1814 Kreszowski v. UAW FCA Department

The UAW FCA Department’s decision to withdraw Appellant’s grievance was not devoid of a rational basis.  As the PRB has held in numerous past decisions, the Board will not overturn the grievance-handler’s interpretation of applicable agreement terms, provided the interpretation rests upon a rational basis.  Here, the UAW FCA Department reasonably construes the collective bargaining agreement to require that grievances alleging workplace discrimination be supported by a full statement of the reasons why the employee believes he or she has been discriminated against.  Based upon this interpretation, the Union rationally concluded that it was unlikely to prevail in arbitration because it lacked a factual basis to argue that the Company’s refusal to investigate allowed discriminatory conduct to go unremedied.