Dunlap v. United Transportation Union

826 F. Supp. 957, 144 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2285, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21626, 1992 WL 511826
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Virginia
DecidedOctober 8, 1992
DocketCiv. A. No. 3:92CV83
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 826 F. Supp. 957 (Dunlap v. United Transportation Union) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dunlap v. United Transportation Union, 826 F. Supp. 957, 144 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2285, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21626, 1992 WL 511826 (E.D. Va. 1992).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

SPENCER, District Judge.

THIS MATTER is before the Court on Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment and Plaintiffs Cross Motion for Summary Judgment pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 56. For the reasons stated herein, Defendant’s motion is GRANTED and Plaintiffs motion is DENIED.

I.

The four remaining Plaintiffs1 are Frank R. Lorello, Phillip Sanders, James W. Sehumaker, and Kevin A. Tierney. The Defendant, United Transportation Union (“UTU”), is a labor organization and the certified collective bargaining representative for approximately fifteen hundred active members employed in the territories of the former C & 0 Railroad, which are now owned and operated by CSX Transportation (“CSX”). The Plaintiffs, who are CSX employees and UTU members, filed this action against the Defendant on February 7, 1992. Plaintiffs’ claim arises from their participation in a voluntary transfer program (“transfer program” or “transfer agreement”) proposed by CSX in February 1990 and implemented in March 1990. Plaintiffs aver that UTU breached its duty of fair representation with respect to the negotiation and implementation of such transfer program.

II.

Facts

UTU members who work for CSX are divided into five districts. District 1 covers employees in the Richmond, Virginia area and has approximately 422 members. District 4 covers employees in parts of West Virginia and Kentucky and has approximately 986 members.

In February 1990, when CSX believed there would be a shortage of labor in Districts 1 and 2, CSX determined that it would propose a transfer agreement to the employees in Districts 4 and 5. Under the terms of the agreement, employees who elected to transfer would be accepted into the program [959]*959in the order of their seniority. The transfer agreement further provided, inter alia, that the transferring employees would be (a) given a $40,000 transfer allowance; (b) given a new seniority date in their new seniority district; (c) granted a leave of absence from their former seniority district; and (d) allowed to return to their former district with their seniority restored only if they were unable to hold a position in the district to which they had been transferred. However, because the proposed agreement contained a provision affecting the employees’ seniority status, a collectively bargained right, CSX had to obtain the approval of UTU.

On February 23, 1990, H.S. Emerick, CSX’s Senior Director of Labor Relations, sent a letter to UTU General Chairman, Virgil Elswick, requesting his consent to the provisions affecting seniority rights in the transfer agreement. Mr. Elswick carefully considered the ramifications of the provisions. After he was fully satisfied that the agreement (1) adequately advised the transferring members of the affect the transfer would have on their seniority status and (2) provided protection for the hundreds of UTU members in Districts 4 and 5 who chose not to transfer and who had less seniority than the participants in the program, Mr. Elswick approved the transfer agreement. Specifically, Mr. Elswick agreed to a provision whereby the transferring employees could return to their former district with their old seniority ranking intact only if they could not hold a position in their new district. This arrangement afforded the transferring employees greater rights than if they had simply transferred under the terms of the existing collective bargaining agreement. Under the existing agreement, the transferring employees would have had to relinquish their old seniority status forever.

As part of the application process, Plaintiffs and all of the other CSX employees who sought to participate in the transfer program signed a Transfer Release Form which restated the terms of the transfer agreement. Thirty-three employees applied to participate in the program. CSX accepted twenty-eight of these applicants, including each of the Plaintiffs. All four Plaintiffs transferred from District 4 to District 1 in Richmond, Virginia. Prior to participation in the transfer program, each of the Plaintiffs had a relatively high seniority status in District 4. However, they all fully understood the terms of the agreement, and UTU did not advise or encourage any of its members to accept or decline CSX’s transfer offer.

Soon after Plaintiffs began working in District 1, other employees with more seniority than Plaintiffs unexpectedly bid on positions in District 1. At the same time, CSX’s business declined significantly. Consequently, Plaintiffs were on the bottom of the seniority list and were not able to bid for the types of positions they desired.

In December 1990, the Plaintiffs were dissatisfied with the transfer and wanted to relocate back to their former districts, keep the $40,000 transfer allowance, and regain their former seniority dates. In an attempt to alleviate the problem, CSX made several other transfer offers to the transferred employees, but none were accepted by the Plaintiffs.

In January 1991, General Chairman Elswick attempted to negotiate an agreement with Mr. Emerick to allow the transferred employees to return to their former districts. The proposal which the parties agreed upon allowed a ten day window in which the transferred employees could decide to return to their former districts, keep the $40,000 transfer allowance, and regain their former seniority rankings.

As the UTU members in Districts 4 and 5 became aware of the proposed agreement, they contacted Mr. Elswick in protest of the proposal. Such an arrangement would not only have allowed the Plaintiffs to pocket the $40,000 and return to their former district with their seniority rankings intact, but it would have displaced the members in District 4 who had not transferred and had lower seniority than the Plaintiffs. After due consideration, which included weighing the interests of all the members of UTU, Mr. Elswick informed CSX that the UTU would not agree to the proposed modification of the transfer agreement.

[960]*960Plaintiffs subsequently filed this action claiming that the UTU breached its duty of fair representation in the negotiation and implementation of the transfer agreement.

III.

A union breaches its duty of fair representation only when its conduct toward a member of the bargaining unit is arbitrary, discriminatory, or in bad faith. Air Line Pilots Ass’n., Int’l. v. O’Neill, 499 U.S. 65, 111 S.Ct. 1127, 113 L.Ed.2d 51 (1991); Vaca v. Sipes, 386 U.S. 171, 190, 87 S.Ct. 903, 916, 17 L.Ed.2d 842 (1967); see also Sutton v. Weirton Steel, 724 F.2d 406, 412 (4th Cir.1983). The Supreme Court has described this standard as requiring a showing of “discrimination that is intentional, severe, and unrelated to legitimate union activities.” Amalgamated Ass’n. of Street, etc. v. Lockridge, 403 U.S. 274, 301, 91 S.Ct. 1909, 1925, 29 L.Ed.2d 473 (1971); see also Smith v. Local 7898, United Steelworkers of America,

Related

Benson v. Communication Workers of America
866 F. Supp. 910 (E.D. Virginia, 1994)

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Bluebook (online)
826 F. Supp. 957, 144 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2285, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21626, 1992 WL 511826, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dunlap-v-united-transportation-union-vaed-1992.