1676 Caudill v. Local Union 1219

The team transfer procedures are not part of the collective bargaining agreement; they merely provide a method for assigning employees to teams.  Therefore, the impartial Umpire described in Article VII, §8 of the UAW-Ford National Agreement would not be empowered to address claims of deviations from the procedures.  Such deviations were apparently common in 2008.  Furthermore, there is nothing in this record to suggest that the Company’s failure to transfer Caudill resulted from prohibited discrimination.  It was simply an error.  Therefore, the most the Union could do for Caudill was to raise his concerns about the Company’s failure to apply its procedures consistently and to try to find an opportunity for him to transfer to Team 10.  The kind of correction sought by Caudill was no longer available when he filed his grievance protesting the Company’s failure to transfer him.