Court Opinion

ID: 9636517
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 14:31:53.141228+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:09:46.651114
License: Public Domain

CIRILLO, Judge, dissenting:
In my view, Local 180 is an indispensable party to the instant action because: (1) Local 180 is a party to the collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”) with Penelec; and (2) the appellants’ PHRA claims against Penelec go to the validity of the CBA itself, the terms and conditions of which were bargained for by Local 180, as the appellants’ exclusive representative.
In light of the above, I find that the trial court correctly considered all of the relevant factors outlined by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Mechanicsburg Area Sch. Dist. v. Kline, 494 Pa. 476, 431 A.2d 953 (1981). See also Sprague v. Casey, 520 Pa. 38, 550 A.2d 184 (1988). Local 180’s rights and interests under the CBA are inextricably linked to the appellants’ claims in the underlying lawsuit. Particularly, the challenged wage rates were a product of the collective bargaining process between Local 180 and Penelec. As such, a decision on the PHRA claim in favor of the appellants would have the effect of setting aside and/or modifying the wage provisions of the CBA, without first affording Local 180 an opportunity to exercise its due process rights. I cannot countenance such a result.
It is well settled in this Commonwealth that due to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission’s (“PHRC”) particular expertise in handling discrimination cases, a complainant must exhaust all remedies before the PHRC before he or she may turn to the courts. Clay v. Advanced Computer Applications, 522 Pa. 86, 90-91, 559 A.2d 917, 919 (1989); Snyder v. Pennsylvania Ass’n of Sch. Retirees, 389 Pa.Super. 261, 269-270, 566 A.2d 1235, 1239 (1989). It is not disputed that while appellants filed timely administrative claims with the PHRC against Penelec, they failed to do so with respect to
*525Local 180. As such, appellants are now barred from joining Local 180 as a defendant to this lawsuit.
Because I find that Local 180 is an indispensable party to this action, but one which cannot now be joined as a party defendant, I conclude that the trial court properly dismissed the appellants’ complaint. For these reasons, I respectfully dissent.