The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently held that the closing of a workplace cafeteria was a subject of mandatory bargaining and not an issue left to the sole discretion of management. In
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority v. Local 2, Office Professional Employees International Union, at issue was the employer's proposal to close the cafeteria at one of its locations. It argued that the decision was reserved to management under a provision in the bargaining agreement providing that the "Authority retains the sole and exclusive control over any and all matters inherent in the operation, management, and administration of the Transit Authority including, but not limited to: the determination of the location, relocation, or termination of any or all of its operations or functions."
On review the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit found that the closing of the cafeteria at a facility organized by the Union was subject to arbitration under the collective bargaining agreement. the employer argued that closing of the cafeteria had a business purpose and thus, was outside the realm of the bargaining agreement. The Court rejected this argument stating:
Quote:
In all events, that a decision has a business purpose does not automatically remove it from the realm of collective bargaining. a host of profit-motivated business decisions are nevertheless traditionally subject to collective bargaining [citations omitted] States otherwise, it is the nature of the business purpose and its relationship to the fundamentals of the business that control, not the mere existence of a business purpose.
***
We thus are of opinion that closing a cafeteria, even for a legitimate business purpose, is unlike closing a plant or operational division, and we so hold.
|
While the decision did not involve trucking company employees, it may affect decisions of management in all organized industries, in such areas as removal of vending machines, closing of break rooms, and other working conditions.
Paul Taylor
Attorney at Law
Truckers Justice Center
Employment Lawyer Burnsville Minnesota Wrongful Termination Whistleblower Attorney
NOTHING IN THIS POST SHOULD BE CONSTRUED AS CREATING AN ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP.