Duty of Fair Representation

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Patricia Rupcich v. United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, et al

Case No.: 14-3377

Officials: KANNE and ROVNER, Circuit Judges, and BRUCE, District Judge

Focus: Duty of Fair Representation

Union failed to apply its own arbitration standard in termination matter.

“It is undisputed that Robinson filed a grievance on Rupcich’s behalf prior to her termination and that this grievance only involved one store. Under the CBA, Rupcich was entitled to a Step 1 conference. She did not receive one. In fact, Local 881’s counsel conceded during oral argument that the Union did not perform any of the three steps under its grievance policy. Local 881 argues that it did not need to do so because of Local 881 and Jewel’s “long‐standing practice of bypassing Step 1 in cases of termination.” That this practice ignored the plain language of the CBA was of no consequence, according to Local 881, as “[u]nions are ‘accorded considerable discretion in dealing with grievance matters.’” (Local 881 Br. at 13 (quoting Garcia, 58 F.3d at 1176).)”

Reversed and remanded in part

Affirmed in part

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.