Opinion ID: 784988
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The Arbitrator's Resolution of the Claims of Individual Umpires

Text: 50 As discussed above, by the time the remaining thirty-two National League umpires attempted to rescind their resignations on July 27, National League President Coleman, through new hires and prior resignation rescissions, had already filled nineteen of the thirty-two vacant positions. Because of the limited vacancies, he had to accept the resignations of thirteen of the National League umpires. He chose to accept the resignations of the following umpires: Darling, Hohn, Poncino, Pulli, West, Tata, Vanover, Davidson, Gregg, Hallion, Nauert, Dreckman, and Holbrook, all of whom filed grievances. In his Award, the Arbitrator sustained some of the grievances and denied others. He ordered the reinstatement of National League Umpires Darling, Hohn, Poncino, Pulli, Tata, West, and Vanover (the Darling Group), but denied the grievances and upheld Coleman's acceptance of the resignations of Umpires Davidson, Gregg, and Hallion, (the Davidson Group), as well as Umpires Nauert, Dreckman, and Holbrook (the Nauert Group). The Leagues now contend that the District Court erred in confirming the Arbitrator's construction and application of Article VIII in making these determinations. 51 Because Coleman elected not to exercise his discretion to increase the size of the National League staff, he was forced to find a method to determine which nineteen umpires would be permitted to rescind their resignations and which thirteen would have their resignations accepted. In so doing, he sought input from the MLUA's counsel, who simply insisted that all decisions be made on the basis of seniority, which would have guaranteed that all resigning MLUA members would be rehired and the new replacement umpires released. Coleman rejected this suggestion. 52 Without any other guidance for making such determinations, Coleman decided to use the merit and skill criteria from Article VIII A of the CBA to select which resignation rescissions to accept. 12 53 As stated above, in applying this merit and skill provision to the thirty-two National League umpires who attempted to rescind their resignations on July 27, Coleman accepted only nineteen rescissions. The thirteen National League umpires not permitted to rescind fell into either the Darling, Davidson, or Nauert Groups. 54 With respect to the Darling and Nauert Groups, Coleman refused to allow them to rescind their resignations because of the limited number of unfilled positions. However, in refusing to allow the Davidson Group to rescind their resignations, Coleman articulated various reasons why he believed each member of the group lacked the merit and skill necessary to perform to Major League standards. 55 After reviewing Coleman's decisions to refuse reinstatement, the Arbitrator upheld him on the Davidson and Nauert groups but reversed Coleman's refusal to rescind the Darling Group's resignations. The primary basis for the ruling on the Darling Group was the Arbitrator's belief that Coleman's decision to reject their rescissions was based solely on the number of available positions, not on merit or skill, and that this ran afoul of the terms of Article VIII. Although the Arbitrator concluded that the League President had substantial discretion in employment decisions regarding the tenure of umpires, he found that Article VIII limited this discretion by requiring the League President's decision to be based on the merit and skill to perform to Major League standards. The Arbitrator therefore concluded that the discretion exercised by the League presidents is not limitless, and that such decisions must be one[s] that can be reasonably articulated and related to issues of merit and skill and not arbitrary or capricious. Opinion and Award at 90. The Arbitrator therefore concluded: 56 In reviewing these explanations in light of the broad discretion given to League Presidents, it is this Arbitrator's view that Mr. Coleman must articulate an explanation that has some relationship to the merit and skill of that Umpire as well as the other factors that he considered. If Mr. Coleman was unable to articulate a basis, then I must conclude that he abused his discretion. The mere statement that he had to find the numbers required to fill the positions is an arbitrary consideration and must be overruled. 57 Id. (footnote omitted). 58 However, the Arbitrator upheld Coleman's decision to refuse to allow the Davidson Group to rescind because Coleman articulated a merit- or skill-related basis for the refusal. Finally, the Arbitrator concluded that the members of the Nauert Group did not have more than five years experience and thus were not entitled to the limited protections offered by Article VIII. Opinion and Award at 93-94. 59 The Leagues challenge the Arbitrator's interpretation and application of Article VIII. Specifically, the Leagues contend that the Arbitrator exceeded his authority and that the Award failed to draw its essence from the CBA in two respects. First, they read the Award as concluding that Article VIII is applicable only in situations involving the selection or retention of umpires. They also read the Award as holding that the umpires at issue in this case voluntarily resigned and were not entitled to the protections afforded by Article VIII. The Leagues therefore contend that the Arbitrator's application of the Article VIII merit and skill criteria results in a logical inconsistency. 60 Second, the Leagues assert that the arbitrary and capricious standard of review applied by the Arbitrator to Coleman's merit and skill determinations exceeded his authority and failed to draw its essence from the CBA. Simply stated, they allege the Arbitrator impermissibly created his own standard of review for merit and skill determinations out of whole cloth. In response, the MLUA contends that a reviewing court should look only to the Arbitrator's Award, and not his reasoning, in determining whether it draws its essence from the CBA. 61 In reviewing this portion of the Award, the District Court noted its concern over the Arbitrator's determination with respect to this issue. The court nevertheless, citing Steelworkers v. Enterprise Wheel & Car Corp., 363 U.S. 593, 597, 80 S.Ct. 1358, 4 L.Ed.2d 1424 (1960), and Arco-Polymers, Inc. v. Local 8-74, 671 F.2d 752, 756 (3d Cir.1982), confirmed this portion of the Award because the court believed binding precedent prevented it from vacating an award simply because of the existence of ambiguity in the Arbitrator's reasoning. Although the court noted the confusing nature of the Award, it ultimately concluded that the Arbitrator did interpret the Agreement and did manifest fidelity to his proper role as to the National League umpires to whom he applied the merit and skill standard of Article VIII A. Slip op. at 17. The District Court further noted that, because it believed the Arbitrator had reached the proper conclusion, the reasoning which provided the basis for its conclusion was irrelevant. 62 We are in accord with the District Court's conclusion that it may not vacate an award based solely on an ambiguity in an arbitrator's opinion. See Roadway Package System, Inc. v. Kayser, 257 F.3d 287, 301 (3d Cir.2001). However, we agree with the Leagues' assertion that the District Court erred in stating that the reasoning of the Arbitrator is entirely irrelevant. See id. (holding that a court may conclude that an arbitrator exceeded his or her authority when it is obvious from the written opinion); Newark Morning Ledger, 797 F.2d at 167 n. 6 (holding that a court is not required to disregard what an arbitrator says in order to justify what the arbitrator does). Nevertheless, we do not find this error to be essential to the court's resolution of this matter. We therefore reject the Leagues' invitation to use it as a basis for disturbing the District Court's confirmation of this portion of the Award. At bottom, the Leagues' primary contention is that the Award is inconsistent. More specifically, they contend the Arbitrator employed varying and questionable logic in first determining that Article VIII did not govern the dispute because the umpires had resigned (as opposed to being terminated), but then nevertheless requiring National League President Coleman to employ the Article VIII skill and merit criteria appropriately and consistently once he chose to invoke it. 63 The Leagues' argument is unpersuasive. Regardless of whether another interpretation of the CBA would make more sense, or whether we or the District Court would reach a different result if reviewing this case de novo, the Arbitrator's reading is logical and clearly draws its essence from the CBA. 64 Simply stated, the Arbitrator's interpretation of the CBA was as follows: (1) Article VIII creates minimal protections from termination for umpires with more than five years of service; (2) because the umpires at issue in this case resigned, none were entitled to the protections of Article VIII in the first instance regardless of the number of years of service; (3) even though Article VIII was not directly applicable in this case, National League President Coleman invoked it in determining which nineteen of the thirty-two final resignation rescissions to accept (a decision that essentially involved the selection of individuals from among the pool of resigned umpires, thereby arguably making the application of Article VIII appropriate); (4) once Article VIII was invoked, Coleman was required to adhere to its terms in making his determinations with respect to which rescissions to accept; (5) adhering to Article VIII meant articulating a reason that bore some relationship to the merit and skill of th[e] umpire, for each decision reached with respect to the thirteen umpires not permitted to rescind their letters of resignation; (6) because Coleman failed to meet this standard with respect to the Darling Group, those umpires must be reinstated; (7) because Coleman did meet this standard with respect to the Davidson Group, the grievances of those umpires were denied; (8) however, because the Nauert Group failed to qualify for this protection in the first place, the members of that group could essentially be fired at will. 65 Although we acknowledge that the quality of the Arbitrator's reasoning leaves something to be desired, we see no basis for judicial intervention. The Arbitrator's interpretation is discernable, coherent, and draws its essence from the CBA. Given the limited scope of our review, nothing more is required. 66 In closing, we cannot help but note that, at their core, many of the claims raised by both sides in this litigation amount to little more than requests for judicial review of the merits of the Award. We reiterate that such review is inimical to the public policy underlying the limited role assigned to the federal courts in the area of arbitration. See Pennsylvania Power II, 276 F.3d at 178 (The rationale for the court's limited role is to ensure that the federal policy of encouraging arbitration of labor disputes is not subverted by excessive court intervention on the merits of an award.); Remmey v. PaineWebber, Inc., 32 F.3d 143, 146 (4th Cir.1994) (Limited judicial review is necessary to encourage the use of arbitration as an alternative to formal litigation.... A policy favoring arbitration would mean little, of course, if arbitration were merely the prologue to prolonged litigation.). 67 It is beyond question that arbitration proceedings are a valuable method of dispute resolution, as they offer a means by which parties may obtain a binding result within a short period of time and at relatively minimal expense. See, e.g., Matteson, 99 F.3d at 113 (noting the congressional policy of promoting speedy, efficient, and inexpensive resolution of labor grievances); Remmey, 32 F.3d at 146 (noting that the `twin goals of arbitration' are `settling disputes efficiently and avoiding long and expensive litigation') (quoting Folkways Music Publishers, Inc. v. Weiss, 989 F.2d 108, 111 (2d Cir.1993)). However, the possibility of receiving inconsistent or incorrect rulings without meaningful appellate review of the merits is one of the risks such parties must accept when they choose arbitration over litigation. Where, as here, an award that is questionable nevertheless falls within the broad discretion granted to arbitrators, it must be confirmed.