Communications Workers of America v. General Telephone Co.

Opinion

KINGSLEY, J.

Plaintiff union appeals from a judgment affirming an arbitration award. We affirm.

This case arises out of a grievance proceeding by the union, on behalf of one of its members (Claude Baptiste), to set aside Baptiste’s discharge by respondent. Baptiste had, while engaged on the employer’s business, become involved in an “altercation” with a citizen that resulted in injuries to the citizen. In spite of Baptiste’s claims made to his supervisor that the injuries were committed in self-defense, he was discharged. That discharge was the subject matter of the grievance proceeding which, pursuant to the collective bargaining agreement, ultimately proceeded to arbitration.

After the arbitration proceeding was instituted, but before it was set for hearing, Baptiste proceeded to seek, and obtain, a series of other employments. Shortly before the hearing date was set, he was offered a job on an offshore drilling project in Surinam, South America. A condition of that employment was that he leave immediately for Surinam; he

[85]

was furnished transportation (apparently in an aircraft furnished by the employer) and advanced $150. Baptiste asserts that, because of time limitations, he did not inform his mother of his plan before leaving. He does not explain why he did not inform his attorney or the union. When he arrived in Surinam, he discovered that, because of a political coup in that country, the drilling project had been abandoned and he was left with only $50 in cash. Because of his shortage of funds, he was unable to communicate with his family in the United States. Eventually he secured some employment, was able to communicate with his family and, ultimately, arrived in Los Angeles after the arbitration proceeding had terminated in an award against his grievance.

The union then, within the statutory period, filed its petition to vacate the award; the employer countered with a petition to confirm. After a hearing, the trial court denied the petition to vacate and granted the petition to confirm. This appeal followed. We affirm the judgment of confirmation.

As soon as the date of the arbitration hearing was set, the union made vigorous, but futile, efforts to locate Baptiste. Those efforts (not here attacked as lacking in diligence) were unsuccessful because Baptiste was then incommunicado in Surinam. As a result, counsel for the union arrived at the arbitration hearing without him. At the request of the union, but over the objection of the employer, the arbitrator granted a three-week continuance, making it clear that no further continuance would be allowed. By the time the new hearing arrived, the union had not yet succeeded in contacting Baptiste and the case was submitted to the arbitrator on the unsworn statements made by Baptiste to the police and to his employer shortly after the altercation and on the oral testimony of the citizen. The arbitrator rejected the statements made by Baptiste as being inadmissible hearsay and, accepting the citizen’s version of the episode, made his award in favor of the employer. The portions of that award pertinent to this appeal, are as follows: