BATH, Maine — The largest union at Bath Iron Works filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court on Wednesday against the company, charging an arbitrator in a high-profile grievance with ruling in favor of the shipyard’s management as a way of removing himself from the company’s “strike list.”
Local S6 of the machinists union alleges arbitrator James S. Cooper showed “sufficient partiality” when he ruled in February that the company did not violate the existing contract by outsourcing work, according to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court.
Shipyard management announced it would outsource work to reduce costs and competitively bid for future work. When the union filed a grievance, the arbitration was mandated by the union’s prior contract. Both parties agreed to “accelerated” arbitration.
According to the complaint, the prior collective bargaining agreement dictates that 10 arbitrators rotate to preside over each successive accelerated arbitration. Cooper arbitrated 15 times between 2001 and 2009, but since ruling in favor of the union in September 2009, he has not been chosen to handle any case by the parties, the complaint states. Approximately three accelerated arbitrations have taken place in the past six years, the union alleges.
Before the 2009 case, according to the complaint, Cooper had ruled in favor of the company in 10 successive disputes.
The union alleges that during a Sept. 22, 2015, meeting with Local S6 president Richard Nolon and company representative Dana McIntire, “Arbitrator Cooper stated to Mr. Nolon that he had gone six years without hearing a case between the parties because he had angered BIW’s then-director of labor relations Gerald Stergio with his award in the ‘no smoking’ dispute. He further stated to Mr. Nolon that he did not want to continue on the ‘strike list.’”
In February, Cooper denied the union’s grievance, with Nolon signing in dissent.
The union alleges that Cooper’s statement is evidence of “partiality or corruption” by admitting personal motivation and/or secondary gain as a motivating factor in his decision, and asks the court to vacate the February ruling in the prior suit.
Cooper did not return a phone call seeking comment.
Matt Wickenheiser, spokesman for Bath Iron Works, said Friday morning that shipyard management believes the arbitrator’s award was issued properly.
“The award affirms BIW’s right to buy ship components instead of building them if that helps to make BIW more competitive,” Wickenheiser wrote in an email to the Bangor Daily News. “Because this is a standard business practice throughout the industry, it is extremely important to be on equal footing as BIW works to compete successfully for new shipbuilding contracts.”
Nolon did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.