Below is an opinion from the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., in which they reversed the decision of an arbitrator, who had ruled against the Union in an RGV case.
NBPC Attorney Jason Aldrich filed a motion with the Court and we owe him credit for an outstanding job! Aldrich argued persuasively in oral arguments before the Court.
This case centered around an arbitration case filed by the Union regarding an agent who had been removed. The Union filed for arbitration 28 days after the effective date of removal, and the agency received the request 7 days later. The agency argued that the case was not arbitrable due to their own interpretation of the CBA requiring “receipt” of the request for arbitration within 30 days. They argued their case to the arbitrator, who did not hear the merits of the case and sided with the Agency.
As you can see in the attached opinion, the Court did not buy the Agency’s argument, or the Arbitrator’s interpretation of our CBA language concerning the invocation of arbitration.
