BENTON – Olin Corporation, which reinstated scrap disposal worker James Jackson at the direction of an arbitrator, must also comply with an award of back pay, Senior U.S. District Judge Phil Gilbert ruled on Sept 1.
“If the arbitrator cannot enforce the award, then the court will,” he wrote.
He wrote that in 2018, Jackson intentionally placed two steel drums in a doorway to prevent others from parking forklifts there.
He wrote that another worker walked about 70 yards to a different building and spat in Jackson’s face.
Olin fired both of them.
Machinist union District 9 contested Jackson’s termination, arguing that he turned his back and found his shop steward.
Olin argued that Jackson’s conduct was patently inappropriate and unacceptable.
Olin and the union took the dispute to arbitrator Gerard Fowler, who found Olin terminated Jackson without just cause.
He found Jackson might have set the stage for a confrontation, but that termination wasn’t reasonable.
Jackson got his job but didn’t get back pay, so the union sued Olin in February.
Olin answered in March with a counter claim that Fowler exceeded his authority under the collective bargaining agreement.
Both sides moved for summary judgment, and the union prevailed.
Gilbert found Fowler was tasked with determining whether Jackson’s discipline was supported by just cause and that was exactly what Fowler did.
He disagreed with Olin’s premise that Fowler ignored its policy against immoral or indecent behavior.
“Rather, he found that the facts at hand did not support Olin’s argument that immediate termination is warranted when a worker’s actions are egregious,” he wrote.
“Even if the arbitrator erred, it was not of the degree required to overturn his award.”
He wrote that allowing an escape hatch whenever an arbitrator commits an error would disrupt collective bargaining by imposing terms a union didn’t bargain.
He ordered Olin to pay the union’s fees and costs.
Attorney Janine Martin of Des Peres, Mo. represented the union.
Attorney Sonni Nolan of Clayton, Mo. represented Olin.