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OFFICE OF COMM. OF BASEBALL v. WORLD UMPIRES ASSOC.
January 28, 2003
OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER OF BASEBALL, PLAINTIFF,
v.
WORLD UMPIRES ASSOCIATION, DEFENDANT.
The opinion of the court was delivered by: Lewis A. Kaplan, District Judge
These cross-motions for summary judgment present the question of the
effect to be given provisions in a collective bargaining agreement
("CBA") which ban third-party arbitration of disputes involving the
discipline or termination of umpires.
A. The Dispute Resolution Procedures of the Collective
Bargaining Agreement
The CBA contains two mechanisms for resolving disputes. Disputes
concerning umpire discipline or termination are governed solely and
exclusively by Article 10, which states in relevant part:
"The procedures and remedies, if any, that are set out
in this Article 10 shall be the sole and exclusive
means available to an umpire (and to the Union) to
challenge any decision by the Office of the
Commissioner to discipline, or to terminate (for
disciplinary, performance or other reasons) the
employment of, an umpire. An umpire (and the Union)
shall have no remedy or right of recourse other than
those set out in this Article 10. Except as otherwise
provided in this Article 10, any such decision by the
Office of the Commissioner shall be final and
binding. No decision by the Office of the Commissioner
(including those review determinations by the
Executive Vice President, Baseball Operations and the
Commissioner of Baseball) made under this Article 10
shall be subject to the grievance procedure (Article
23) or to challenge in any other forum."*fn2
The dispute resolution procedure for an umpire suspended without pay for
seven days or less or fined $2,000 or less is to have the Executive Vice
Present of Baseball Operations review the discipline.*fn3 The Vice
President's decision "shall be final and binding and shall not be subject
to the grievance procedure (Article 23) or to challenge in any other
forum."*fn4
The other dispute resolution mechanism is set forth in Article 23,
which permits third-party arbitration of "grievances" that are not
resolved informally. "Grievance" is defined as:
"any dispute or disagreement involving the
interpretation or application of any provision of this
Agreement. A claim that a rule, policy, directive or
instruction issued by the Office of the Commissioner
pursuant to Article 5.B of this Agreement is
inconsistent with a provision of this Agreement, the
Official Playing Rules [of Major League Baseball] or
the [Major League Baseball Umpiring] Manual shall be
considered a dispute or disagreement involving the
interpretation or application of a provision of this
Agreement."*fn5
Article 23 refers to and restates the limitation in Article 10 of an
umpire's right to challenge or dispute discipline or termination:
"Disputes involving the discipline or termination (for
disciplinary, performance or other reasons) of any
umpire shall not be considered a dispute or
disagreement concerning the interpretation or
application of a provision of this Agreement and shall
not be subject to resolution in accordance with the
grievance procedure established by this Article 23 and
not in any other forum."*fn6
B. The May 10, 2002 Letter to John Hirschbeck
On May 10, 2002, Ralph Nelson, Vice President of Umpiring for the
Commissioner's Office, wrote to umpire John Hirschbeck, president of the
WUA, concerning his conduct at two then recent games.*fn7 Nelson asserted
that Hirschbeck
signaled to the home plate umpire at an April 28, 2002
game not to issue a warning to a pitcher who nearly had hit a batter,
that a retaliation pitch by the other team followed, and that Hirschbeck
told his crew not to issue such warnings without his consent. Nelson
charged that these actions violated the Official Playing Rules of Major
League Baseball. He stated also that Hirschbeck's threat to his
supervisor that he would issue needless warnings to pitchers in future
games and instruct other umpires to do the same would have "serious
repercussions" for Hirschbeck if carried out. Finally, Nelson stated that
Hirschbeck's performance as home plate umpire during a May 4, 2002 ...