Office & Professional Employees Intern. Union, Local 2 v. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
| Decision Date | 20 December 1983 |
| Docket Number | 82-2443,Nos. 82-2423,82-2488 and 82-2500,s. 82-2423 |
| Citation | 724 F.2d 133 |
| Parties | 115 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2210, 233 U.S.App.D.C. 1 OFFICE AND PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION, LOCAL 2, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN AREA TRANSIT AUTHORITY, Defendant-Appellant, William B. Bircher, et al., Intervenor. OFFICE AND PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION, LOCAL 2, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN AREA TRANSIT AUTHORITY, Defendant-Petitioner. OFFICE AND PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION, LOCAL 2, Appellee, v. WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN AREA TRANSIT AUTHORITY, et al. Appeal of William B. BIRCHER. OFFICE AND PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION, LOCAL 2, Appellee, v. WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN AREA TRANSIT AUTHORITY, et al. Appeal of Alan D. PECK. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — District of Columbia Circuit |
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (Civil Action No. 81-02476).
James J. Kelley, Washington, D.C., with whom William J. Curtin and Terence P. McCourt, Washington, D.C., was on brief for appellant, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
William B. Bircher, pro se, for appellant in No. 82-2488.
Alan D. Peck, pro se, for appellant in No. 82-2500.
Joseph E. Finley, Washington, D.C., for appellee.
Before WALD, MIKVA and GINSBURG, Circuit Judges.
Opinion for the Court filed by Circuit Judge MIKVA.
The central issue in this appeal is the enforceability of an arbitral award rendered under the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority Compact. In June 1980, the Office and Professional Employee International Union, Local 2 (Local 2 or Union) and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Authority or WMATA) submitted to an arbitrator questions concerning the scope of a bargaining unit. One month later, the arbitrator issued an award that divided employees by job classification. Following the award, Local 2 and WMATA continued negotiations, elections were held, and Local 2 was certified as the winner. Nonetheless, the parties continued to disagree as to the proper scope of the bargaining unit. In October, 1981--sixteen months after the arbitrator's decision--the Union filed this suit demanding, inter alia, specific enforcement of the decision.
Shortly after this case was filed in the district court, a number of individual WMATA employees intervened. Of the original intervenors, only Bircher and Peck remain involved in the case. Both employees argue that they should not be included within the unit.
The district court, 552 F.Supp. 622, in November 1982, granted partial summary judgment in favor of the Union. The district court, applying a highly deferential standard of review, decided, inter alia, that the arbitral decision was enforceable.
Following oral argument, and considering the urgency of the matters involved, we entered a judgment on June 7, 1983 that affirmed the trial court's decision to enforce the arbitrator's award, 713 F.2d 865. We reserved judgment as to the issues raised by intervenors Bircher and Peck. In this opinion, we explain the rationale that led to our order of affirmance. Additionally, we dismiss, without prejudice, the appeals of intervenors Bircher and Peck.
The Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority Compact (Compact) created WMATA. The Compact, authorized by Congress, is an interstate agreement between the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the State of Maryland. Pub.Law No. 92-349, 86 Stat. 464, Pub.Law No. 89-774, 80 Stat. 1324. See also D.C.CODE ANN. Sec. 1-2431 (1981). The Compact authorizes WMATA to construct, operate, and develop a mass transit system in the Washington Metropolitan Area. In a provision central to this appeal, the Compact also requires that all labor disputes be submitted to arbitration.
For many years, Amalgamated Transit Union (Amalgamated) has represented certain groups of WMATA employees. In early 1979, Local 2 began its efforts to become the representative of the nonrepresented employees. Specifically, Local 2 hoped to unionize the professional, administrative, technical, and clerical employees. After Local 2 demanded recognition as the bargaining representative and WMATA refused to bargain, Local 2 filed suit in OPEIU Local 2 v. WMATA, Civil Action No. 79-1386 (D.D.C.1979). Amalgamated intervened. In June 1979, Local 2 withdrew the suit and the three parties--Local 2, Amalgamated, and WMATA--entered an agreement which provided for negotiations on the composition of the bargaining unit. The agreement also established that, if the parties failed to reach an understanding, "the Authority [would] submit the unit question to arbitration pursuant to [the Compact], before a single arbitrator."
The parties met and reached agreement as to the placement of certain employee classifications inside or outside the bargaining unit. The parties, however, were unable to resolve all the issues and thus submitted more than 120 job classifications to the arbitrator. The arbitrator was to determine which, if any, employee classifications were composed of supervisory, managerial, or confidential jobs. Pursuant to statute and the parties' submission, employees who were characterized as confidential, supervisory, or managerial would not be placed within the unit. On July 10, 1980, the arbitrator rendered an award that provided a list with the word "in" or "out" following each job category. The arbitrator noted:
[I]t would protract this decision to unreasonable length if the Arbitrator were to state even briefly the facts and rationale covering each position. In lieu of such discussion the Arbitrator will list each job, by number and title and his ruling (included or excluded). With respect to each such holding the Arbitrator is prepared, upon joint request of the parties, to set forth in a supplementary decision the reasons underlying his ruling.
Appellant's Appendix at 7. Neither party requested any supplemental decisions.
After the award, the parties again met. The parties modified some of the specific job classification holdings of the arbitrator's award and discussed the placement of other classifications. In November 1980, the parties entered an election agreement. WMATA submitted to the Union a list of employees eligible to vote. The list reflected the arbitrator's job classifications, as modified by the subsequent agreements between the parties. The Union alleges that at this time all issues were resolved. Appellee's Brief at 7. The Authority, however, suggests that complete agreement had not been reached. Appellant's Brief at 5, 6. In any event, elections were held in January 1981, and two bargaining units voted for Local 2 representation.
In April, three months after the election, the Authority again expressed concerns over the bargaining unit composition. Matters were further complicated by a June 1981 administrative reorganization in WMATA. The reorganization affected the job responsibilities of many individuals whom the arbitrator had placed within the bargaining unit.
In July 1981, the Union submitted a comprehensive written proposal for collective bargaining. The appointment of a new negotiator for WMATA, however, delayed the bargaining sessions until September. WMATA immediately thereafter contested the placement of numerous employee classifications, and requested arbitration over the composition of the bargaining unit. Claiming that these issues already had been resolved by the earlier arbitral award, Local 2 refused to enter renewed arbitration. Shortly thereafter, Local 2 filed this suit seeking, inter alia, enforcement of the arbitrator's award.
Although the parties made efforts to negotiate subsequent to the commencement of this litigation, no progress was made. In December 1981, almost one year after the election, the Authority "closely scrutinized the composition of the bargaining unit because of its concerns that managerial and supervisory employees were engaged both in organizational and negotiation activities on behalf of the union." Appellant's Brief at 9. Following this "close scrutiny" of the unit, the Authority's General Manager sent a letter to approximately 300 employees within the bargaining unit. Among the 300 recipients were ten of the twelve members of the Union's bargaining team. The letter stated in pertinent part:
As a result of a recent evaluation of your classification, we have determined that as a supervisory/managerial employee, you are not eligible to participate in union activities. Participation includes, but is not limited to, attending union meetings, holding union positions of any type, participation in the negotiation or administration of any contract on behalf of the union, and representing the union in any grievance or legal proceeding.
....
Accordingly, you are instructed to stop all involvement, if any, in Local 2's affairs immediately, and you are advised that failure to do so may result in your termination.
If you have any questions on your status as a supervisory/managerial employee ... please contact [a designated WMATA official].
Appellant's Appendix at 100. Six employees objected to the letter and were allowed to remain in the bargaining unit.
In November 1982, the district court granted partial summary judgment for the Union. The only issue which remains in controversy is whether the arbitral award is enforceable. In this appeal, WMATA challenges the district court's choice of a standard of review and, more generally, argues that the arbitrator's award should not have been enforced. Intervenors Bircher and Peck similarly appeal the district court's decision.
This is a case of first impression in this circuit. We are asked to delineate the proper scope of judicial review of arbitral decisions rendered under the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority Compact. In addressing this issue, we...
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