Opinion ID: 3160872
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Current Grievance

Text: The dispute here centers on conflicting interpretations of the cost-of-livingadjustment provision. The Union maintains that the cost-of-living adjustments accumulate over the life of the agreement; i.e., that each new adjustment is added to the current allowance. In contrast, the Company contends that the cost-of-living allowance resets to zero annually when each new CBA-mandated increase in health-care premiums takes effect. This case arrived at our doorstep through the following course of events: On December 19, 2008, David Duford, the Company’s Labor Relations Manager, sent a letter to Ernest Kilpatrick, the Local’s President, notifying him that the Company mistakenly neglected to raise the health premium from $20 to $25 in November 2008. Although that letter also specified that the Company would “make the necessary adjustments to recover any retroactive health care premiums,” it made no reference to cost-of-living adjustments. Paychecks issued the week of January 15, 2009, reflected the $25 deduction and the retroactive deduction but no corresponding cost-of-living premium reduction. On February 23, 2009, Duford again wrote Kilpatrick, advising him that, based on the relevant Consumer Price Index information, no quarterly cost-ofliving adjustment was warranted and that “the weekly health care premium will remain $25.00 for all applicable employees.” In response, Kilpatrick wrote back 6 Case: 14-15744 Date Filed: 12/08/2015 Page: 7 of 37 on March 2, 2009, agreeing that no quarterly adjustment was needed, but he asserted that, based on the $0.73-per-hour allowance existing at the end of 2008, the $25 premium should be reduced accordingly. In a March 5, 2009 letter, Duford disagreed. Duford also recalled that the Union had been informed in his December 19, 2008, letter about the premium increase to $25, but the Union had made “[n]o timely objections or grievances.” No further action apparently occurred for the next seven months until the Union filed a formal grievance on October 5, 2009. On October 20, 2009, Duford denied the grievance in a letter to now Local President Ken Hunt. In rejecting the grievance, Duford again pointed to the December 19 letter and the January 15 paychecks and added, Neither at the time of these events, nor within the time period specified in our Labor Agreement in which a grieving party must bring a claim did the Union nor did any of its members file any timely objections or grievances regarding any of these occurrences, which were widely known and implemented. Furthermore, there are no provisions in the Labor Agreement whatsoever that provide that COLA be carried over from year to year. COLA offsets, if any, applies [sic] only to the contractually established weekly premium in the year in which the offset occurs. The weekly premium is reset annually as provided by the clear terms of our Labor Agreement. The grievance is rejected as untimely and therefore all claims and demands are waived in its [sic] entirety by the Union. 7 Case: 14-15744 Date Filed: 12/08/2015 Page: 8 of 37 On October 26, 2009, the Union elevated its grievance to step four by forwarding it to Sandra Scarborough, the Company’s Vice President for Human Resources. No meeting was scheduled and no Company representative, including Scarborough, ever responded to the step-four escalation. On February 12, 2010, the Union notified Scarborough in writing that it desired to submit the grievance to arbitration. The Union moved forward unilaterally with the arbitration process, sending letters to the Company on July 9 and July 26, 2010, concerning the arbitration panel. On July 28, 2010, Duford responded to these efforts by reiterating the Company’s position that the grievance was untimely. Duford elaborated, “There is no ambiguity that untimely grievances are not arbitrable under our Labor Agreement, and we clearly advised the Union of our position in this regard on October 20, 2009.” Duford also expressed the position that “issues of arbitrability like the one presented here” are matters for judicial determination, not resolution by the arbitrator. Finally, Duford closed his July 28 letter by stating, “[The Company] will not agree to submit the above-referenced issue to arbitration because it conflicts with the terms of our Labor Agreement concerning issues that are subject to grievance and arbitration.” 8 Case: 14-15744 Date Filed: 12/08/2015 Page: 9 of 37