UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION – In General; Prima Facie Case

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To state a prima facie violation of Sections 3578 and 3571.1(b) of HEERA, the charging party must show that the union’s conduct was arbitrary, discriminatory, or in bad faith. A union’s failure to inform an employee of its progress in processing her grievance, its failure to respond to the employee’s request for clarification of the grievance, and its failure to notify the employee of the employer’s ultimate response approaches but does not meet the standard for arbitrariness under state and federal precedent. CUE reasonably understood that arbitration was not available under the expired Collective Bargaining Agreement and so its failure to inform Buxton of the progress of her grievance is not evidence of breach of the duty of fair representation.