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DC Circ. Says Labor Arbitrator Couldn t OK Own Selection
Law360 (May 25, 2021, 1:39 PM EDT) The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday vacated a district court decision making a maritime union arbitrate a labor dispute with shipper Liberty Maritime Corp., saying the court, and not the arbitrator, should have decided whether the arbitrator was validly appointed under their collective bargaining agreement.
The unanimous panel said the question of whether the selection of an arbitrator through a contractual but mostly unused process over the Marine Engineers Beneficial Association s objections was a valid appointment under the parties contract is the sort of question of arbitrability that courts should decide. The panel reversed U.S. District Judge Richard Leon s January.
Ryan in a press release announced he’d won the backing of a slew of unions, including three chapters of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; Communication Workers of America District 4; International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6; Maritime Engineers Beneficial Association; Ohio State Conference of IBEW; Ohio Association of Professional Firefighters; and two chapters of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers.
“I come from a union family and I’m proud to have spent my life standing with the men and women of organized labor,” Ryan said. “I’m honored to be launching this campaign with the support of unions across Ohio.
Great Lakes Winter Commerce Act, bipartisan legislation that will codify the U.S. Coast Guard’s icebreaking mission on the Great Lakes and increase the icebreaking capacity of the Great Lakes fleet. Icebreaking is critical for commerce in the Great Lakes, and increasing icebreaking capacity will help the many businesses and workers that rely on the maritime industry to transport their goods to market and grow our regional economy.
“Inadequate icebreaking capacity in the Great Lakes is costing us thousands of American jobs and millions in business revenue. We must boost our icebreaking capacity in the Great Lakes to keep our maritime commerce moving,”