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Law360 (December 2, 2020, 3:59 PM EST ) A Teamsters local has asked a Pennsylvania federal judge to dismiss or pause a Giant Eagle Inc. subsidiary's suit alleging the union violated a collective bargaining agreement by backing a pandemic-inspired workplace "slowdown," saying a pending union grievance must play out first.
In a brief supporting its motion to dismiss filed Tuesday, Teamsters Local 636 told U.S. District Judge Christy Wiegand it has filed a grievance over the firing of a union member who allegedly organized the slowdown, and that the grievance process outlined in the CBA must wrap up before OK Grocery Co. can turn to the courts for relief.
"The parties must work through the grievance and arbitration process before the company has any remote possibility that it can succeed in the meritless complaint," the brief said.
The lawsuit OK Grocery filed in October alleges the Teamsters local broke its CBA with the grocer by supporting a "slowdown and sickout" that union member Tim Basile allegedly organized in violation of provisions in the CBA prohibiting workers from striking.
OK Grocery fired Basile, claiming to have caught him on video posting fliers that encouraged workers to take advantage of a company policy that suspended discipline for violations of its attendance policy during the pandemic. In October, Teamsters Local 636 filed both a formal grievance and an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board over the firing.
The union told Judge Wiegand on Tuesday that the grievance proceeding could resolve the case on its own because the grocer has based its lawsuit against the union "almost wholly" on Basile's alleged actions. If OK Grocery can't uphold its decision to fire Basile in the grievance proceeding, the Teamsters local argued, then its case against the union would also fall apart.
The union also said it is a "fundamental principle of labor relations" that the grievance process detailed in a CBA is the primary process for resolving disputes between a union and an employer. Only after those avenues are exhausted can a party turn to the courts, the brief said.
The brief and accompanying motion to dismiss asked Judge Wiegand to dismiss the lawsuit or, failing that, to at least grant a stay until the grievance process and any subsequent arbitration concludes.
Lawrence Chaban, an attorney with AlpernSchubert PC who represents the union, declined to comment on the filing.
Counsel for OK Grocery did not immediately return a request for comment on the filing. Neither the union nor the company immediately returned requests for comment.
OK Grocery Co. is represented by Stephanie Weinstein and Elly Heller-Toig of Marcus & Shapira LLP.
Teamsters Local Union No. 636 is represented by Lawrence Chaban of AlpernSchubert PC.
The case is OK Grocery Company v. Teamster Local Union No. 636, case number 2:20-cv-1609, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
--Editing by Abbie Sarfo.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
