Opinion ID: 539796
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: the boundaries of the arbitrator's authority

Text: 32 We now turn to the question of whether the arbitrator stayed within the bounds of his authority. The relevance of this analysis becomes apparent when we consider that the principle of deference inevitably gives way, as recognized by the Supreme Court in Enterprise Wheel, to the greater principle that an award that does not draw its essence from the agreement is not entitled to judicial enforcement. As such we must determine whether it was proper to use the 1983 settlement agreement, whether the arbitrator is entitled to consider past practices and/or the law of the shop, and whether the settlement agreement can actually be considered as past practice 3 or the law of the shop. 33 There is no doubt that the Supreme Court has instructed that arbitrators cannot ignore the plain language of the labor agreement. See Misco, 484 U.S. at 37, 108 S.Ct. at 370. To this effect appellant correctly argues that the contract does not provide an arbitrator with the authority to read into the contract prior settlements. On the contrary, there is specific language in the contract which precludes an arbitrator from deferring to settlements unless they have been expressly incorporated or certain conditions are met. S.D. Warren Co. v. United Paperworkers, 845 F.2d 3 (1st Cir.1988) and Georgia Pacific Corp. v. Local 27, 864 F.2d 940 (1st Cir.1988). 34 In Warren, we found that the language of the contract was unambiguous and in rendering his award the arbitrator had specifically ignored its plain language. The contract in that case provided predetermined remedies, there was no ambiguity and there was no basis for an arbitrator to fill an empty space with his expertise. Instead, the arbitrator altered the contract and substituted for it his own brand of industrial justice. 35 By contrast, in the case at bar, the contract does not contain job classifications; thus it is ambiguous as to the arbitrator's authority to resolve job classifications disputes. In fact, given the broad arbitration clause, and hence the arbitrability of the dispute, and the fact that there were no remedies for the grievance filed, we are led to the belief that the language of the agreement here is substantially more open, or ambiguous than the language at issue in Warren. See Crafts Precision Industries, Inc. v. Lodge No. 1836 of District 38, 889 F.2d 1184 (1st Cir.1989). Moreover, the award in the instant case was not a substitution as in the Warren case. In this case, the parties did not agree contrary to the arbitrator's final award. We find that the arbitrator's intervention was proper.
36 Appellants contend that the contract unambiguously states that it shall supersede all previous written agreements unless expressly incorporated into the contract. They aver that the situation at bar must be seen in light of the Georgia Pacific case particularly where it states that: [i]f the language of an agreement is clear and unequivocal, an arbitrator cannot give it a meaning other than that expressed by the agreement. Georgia Pacific Corp. v. Local 27, 864 F.2d at 944. Thus, they argue that by using the prior settlement in submitting its award, the arbitrator was acting patently in excess of his arbitral authority. 37 Appellant stopped short in reading Georgia Pacific. In that same case, this Court went on to find that:[t]o be binding, a trade custom or usage must be so well known, uniform, long established and generally acquiesced to in so as to induce the belief that the parties contracted with reference to it, nothing in the contract to their contrary. Georgia Pacific, 864 F.2d at 946 (quoting Dahly Tool Co. v. Vermont Tap & Die Co., 742 F.2d 311, 314 (7th Cir.1984)). 38 This statement would allow the arbitrator, as alleged by the appellees, to consider past practices and/or trade custom. Moreover, it has been held that a contract may be found to incorporate past practice even though not mentioned. International Bhd. of Electrical Workers v. WNEV-TV, New England, 778 F.2d at 48 (1st Cir.1985). (Industrial common law--the practices of the industry and the shop, is equally a part of the collective bargaining agreement although not expressed in it. Id. (quoting Warrior & Gulf, ante, 363 U.S. at 576, 80 S.Ct. at 1349-50)). 39 Appellants seek to avoid these principles by averring that the facts fail to support a finding of a past practice. Whether or not the 1983 settlement agreement established a past practice as described in Georgia Pacific, we agree with the district court that the arbitrator was entitled at least to factor the agreement into his decision interpreting the contract. 40 Although the contract does not explicitly incorporate or refer to the settlement agreement, it also evidences no intent to exclude the contents of the agreement as a basis for an arbitrator's exercise of his discretion. We therefore see no reason why the arbitrator should be prevented from considering the agreement as some evidence that there were certain distinct duties assigned millwrights and truck drivers, District Court Opinion at 5. In addition, we note that the agreement was not the only evidence considered by the arbitrator; his decision also points to the absence of any change since the 1983 agreement in the company's use of its trucks. 41 In Electrical Workers, we provided that ... [i]n the absence of any express provision excluding a particular grievance from arbitration ... only the most forceful evidence of a purpose to exclude the claim can prevail. International Bhd. of Electrical Workers v. WNEV-TV, 778 F.2d at 49. Although, the 1983 settlement was expressly excluded, as we have stated before, this does not necessarily means the content of the settlement is not grievable. Thus, since we do not find a forceful purpose to exclude the specific contents of the settlement agreement or the claim, we see no reason why the arbitrator should be prevented from considering the agreement as some evidence of recognized assigned duties.