1633 Thompson v. Local Union 1292
Case No: 1633
2009
The essence of Thompson’s complaint is that management reassigned him and issued discipline because he had raised a safety issue. The parties to the UAW/GM National Agreement have put in place a detailed procedure for dealing with health and safety concerns. There is no evidence in this record that Thompson initiated the process described in the Memorandum on Health and Safety to address his concerns. In order to make a claim of retaliation for having raised a safety issue, an employee must first establish that the process for raising such issues was followed. Thompson was not entitled to impose his personal conclusion that a procedure was unsafe on the company and his team members.
Issues addressed in this decision
Contract interpretationsHostile work environment
Rational basis test
Seniority Issues
Work assignment disputes