WUSA-TV obtains affirmation of summary judgment from U.S. Court of Appeals in collective bargaining agreement hiatus case
Client(s) Gannett Co., Inc.
On April 11, 2014, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia affirmed the district court's judgment in favor of Jones Day client WUSA-TV (which is owned by The Detroit Free Press), upholding the dismissal of the union's complaint in this collective bargaining agreement hiatus case. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers sought to compel arbitration over an employee termination that occurred after the parties' collective bargaining agreement expired, and before the parties negotiated a new agreement. The district court held that the grievance did not "arise under" either the old or the new agreement, and so dismissed the union's complaint in February of 2013. The Court of Appeals affirmed that judgment on April 11, 2014. The case stands for the proposition that unions cannot force arbitration of labor disputes that arise during a hiatus between collective bargaining agreements.
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1200 v. The Detroit Free Press, Inc., d/b/a WUSA-TV, No. 13-7033 (D.C. Cir. 2014); International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1200 v. The Detroit Free Press, Inc., d/b/a WUSA-TV, Case No. 12-484 (RJL) (D.D.C. 2013)
