Rainey v. Town of Warren

• Decision Date: 10 January 2000
• Docket Number: C.A.No. 97-040L.
• Citation: 80 F.Supp.2d 5
• Parties: Patricia RAINEY, Plaintiff, v. TOWN OF WARREN, Kathleen Raposa, in her official capacity as Warren Town Treasurer; Anthony Primiano, in his individual capacity and in his official capacity as former Sergeant of the Warren Police Department; Louis Dutra, individually and in his official capacity as former Detective of the Warren Police Department; United Steelworkers of America, AFL — CIO — CLC; United Steelworkers of America, AFL — CIO — CLC, Local Union 8688, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Rhode Island

80 F.Supp.2d 5

Patricia RAINEY, Plaintiff, v. TOWN OF WARREN, Kathleen Raposa, in her official capacity as Warren Town Treasurer; Anthony Primiano, in his individual capacity and in his official capacity as former Sergeant of the Warren Police Department; Louis Dutra, individually and in his official capacity as former Detective of the Warren Police Department; United Steelworkers of America, AFL — CIO — CLC; United Steelworkers of America, AFL — CIO — CLC, Local Union 8688, Defendants.

C.A.No. 97-040L.

United States District Court, D. Rhode Island.

January 10, 2000.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Gerald C. DeMaria, Higgins, Cavanagh & Cooney, Providence, RI, Patricia E. Andrews, Providence, RI, for plaintiffs.

Richard M. Pierce, Roberts, Caroll, Feldstein & Peirce, Inc., Providence, RI, for defendants United Steelworkers of America and United Steelworkers Local.

OPINION AND ORDER

LAGUEUX, Chief Judge.

This matter is before the Court on the motion for summary judgment filed by the United Steelworkers of America (the "International Union") and Local 8688 (the "Local Union") (collectively, the "Union Defendants") on the Title VII and state analogous claims asserted against them in plaintiff's Complaint. This case illustrates the wisdom of Congress in making Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e ("Title VII") applicable to labor unions. To ensure that discrimination and harassment are rooted out of the workplace, Title VII makes both employers and labor organizations accountable for their discriminatory acts. If Title VII only included the former it would often fail in its mission. This is because labor organizations stand as a firewall, as protection for its members, in the face of employer discrimination. Labor organizations therefore occupy a critical battle-line position in fighting discrimination and harassment. As a result, labor organizations can either choose to fight the good fight or tacitly encourage employer discrimination and harassment by intentionally failing to stand their guard. The Union Defendants in this case unfortunately appear to have chosen the latter course.

Pending before this Court is the lawsuit of plaintiff, Patricia Rainey, against her former employer, the Town of Warren (the "Town") and two of its former police officers: former Detective Louis Dutra ("Dutra") and former Sergeant Anthony Primiano ("Primiano"). Plaintiff sued a number of other Warren police officials but they have been dismissed from this case. Plaintiff claims that the Town, Dutra and Primiano have discriminated against her, because of her gender, and forced her to work in a hostile work environment in violation of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the Rhode Island Fair Employment Practices Act ("FEPA"), R.I.Gen.Laws § 28-5-1, et. seq. (1995)¹. Rainey has also sued the Union Defendants for violations of Title VII and FEPA.² Specifically, plaintiff claims that both the International and the Local Union knew that she was being subjected to sexual harassment and discrimination at her place of work, but, in violation of Title VII and FEPA, failed to file grievances on her behalf and otherwise take prompt remedial action to end the harassment.

The Union Defendants have moved for summary judgment on plaintiff's Title VII and FEPA claims.³ For the reasons set forth in this opinion, the motion of the Union Defendants is denied.

I. Background

On a motion for summary judgment, the court must view all evidence and related reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. See Springfield Terminal Ry. Co. v. Canadian Pac. Ltd., 133 F.3d 103, 106 (1st Cir.1997). The following factual recital is constructed with that rule of law in mind.

Plaintiff worked as a civilian police dispatcher for the Town of Warren commencing on or about August 9, 1994. Plaintiff's employment ended on or about February 15, 1996. In her Complaint, plaintiff avers that her usual work shift was midnight to 8:00 A.M. and that she worked with Primiano, who was her immediate supervisor, and two other police officers. Plaintiff was the only female dispatcher. See Plaintiff's memo. at 3. The other dispatchers were Edward Pacheco, Joseph Vieira and Scott Almeida. The male dispatchers, including the Local Union Steward, Almeida, believed that plaintiff received preferential treatment because she was a woman and, as a result, plaintiff and the male dispatchers did not appear to get along. See DeSisto Report at 4 and Hartman depo. at II: 105.

The activity of three union representatives during the relevant time period is important in determining what knowledge the International and Local Unions acquired of plaintiff's complaints of discrimination. Frank Francis, the Local Union President and Almeida, the Local Union Steward, worked closely together. As Union Steward, Almeida worked as liaison between the union members and the officers of the Local Union. Almeida was the person who handled the union members' grievances. See Francis depo. at 17. Upon receiving either a formal grievance or an informal complaint, Almeida was to bring it to the attention of Francis. See Almeida depo. at 41-42. Almeida brought such complaints to the attention of Francis on numerous occasions. See Francis depo. at 66. The last member of the trio is William Kennedy, who was the staff representative assigned by the International Union to the Local Union. Kennedy regularly attended monthly meetings of the Local Union and regularly spoke with Francis regarding grievances and complaints which would arise within the Local Union. See Union Defendants' Exhibit 4.

During her employment, plaintiff and the other dispatchers were members of both the Local Union and the International Union. In fact, the International Union's Constitution provides that the members of the Local Union shall also be members of the International Union. See Plaintiff's Exhibit 1 at p. 4. The terms and conditions of the employment of union members were governed by a collective bargaining agreement ("CBA") entered into between the Town and the International Union, which was effective from July 1, 1994 through June 30, 1997. See Union Defendants' Exhibit 1. The International Union signed the contract on behalf of the Local Union. Id. The CBA did not have a clause prohibiting employer harassment or discrimination. Id. However, in his deposition, Local Union President, Francis, stated that the CBA covers sexual harassment and gender discrimination. See Francis depo. at 34. Furthermore, the Local Union's answer to interrogatory # 79 establishes the fact that "[t]he local union regards [these] ... as grievable offense[s] even though not specifically set forth in the collective bargaining agreement." Consequently, it is clear that both Unions understood the CBA to cover complaints of sexual harassment and gender discrimination.

In their depositions, both Almeida and Francis described a similar process for resolving the complaints of union members. Upon learning of a union member's problem, Francis explained that he would go directly to the Chief of Police prior to invoking the grievance-arbitration provision in the CBA. See Francis depo. at 70-72 and Union's Answers to Interrogatories, # 9 and # 10. If the matter was resolved at this point no grievance was filed. Id. However, if management's response was unsatisfactory, a union member was allowed to file a grievance. Id. at 50. Francis allowed union members to filed grievances even if there was only "a slight chance of winning." Id. at 78. Further, Francis never told union members who had complaints to take matters into their own hands or to go to the Chief directly. Id. at 51-52, 71-72. This last fact directly contradicts the Local Union's contention that Local Union members were informed that they should communicate directly with a superior to resolve work-related problems. See Local Union's Answers to Interrogatories, # 38. In describing this same process, Almeida stated that, with the exception of plaintiff, he could not think of another instance in which a union member came to him with a problem and he told the member to go to the Chief of Police. See Almeida depo. at 31-32.

In his deposition, Almeida stated that he usually discussed complaints with the Chief directly. If the matter could not be resolved that way, then Almeida proceeded to file a formal grievance pursuant to the CBA. See Almeida depo. at 33-34, 65. It is clear that filing a grievance was not an involved process. Before filing a grievance, Almeida stated that he did not have to seek approval from a union officer. See Almeida depo. at 62-63. In fact, Almeida explained that "[he] just had the grievance pad with [him] and [] had the person fill it out." Id. When Almeida was asked how he determined whether a union member's complaint was grievable under the CBA, he responded simply: "I give them the ... grievance pad. If they want to fill it out and file a grievance, they could fill it out, and I would submit it." Id. at 64-65. It appears that this process was so perfunctory that Almeida was unable to recall any instance in which a union member came to him with a problem and, after examining the CBA, he determined that the union member's complaint was not grievable under the contract. Id.

Plaintiff has presented facts indicating that on several occasions the Local Union responded to complaints made by male dispatchers. First, Almeida testified that Joseph Vieira, a male dispatcher, spoke to him about the fact that dispatchers were not receiving "comp time." After researching whether this complaint was grievable, Almeida concluded that it was and gave Vieira the grievance pad. See Almeida depo. at, 37-39, 62-63. Almeida even assisted Vieira in filling out the grievance form. Id. at 66. Second, Captain Ely Barkett of the Warren Police Department testified that Pacheco was suspended for typing some colorful expletives into a computer, which an elderly female...