How PRB proceedings work

THE PUBLIC REVIEW BOARD
INTERNATIONAL UNION, UAW
RULES OF PROCEDURE

Effective September 2, 2025

The following rules are put into effect by the Public Review Board (PRB) according to the authority in Article 32, Section 6, and Article 33, Section 3(f), of the 2022 edition of the Constitution of the International Union, UAW. Their purpose is to make the services of the PRB available to those within its jurisdiction in a way that is orderly, as prompt as justice allows, and fair to all. 

1. Appeals

Every Notice of Appeal to the Public Review Board must be signed by the member or members appealing, and filed with the International President, at Solidarity House, 8000 E. Jefferson Avenue, Detroit, Michigan 48214. The appeal should be accompanied by a Statement of Reasons for Appeal as required by Article 33, Section 4(a) of the 2022 Constitution, and must include all the arguments upon which the appellant will rely in disagreement with the decision of the International Executive Board (IEB).

2. Notification of Pending Appeal

(a) Upon receipt of a timely Notice of Appeal and Statement of Reasons for Appeal, the PRB will assign a Case number to the appeal and issue a Notification of Pending Appeal. A copy of the Notification of Pending Appeal and of these Rules of Procedure will be sent to all the parties in the appeal.

(b) Where it appears that the interests of other persons may be affected by an appeal, the Local Recording Secretary will be requested by the PRB to furnish those persons with copies of the Notification of Pending Appeal, these Rules of Procedure, and the Statement of Reasons for Appeal so they may be aware of the appeal, and, if they wish, request to participate in the appeal proceedings. If the interests of many members could be affected, the Recording Secretary may request permission to provide notice of the pending appeal in the Local Union newspaper or other media.

3. IUAW Answer to PRB Appeal

(a) An Answer to the Statement of Reasons for Appeal will be filed by the International UAW and may be filed by any other party or interested person. The Answer must respond to each material argument made by the appellant(s) in the Statement of Reasons for Appeal; provided however, where objection is to be made to PRB jurisdiction to consider the appeal, a Special Answer may be filed limited to a discussion of the jurisdictional issue; and provided further, upon a decision of the PRB to assume jurisdiction, or at its specific request in lieu of such a decision, an Answer responsive to the material arguments raised in the Statement of Reasons for Appeal shall be filed.

(b) All Answers shall be filed with the PRB within 15 days after receipt of the Notification of Pending Appeal. Where an additional Answer may be required following submission of a Special Answer, this shall be filed within 15 days after receipt of PRB request. These time limits may be extended upon written or oral request submitted prior to the deadline for filing.

(c) The appellant may, but is not required to, file a written reply to the International Union's Answer. The Local Union or any other interested party may also comment if they like. Any such response should be filed within 15 days of receipt of International’s Answer. If needed, an extension of time will normally be granted.

4. The Case Record

(a) At the time the International Union files its Answer it will forward to the PRB a complete set of all the written documents that have been submitted in connection with the case, including all correspondence, briefs or written arguments, minutes, transcripts and exhibits submitted by the parties at the local union level or during the International Union proceedings.

(b) The PRB Executive Director will review the documents submitted by the International Union to determine their relevance to the issues presented by the appeal. Relevant documents will be included in the Official Case Record of the Case number assigned in accordance with Rule 2(a). In the case of grievance and related appeals, only documents relevant to the issues defined in Article 33, §4(i), of the Constitution will be included in the Official Record. Because proceedings before the PRB are appellate rather than evidentiary, large exhibits such as overtime records, and employee plant histories will generally not be included in the Official Record. Where such exhibits have been submitted, the parties will be asked to summarize the information contained in them and to explain what relevance that information has to the issues presented by the appeal. A copy of the Official Record will be supplied by the PRB to each party in the appeal.

(c) Even though they may not be included in the documents forwarded by the International Union, the record shall automatically be deemed to include all relevant portions of applicable collective bargaining agreements, the International Constitution and its formal IEB interpretations, the Union's Ethical Practices Codes, local union bylaws, PRB Decisions, and arbitration, agency or court decisions relied upon by any party. At the PRB's request, the party relying upon any of these documents shall furnish copies to the Board for inclusion in the record.

(d) In the event that the number of appellants in any appeal exceeds two, appellants will be requested to designate one person to receive appellants' copy of the record and all correspondence relating to the appeal. Persons opting to participate in an appeal pursuant to Rule 2 shall be provided with access to the Local Union's copy of the Record, and correspondence.

(e) It shall be the duty of each party receiving the Record to notify the PRB in writing within 15 days after its receipt of any deficiency in the Record, and when possible, to supply any missing documents. Documents submitted after the official record has been distributed should be sent to all the parties for review. If any party objects to the inclusion of such documents in the record, the Board will consider such objection when it undertakes its initial consideration of the appeal. If no objection to the additional material is received within 15 days of the submission, the PRB will review the documents to determine if they are relevant to the issues presented by the appeal. Relevant documents will be incorporated in the Record and copies with page numbers will be sent to all of the parties.

(f) Audio or video recordings or materials downloaded from the Internet that have not been prepared by a certified court reporter will not be included in the record.

5. Change or Error of Address

During the appeal, it is the responsibility of each party notified of a pending appeal under Rule 1 to inform the Board immediately in writing of any change or error in their address.

6. Time, Place and Notice of Oral Argument

(a) The PRB may, at its discretion, determine that no hearing is necessary for a decision in a case. Any party may request oral argument (Hearing) before the Board. The request should be made no later than 15 days after receipt of the case record. The members of the PRB will decide, based on the circumstances of the case, to grant or deny the request. In the event a request for oral argument is denied, the parties will be notified and invited to make a further written submission which, if submitted, will be taken into consideration by the members of the PRB in making their decision. In the absence of a request for oral argument, the members of the PRB may ask the parties to present oral argument where they deem it necessary for the just and correct resolution of the appeal.

(b) The Chairperson of the PRB will designate the time and place of a hearing under the standards set forth in Article 32, Section 6, and Article 33, Section 4(h), of the 2022 Constitution.

(c) Written notice of such time and place shall be sent to all parties at least ten days in advance of the hearing, except where such notice is waived by the parties.

(d) Unless otherwise stated in the Notice of Hearing, appellants and appellees will be limited to 40 minutes each in which to present their respective arguments. The time allotted each party will include time spent answering the panel’s questions, except when the questions are presented after the expiration of time allotted.

(e) Appellants and appellees may each designate one or more spokespersons to present argument on their behalf; however, except with the consent of all parties, no testimony not previously submitted at the local union or IEB level of the appeals procedure or documentary evidence may be offered unless previously authorized pursuant to Rule 10 of these rules.

(f) Unless prior permission is sought from and granted by the PRB, the only persons who shall be permitted to attend oral argument proceedings are members of the UAW, their immediate family, or the parties' spokesperson(s) or counsel.

(g) Video or audio recording of any portion of a hearing is strictly prohibited.

(h) Where the site of oral argument (hearing) is more than 100 miles from a party’s residence, the PRB shall reimburse such party for his/her out-of-pocket expenses, not including lost wages, incurred in connection with his/her attendance at oral argument.

(i) In the event that a party requesting oral argument fails without good cause to appear at the designated time and place, the PRB may, at its discretion, dismiss the appeal.

7. Designation of Board Panel

The Chairperson of the PRB may designate a panel of PRB members to consider each case, numbering from three members to the full membership of the PRB and may designate a chairperson of the panel.

8. Decision of the Public Review Board Panel

The decision of the PRB Panel in each case shall be by majority vote of the panel considering it and shall constitute the decision of the entire PRB. The decision will be put in writing and copies sent to all parties. In addition, the PRB’s decision will be posted in its entirety on the PRB’s website at https://prbuaw.org 14 days after the date of issuance. Barring extraordinary circumstances, requests to withhold publication of the Board’s decision from publication on the website will be denied.

9. Motions

Any party, during the appeal before the PRB, may file a motion to require a specific action. Copies of the motion shall be sent to the other parties who may, but are not required to, file a response. Motions shall be decided by the Board without oral argument, unless otherwise indicated.

10. Additional Evidence

Because PRB proceedings are appellate in nature, additional evidence, that is, evidence that was not presented to the local union or the International Executive Board, will not ordinarily be received by the PRB. Except for good cause shown, as determined by the PRB, or with the consent of all parties, evidence not included in the documents given to the PRB by the International Union may be presented only in the following situations:

(a) Where the evidence was submitted at the local union level or the International Executive Board (IEB) level but was not included in the case file sent by the IEB to the PRB.

(b) Where authorized by the Chairperson of the panel of the PRB or offered and received without objection by any other party based on a written request filed with the PRB. A request to present additional documentary evidence or testimony shall set forth:

(1) Persuasive reasons for presenting such evidence and for not having presented it at prior proceedings in the case;

(2) A description of the evidence to be offered;

(3) The names of all witnesses whose testimony is desired to be presented; and,

(4) The anticipated testimony of each of these witnesses.

(c) Where required by the PRB to inform itself adequately to enable it to reach a just decision.

Whenever such presentation of evidence is authorized, it must be received by the PRB, prior to its initial consideration of the appeal or, where so directed, by a PRB-appointed hearing officer upon such terms as are prescribed for the case. Except with the consent of all parties, additional documentary evidence may not be presented by any party during oral argument before a panel of the PRB.

11. Request for Reconsideration

Within 30 days following receipt of a decision by the PRB, any party in the case may file a written request for reconsideration. The request shall be accompanied by a Statement of Reasons for Reconsideration which identifies specifically errors of material fact or erroneous conclusions set forth in the PRB’s written decision. Evidence in support of the request must have been received by the PRB prior to its initial consideration of the appeal, or as prescribed by Paragraph 10 of these Rules. Once the Statement of Reasons for Reconsideration is received by the PRB, copies of the Statement shall be sent to the other parties in the appeal, who may, but are not required to, file a response. The PRB shall provide a written response to the request for reconsideration stating its reasons for granting or denying the request. There will be no further consideration of the matter by the PRB. An individual or body is not required to submit a request for reconsideration to the PRB to exhaust fully the individual’s or body’s internal union remedies as required by Article 33, Section 5, of the Constitution.

12. Rules to be Liberally Construed and May be Modified

These rules shall be liberally construed to promote the purposes of the PRB, and the PRB may, at its discretion, modify, waive or supplement any of these rules in any particular case, but only to the extent necessary to accomplish the purposes for which the PRB was established.