1808 Sobh v. UAW International Union

This case involves an appeal to the IEB from an International Representative’s decision to withdraw Appellant’s termination grievance.  Accordingly, the applicable time limit under Article 33, §4(c) of the International Constitution is 30 days.  Appellant was clearly aware of the withdrawal of his grievance by early December 2018 and yet did not file his appeal until February 20, 2019, well outside of the 30-day time limit.  Appellant claims for the first time in his submission to the PRB that he did not receive written notice of the withdrawal of his grievance until January 31, 2019.  The PRB need not resolve this factual issue, however, because Appellant has otherwise made clear that, regardless of when he received written notice, he was fully aware of the withdrawal of his grievance in the first week of December 2018.  Appellant also claims that his failure to file within the 30-day time frame should be excused because he was waiting to receive information from his Local President regarding the appeal process.  This explanation, however, cannot toll the time limits for filing his appeal.  A claim of ignorance of the requirements of the Constitution is not a satisfactory excuse for a failure to abide by its requirements.  Appellants have a responsibility to learn the Constitutional appeal requirements and follow them.  Here, the Local President’s failure to respond immediately cannot be relied upon to absolve Appellant of this responsibility.