whom Richard L. Alfred, and Flamm, Kaplan, Paven & Feinberg, Boston, Mass., were on brief, for respondent-appellee.

Before COFFIN, Chief Judge, BOWNES, Circuit Judge, PETTINE, District Judge. *

BOWNES, Circuit Judge.

Petitioner-appellant Mobil Oil Corporation (Mobil) brought a motion to vacate an arbitrator's award in the District Court of Massachusetts, pursuant to section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 185 and 9 U.S.C. § 10. Local 8-766, Oil, Chemical & Atomic Workers International Union (Union) filed a cross-motion to confirm the arbitrator's award, to dismiss Mobil's motion as untimely, and to recover attorney's fees and the costs of suit. The district court issued a memorandum opinion and order in which it denied Mobil's motion to vacate, denied the Union's motion to dismiss, and allowed the Union's motion to confirm the arbitrator's award and remedy. The Union's motion for attorney's fees was denied, but the district court awarded the costs of suit to the Union. There are two issues: (1) did the district court make an independent determination that the dispute was arbitrable, and (2) did the district court err in confirming the arbitration award.

This dispute stems from Mobil's decision to subcontract all the delivery of fuel oil and gasoline at its Bangor, Maine, facility beginning in August of 1976. The Union, which had represented all of Mobil's operating department employees in the northeastern states since 1965, filed a grievance shortly after Mobil announced that it would no longer require the services of the four Union truckers employed at the Bangor terminal. The grievance was submitted to an arbitrator, John W. McConnell, with the issue stipulated as follows: "Did the Company violate the collective bargaining agreement when it contracted out the work of driving gas tank trucks at the Bangor Terminal? If so, what shall the remedy be?"

Mobil maintained that the dispute concerning subcontracting was not arbitrable because there was no express provision regarding subcontracting in the collective bargaining agreement and the arbitration clause in the agreement limited the scope of the arbitrator's power to "render a decision of a proper grievance by interpreting the express provisions of this agreement." The Union countered that the management action, subcontracting away all of the Union delivery jobs, undermined the foundation of the labor agreement and was arbitrable, with or without reference to any specific provisions in the agreement. Additionally, the Union charged that subcontracting did violate express provisions in the agreement, namely the recognition clause and the seniority, wage, and classification provisions.

The arbitrator agreed with the Union that the dispute was arbitrable. He discussed the bargaining history on the issue of subcontracting and, after balancing the arguments of both sides, concluded that Mobil did violate the collective bargaining agreement when it contracted out the work of driving gas tank trucks at the Bangor terminal. The arbitrator noted that Mobil had engaged the services of subcontractors in the past to supplement the Union work force at its various terminals, including Bangor, but that this was the first occasion in which Mobil completely replaced the Union employees with independent haulers. He found it telling that Mobil refused to negotiate any adjustment in hourly rates at the Bangor terminal in order to make the Union drivers more competitive with the subcontractor haulers. The arbitrator concluded:

Without questioning the good faith of the Company in its search for more economical operations, the facts lead inevitably to the conclusion that the effect of the subcontracting at Bangor was the avoidance of the terms and conditions of the contract and a significant precedent for the potential elimination of all tank truck operation in the bargaining unit.

I. Did the District Court Meet Its Obligation to Make Its Own Determination on Arbitrability?

Neither Mobil nor the Union contests the principle that the court, in reviewing an arbitrator's award, has an obligation to make its own determination of the arbitrability of the dispute presented. "Arbitrability is a question which the district court must pass on in the first instance." Local 205, UE v. General Electric Co., 233 F.2d 85, 101 (1st Cir. 1956), Aff'd, 353 U.S. 547, 77 S.Ct. 921, 1 L.Ed.2d 1028 (1957). See also Atkinson v. Sinclair Refining Co., 370 U.S. 238, 241, 82 S.Ct. 1318, 8 L.Ed.2d 462 (1962); United Steelworkers of America v. Warrior & Gulf Navigation Co., 363 U.S. 574, 583 n.7, 80 S.Ct. 1347, 4 L.Ed.2d 1409 (1960); International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 249 v. Western Pennsylvania Motor Carriers Association, 574 F.2d 783, 787 (3d Cir. 1978). The parties, however, do not share the same view of the trial court's treatment of arbitrability. Mobil claims that the district court did not discuss nor meet its obligation to determine arbitrability, but, instead, accepted the arbitrator's finding. The Union argues that the district court did make its own determination of arbitrability, finding that the dispute was arbitrable because the subcontracting involved "express terms" of the contract.

Our review of the district court's memorandum leads to the conclusion that the court below did not make its own independent determination of arbitrability. We set forth the relevant portion of the district court's discussion:

The petitioner bases its motion on an allegation that the arbitrator exceeded his authority under the collective bargaining agreement. It asserts that he was limited to deciding disputes arising under the "express terms" of the contract, that a provision forbidding contracting out was rejected at the bargaining table, and that contracting out was beyond the arbitrator's purview. These arguments might be of greater weight had the arbitrator not dealt at length in his opinion with arbitrability. He found that contracting out could undercut "express terms" of the contract dealing with recognition, seniority, job classification, and wage scales. Arbitrator's Opinion, May 25, 1977, p. 6.

"(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 of America v. Enterprise Wheel & Car Corp., 363 U.S. 593, 599, 80 S.Ct. 1358, 4 L.Ed.2d 1424 (1960). I find the arbitrator's conclusions are rationally supportable, and judicial intervention is not appropriate. Accordingly, the motion to vacate is DENIED" (emphasis added).

We agree with Mobil that the district court limited itself to a review of the arbitrator's decision. The only logical interpretation that can be given to the italicized sentence is that the district court misunderstood its duty to decide independently the question of arbitrability and erroneously deferred to the arbitrator's determination that the subcontracting dispute was arbitrable. Its citation to page 599 of United Steelworkers of America v. Enterprise Wheel & Car Corp., 363 U.S. 593, 80 S.Ct. 1358, 4 L.Ed.2d 1424 (1960), makes it evident that the court blended the issue of arbitrability with the deference due the arbitrator's interpretation of the contract. In Enterprise Wheel, the Court stated at 599, 80 S.Ct. at 1362:

As we there emphasized (referring to United Steelworkers of America v. American Manufacturing Co., 363 U.S. 564 (80 S.Ct. 1343, 4 L.Ed.2d 1403) (1960)), the 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.

This, however, referred only to the second step of the court's review process. 1 The first step is a determination of the arbitrability of the dispute. While the court may refer to an arbitrator's discussion on arbitrability in order to aid its determination, F & M Schaeffer Brewing Co. v. Local 49, International Union of United Brewery Workers, 420 F.2d 854, 856 (2d Cir. 1970); Garlick Funeral Homes, Inc. v. Local 100, Service Employees International Union, 413 F.Supp. 130, 134 (S.D.N.Y.1976), it must make its own independent determination of this threshold issue. There is no language in the court's opinion indicating that this obligation was met.

This, however, does not require a remand. Since arbitration is a matter of contract, Gateway Coal Co. v. United Mine Workers of America, 414 U.S. 368, 374, 94 S.Ct. 629, 38 L.Ed.2d 583 (1974), Local 205, UE v. General Electric Co., supra, 233 F.2d at 101, this court can, itself, determine this question of law. In Necchi v. Necchi Sewing Machine Sales Corp., 348 F.2d 693 (2d Cir. 1965), Cert. denied, 383 U.S. 909, 86 S.Ct. 892, 15 L.Ed.2d 664 (1966), the court found that the district court had not met its obligation to decide whether the dispute was arbitrable. Rather than remand, however, the court decided the issue itself. Writing for the court, Judge, now Justice, Marshall wrote:

The District Court failed to fulfill this duty...

To continue reading

Request your trial
53 cases
  • Hartford Fin. Systems v. Fla. Software Serv., Inc., Civ. No. 81-0184-P.
    • United States
    • United States District Courts. 1st Circuit. United States District Court (Maine)
    • November 2, 1982
    ...the scope of the arbitrators' authority may be raised in an action to vacate the award under 9 U.S.C. § 10. See Mobil Oil v. Local 8-766, 600 F.2d 322 (1st Cir.1979); Davis v. Chevy Chase Financial Ltd., 667 F.2d 160, 164-68 (D.C.Cir.1981). Courts entertain challenges to the arbitrability o......
  • Jaffe v. Nocera, 84-497.
    • United States
    • Court of Appeals of Columbia District
    • June 6, 1985
    ...of dispute, objection was preserved, and issue was ripe for court review), and in Mobil Oil Corp. v. Local 8-766, Oil, Chem. & Atomic Workers Int'l Union, 600 F.2d 322, 323, 325 (1st Cir. 1979) (same). Nocera's contention that these cases stand for the proposition that a court may review ar......
  • Local Union 1253 v. S/L Const., Inc., 01-CV-66-B-S.
    • United States
    • United States District Courts. 1st Circuit. United States District Court (Maine)
    • July 24, 2002
    ...parties agreed to submit to arbitration the dispute upon which the arbitrator ruled, see Mobil Oil Corp. v. Local 8-766, Oil, Chemical & Atomic Workers Int'l Union, 600 F.2d 322, 324 (1st Cir.1979). If these two prerequisites are satisfied, the Court must uphold the award as long as it (3) ......
  • New Orleans S.S. Ass'n v. General Longshore Workers
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (5th Circuit)
    • September 25, 1980
    ...is arbitrable. Arbitrability is a question for the court to pass on in the first instance. Mobile Oil Corp. v. Local 8-766, Oil, Chemical & Atomic Workers, 600 F.2d 322, 324 (1st Cir. 1979); Local Union No. 787, Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers v. Collins Radio Co., 317 F.2d 214, 216 (5t......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT