Terry v. Chrysler Group, LLC

161 F. Supp. 3d 593, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15693, 2016 WL 499547
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Ohio
DecidedFebruary 9, 2016
DocketCase No. 3:14 CV 1736
StatusPublished

This text of 161 F. Supp. 3d 593 (Terry v. Chrysler Group, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Terry v. Chrysler Group, LLC, 161 F. Supp. 3d 593, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15693, 2016 WL 499547 (N.D. Ohio 2016).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

JACK ZOUHARY, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Introduction

Plaintiff Tina Terry brings this action against her former employer, Defendant Chrysler Group, LLC (now known as “FCA”), and her union, Defendant United [596]*596Auto Workers of America (the “Union”). She alleges a hybrid Section 301/fair-rep-resentation claim, employment discrimination, and intentional infliction of emotional distress related to her employment. Defendants move for summary judgment (Docs. 34 & 37), and Terry opposes (Doc. 41). For the reasons below, this Court grants the Motions.

Background

Terry began working for FCA in 1985 (Terry Dep. I (Doe. 35-1) at 5). In January 2013, she became a team leader on the production line (id. at 12). As a team leader, a bargaining unit job, her responsibilities included entering attendance records, keeping the area clean, and making necessary repairs (id. at 19).

Terry’s tenure as team leader was rocky from the word “go.” Another high-seniority team member routinely called her profane names, and the rest of the team showed her little respect (id. at 21). Her team was among the lest productive because it led the facility in repairs (id. at 133), which she believed was due to her team members working against her by sending excessive repairs down the line (id. at 92, 127; Reffigee Dep. (Doc. 36-6) at 13). Terry and her team members regularly complained about each other to management (Reffigee Dep. at 12-13). Both the Union and FCA addressed these complaints (id. at 13, 46; Alexander Dep. (Doc. 36-4) at 2), including transferring the employee whom Terry identified as the primary instigator to another area (Terry Dep. I at 26-27; Reffigee Dep. at 47). But the situation did not improve, and Terry’s supervisor, Dedrick Reffigee, continually criticized Terry for her team’s performance (Terry Dep. I at 35).

These problems came to a head in November 2013. Terry stayed past her shift to finish repairs (id. at 36), using tools the next shift needed to start their work (Reffigee Dep. at 20). She returned most of the tools after she finished, but inadvertently took a magnetic tool home with her (Terry Dep. I at 36). Another employee, without the benefit of the magnet, injured her hand trying to remove a screw (id. at 36-37; Reffigee Dep. at 20). The next day, Reffigee told Terry he was removing her as team leader (Reffigee Dep. at 20). Terry filed a grievance seeking reinstatement, which the Union pursued through the third stage of the grievance process. The Union ultimately withdrew the grievance, however, because the team was dissolved and the leader position eliminated (Alexander Dep. at 5).

While her grievance was pending, Terry became a floater on the cert line (Terry Dep. I at 43-44), a high seniority area composed largely of workers with thirty years’ experience (Alexander Dep. at 4). As a floater, she filled temporary openings on the line, but could not bump other workers off the line (id. at 5). If there were too many floaters to fill the openings, Terry had the option to fill the job — if she had the required seniority — or go home (Terry Dep. I at 44). If there were no openings, she would be sent home.

In January 2014, the unit leader tasked with filling temporary openings did not assign Terry a job (id. at 47). Terry became upset because she felt her seniority entitled her to an assignment (id.). She went to the union office to complain, where she met Mark Hepfinger, Mike Dazell, and Mark Epley (id.). Though she was crying so hard she could hardly talk, Terry told Hepfinger she “couldn’t take no more” and said the unit leader was violating her seniority (Terry Dep. II (Doc. 35-4) at 34-35). Dazell asked Terry what was wrong, but she told him to “shut up” (id. at 35). According to Terry, Dazell then “got toe to toe, knee to knee with [her], and he said ‘you don’t tell me to shut up’ and spit while he was talking” (id. at 36). Terry told him he was spitting on her, and Dazell denied [597]*597it before spitting again (id.). Terry alleges Dazell backed her into a corner during this exchange (id.). Dazell denies spitting at or cornering Terry (Doc. 34-2 at 2). Epley then told Terry to go home (Terry Dep. II at 36). Terry went to the hospital and was admitted to the psychiatric ward, where she stayed for nine days (Terry Dep. I at 49). She never filed a grievance over this incident (Terry Dep. II at 36).

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Summary judgment is appropriate if there is “no genuine dispute as to any material fact” and the moving party “is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Federal Civil Rule 56(a). When considering a motion for summary judgment, this Court must draw all inferences from the record in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). It may not weigh the evidence or make credibility judgments. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). But “[t]he mere existence of a scintilla of evidence in support of the plaintiffs position will be insufficient; there must be evidence on which the jury could reasonably find for the plaintiff.” Expert Masonry, Inc. v. Boone Cty., Ky., 440 F.3d 336, 341 (6th Cir.2006) (internal quotation marks omitted).

Discussion

Terry brings four counts against the Union and FCA. The first count alleges the Union breached its duty of fair representation, while the second alleges FCA breached the collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”). Together, these counts state a hybrid claim under Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act. In the third count, Terry accuses Defendants of discriminating against her on the basis of her disability in violation of Ohio law. Lastly, Terry asserts a claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress against Defendants for alleged mistreatment during her employment.

Hybrid Section 301 Claim

Terry alleges FCA violated the terms of the CBA by summarily removing her from her position as team leader. She also claims the Union breached its duty of fair representation by failing to (1) pursue the grievance she filed related to her removal, and (2) file a grievance on her behalf relating to FCA violating her seniority in assigning floater jobs (Doc. 1-1 at ¶ 10). These claims comprise a “hybrid [Section] 301 suit[, which] implicates the interrelationship among a union member, his union, and his employer.” Vencl v. Int’l Union of Operating Eng’rs, 137 F.3d 420, 424 (6th Cir.1998). “To recover against a union under [Section] 301, the union member must prove both (1) that the employer breached the collective bargaining agreement and (2) that the union breached its duty of fair representation.” Id. “If both prongs are not satisfied, Plaintiff[ ] cannot succeed against any Defendant.” Garrish v. UAW, 417 F.3d 590, 594 (6th Cir.2005).

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Bluebook (online)
161 F. Supp. 3d 593, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15693, 2016 WL 499547, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/terry-v-chrysler-group-llc-ohnd-2016.