UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION – Grievance Handling/Contract Administration

Single Topic for Decision 1621M


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800.00000 – UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION
800.02000 – Grievance Handling/Contract Administration

Local 55’s decision not to take Waqia’s grievance to arbitration was not arbitrary, discriminatory or in bad faith. Local 55 assisted Waqia with his grievance despite the fact that Waqia had attempted to resolve his dispute outside the grievance process and, as a result, filed an untimely grievance over a month after the City of Oakland’s decision to terminate his employment. An exclusive representative has no obligation to pursue a grievance to arbitration where the potential of success is doubtful. Local 55 gave much thought to the matter before deciding not to proceed to arbitration and so had a rational basis and was not devoid of honest judgment.) Waqia’s argument that the City had already accepted his grievance and would not claim untimeliness at the arbitration level is pure speculation, since the plain meaning of the collective bargaining agreement could require nullification of the grievance by an arbitrator.