What follows is an opinion from the Supreme Court of the United States. Your task is to identify the petitioner of the case. The petitioner is the party who petitioned the Supreme Court to review the case. This party is variously known as the petitioner or the appellant. Characterize the petitioner as the Court's opinion identifies them.

Identify the petitioner by the label given to the party in the opinion or judgment of the Court except where the Reports title a party as the "United States" or as a named state. Textual identification of parties is typically provided prior to Part I of the Court's opinion. The official syllabus, the summary that appears on the title page of the case, may be consulted as well. In describing the parties, the Court employs terminology that places them in the context of the specific lawsuit in which they are involved. For example, "employer" rather than "business" in a suit by an employee; as a "minority," "female," or "minority female" employee rather than "employee" in a suit alleging discrimination by an employer.

Also note that the Court's characterization of the parties applies whether the petitioner is actually single entity or whether many other persons or legal entities have associated themselves with the lawsuit. That is, the presence of the phrase, et al., following the name of a party does not preclude the Court from characterizing that party as though it were a single entity. Thus, identify a single petitioner, regardless of how many legal entities were actually involved. If a state (or one of its subdivisions) is a party, note only that a state is a party, not the state's name.

Opinion:
REPUBLIC STEEL CORP. v. MADDOX.
No. 43.
Argued November 18, 1964.
Decided January 25, 1965.
Samuel H. Bun argued the cause for petitioner. With him on the brief were Andrew J. Thomas and James R. Forman, Jr.
Richard L. Jones argued the cause for respondent. With him on the brief were John D. Prince, Jr., and Edwin L. Brobston.
J. Albert Woll, Robert C. Mayer, Theodore J. St. Antoine and Thomas E. Hanis filed a brief for the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, as amicus curiae, urging reversal.
Mr. Justice Harlan
delivered thé opinion of the Court.
Respondent Maddox brought suit in an Alabama state court against his employer, the Republic Steel Corporation, for severance pay amounting to $694.08, allegedly owed him under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement existing between Republic and Maddox’ unión. Maddox had been laid off in December 1953. The collective bargaining agreement called for severance pay if thé layoff was the result of a decision to close the mine, at which Maddox worked, “permanently.” The agreement also contained a three-step grievance procedure to be followed by binding arbitration,, but Maddox made no effort to utilize this mode of redress. Instead, in August 1956, he sued for breach of the contract. At all times material to his claim, Republic was engaged in interstate commerce within the meaning of the Labor Management Relations Act, and Republic’s industrial relations with Maddox and his union were subject to the provisions of that Act.
The case was tried on stipulated facts without a jury. Judgment was awarded in favor of Maddox, arid the appellate courts of Alabama affirmed on the theory that state law applies to suits for severance pay since, with the employment relationship necessarily ended, no further danger of industrial strife exists warranting the application of federal labor law. Moore v. Illinois Cen tral R. Co., 312 U. S. 630 (1941), and Transcontinental & Western Air, Inc. v. Koppal, 345 U. S. 653 (1953), cases decided under the Railway Labor Act, were cited to support the proposition. Furthermore, it was held that under Alabama law Maddox was not required to exhaust the contract grievance procedures. We granted Republic’s petition for certiorari, 377 U. S. 904, to determine whether the rationale of Moore v. Illinois Central R. Co. carries over to a suit for severance pay on a contract subject to § 301 (a) of the Labor Management Relations Act. We conclude that the state judgment must be reversed.
I.
As a general rule in cases to which federal law applies, federal labor policy requires that individual employees wishing to assert contract grievances must attempt use of the contract grievance procedure agreed upon by employer and union as the mode of redress. If the union refuses to press or only perfunctorily presses the individual’s claim, differences, may arise as to the forms of redress then available. See Humphrey v. Moore, 375 U. S. 335; Labor Board v. Miranda Fuel Co., 326 F. 2d 172. But unless the contract provides otherwise, there can be no doubt that the employee must afford the union the opportunity to act on his behalf. Congress has expressly approved contract grievance procedures as a preferred method for settling disputes and stabilizing the “common law” of the plant. LMRA § 203 (d), 29 U. S. C. § 173 (d) ; § 201 (c), 29 U. S. C. § 171 (c) (1958 ed.). Union interest in prosecuting employee grievances is clear. Such activity complements the union’s status as exclusive bargaining representative by permitting it to participate actively in the continuing administration of the contract. In addition, conscientious handling of grievance claims will enhance the union’s prestige with employees. Employer interests, for their part, are served by limiting the choice of remedies available to aggrieved employees. And it cannot be said, in the normal situation, that contract grievance procedures are inadequate to protect the interests of an aggrieved employee until the employee has attempted to implement the procedures and found them so.
A contrary rule which would permit an individual employee to completely sidestep available grievance procedures in favor of a lawsuit has little to commend it. In addition to cutting across the interests already mentioned, it would deprive employer and union of the ability to establish a uniform and exclusive method for orderly settlement of employee grievances. If a grievance procedure cannot be made exclusive, it loses much of its desirability as a method of settlement. A rule creating such a situation “would inevitably exert a disruptive influence upon both the negotiation and administration of collective agreements.” Teamsters Local v. Lucas Flour Co., 369 U. S. 95, 103.
II.
Once it is established that the federal rule discussed above applies to grievances in general, it should next be inquired whether the specific type of grievance here in question — one relating to severance pay — is so different in kind as to justify an exception. Moore v. Illinois Central R. Co., and Transcontinental & Western Air, Inc. v. Koppal, supra, are put forward for the proposition that it is.
In Moore, the Court ruled that a trainman was not required by the Railway Labor Act to exhaust the administrative remedies granted him by the Act before bringing suit for wrongful discharge. Mr. Justice Black, for the Court, based the decision on the use of permissive language in the Act — disputes “may be referred ... to the . . . Adjustment Board . . . .” Mr. Justice Black wrote again in Slocum v. Delaware, L. & W. R. Co., 339 U. S. 239 (1950), a declaratory judgment suit brought in a state court by a.railroad company against two unions to resolve a representation dispute. The Court held that jurisdiction of the Adjustment Board to resolve such disputes was exclusive. Moore was distinguished thus:
“Moore was discharged by the railroad. He could have challenged the validity of his discharge before the Board, seeking reinstatement and back pay. Instead he chose to accept the railroad’s action in discharging him as final, thereby ceasing to be an employee, and brought suit claiming damages, for breach of contract. As we there held, the Railway Labor Act does not bar courts from adjudicating such cases. A common-law or statutory action for wrongful discharge differs from any remedy which the Board has power to provide, and does not involve questions of future relations between the railroad and its other employees.” 339 U. S. 239, at 244.
This distinction was confirmed in Transcontinental & Western Air, Inc. v. Koppal, supra:
“Such [a wrongfully discharged] employee may proceed either in accordance with the administrative procedures prescribed in his employment contract or he may resort to his action at law for alleged unlawful discharge if the state courts recognize such a claim. Where the applicable law permits his recovery of damages without showing his prior exhaustion of his administrative remedies, he may so recover, as he did in the Moore litigation, supra, under Mississippi law.” 345 U. S. 653, at 661.
Federal jurisdiction in both Moore and Koppal was based on diversity; federal law was not thought to apply merely by reason of the fact that the collective bargaining agreements were subject to the Railway Labor Act. Since that timé the Court has made it clear that substantive federal law applies to suits on collective bargaining agreements covered by § 204 of the Railway Labor Act, International Assn. of Machinists v. Central Airlines, Inc., 372 U. S. 682, and by § 301 (a) of the LMRA, Textile Workers v. Lincoln Mills, 353 U. S. 448. Thus a major underpinning for the continued validity of the Moore case in the field of the Railway Labor Act, and more importantly in the present context, for the extension of its rationale to suits under § 301 (a) of the LMRA, has been removed.
We hold that any such extension is incompatible with the precepts of Lincoln Mills and cannot be accepted. Grievances depending on severance claims are not critically unlike other types of grievances. Although it is true that the employee asserting the claim will necessarily have accepted his discharge as final, it does not follow that the resolution of his claim can have no effect on future relations between the employer and other employees. Severance pay and other contract terms governing discharge are of obvious concern to all- employees, and a potential cause of dispute so long as any employee maintains a continuing employment relationship. Only in the situation in which no employees represented by the union remain employed, as would.be the case with a final and permanent plant shutdown, is there no possibility of a work stoppage resulting from á severance-pay claim. But even in that narrow situation, if applicable law did not require resort to contract procedures, the inability of the union and employer at the contract negotiation stage to agree upon arbitration as the exclusive method of handling permanent shutdown severance claims in all situations could have an inhibiting effect on reaching an agreement. If applicable law permitted a court suit for severance pay in any circumstances without prior recourse to available contract remedies, an employer seeking to limit the modes of redress that could be used against him could do so only by eliminating contract grievance procedures for severance-pay claims. The union would hardly favor the elimination, for it is in the union’s interest to afford comprehensive protection to those it represents, to participate in interpretations of the contract, and to have an arbitrator rather than a court decide such questions as whether the company has determined to “close permanently.”
There are, then, positive reasons why the general federal rule should govern grievances based on severance claims as it does others.. Furthermore, no positive reasons appear why the general federal rule should not apply. “Comprehensiveness is inherent in the process.by which the law is to be formulated under the mandate of Lincoln Mills,” and “the subject matter of § 301 (a) ‘is peculiarly one that calls for uniform law.’ ” Teamsters Local v. Lucas Flour Co., 369 U. S., at 103. Maddox’ suit in the present case is simply on the contract, and the remedy sought, award of $694.08, did not differ from any that the. grievance procedure had power to provide. Federal law governs “Suits' for violation of contracts between an employer and a labor organization representing employees in-an industry affecting commerce as defined'in this chapter .. . .” Section 301 (a) of the LMRA, 29 U. S. C. § 185 (a) (1958 ed.), Textile Workers v. Lincoln Mills, supra. The suit by Maddox clearly falls within the terms of the statute and within the principles of Lincoln Mills, and because we see no reason for creating an exception, we conclude that the general federal rule applies.
III.
The federal rule would not of course preclude Maddox’ court suit if the parties to the collective bargaining agreement expressly agreed that arbitration was not the exclusive remédy. The section of this contract governing grievances provides, inter alia:
“It is the purpose of this Section to provide procedure for prompt, equitable adjustment of claimed grievances. It is understood and agreed that unless otherwise specifically specified elsewhere in this Agreement grievances to be considered hereunder must be filed within thirty days after the date on which the fact or events upon which such alleged grievance is based shall have existed or occurred.
“Any Employee who has a complaint may discuss the alleged complaint with his Foreman in an attempt to settle it. Any complaint not so settled shall constitute a grievance within the meaning of this Section, 'Adjustment of Grievances’.
“Grievances shall be handled in the following manner:
“STEP 1. Between the aggrieved Employee, his Grievance Committeeman or Assistant Grievance Committeeman and the Foreman.”
The procedure calls for two more grievance-committee steps capped with binding- arbitration of matters not satisfactorily settled by the initial steps.
The language stating that an employee “may discuss” a complaint with his foreman is susceptible to various interpretations; the most likely is that an employee may, if he chooses, speak to his foreman himself without bringing in his grievance committeeman and formally embarking on Step 1. Use of the permissive “may” does not of itself reveal a clear understanding between the contracting parties that individual employees, unlike either the union or the employer, are free to avoid the contract procedure and its time limitations in favor of a judicial suit. Any doubts must be resolved against such an interpretation. See United Steelworkers v. Warrior & Gulf Navigation Co., 363 U. S. 574; Belk v. Allied Aviation Service Co., 315 F. 2d 513, cert. denied, 375 U. S. 847.
Finally, Maddox suggests that it was not possible for him to make use of the grievance procedure, the first step of which called for a discussion within 30 days of his discharge with his foreman, because a mine that has permanently closed has no foreman — indeed, no employees of any kind. This casuistic reading of the contract cannot Ipe accepted. ■ The foreman did not vanish; and it is unlikely that the union grievance procedure broke down within 30 days of Maddox’ discharge. In any event, the case is before us on stipulated facts; in neither the facts nor the pleadings is there any suggestion that Maddox could not have availed himself of the grievance procedure instead of waiting nearly three years and bringing a court suit.
Reversed.
The section of the contract dealing with severance allowance provided in relevant part:
“When, in the sole judgment of the Company, it decides to close permanently a plant or discontinue permanently a department of a mine or plant, or substantial portion thereof and terminate the employment of individuals, an Employee whose employment is terminated either directly as a resúlt thereof because he was not entitled to other employment with the Company under the provisions of Section 9 of this Agreement — Seniority and Subsection C of this Section 14, shall be entitled to a severance allowance in accordance with and subject to the provisions hereinafter set forth in this Section 14.”
See infra, p. 658.
61 Stat. 136 (1947), as amended, 29 U. S. C. §141 et seq. (1958 ed.).
275 Ala. 685, 158 So. 2d 492.
48 Stat. 1185 (1934), 45 U. S. C. § 151 et seq. (1958 ed.).
See infra, p. 657.
Smith v. Evening News Assn., 371 U. S. 195, 196, n. 1 (by implication); Belk v. Allied Aviation Service Co., 315 F. 2d 513, cert. denied, 375 U. S. 847; see Cox, Rights Under a Labor Agreement, 69 Harv. L. Rev. 601, 647-648 (1956). The proviso of § 9 (a) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, 29 U. S. C. § 159 (a) (1958 ed.), is not contra; Black-Clawson Co. v. Machinists, 313 F. 2d 179.
See, e. g., Summers, Individual Rights in Collective Agreements and Arbitration, 37 N. Y. U. L. Rev. 362 (1962); Cox, Rights Under a Labor Agreement, 69 Harv. L. Rev. 601 (1956); Note, Federal Protection of Individual Rights Under Labor Contracts, 73 Yale L. J. 1215 (1964).
See infra, pp. 657-658.
45 U. S. C. § 153 (i) (1958 ed.).
Mississippi law, which controlled in Moore v. Illinois Central R. Co., did not require exhaustion (but see Illinois Central R. Co. v. Bolton, 240 Miss. 195, 126 So. 2d 524 (1961)). Missouri law controlled in Koppal and did require exhaustion. The suing employee therefore lost.
See n. 1, supra.
“Between” in the statute refers to “contracts,” not “suits.” Smith v. Evening News Assn., 371 U. S. 195, 200.
By refusing to extend Moore v. Illinois Central R. Co. to § 301 suits, we do not mean to overrule it within the field of the-Railway Labor Act. Consideration of such action should properly await a case presented under the Railway Labor Act in which the various distinctive features of the administrative remedies provided by that Act can be appraised in context, e. g., the make-up of the Adjustment Board, the scope of review from monetary awards, .and the ability of the Board to give the same remedies as could be obtained by court suit.
Of course a court suit on the collective bargaining agreement •would still be governed by federal law. Textile Workers v. Lincoln Mills, 353 U. S. 448.

Question: Who is the petitioner of the case?

Choices:
attorney general of the United States, or his office
specified state board or department of education
city, town, township, village, or borough government or governmental unit
state commission, board, committee, or authority
county government or county governmental unit, except school district
court or judicial district
state department or agency
governmental employee or job applicant
female governmental employee or job applicant
minority governmental employee or job applicant
minority female governmental employee or job applicant
not listed among agencies in the first Administrative Action variable
retired or former governmental employee
U.S. House of Representatives
interstate compact
judge
state legislature, house, or committee
local governmental unit other than a county, city, town, township, village, or borough
governmental official, or an official of an agency established under an interstate compact
state or U.S. supreme court
local school district or board of education
U.S. Senate
U.S. senator
foreign nation or instrumentality
state or local governmental taxpayer, or executor of the estate of
state college or university
United States
State
person accused, indicted, or suspected of crime
advertising business or agency
agent, fiduciary, trustee, or executor
airplane manufacturer, or manufacturer of parts of airplanes
airline
distributor, importer, or exporter of alcoholic beverages
alien, person subject to a denaturalization proceeding, or one whose citizenship is revoked
American Medical Association
National Railroad Passenger Corp.
amusement establishment, or recreational facility
arrested person, or pretrial detainee
attorney, or person acting as such;includes bar applicant or law student, or law firm or bar association
author, copyright holder
bank, savings and loan, credit union, investment company
bankrupt person or business, or business in reorganization
establishment serving liquor by the glass, or package liquor store
water transportation, stevedore
bookstore, newsstand, printer, bindery, purveyor or distributor of books or magazines
brewery, distillery
broker, stock exchange, investment or securities firm
construction industry
bus or motorized passenger transportation vehicle
business, corporation
buyer, purchaser
cable TV
car dealer
person convicted of crime
tangible property, other than real estate, including contraband
chemical company
child, children, including adopted or illegitimate
religious organization, institution, or person
private club or facility
coal company or coal mine operator
computer business or manufacturer, hardware or software
consumer, consumer organization
creditor, including institution appearing as such; e.g., a finance company
person allegedly criminally insane or mentally incompetent to stand trial
defendant
debtor
real estate developer
disabled person or disability benefit claimant
distributor
person subject to selective service, including conscientious objector
drug manufacturer
druggist, pharmacist, pharmacy
employee, or job applicant, including beneficiaries of
employer-employee trust agreement, employee health and welfare fund, or multi-employer pension plan
electric equipment manufacturer
electric or hydroelectric power utility, power cooperative, or gas and electric company
eleemosynary institution or person
environmental organization
employer. If employer's relations with employees are governed by the nature of the employer's business (e.g., railroad, boat), rather than labor law generally, the more specific designation is used in place of Employer.
farmer, farm worker, or farm organization
father
female employee or job applicant
female
movie, play, pictorial representation, theatrical production, actor, or exhibitor or distributor of
fisherman or fishing company
food, meat packing, or processing company, stockyard
foreign (non-American) nongovernmental entity
franchiser
franchisee
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transexual person or organization
person who guarantees another's obligations
handicapped individual, or organization of devoted to
health organization or person, nursing home, medical clinic or laboratory, chiropractor
heir, or beneficiary, or person so claiming to be
hospital, medical center
husband, or ex-husband
involuntarily committed mental patient
Indian, including Indian tribe or nation
insurance company, or surety
inventor, patent assigner, trademark owner or holder
investor
injured person or legal entity, nonphysically and non-employment related
juvenile
government contractor
holder of a license or permit, or applicant therefor
magazine
male
medical or Medicaid claimant
medical supply or manufacturing co.
racial or ethnic minority employee or job applicant
minority female employee or job applicant
manufacturer
management, executive officer, or director, of business entity
military personnel, or dependent of, including reservist
mining company or miner, excluding coal, oil, or pipeline company
mother
auto manufacturer
newspaper, newsletter, journal of opinion, news service
radio and television network, except cable tv
nonprofit organization or business
nonresident
nuclear power plant or facility
owner, landlord, or claimant to ownership, fee interest, or possession of land as well as chattels
shareholders to whom a tender offer is made
tender offer
oil company, or natural gas producer
elderly person, or organization dedicated to the elderly
out of state noncriminal defendant
political action committee
parent or parents
parking lot or service
patient of a health professional
telephone, telecommunications, or telegraph company
physician, MD or DO, dentist, or medical society
public interest organization
physically injured person, including wrongful death, who is not an employee
pipe line company
package, luggage, container
political candidate, activist, committee, party, party member, organization, or elected official
indigent, needy, welfare recipient
indigent defendant
private person
prisoner, inmate of penal institution
professional organization, business, or person
probationer, or parolee
protester, demonstrator, picketer or pamphleteer (non-employment related), or non-indigent loiterer
public utility
publisher, publishing company
radio station
racial or ethnic minority
person or organization protesting racial or ethnic segregation or discrimination
racial or ethnic minority student or applicant for admission to an educational institution
realtor
journalist, columnist, member of the news media
resident
restaurant, food vendor
retarded person, or mental incompetent
retired or former employee
railroad
private school, college, or university
seller or vendor
shipper, including importer and exporter
shopping center, mall
spouse, or former spouse
stockholder, shareholder, or bondholder
retail business or outlet
student, or applicant for admission to an educational institution
taxpayer or executor of taxpayer's estate, federal only
tenant or lessee
theater, studio
forest products, lumber, or logging company
person traveling or wishing to travel abroad, or overseas travel agent
trucking company, or motor carrier
television station
union member
unemployed person or unemployment compensation applicant or claimant
union, labor organization, or official of
veteran
voter, prospective voter, elector, or a nonelective official seeking reapportionment or redistricting of legislative districts (POL)
wholesale trade
wife, or ex-wife
witness, or person under subpoena
network
slave
slave-owner
bank of the united states
timber company
u.s. job applicants or employees
Army and Air Force Exchange Service
Atomic Energy Commission
Secretary or administrative unit or personnel of the U.S. Air Force
Department or Secretary of Agriculture
Alien Property Custodian
Secretary or administrative unit or personnel of the U.S. Army
Board of Immigration Appeals
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Bonneville Power Administration
Benefits Review Board
Civil Aeronautics Board
Bureau of the Census
Central Intelligence Agency
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Department or Secretary of Commerce
Comptroller of Currency
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Civil Rights Commission
Civil Service Commission, U.S.
Customs Service

Answer: 79