Melander

Summary

Appellant James F. Melander appeals from a judgment of the superior court denying his petition to vacate an arbitration award. We conclude that, when an employee grievance is arbitrated under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between an employer and a union, the individual employee does not have standing to petition to vacate the award unless (1) the CBA contains a provision expressly giving employees themselves the right to submit disputes to arbitration, or (2) the arbitrator has made the employee a party to the arbitration under Code of Civil Procedure section 1280, subdivision (e).

In this case, the CBA provided that grievances could be submitted to arbitration only “by approval of the Union’s Executive Board or of the Management of the Employer.” Appellant’s grievance was arbitrated on his behalf by his union; there is no evidence that he was made a party to the arbitration under section 1280. Therefore, appellant has no standing to challenge the arbitration award, and we affirm the judgment entered below.

Statement of Facts

Appellant was suspended by respondent Hughes Aircraft Company (Hughes) for allegedly violating company rules.…