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
Mandatory Arbitration Except as provided in subsection (h) of this Section 31, any Dispute must be resolved by binding arbitration in accordance with the following: (a) Either Party may begin arbitration by filing a demand for arbitration in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the AAA (the “Arbitration Rules”) and concurrently notifying the other Party of that demand. If the Parties are unable to agree upon a panel of three neutral arbitrators within twenty days after the demand for arbitration was filed (the Parties agree to a reasonable, one-time extension of that twenty-day period), either Party may request the Houston, Texas office of the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) to appoint the arbitrator or arbitrators necessary to complete the panel in accordance with the Arbitration Rules. Each arbitrator so appointed shall be deemed accepted by the Parties as part of the panel. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Parties, by mutual consent, may agree to a single arbitrator instead of a panel of three arbitrators and, in such event, references herein to “panel” shall refer to the single appointed arbitrator. (b) The arbitration shall be conducted in the Houston, Texas metropolitan area at a place and time agreed upon by the Parties with the panel, or if the Parties cannot agree, as designated by the panel. The panel may, however, call and conduct hearings and meetings at such other places as the Parties may agree or as the panel may, on the motion of one Party, determine to be necessary to obtain significant testimony or evidence. (c) The panel may authorize any and all forms of discovery upon a Party’s showing of need that the requested discovery is likely to lead to material evidence needed to resolve the Dispute and is not excessive in scope, timing, or cost. (d) The arbitration shall be subject to the Federal Arbitration Act and conducted in accordance with the Arbitration Rules to the extent that they do not conflict with this Section 31. The Parties and the panel may, however, agree to vary to provisions of this Section 31 or the matters otherwise governed by the Arbitration Rules as permitted by law. (e) The arbitration hearing shall be held within 60 days after the appointment of the panel. The panel’s final decision or award shall be made within 30 days after the hearing. That final decision or award shall be made by unanimous or majority vote or consent of the arbitrators constituting the panel, and shall be deemed issued at the place of arbitration. The panel’s final decision or award shall be based on the terms and conditions of this Agreement and applicable law. (f) The panel’s final decision or award may include injunctive relief in response to any actual or impending breach of this Agreement or any other actual or impending action or omission of a Party under or in connection with this Agreement. (g) The panel’s final decision or award shall be final and binding upon the Parties, and judgment upon that decision or award may be entered in any court having jurisdiction. The Parties waive any right to apply or appeal to any court for relief from the preceding sentence or from any decision of the panel that is made before the final decision or award. (h) Nothing in this Section 31 limits the right of either Party to apply to a court having jurisdiction to (i) enforce the agreement to arbitrate in accordance with this Section 31, (ii) seek provisional or temporary injunctive relief, in response to an actual or impending breach of the Agreement or otherwise so as to avoid an irreparable damage or maintain the status quo, until a final arbitration decision or award is rendered or the Dispute is otherwise resolved, or challenge or vacate any final arbitration decision or award that does not comply with this Section 31. In addition, nothing in this Section 31 prohibits the Parties from resolving any Dispute (in whole or in part) at any time by mutual agreement or compromise. This Section 31 shall also not preclude the Parties at any time from mutually agreeing to pursue non-binding mediation of the Dispute. (i) The panel may proceed to an award notwithstanding the failure of any Party to participate in such proceedings. The prevailing Party in the arbitration proceeding may be entitled to an award of reasonable attorneys’ fees incurred in connection with the arbitration in such amount, if any, as determined by the panel in its discretion. The costs of the arbitration shall be borne equally by the Parties unless otherwise determined by the panel in its award. (j) The panel shall be empowered to impose sanctions and to take such other actions as it deems necessary to the same extent a judge could impose sanctions or take such other actions pursuant to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and applicable law. Each Party agrees to keep all Disputes and arbitration proceedings strictly confidential except for disclosure of information required by applicable law which cannot be waived.
