Opinion ID: 178841
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Union Discrimination

Text: Finally, Mr. Perez claims the Union’s discriminatory actions culminated in his termination and violated Title VII. See 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(c)(3) (“It shall be an unlawful employment practice for a labor organization . . . to cause or attempt to cause an employer to discriminate against an individual[.]”). Once again, however, he fails to show a genuine issue of material fact, this time concerning the Union’s efforts to have him fired. Hurst testified that he alone made the decision to layoff Mr. Perez, without any influence from the Union. Mr. Perez -10- questions Hurst’s motivation, asserting Hurst favored the Union as evidenced by his alleged threats concerning the Union fine. But he cites no evidence showing that the Union encouraged or caused Hurst to terminate Mr. Perez on account of discriminatory animus. Further, although Mr. Perez insists that Union President Wayne Eddings made racially offensive remarks, Eddings had no authority to terminate Mr. Perez, and there is no evidence that his remarks bore any relation to Mr. Perez’s dismissal. See Medlock v. United Parcel Serv., 608 F.3d 1185, 1197 (10th Cir. 2010) (recognizing that to rely on discriminatory statements, a plaintiff “must show that they were made by the decision maker, and that there was a nexus between the discriminatory statements and the decision to terminate” (quotations omitted)). Nor is there any evidence that Pendleton acted on a discriminatory basis to indirectly influence Hurst’s decision. All we have is Mr. Perez’s testimony that Pendleton threatened to go to Hurst if he slowed down on the job. While Mr. Perez speculated that Pendleton could tell Hurst whom to fire, he conceded that “Hurst does whatever he wants.” Aplt. App. at 285. And in any event, the alleged threat was based on a non-discriminatory ground that would not forestall summary judgment. See Medlock, 608 F.3d at 1195-96. Given this -11- evidence, we conclude that Mr. Perez has failed to show a genuine issue of material fact concerning this or any other claim on appeal. 6 Accordingly, the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED. Entered for the Court Timothy M. Tymkovich