Walters v. Local Union No. 337
| Decision Date | 30 April 1998 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. 97-40045. |
| Citation | 7 F.Supp.2d 885 |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan |
| Parties | Gregory J. WALTERS and Kenneth R. Sabotka, Plaintiffs, v. LOCAL UNION NO. 337, affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffers, Warehousemen & Helpers of America a/k/a Food and Beverage Drivers, Warehousemen & Helpers Local Union No. 337, Pepsico, Inc., a foreign corporation, Pepsi-Cola Personnel, Inc., a foreign corporation, Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company, Inc., a foreign corporation, and Pepsi-Cola Company, an entity, Defendants. |
Neill T. Riddell, Eames Wilcox, Detroit, MI, for Plaintiffs.
George R. Geller, George R. Geller, P.C., Farmington Hills, MI, for Defendant Local Union No. 337, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America.
Thomas H. Christopher, Peter G. Golden, Kilpatrick Stockton LLP, Atlanta, GA, Donald A. Van Suilichem, Christina Brookshire, Van Suilichem & Brown, Detroit, MI, for Defendant PepsiCo, Inc., Pepsi-Cola Personnel, Inc., Pepsi-Cola Metropolitan Bottling Co., Inc., Pepsi-Cola Co.
Plaintiffs Gregory Walters and Kenneth Sabotka filed this action against Pepsi, their former employer,1 as well as the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America Local Union No. 337, the Union of which they were members, alleging a hybrid claim under § 301 of the Labor-Management Relations Act ("LMRA"), 29 U.S.C. § 185. Presently before this court are motions for summary judgment filed by defendants Pepsi and the Union. For the following reasons, this court will grant the motions and dismiss this case with prejudice.
Pepsi is a manufacturer, seller and distributor of soft drinks. It owns a number of facilities in southeast Michigan, including one in Howell. In 1987, plaintiffs Walters and Sabotka, then-members of Local Union No. 337 (the "Union"), were hired as route drivers for the Howell facility.2
Plaintiffs were discharged in 1996 as a result of an incident which occurred on September 11 of that year. On September 11, 1996, plaintiffs were in the "Sales Room" of Pepsi's Howell facility, along with John Jackson, a Pepsi first tier manager, and Bill Richards, a route driver. At one point, Walters left the Sales Room and went into the abutting office of manager, Erik Kline. While in Kline's office, Walters took a duffel bag bearing the Pepsi logo.3 (Walters Dep. at 17). When he re-entered the Sales Room with the bag, Walters asked Jackson if he could have it, to which Jackson jokingly replied, "I don't care, go ahead." (Walters Dep. at 18, 68).4 Walters then returned the bag to Kline's office so that others would not see the bag. (Walters Dep. at 19). Walters decided to return for the bag at a later time. (Walters Dep. at 19).
Thereafter, Sabotka entered Kline's office and took a second duffle bag. Upon returning to the Sales Room, Sabotka commented that the bag was nice and then looked at Jackson who said something to the effect of "I don't see anything, I don't say anything." (Walters Dep. at 18-19).
Sabotka then re-entered Kline's office and took the same bag Walters had replaced sometime earlier. (Sabotka Dep. at 51). Now Sabotka had two duffel bags. Sabotka hid both duffel bags under his sweatshirt. (Sabotka Dep. at 51). Sabotka then proceeded to walk out of the plant to the company's parking lot, accompanied by Walters who, at that time had "a pretty good idea" that Sabotka had hidden bags under his sweatshirt. (Walters Dep. at 22). Both men walked to their cars. Before leaving the lot, Sabotka drove to Walter's vehicle and handed Walters one of the two duffel bags, keeping the other for himself. (Sabotka Dep. at 53; Walters Dep. at 25).
Later that day, Kline realized that two bags were missing from his office. (Kline Dep. at 23). Kline made numerous telephone calls and inquiries in an attempt to locate them. (Kline Dep. at 26-31).
At some time, Scott Eddie, another supervisor, also made inquiries regarding the whereabouts of the bags. Walters overheard Eddie making such inquiries but he did not speak up and mention he knew the whereabouts of the bags. (Walters Dep. at 35-36).5
The next morning, September 12, 1996, Kline continued to search for the missing bags. Through his probe he learned that Walters and Sabotka had last been seen with the two duffel bags. Kline summoned Walters and Sabotka, who were then on their routes, back to the Howell facility.
When Walters returned to the Howell facility he met with Kline. Kline asked him repeatedly whether he had removed the bags from the facility. (Walters Dep. at 29). Walters answered unequivocally each time the question was asked with a firm, "no!" (Walters Dep. at 29).6 Despite Walter's protestations that he did not remove any bag from the facility, Kline suspected Walters had some involvement with the missing bags and told Walters this. In the wake of Kline's accusations, Walters remained silent, neither confirming nor negating Kline's suspicions. (Walters Dep. at 30). Ultimately, Kline suspended Walters and told him that if the bags were returned by 8:00 a.m. the next morning the most likely discipline would be a three-day suspension. (Walters Dep. at 30).
Upon Sabotka's return to the Howell facility, he met with two supervisors, Scott Eddie and Joe Hinkley. Sabotka admitted to removing the two bags from the premises. (Sabotka Dep. at 63). He further explained that he had given one of the bags away in the parking lot. (Sabotka Dep. at 63). When asked to whom he had given the bag, Sabotka told Eddie and Hinkley that they did not need to know the identity of that person since "any consequences [were] due upon [him] [Sabotka]." (Sabotka Dep. at 63-64). When asked why he had taken the bags, Sabotka explained that he believed the company owed him something. (Sabotka Dep. at 63). Sabotka apologized, but was suspended pending further investigation. (Sabotka Dep. at 63-64).
The following week, plaintiffs were asked to meet with Pepsi representatives prior to the imposition of any final discipline. (Walters Dep. at 34; Sabotka Dep. at 70). Each plaintiff attended a separate meeting with Doug Bengel, the assistant Union steward, and Robyn Wilkerson, a company human resources representative. (Sabotka Dep. at 71-74). At Sabotka's meeting, Sabotka explained that he had taken the bags because he "felt [he] was given permission by John Jackson." (Sabotka Dep. at 74). He could not give any reason, however, for why he had concealed the bags. (Sabotka Dep. at 74). At Walter's meeting, he admitted to his involvement in the bag incident as previously described above. (Walters Dep. at 37). In fact, he stated that he was a "dumb-ass" for taking the bags.7 Plaintiffs were ultimately terminated.
Plaintiffs subsequently filed grievances contesting their termination and requesting that their cases be taken to arbitration. Assistant Union steward, Doug Bengel,8 immediately began investigating the grievances. Bengel, who had previously been present during Wilkerson's interviews of Walters and Sabotka, conducted interviews of employees involved in the situation. He interviewed Kline, Eddie, Hinkley and Roberts. (Bengel Dep. at 35). He also may have spoken with Jackson. (Bengel Dep. at 33). Bengel prepared a "second chance letter" for Walters and Sabotka. (Bengel Dep. at 35).9 This letter was denied by Pepsi management. (Bengel Dep. at 35).
After Pepsi indicated that it would not reinstate plaintiffs, the principal responsibility for investigating plaintiff's grievance passed to Local 337's "grievance panel." The grievance panel consists of two to three union business agents assigned to appraise grievances denied at the plant level in order to determine whether Local 337 should take them to arbitration. The panel's investigation is two-tiered. First, a hearing is held at Local 337's Detroit headquarters, at which both the grievant and the employer are invited to give testimony and present witnesses and evidence. Then, on the basis of that record, the panel makes a recommendation to an Executive Board whether to pursue the grievance to arbitration. The Executive Board makes the final decision of whether to take the case to arbitration. (Brooks Dep. at 12-14).
Plaintiffs' hearings before Local 337's grievance panel were set for October 15, 1996. After being informed that it would be his responsibility to produce witnesses at the hearing, Walters contacted Richard Gremaud, Local 337's business agent who administers the Pepsi contract, and told Gremaud that he wanted both Jackson and Kline as witnesses at his hearing. Gremaud assured Walters "not to worry," that if the company "had any kind of case against [the plaintiffs], [Jackson and Kline] would have to be there [at the hearing] to give their side or their statement." (Walters Dep. at 53). Gremaud also told Walters that the company "could not use just hearsay or written statements at this board meeting" and that "people had to be there in person to give their testimony." (Walters Dep. at 53).
Sabotka's hearing on October 15, 1996 began with a recitation of facts by Wilkerson on behalf of the company, which included a recitation of prior statements and admissions made by Sabotka as well as written statements10 taken from other witnesses such as John Jackson11 and William Richards.12 (Brooks Dep. at 64-66; Sabotka Dep. at 117-119; 120-22). Sabotka was then given an opportunity to respond to these statements and present his side of the story. (Sabotka Dep. at 88-89, 110). Among the evidence Sabotka presented was the testimony of Bob Walton, a Union representative, who spoke on behalf of Sabotka's character and reputation. (Sabotka Dep. at 88).
Walter's panel meeting was held immediately after Sabotka's. At the commencement of Walter's...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Blesedell v. Chillicothe Tel. Co.
...to pursue additional information from Robinson, Mankin and Carroll was not irrational or arbitrary. See Walters v. Local Union No. 337, 7 F.Supp.2d 885, 893 (E.D. Mich. 1998) (holding that a court should not review Union's factual and credibility determinations for correctness, but for whet......
-
Crosson v. United Steel Local 1299
...He maintains that he had a strong argument that his termination was disproportionate. The Union points to Walters v. Local Union No. 337, 7 F. Supp. 2d 885, 892 (E.D. Mich. 1998), where the court found that the union did not act arbitrarily when it refused to take the employees' cases to ar......