Referral to Arbitration Such notification shall specify the party’s choice of whether it wishes to utilize the regular arbitration procedure or the expedited arbitration procedure, as provided for within this Article. In the event that a grievance is submitted to the regular arbitration process, it shall be heard by a single arbitrator, unless either party requests that it be heard by a three-member arbitration board.
Arbitration Board Where the parties agree to a Board of Arbitration, the party referring the grievance to arbitration shall also provide the name of that party’s nominee to the Board of Arbitration. Within ten (10) days thereafter, the other party shall answer by registered mail, indicating the name and address of its nominee to the Board of Arbitration. The selection of the Chair shall be in accordance with the list of arbitrators above.
Step Four - Arbitration 1. With respect to all non-disciplinary grievances and disciplinary cases involving the discharge, suspension of three (3) days or more, or the reduction in rank, the OPBA may make a written request that the decision of the underlying grievance be submitted to binding arbitration pursuant to Step Four, hereunder. A written request for appellate arbitration must be submitted to the other party within fourteen (14) calendar days following such party’s receipt of the written decision at Step 3. In the event the decision at Step 3 is not referred to arbitration within the time limits prescribed, the decision of the Trustees or Designee shall be final and binding upon the OPBA, the member and the Township.
2. Upon receipt of a request for appellate arbitration, the Township and the OPBA shall, within fourteen (14) calendar days following the request for arbitration, jointly agree to an arbitrator or request a list of seven (7) impartial arbitrators from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS). Upon receipt of the list of seven (7) arbitrators, the parties shall meet to select an arbitrator within fourteen (14) calendar days from the date the list is received. The parties shall use the alternate strike method from the list of seven (7) arbitrators submitted to the parties by the FMCS. The party requesting the arbitration shall be the first (1st) to strike a name and alternate in this manner until one (1) name remains on the list. The remaining name shall be designated as the arbitrator to hear the dispute in question. Either party shall have the right to elect to reject the list in its entirety and to request the submission of a new seven (7) member panel, which election may only be exercised once. All procedures relative to the hearing shall be in accordance with the rules and regulations of the FMCS. The arbitrator shall hold the appellate arbitration promptly and issue a decision within a reasonable time thereafter.
3. The arbitrator shall determine the grievance in accordance with the terms of the Agreement in effect on the date of the incident giving rise to the grievance.
4. The arbitrator shall not have the authority to add to, subtract from, modify, change or alter any provision of this Agreement. The arbitrator shall be confined solely to the issues submitted for arbitration. The arbitrator shall not establish any new or different wage rates not negotiated as part of this Agreement. In cases of discharge, suspension or reduction in rank, the arbitrator shall have the authority to order modification of said discipline for the offense charged. In the event of a monetary award, the arbitrator shall limit any retroactive settlement to no earlier time than forty-five (45) calendar days prior to the date the grievance was presented to the Township in Step One of the Grievance Procedure.
5. The question of arbitrability of a grievance may be raised by either party before the arbitration hearing of the grievance, on the grounds that the matter is non- arbitrable or beyond the arbitrator’s jurisdiction. The first question to be placed before the arbitrator will be whether or not the alleged grievance is arbitrable. If the arbitrator determines the grievance is not arbitrable, the arbitrator shall render no decision on the merits.
6. The decision of the arbitrator shall be final and binding upon the OPBA, the member and the Township. Any cost involved in obtaining the list of arbitrators shall be equally divided between the Township and the OPBA. All costs directly related to the services of the arbitrator shall be paid by the losing party. Expenses, if any, of the witnesses shall be borne by the party calling the witness except that member witnesses on duty time shall not lose any wages due from the Township. The fees of the court reporter shall be paid by the party asking for one. The fees of the court reporter shall be split equally if both parties desire a court reporter’s recording, or request a copy of any transcript. The Township shall not incur any overtime expense as a result of this Step.
Step 4 - Arbitration a. If the Union is dissatisfied with the written decision at Step 2 or if the mediation is not successful, within twenty-five (25) days of the Step 2 meeting, the Union may advance the grievance to arbitration. Only the Union (not an individual Bargaining Unit Faculty member) may process a grievance to arbitration.
b. Within thirty (30) days of notice of proceeding to arbitration, the Union and the College shall select an impartial third party to be Arbitrator. In the event the parties cannot agree on the selection of an impartial third party, they shall request a list of Arbitrators from Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.
c. Within five (5) days of receipt of the list, the parties shall alternately strike names from the list until one name remains. The person whose name remains shall be the Arbitrator.
d. Each party shall bear the expense of preparing and presenting its own case. The costs of the arbitration proceedings, including compensation, fees and expenses of the Arbitrator, and the cost of any hearing transcript, shall be borne equally by the College and the Union. Unless otherwise mutually agreed, each arbitration hearing shall deal with no more than one (1) grievance.
e. Subject to the availability of the Arbitrator selected, arbitration shall begin within thirty (30) days unless a delay is agreed upon by both parties.
f. The Arbitrator shall have no power to add to, subtract from, modify or disregard any of the provisions of this Agreement. The decision of the Arbitrator shall be final and binding on the parties, although each side retains whatever rights it has under state or federal law to challenge the decision and award. The Arbitrator shall have no jurisdiction or authority to issue any award changing, modifying or restricting any action taken by the College on matters committed to the College’s discretion under Article 23, Management Rights, which are not further abridged by other terms of this Agreement. Jurisdiction shall extend solely to claims of violation of specific written provisions of the Agreement and involve only the interpretation and application of the Agreement.
Submission of a Claim to Arbitration (1) In the event that a disputing party considers that a dispute cannot be settled by alternative means, and all other pre- conditions for such a dispute as required by the Agreement have been fulfilled: A Member State may submit to arbitration under this Agreement a claim that the respondent has breached an obligation under this Agreement, and that the claimant or its investor has incurred loss or damage by reason of, or arising out of, that breach;
(2) For greater certainty, a claimant may submit to arbitration a claim referred to in Paragraph (1) that the respondent has breached an obligation through the actions of a designated government monopoly, local or state government or a state enterprise exercising delegated government authority.
(3) At least 180 days before submitting any claim to arbitration, a potential claimant shall deliver to the potential respondent a written notice of its intention to submit the claim to arbitration ("notice of intention). The notice shall specify:
(a) the name and address of the claimant and its legal representative;
(b) for each claim, the provision(s) of this Agreement alleged to have been breached and any other relevant provisions;
(c) the legal and factual basis for each claim; and
(d) the relief sought and, where appropriate, the approximate amount of damages claimed. The CCIA Committee may establish a specific form for this purpose and make it available through the Internet and other means.
(4) Provided that at least six months have elapsed since the events giving rise to the claim, and all other pre-conditions for such a dispute as required by the Agreement have been fulfilled, a claimant may formally submit a Notice of Arbitration to the respondent State and to the COMESA Secretariat.
(5) A claim shall be deemed submitted to arbitration when the claimants Notice of Arbitration is submitted to the respondents and to the COMESA Secretariat. The CCIA Committee may establish a specific form for this purpose and make it available through the internet and other means. The Notice of Arbitration shall include, at a minimum, the information required in Paragraph (3).
Expedited Arbitration (a) The Parties may by mutual agreement refer to expedited arbitration any outstanding grievances considered suitable for this process, and shall set dates and locations for hearings of groups of grievances considered suitable for expedited arbitration.
(b) All grievances shall be considered suitable for and resolvable by expedited arbitration except grievances in the nature of:
(1) dismissals;
(2) rejection on probation;
(3) suspensions in excess of twenty (20) workdays;
(4) policy grievances;
(5) grievances requiring substantial interpretation of a provision of the Collective Agreement;
(6) grievances requiring presentation of extrinsic evidence;
(7) grievances where a Party intends to raise a preliminary objection; and
Level Four - Arbitration a. Within ten (10) school days after such written notice of submission to arbitration, the Board and the Association shall attempt to agree upon a mutually acceptable Arbitrator and shall obtain a commitment from said Arbitrator to serve. If the parties are unable to agree upon a mutually acceptable Arbitrator, or obtain such a commitment within the specified period, a request for a list of Arbitrators may be made to the Public Employment Relations Commission by either party. The parties shall then be bound by the rules and procedures of the Public Employment Relations Commission in selection of an Arbitrator.
b. The Arbitrator so selected shall confer with the Committee of the Board and the Aggrieved Person and Association representative, and hold hearings promptly and shall issue his decision not later than twenty (20) days from the date of the close of the hearings, or if oral closings have been waived, then from the date the final statements and proofs on the issues are submitted to him. The Arbitrator's decision shall be in writing and shall set forth his findings of fact, reasoning and conclusions on the issues submitted. The Arbitrator shall be without power or authority to make any decision which requires the commission of an act prohibited by law, or which is violative of the terms of this Agreement. The decision of the Arbitrator shall be submitted to the Board and the Aggrieved Person and Association representative, and shall be final and binding on the parties. The Arbitrator shall be limited to the issues submitted and shall consider nothing else. The Arbitrator can add nothing to, nor subtract anything from the Agreement between the parties.
c. The costs for the services of the Arbitrator, including per diem expenses, if any, and actual and necessary travel, subsistence expenses, and the cost of the hearing room, shall be borne equally by the Board and the Association. Any other expenses incurred shall be paid by the party incurring same.
Mediation and Arbitration If the Executive and the Employer have any dispute whatsoever relating to the interpretation, validity or performance of this Agreement, or any other dispute arising out of this Agreement, every reasonable attempt will be made to resolve any differences or dispute within thirty (30) days of an issuance of written notice by either party to the other party. If a successful resolution of any differences or dispute has not been achieved to the satisfaction of both parties at the end of the thirty (30) day period, the following steps will be used: Except as otherwise expressly provided hereunder, the parties agree that any and all disputes arising out of the Executive’s employment or cessation of employment, including but not limited to any dispute, controversy, or claim arising under any federal, state, or local statute, law, ordinance or regulation or under this Agreement, shall be resolved exclusively by Alternative Dispute Resolution described in this Agreement ("ADR"). The initiation of ADR shall first require mediation, and the parties agree to first try to settle any dispute through mediation. Mediation shall be initiated by either party by the serving of a written notice of intent to mediate (a "Mediation Notice") by one party upon the other. If no resolution has been mutually agreed through mediation within ninety (90) days of service of a Mediation Notice, then and only then may the dispute be submitted to arbitration. Arbitration shall be initiated by the serving of a written notice of intent to arbitrate (an "Arbitration Notice") by one party upon the other. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to preclude the Employer from seeking temporary or permanent injunctive relief and/or damages from a court of competent jurisdiction pursuant to Section 8 of this Agreement with respect to any breach of Section 7 of this Agreement.
(a) In the event that a party wishes to initiate ADR, a Mediation Notice must be served on the other party within six months from the date on which the claim arose. If the parties cannot mutually agree on a mediator, then a mediator shall be selected in accordance with the Employment Mediation Rules of the American Arbitration Association.
(b) In the event that mediation is unsuccessful and arbitration is initiated, it shall be conducted under the National Rules of the Resolution of Employment Disputes of the American Arbitration Association. There shall be a single arbitrator to be agreed upon by the parties, provided that, if the parties are unable to agree upon a single arbitrator, each party shall name an arbitrator and the two so named shall name a third arbitrator. The arbitration proceedings shall be heard by the arbitrator(s) and the decision of the arbitrator, or the majority of the panel if one has been selected, shall be final and binding on the parties. Judgment upon the arbitration award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction. An Arbitration Notice must be served on the other party within one year from the date on which the claim arose, and failure to bring such a claim within such one-year period shall constitute a waiver of such claim and an absolute bar to any further proceedings in any forum with respect to it. All mediation and arbitration proceedings shall be conducted in Bangor, Maine, unless the parties otherwise agree in writing.
(c) The cost of any mediation proceeding under this Section 9 shall be paid entirely by the Employer. The cost of any arbitration proceeding will be shared equally by the parties to the dispute; provided, however, that, if the dispute is resolved in favor of the Executive, such cost shall be paid in full by the Employer. Each party shall be responsible for its own cost of representation and counsel.
NO ARBITRATION Disputes involving this contract, including the breach or alleged breach thereof, may not be submitted to binding arbitration (except where statutorily authorized), but must, instead, be heard in a court of competent jurisdiction of the State of New York.
GOVERNING LAW; DISPUTES SUBMITTED TO ARBITRATION All disputes arising under this agreement shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, without regard to principles of conflict of laws. The parties to this agreement will submit all disputes arising under this agreement to arbitration in Boston, Massachusetts before a single arbitrator of the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”). The arbitrator shall be selected by application of the rules of the AAA, or by mutual agreement of the parties, except that such arbitrator shall be an attorney admitted to practice law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. No party to this agreement will challenge the jurisdiction or venue provisions as provided in this section. No party to this agreement will challenge the jurisdiction or venue provisions as provided in this section. Nothing contained herein shall prevent the party from obtaining an injunction.
