Opinion ID: 726159
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Duty of Fair Representation and Its Wide Range of

Text: 19 Reasonableness 20 Mr. Young's claim is a hybrid federal labor claim. In order to prevail Mr. Young must prove (1) that the Union breached its duty of fair representation and (2) that UAW-LETC discharged Mr. Young in violation of its collective bargaining agreement with the Union. See Chauffeurs, Teamsters & Helpers Local No. 391 v. Terry, 494 U.S. 558, 564, 110 S.Ct. 1339, 1344, 108 L.Ed.2d 519 (1990); Mock v. T.G. & Y. Stores Co., 971 F.2d 522, 530-31 (10th Cir.1992). The sole issue raised by UAW-LETC's motion for summary judgment is whether the Union breached its duty of fair representation under federal labor law. As both parties correctly state, [a] union breaches its duty of fair representation if its conduct toward a member is 'arbitrary, discriminatory, or in bad faith.'  Aguinaga v. United Food & Commercial Workers Int'l Union, 993 F.2d 1463, 1470 (10th Cir.1993) (quoting Vaca v. Sipes, 386 U.S. 171, 190, 87 S.Ct. 903, 916, 17 L.Ed.2d 842 (1967)), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 1072, 114 S.Ct. 880, 127 L.Ed.2d 75 (1994). Mr. Young argues that the Union's conduct was arbitrary. 1 [A] union may not arbitrarily ignore a meritorious grievance or process it in perfunctory fashion.... Vaca, 386 U.S. at 191, 87 S.Ct. at 917. The Supreme Court recently stated that a union's actions are arbitrary only if, in light of the factual and legal landscape at the time of the union's actions, the union's behavior is so far outside a 'wide range of reasonableness,' as to be irrational. Air Line Pilots Ass'n, Int'l v. O'Neill, 499 U.S. 65, 67, 111 S.Ct. 1127, 1130, 113 L.Ed.2d 51 (1991) (citation omitted) (quoting Ford Motor Co. v. Huffman, 345 U.S. 330, 338, 73 S.Ct. 681, 686, 97 L.Ed. 1048 (1953)); see also Considine, 43 F.3d at 1357. [T]his involves more than demonstrating mere errors in judgment. Petitioners are not entitled to relitigate their discharge merely because they offer newly discovered evidence that the charges against them were false and that in fact they were fired without cause. The grievance processes cannot be expected to be error-free. Hines v. Anchor Motor Freight, Inc., 424 U.S. 554, 571, 96 S.Ct. 1048, 1059, 47 L.Ed.2d 231 (1976). By insuring the effectiveness of collective action, this deferential standard is essential to the collective bargaining system, International Bhd. of Elec. Workers v. Foust, 442 U.S. 42, 51, 99 S.Ct. 2121, 2127, 60 L.Ed.2d 698 (1979), and in accordance with this deference, mere negligence ... [will] not state a claim for breach of the duty of fair representation, United Steelworkers v. Rawson, 495 U.S. 362, 372-73, 110 S.Ct. 1904, 1911-12, 109 L.Ed.2d 362 (1990); see also Le'Mon v. NLRB, 952 F.2d 1203, 1205 (10th Cir.1991), cert. denied, 506 U.S. 830, 113 S.Ct. 93, 121 L.Ed.2d 55 (1992). 21 In O'Neill, the Supreme Court held that the Air Line Pilot's Association owed its members the same duty of fair representation during contract negotiations as it did in all other union activity. 499 U.S. at 67, 111 S.Ct. at 1130. The Court described the duty of fair representation in the context of contract negotiation as follows: 22 Congress did not intend judicial review of a union's performance to permit the court to substitute its own view of the proper bargain for that reached by the union. Rather, Congress envisioned the relationship between the courts and labor unions as similar to that between the courts and the legislature. Any substantive examination of a union's performance, therefore, must be highly deferential, recognizing the wide latitude that negotiators need for the effective performance of their bargaining responsibilities. For that reason, the final product of the bargaining process may constitute evidence of a breach of duty only if it can be fairly characterized as so far outside a wide range of reasonableness that it is wholly irrational or arbitrary. 23 Id. at 78, 111 S.Ct. at 1135-36 (citations omitted) (quoting Ford Motor Co., 345 U.S. at 338, 73 S.Ct. at 686). 24 The Ninth Circuit has held that it will not attempt to second-guess a union's good faith, nondiscriminatory judgment  'in evaluating the merits of a grievance ... or in presenting the grievance at an arbitration hearing.'  Stevens v. Moore Business Forms, Inc., 18 F.3d 1443, 1447-48 (9th Cir.1994) (quoting Peterson v. Kennedy, 771 F.2d 1244, 1254 (9th Cir.1985), cert. denied, 475 U.S. 1122, 106 S.Ct. 1642, 90 L.Ed.2d 187 (1986)); see also Conkle v. Jeong, 73 F.3d 909, 916 (9th Cir.1995), petition for det. filed, 64 U.S.L.W. 3780 (U.S. May 6, 1996). The NLRB also refuses to second-guess a union's assessment of the merits of a grievance so long as it exercises its discretion in good faith and with honesty of purpose.... Mere negligence, poor judgment, or ineptitude in grievance handling are insufficient to establish a breach of the duty of fair representation.'  Service Employees Int'l Union, Local No. 579 v. Evans, 229 N.L.R.B. 692, 695, 1977 WL 8661 (1977). We endorse the view taken by the Ninth Circuit and the NLRB, and we will not substitute for our own the Union's good faith, nondiscriminatory judgment in assessing and presenting its members' grievances. Of course, to enjoy this deference the Union must show that it did indeed exercise its judgment and did not act arbitrarily. See Stevens, 18 F.3d at 1447-48.