Opinion ID: 2994104
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Thomsen’s Fourteenth Amendment due process

Text: claim Thomsen also argues that he was denied due process because his union dropped his grievance protesting his termination before arbitration, on the ground that the grievance lacked merit. Before Thomsen was terminated, Romeis met with him on July 12, 1994, and on July 16, 1994, and gave him written notice of his termination and an opportunity to comment on it. These meetings were followed by an exchange of letters, which again informed Thomsen of the reasons for his termination and invited his comments. These pre- deprivation measures, in conjunction with the procedures that were available to Thomsen, satisfy due process requirements. See Cleveland Board of Educ. v. Loudermill, 470 U.S. 532, 546- 48 (1985); Staples v. City of Milwaukee, 142 F.3d 383, 385 (7th Cir. 1998); Chaney v. Suburban Bus Div. Regional Transp. Auth., 52 F.3d 623, 628-30 (7th Cir. 1995). Thus, while it is true that Thomsen could not compel his union to take his grievance to arbitration, see Vaca v. Sipes, 386 U.S. 171, 191 (1967), it is also true that the collective bargaining agreement here gave Thomsen the choice between proceeding on his own or proceeding through the union. He chose the union, and along with that choice he assumed the risk that the union would decide at some point not to pursue the grievance further. Under all circumstances, we are of the opinion that Thomsen received the process that he was due.