United Steelworkers v. Cherokee Electric Cooperative

Background

A union and an employer had a collective-bargaining agreement that required a grievance to be reported within five working days or be treated as waived. The particular grievance here was filed after that deadline. The employer refused to arbitrate, and the union sued in the federal district court in Alabama to force arbitration. The district court granted summary judgment for the employer because the grievance was untimely on its face, and the Eleventh Circuit affirmed. The Supreme Court declined to review the case.

Reasoning

The central question is who should decide whether a late-filed grievance can go to arbitration: a court or an arbitrator. Justice White, writing in dissent from the denial of review, explained that several other federal appeals courts read an older Supreme Court decision as putting procedural disputes like timeliness before the arbitrator when the grievance’s subject matter falls under the arbitration clause. He pointed to examples from other circuits that required arbitrators to decide such procedural objections instead of courts. Justice White said the conflicting approaches among the appeals courts warranted the Supreme Court’s review to resolve the disagreement.

Real world impact

Because the Court refused to take the case, the disagreement among appeals courts remains. In some circuits arbitrators may decide whether late grievances are allowed; in others courts will refuse arbitration when a complaint is clearly late. This outcome leaves unions, employers, and arbitrators facing different rules depending on where a dispute arises. The decision here is not a final ruling on the underlying merits and could be revisited if the Court later agrees to hear a properly presented case.

Dissents or concurrances

Justice White dissented from the denial and would have granted review to resolve the circuit conflict over who decides timeliness in arbitration disputes.