Opinion ID: 760201
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Last Chance Agreement superseded the CBA with respect to Gates.

Text: 14 The second consideration which leads us to set aside the arbitrator's award is actually one of more import for this circuit. When Cooper Natural and the union entered into the LCA, reducing Gates's punishment for failing the drug test, the parties formed a binding contract pursuant to the CBA which was entitled to enforcement by the arbitrator as the parties' chosen means of dispute resolution. Bakers Union Factory No. 326 v. ITT Continental Baking Co., Inc., 749 F.2d 350, 354 (6th Cir.1984). The LCA must be thought of as a supplement to the CBA and is just as binding upon the arbitrator. This has been the rule in three of our sister circuits, and we adopt it today as the governing law for this court. Cf. Coca-Cola Bottling Co. v. Teamsters Local No. 688, 959 F.2d 1438, 1440 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 506 U.S. 1013, 113 S.Ct. 635, 121 L.Ed.2d 566 (1992); Ohio Edison Co. v. Ohio Edison Joint Council, 947 F.2d 786, 787 (6th Cir.1991); Tootsie Roll Indus., Inc. v. Local Union No. 1, 832 F.2d 81, 84 (7th Cir.1987). 15 According to the reasoning we herein adopt, an arbitrator ignoring the explicit terms of a last chance agreement is owed no deference, and his award must be closely scrutinized. This seemingly harsh rule is necessary because last chance agreements constitute formal contractual settlements of labor disputes. See Bakers Union Factory, 749 F.2d at 356. Since LCAs follow collective bargaining agreements in time, they should be construed as superseding a CBA in certain circumstances because an LCA reflects the parties' own construction of the CBA. 16 As observed supra, our sister circuits have long enforced this principle and have vacated arbitral awards that disregard last chance agreements. The decisions establishing this principle merit some closer scrutiny. In Tootsie Roll Industries, the Seventh Circuit considered the case of an employee who had been initially discharged for excessive absenteeism; thereafter, however, the employer and the union executed a last chance agreement, and the employee was subjected to reduced discipline. See Tootsie Roll Industries, 832 F.2d at 82. In exchange for being reinstated with back pay, the employee agreed that she would not miss any further days for any reason whatsoever. See id. After missing another day, the employee was discharged, and she and the union went to arbitration. At arbitration, the arbitrator considered only the employer's liberal shop policy, which did not count excused absences, and reinstated the employee. See id. at 83. The district court vacated the award, and the Seventh Circuit affirmed on the ground that the arbitrator had no authority to modify the LCA, but rather was bound to enforce it as written. By not basing his award in the essence of the agreement, the arbitrator neglected his duty to follow the clear requirements of the parties' negotiated contracts. Id. Under these circumstances, the arbitration award effectively eliminated the purpose of the LCA, which was to subject the employee to a higher standard than her peers. The court observed that, had the parties intended the regular policy to apply, there would have been no reason to spell out more specific attendance requirements in the LCA. See id. 17 Similarly, in Coca-Cola Bottling, the union and the employer agreed to a last chance agreement to save an employee union member from discharge due to poor performance. See Coca-Cola Bottling, 959 F.2d at 1439. The LCA provided that the employee would be suspended and that any future similar offenses would result in discharge. Upon his reinstatement, the employee committed such an offense and was discharged. At arbitration, the arbitrator found that the employee had committed the offense at issue, but determined that the collective bargaining agreement did not permit the employer to discharge the employee. See id. at 1440-41. The district court vacated the award, and the Eighth Circuit affirmed, finding that the LCA superseded the collective bargaining agreement. Id. at 1440. As such, the arbitrator was required to view the express provisions of the LCA as representing the parties' actual intentions with respect to this employee. 18 Finally, in Ohio Edison, the Sixth Circuit reaffirmed its holding in Bakers Union by ruling that an arbitrator does not have the authority to disregard the explicit terms of a prior settlement or last chance agreement. See Ohio Edison, 947 F.2d at 787. In Ohio Edison, an employee with a drug abuse problem was given a last chance to desist from using drugs or face termination. After continuing to use drugs, the employee was terminated. At arbitration, the employee was reinstated because the arbitrator found the LCA to be unreasonably harsh. Id. The district court enforced the arbitration award, but the Sixth Circuit reversed and remanded, holding that normally last chance agreements are binding in arbitration, and observing that here the arbitrator did not have the authority to set aside the LCA, even if it were harsh. Id. 19 In the case at bar, the arbitrator similarly disregarded his obligation to enforce the LCA. After Gates's dismissal, the union interceded and negotiated a last chance agreement which placed Gates back on the job; there is no evidence countering Cooper Natural's claim that all parties had formally agreed, in the LCA, to a final resolution of their dispute. Indeed, each of the union's arguments before this court addresses the propriety of Gates's discipline, not the binding nature of the LCA. By ignoring the LCA and substituting his own impressions in the arbitration, the arbitrator fundamentally ignored his responsibility to construe the parties' agreements in an evenhanded way.