Court Opinion

ID: 9492470
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 14:41:56.800234+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:55:19.315362
License: Public Domain

CLAY, Circuit Judge,
dissenting.
Because I believe that this case presents an instance where the arbitrator’s award did not “draw its essence” from the collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”) at issue, I respectfully dissent from the majority’s decision to reverse the district court’s order granting summary judgment to Defendant, Dayton Newspapers, Inc. Although the scope of review regarding an arbitrator’s award is very limited, the deference afforded to the award is not so great that the award may never be reversed. Rather, the arbitrator’s award may be reversed when it fails to “draw its essence” from the CBA, and I believe that the district court was correct in concluding that the award in this case failed to do just that, inasmuch as the award conflicted with the express terms of the CBA and *440imposed additional requirements not expressly provided in the agreement.
I .The District Court’s Order Granting Summary Judgment on Defendant’s Motion to Vacate the Arbitrator’s Award
This Court reviews a district court’s decision de novo on a motion for summary judgment, including instances where summary judgment was granted in a labor arbitration case. See Dallas & Mavis Forwarding Co. v. General Drivers, Warehousemen & Helpers, Local Union No. 89, 972 F.2d 129, 133 (6th Cir.1992). Although we review the district court’s decision in such a case de novo, the scope of review is extremely limited. See Monroe Auto Equipment Co. v. International Union, United Automotive, Aerospace and Agr. Implement Workers of Am. (UAW), 981 F.2d 261, 265 (6th Cir.1992). That is to say, because the parties have “authorized the arbitrator to give meaning to the language of the agreement, a court should not reject an award on the ground that the arbitrator misread the contract.” United Paperworkers Int’l Union v. Misco, Inc., 484 U.S. 29, 37-38, 108 S.Ct. 364, 370-71, 98 L.Ed.2d 286 (1987). However, “[t]he arbitrator may not ignore the plain language of the contract,” such that “the arbitrator’s award settling a dispute with respect to the interpretation or application of a labor agreement must draw its essence from the contract and cannot simply reflect the arbitrator’s own notions of industrial justice.” Id.
In Cement Divisions, National Gypsum Co. v. United Steelworkers of America, this Court found that an arbitration award fails to derive its essence from the CBA under one of the following four conditions:
[W]hen (1) an award conflicts with express terms of the collective bargaining agreement; (2) an award imposes additional requirements that are not expressly provided in the agreement; (3) an award is without rational support or cannot be rationally derived from the terms of the agreement; and (4) an award is based on general considerations of fairness and equity instead of the precise terms of the agreement.
793 F.2d 759, 766 (6th Cir.1986) (citations omitted). Although the majority accurately states the standard under which we are to review the arbitrator’s award, I believe that it misapplies this standard in analyzing the facts of this case.
The district court found that Arbitrator Goggin’s award did not derive its essence from the CBA because the award conflicted with the express terms of the CBA and imposed additional requirements that were not expressly provided therein. Specifically, the district court found that as a matter of law, the award did not derive its essence from the CBA with respect to the award’s finding that Defendant did not have “just cause” to discharge Elliott — i.e., the award’s finding that Elliott’s actions were not in violation of Defendant’s promulgated rules. The district court also found that the award did not draw its essence from the CBA as a matter of law with respect to the award’s finding the Elliott’s procedural due process rights were violated here. I agree with the district court on both counts; however, my reasoning differs from the district court’s reasoning on the procedural due process issue.
A. Whether the Award Drew its Essence from the CBA as a Matter of Law on the Issue of Whether Defendant had “Just Cause” to Discharge Elliott?
The district court found that the award did not derive its essence from the CBA as a matter of law with respect to the issue of whether Defendant had just cause to terminate Elliott, inasmuch as Arbitrator Goggin found that Elliott “grabbed” Thomas, and yet concluded that Elliott had not engaged in “workplace violence” as to constitute grounds for discharge. The district court noted that the flaw in the award was that the standard for discipline/termination, as promulgated by Defendant’s *441workplace rules as incorporated into the CBA, is not “workplace violence” but rather, “assault.” Specifically, the district found as follows:
[I]n his recitation of his finding of fact, the arbitrator noted, “[a]t that point in time, the grievant came up behind Ms. Thomas, who was weaving back and forth and appeared out of control, and grabbed her by the back of the neck and started her toward the door.” In spite of his factual finding that Mr. Elliott had grabbed Ms. Thomas by the back of the neck, the arbitrator concluded that Mr. Elliott had not engaged in “workplace violence.” Therein lies the flaw in the arbitrator’s award.
There is absolutely no reference in the CBA or in [Defendant’s] workplace rules to “workplace violence.” Rather, the workplace rules adopted by [Defendant] clearly provide that “assault” may be grounds for discipline, up to and including discharge. The term “assault” is clear and unambiguous when given its plain and ordinary meaning and it needs no interpretation. Assault is a “violent physical or verbal attack”. Websters Neiv Collegiate Dictionary (1992 ed.)
(J.A. at 35 (emphasis is original).) I agree with the district court’s reasoning and conclusion, and believe that the majority inaccurately applies our standard of review in reaching a contrary result.
The relevant portions of the CBA are as follows:

ARTICLE 5. UNION-COMPANY RELATIONSHIP

* * * * * %
Section 3. The management of the plant and the direction of the working force including the right to hire, promote, suspend, discipline, discharge for proper cause, the right to transfer, the right to change working processes and equipment, and the right to publish and enforce reasonable plant rules for the performance of duties hereunder, the selection and retention of employees and the working days to which they are assigned are vested exclusively in the Company except as is set forth in writing in the Agreement. The Company reserves exclusively all of its normal and inherent rights to manage the business, whether exercised or not, excluding only such rights as are specifically relinquished or modified by a specific provision of this Agreement.
******

ARTICLE 11. GRIEVANCE AND ARBITRATION PROCEDURE

# * * * *
Section 3. The Company agrees not to discharge or discipline any employee without just cause. The Company shall have the right any time to promulgate and enforce rules and regulations and all employees shall be subject to such rules and regulations. The Company shall post such rules and regulations. No member of the bargaining unit shall be discharged or disciplined with loss of pay without first being given a hearing. At such a-hearing, an officer or-Business Agent of the Union shall be present. The hearing shall take place within 24 hours after being brought to the attention of the employee. If an agreement is reached at such hearing, it shall be final and binding on all the parties. Section 4. The arbitrator shall have no power to change, modify, add to or detract from any terms of the contract. In discharge cases the arbitrator shall have the power, but is not required, to order the discharged employee reinstated with back pay, less amounts received elsewhere, if he shall determine that the Company did not discharge such employee for proper cause.
(J.A. at 61-62, 67-68.) Furthermore, the relevant rules promulgated by Defendant state in pertinent part as follows:
The purpose of these rules and regulations is to provide you with examples of unacceptable conduct which may warrant discipline. Forms of discipline *442which the company may utilize include, but are not limited to, reprimand, suspension and termination. The Company may impose any form of discipline up to and including immediate discharge, that it deems to be appropriate. [An employee violates these rules when he engages in the following conduct.]
* * * * * *
6. By word or action discredit or bring reproach upon co-workers or others on the basis of their race, religion, national origin, disability or sex.
7. Assault or the use of profane, abusive or threatening language toward fellow employees or supervisory personnel.
(J.A. at 82 (emphasis added).)
Accordingly, based upon the express terms of the CBA and the rules incorporated therein, Arbitrator Goggin’s finding that Elliott had “grabbed [Thomas] by the back of the neck” did not support his conclusion that Defendant did not have “just cause” to discipline Elliott, and the award therefore did not draw its essence from the CBA. See Cement Divisions National Gypsum Co., 793 F.2d at 766. Clearly, pursuant to Article 5, Section 3, and Article 11, Section 3 of the CBA, Defendant has the right to terminate an employee for “just cause;” pursuant to Article 11, Section 3, Defendant has the right to promulgate and enforce rules and all employees shall be subject to those rules; under the rules, Defendant may impose any form of discipline up to and including immediate discharge for a violation thereof; and pursuant to Rules 6 and 7, an employee may not discredit or bring reproach upon a co-worker on the basis of, among other things, sex, nor may an employee assault or use profanity toward fellow employees. Furthermore, to bring “reproach” is commonly understood to mean to bring shame, disgrace, or blame; and to “assault” someone is commonly understood to mean “a violent attack with physical means.” Webster’s Third International DiCtionary 130, 1927 (1993); see Dobbs, Inc. v. Local No. 614, Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters, 813 F.2d 85, 86 (6th Cir.1987) (citing Detroit Coil v. International Assoc. of Machinists & Aerospace Workers, 594 F.2d 575, 579 (6th Cir.1979)) (finding that terms in a collective bargaining agreement are to be given their ordinary meaning in the absence of evidence indicating that the parties intended to deviate from that meaning).
Thus, for Arbitrator Goggin to have found that Elliott’s act of “[coming] up behind Ms. Thomas ... and grabbing] her by the back of the neck and starting] her toward the door,” particularly while acknowledging that the two were arguing at the time, did not amount to a violation of the rules as incorporated into the CBA— i.e., Elliott’s actions did not serve as “just cause” for his discharge — conflicts with the express terms of the CBA where these actions clearly amount to an assault. Therefore, the award did not derive its essence from the CBA on this point as a matter of law. See Cement Divisions National Gypsum Co., 793 F.2d at 766.
I am not persuaded otherwise by the Union’s argument that Defendant consistently characterized Elliott’s actions as “workplace violence,” thereby somehow rendering this term the standard by which the CBA is to be interpreted. I find the Union’s argument to be nothing more than a red herring and a vain attempt to argue semantics where the issue is not the terminology used by Defendant in matters associated with this incident; but, rather, the express, unambiguous language of the rules as incorporated into the CBA and whether Elliott’s actions rose to the level of a violation thereof.1
*443Furthermore, Arbitrator Goggin’s findings that “the incident did not last more than about a minute;” that “[n]o witness testified that he or she saw the grievant hit Ms. Thomas;” that “it would appear that [Elliott] was not trying to abuse Ms. Thomas;” and that “[tjhere was no evidence in the record which indicated that [Elliott] had hurt Ms. Thomas,” imposed additional requirements upon Defendant for disciplining an employee that are not in the CBA, and serves as another basis for finding that the award did not draw its essence from the CBA on this issue. See Cement Divisions National Gypsum Co., 793 F.2d at 766. In other words, the rules do not provide that it must be found that an employee “hit,” “abused,” or “hurt” another employee before Defendant can impose discipline, nor do the rules impose a time limit as to how long the assault must last before discipline may be imposed. Rather, the rules state that Defendant may impose discipline — up to and including discharge — when an employee brings reproach upon a co-worker based upon the co-worker’s sex, or assaults another employee. Accordingly, because Arbitrator Goggin imposed these additional criteria upon Defendant in determining whether Elliott’s actions violated the CBA, the award did not derive its essence from the CBA as a matter of law.2 See id.
B. Whether the Award Drew its Essence from the CBA as a Matter of Law on the Issue of Whether Elliott’s Procedural Due Process Rights were Violated?
The district court also found that the award did not derive its essence from the CBA as a matter of law with respect to the denial of Elliott’s predisciplinary hearing inasmuch as Arbitrator Goggin imposed an additional obligation upon Defendant regarding this hearing that is not required by the CBA. Specifically, the district court found as follows:
The Court reaches a similar conclusion with respect to the arbitrator’s award as it relates to the Pre Discipline Hearing issue. In addressing that issue, the arbitrator determined that, “It is clear from the record in this case that the Company never ‘officially’ contacted an officer or Business Agent of the Union”. Nevertheless, the arbitrator acknowledged “[t]he only evidence on the record with regard to this obligation was an ‘informal’ exchange in the Company lunchroom at some unspecified time”. In addition, the arbitrator found that there was a discussion between [Defendant] personnel and the Union Recording Secretary that a bargaining unit employee was being disciplined. There is nothing in the CBA which references either “formal” or “informal” notice to the Union that [Defendant] intends to discipline a bargaining unit employee. Yet, the arbitrator created an obligation which did not exist in the CBA that any notice [Defendant] gave to the Union be some nondescriptive “formal” notice. The arbitrator’s imposition of a “formal” notice requirement is without warrant in the CBA.
(J.A. at 37.) I agree with the district court that the award did not derive its essence from the CBA as a matter of law on this issue, but for different reasons. See City Management Corp. v. United States Chemical Co., Inc., 43 F.3d 244, 251 (6th Cir.1994) (finding that this Court may affirm on any grounds supported by the record, even though they may be different *444grounds than those relied upon by the district court).
Contrary to the district court’s distinction, the issue here is not whether a “formal” or “informal” hearing is required under the CBA, particularly because Defendant does not contest that a predisci-plinary hearing was not held. Rather, Defendant claims, as it did before Arbitrator Goggin,- that the Union waived the hearing. Defendant supports its claim on appeal with the affidavit of Brett Thurman, Defendant’s General Counsel and Human Resources Manager, inasmuch as Arbitrator Goggin could not comply with Defendant’s subpoena duces tecum for the tape recordings from the arbitration hearing in this case. Thurman’s affidavit states in relevant part as follows:
13. The issue of whether there was a predisciplinary hearing was not presented to the Arbitrator in that all of the parties conceded at the hearing that a predisciplinary hearing was not held.
14. At the hearing in this case, Chuck Friend (then a division manager with [Defendant]) and I, testified that we discussed predisplinary [sic] procedure regarding Elliott with John Burns (“Burns”), a Union representative.
15. Both Thurman and Friend testified that during these discussions, Burns expressly agreed to waive the predisci-plinary hearing set forth in the CBA. There was no evidence that refuted or attempted to refute this testimony at the hearing.
16. In fact, the Union not only waived the hearing requirement, it also initially indicated it would not grieve Elliott’s discharge, and admitted this to the Arbitrator. However, after Elliott filed a claim against the Union for failure to represent him with the National Labor Relations Board, the Union settled that claim by agreeing to grieve and arbitrate Elliott’s termination.
(J.A. at 78-79.) The Union did not respond to Thurman’s affidavit with any evidence to the contrary. Although the Union did submit an affidavit from John Burns, its Recording Secretary and Business Representative, as an exhibit attached to its motion for summary judgment, a review of the affidavit does not refute the contentions made by Thurman in his affidavit regarding waiver of the predisciplinary hearing. Furthermore, although the Union submitted a second affidavit from Burns which attempted to refute Thurman’s affidavit on the issue of waiver, Burns’ second affidavit was not submitted until after the district court issued its decision and order in this case when the Union submitted its motion to amend the judgment. Because it is well-settled that when reviewing a grant of summary judgment, this Court must confine its review to the evidence as submitted to the district court at the time, the Court may not consider Burns’ March 9, 1998 affidavit — the affidavit submitted after the district court had ruled on the motions for summary judgment — when considering the district court’s decision here. See Fed. R.App. P. 10(a); Landefeld v. Marion Gen. Hosp., 994 F.2d 1178, 1181 (6th Cir.1993).
The Union makes an unsupported assertion that “Arbitrator Goggin found the alleged notice to the Union was insufficient to support a knowing waiver of the contractual obligation.” However, the award does not expressly or implicitly make such a finding. The award simply found that a conversation which took place between Defendant and the Union Recording Secretary in Defendant’s lunch room did not rise to the level of a “formal” hearing as required by the CBA. The award makes no mention that this exchange in the lunch room was insufficient to constitute a knowing waiver of the hearing.
Accordingly, because the Union failed to come forward with any evidence to create a genuine issue of fact that it did not agree to waive the hearing, as attested to by Thurman’s affidavit, the district court properly granted Defendant’s motion for summary judgment because the award is *445without rational support and cannot be rationally derived from the terms of the CBA, where the express requirement the award found lacking — the predisciplinary hearing — was waived by the Union as a matter of law. See Cement Divisions, National Gypsum Co., 793 F.2d at 766.
In summary, because I believe that the arbitration award did not draw its essence from the CBA on the issues of whether Defendant had just cause to terminate Elliott as well as whether Defendant violated Elliott’s due process rights, I disagree with the majority’s holding and would affirm the district court’s order granting Defendant’s summary judgment motion to vacate the arbitrator’s award.
II. The District Court’s Order Denying The Union’s Motion to Alter or Amend the Judgment Pursuant to Rule 59(e)
Apparently because the majority disagreed with the district court’s decision to vacate the arbitrator’s award, it did not reach the Union’s claim that the district court abused its discretion in denying its motion to alter or amend the judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(e). However, because I believe that the district court reached the right result in vacating the award, I will briefly address the Union’s Rule 59(e) motion as follows.
It is well settled that this Court reviews a denial of a motion to alter or amend the judgment under Rule 59(e) for an abuse of discretion. Huff v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., 675 F.2d 119, 122 (6th Cir.1982). In its motion to amend the judgment, the Union argued that the district court made an erroneous factual finding when it found that the award did not draw its essence from the contract, because the term “workplace violence,” as used by Arbitrator Goggin, was simply in line with Defendant’s use of the phrase. The Union also argued that the district court made a legal error in concluding that Elliott committed an “assault” upon Thomas because the court impermissibly substituted its judgment of the facts for Arbitrator Goggin’s judgment. In support of its motion, the Union submitted the affidavit of John Burns which basically provided his rendition of the events that occurred at the arbitration hearing.
In denying the Union’s motion, the district court refused to consider Burns’ affidavit because Burns had been available since the time that the incident occurred, he had provided a previous affidavit, and had participated in the arbitration hearing. As such, Burns’ affidavit submitted with the Union’s motion did not constitute “newly” discovered evidence of the type to be considered in a Rule 59(e) motion. In addition, the district court denied the motion on the basis that the Union essentially raised the same arguments as it raised in its motion for summary judgment.
Rule 59(e) motions serve a limited purpose and should be granted for one of three reasons: (1) because of an intervening change in controlling law, (2) because evidence not previously available has become available; or (3) because it is necessary to correct a clear error of law or prevent manifest injustice. See Javetz v. Board of Control, Grand Valley State University, 903 F.Supp. 1181, 1190 (W.D.Mich.1995); Keweenaw Bay Indian Community v. State of Michigan, 152 F.R.D. 562, 563 (W.D.Mich.1992), affirmed, 11 F.3d 1341 (6th Cir.1993). In addition, “[i]t is well-established ... that a district court does not abuse its discretion in denying a Rule 59 motion when it is premised on evidence that the party had in his control prior to the original entry of judgment.” Emmons v. McLaughlin, 874 F.2d 351, 358 (6th Cir.1989) (rejecting affidavits submitted with the movant’s Rule 59 motion which could have been submitted prior to the court’s ruling on the motion for summary judgment).
Here, I agree with the district court that the Union is simply seeking a second bite of the apple in bringing its motion to amend, where the Union makes the same *446argument as it did at the summary judgment stage and fails to set forth any meritorious errors of law. The Union’s claim that the district court erroneously substituted its -judgment for that of the district court is simply an argument based upon semantics, and begs the question when considering that Arbitrator Goggin found that Elliott grabbed Thomas by the back of her neck, and yet failed to conclude that Elliott violated the CBA — i.e., his actions did not constitute just cause for discharge. Again, the award is to draw its essence from the plain language of the CBA, and that language clearly makes an “assault” just cause for discharge.
In addition, the district court properly exercised its discretion in refusing to consider Burns’ affidavit submitted with the Union’s motion, where Burns had consistently been involved with these proceedings and had submitted a previous affidavit, and yet Burns faded to come forward with statements made in the affidavit at hand until the Union filed its motion to amend. See Emmons, 874 F.2d at 358; Javetz, 903 F.Supp. at 1191-92 (finding that additional evidence should only be considered under a Rule 59(e) motion if, in the exercise of all diligence, it could not have been submitted before its current submission).
Based upon the foregoing, I dissent from the majority’s decision to reverse the district court’s order to vacate the arbitrator’s award. Although it is true that the scope of our review of an arbitrator’s award is limited, the award must nonetheless derive its essence from the CBA and I agree with the district court that the award failed to do so here.

. Notably, the record indicates that Elliott called Thomas a “bitch” as he escorted her from the building; that he told inquiring coworkers to "stay the hell out of it;” and that this evidence was presented to Arbitrator Goggin, yet Defendant failed to come forward with evidence to refute these verbal profanities. Therefore, pursuant to Defendant’s rules, Elliott’s use of profanity in this regard would also have served as "just cause” for his *443discharge. However, Arbitrator Goggin's award did not make mention of Elliott’s use of these profanities, although the record indicates that the arbitrator had this evidence before him. Furthermore, the record indicates that Thomas was discharged for her actions in relation to this incident as well.

. Because the award did not derive its essence from the CBA, the issues of whether the award violated public policy; whether the award of full back pay to Elliott was in violation of the express language of the CBA; and whether the award should be vacated because Arbitrator Goggin destroyed the tapes from the arbitration hearing are moot.