1639 Keener and Muller v. UAW Heavy Trucks and Engines Dept.

It is undisputed that the Company promoted men to the product quality auditor position in 2003, 2005, and 2006 who did not appear to be any more qualified than appellants in terms of technical knowledge or experience.  The Company insisted that its refusal to promote appellants was not motivated by their gender but rather by its experience with promoting unqualified employees in the past. The parties addressed the Company’s past inconsistent application of its minimum requirements by adopting a letter of understanding requiring a complete review of job descriptions at the New River Valley plant to eliminate the potential for abuse caused by a selective application of its minimum education and experience requirements.  An arbitrator would be unlikely to hold that the Company is forever foreclosed from establishing minimum qualifications for a job because it promoted unqualified people in the past.