ARBITRATION
Arbitration is a dispute resolution procedure wherein parties voluntarily seek an impartial neutral of their own mutual selection and agree to accept the neutral’s decision, based on the merits of the case, as “Final and binding”.1
In the terms of a labor dispute arising out of a collective bargaining relationship, arbitration is the chosen means of resolving contractual differences, minimizing work stoppages and preventing damage to the labor-management relationship. As Justice Arthur Goldberg commented,
In the United States Arbitration Act, the Labor-Manager Relations Act and in numerous State statutes, our legislative bodies have voiced their conviction that voluntary arbitration of disputes is favored and has an important role in a society which seeks the peaceful, prompt and just disposition of controversies involving our citizens.2
Aside from resolving the immediate dispute, the significance of an Arbitrator is the power held not only in the decision, but contributing to maintain the relationship between the disputing parties. It is upon that opportunity that Arbitration procedures, and named individuals, are negotiated and inserted into Collective Bargaining Agreements, ERISA Trust Indentures and Project Labor Agreements as a mutually beneficial means of addressing contractual differences, maintaining a working relationship and continuing the performance of work product during a dispute resolution process.
Industries In Which J. J. Pierson Has Rendered Arbitration Decisions
Airlines – Automotive – Bakery – Banking – Beverage – Broadcasting – Building and Construction Materials – Canning – Casino and Resorts – Cement – Chemicals – Clothing – Communications – Construction – Dairy – Distillery – Education – Electrical Equipment/Transmission – Electronics – Entertainment/Arts – Feed & Fertilizer – Food (Manufacturing / Processing) – Foundry – Furniture – Glass – Grain Mill – Health Care – Heavy and Highway Construction – Hospital/Nursing Home – Hotels & Motels – Infrastructure Development – Iron – Liquor – Lumber Production & Distribution – Machinery – Maritime – Metal Fabrication – Mining – Nuclear Energy – Office Workers/Clerical – Organizations – Packaging – Paint & Varnish – Petroleum/Petrochemicals – Pharmaceuticals – Plastics – Plumbing – Police & Fire – Printing & Publishing – Prison Guards (Federal and State) – Public Sector Grievance – Public Sector Interest – Pulp & Paper – Railroads – Real Estate – Refrigeration/HVAC – Restaurant and Hospitality – Retail Stores – Rubber/Tire – Shipbuilding/Dry-dock – Sports – Steel – Stone/Quarry – Symphony Orchestra – Textile – Tobacco – Transportation – Trucking & Warehousing – Tunneling – Utilities – Warehousing
Labor and Employment Issues In Which J. J. Pierson Has Rendered Arbitration Decisions
Absenteeism – Affirmative Action – Age – Arbitrability – Bargaining Unit Work – Benefit Funds – Bonus Payments – Conduct (Off-duty / Personal) – Cost-of-living pay – Demotion – Disability – Discipline (Discharge) – Discipline (Non-Discharge) – Discrimination – Drug/Alcohol Offenses & Programs – Fact Finding – Fringe Benefits – Gender Grievance – Health/Hospitalization – Hiring Practices – Holiday Pay – Holidays – Incentive Pay – Insurance – Job Classification & Rates – Job Performance – Job Posting/Bidding – Jurisdictional Disputes – Layoffs/Bumping/Recall – Leaves – Management Rights – Merit Pay – National Origin – Overtime Pay – Past Practices – Pension and Welfare Fringe Benefit Plans – Pension Claims (Federal Statutes) – Promotion – Race – Religion – Retirement – Safety & Health Conditions – Seniority – Severance Pay – Sexual Harassment – Strikes/Lockouts/Work Stoppages/Slowdowns – Subcontracting/Contracting Out – Tenure (University) and Removal – Union Security – Vacation – Vacation Pay – Violence & Threats – Wages – Work Hours/Schedules/Assignments – Working Conditions/Work Orders
Named Permanent Arbitrator In Collective Bargaining Agreements
(Partial List):
- Allied Beverage Group -and- UFCW, 1-D
- Bombardier Maintenance Service (JFK Airport and Liberty Airport) -and- IBEW Local 589
- Bombardier Transportation (Phoenix Airport) -and- IBEW Local 769
- Building Contractors of NJ -and- Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters
- New England Carpenters Benefit Funds (NY)
- General Contractors Association of NY -and- District Council of Carpenters of NY
- Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Co. -and- Local 25, International Union of Operating Engineers
- Grocery Haulers Inc -and- Local 53, BCTGM
- IBEW Local 164 Benefit Funds
- IBEW Local 456 Benefit Funds
- Iron Workers Local 40, 361 & 417 Union Security Funds (New York)
- Island Transportation -and- Local 355, USWU
- Keystone Trucking (National Retail Systems) Trucking -and- ILA, Local 1964
- Long Island and New York Mechanical Contractors’ Association -and- USWU, IUJAT
- Local 11 Ironworkers Trust Funds
- Local Union Nos. 40, 361 and 417 Ironworkers
- Modell’s -and- Local 1102, RWDSU
- NJ Building Laborers Statewide Trust Funds
- Northeast Carpenters Funds (NJ and NY)
- NJ Heavy&General Laborers Local 472/172 Trust Funds
- NY-NJ Auto Dealers -and- USWU, IUJAT
- NY Waterway -and- Local 100, TWU
- SMW Local 25 Trust Funds
- Teamsters Local 863 Benefit Funds
- USMX -and- ILA Local 1804-1
Named Permanent Arbitrator In Industry-wide Collective Bargaining Agreements
- Industry Arbitrator – United States Maritime Alliance, Ltd. (USMX) -and- International Longshoremen Association (ILA)
- Impartial Chairman – UNITE-HERE -and- New York Coat and Suit Association; New York Raincoat Manufacturers Association; Affiliated Dress Manufacturers; Apparel Manufacturers Association.
- Impartial Chairman – Metropolitan Distribution and Truck Joint Board, UNITE/ NY Coat and Suit Association.
1. “Voluntary” arbitration is distinguished from ‘Compulsory’ arbitration, the latter being a process of settling labor-management disputes required by law, usually applied to public sector employment and/or matters directed by the courts.
2. Goldberg, A Supreme Court Justice Looks at Arbitration, 20 Arb. J. 13, 13 (1965). As referenced in Elkouri & Elkouri, How Arbitration Works, p. 1-1, Eighth Edition, Kenneth May, Editor in Chief, ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law, 2016.