Teamsters Local 320: University of Minnesota

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LOCAL 320 WINS SHIFT DIFFERENTIAL CASE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

by Paula R. Johnston, General Counsel

Teamsters Local 320 scored a major victory recently in a case against the University of Minnesota. A class action grievance was filed in August of 2002 after the Local learned that the University was not paying shift differential to members who worked a shift of less than six hours. No limitation regarding the duration of a shift is set forth in the contract. The contract simply states that "EMPLOYEES working any assigned shift that begins before 6:00 a.m. or which ends after 7:00 p.m. shall receive a shift differential of fifty-five cents ($0.55) per hour for all hours worked on that shift in addition to their regular rate of pay..." (C.B.A., §22.1). Those employees who start between 9:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. receive a shift differential of seventy cents ($0.70) per hour (Id).

The parties were unable to resolve the matter during the grievance procedure, and proceeded to arbitration. In addition, the University argued that this language was ambiguous, and that it was appropriate to look at the parties past practice to understand the true intent of the provision. The University argued that there was a longstanding past practice of not paying shift differential on any shift that was less than six hours in duration. They dismissed the evidence provided by the Union that the University had in fact paid shift differential to some employees on shorter shifts by saying that those instances were mistakes that could be corrected.

The Union argued that the contract language speaks for itself. There is no requirement that a shift be longer than six hours in order to qualify for shift differential pay. Arbitrator J.C. Fogelberg agreed with the Union and found that:

A plain reading of Section 22.1 does not, in my view, create confusion as to its intent. To the contrary, it conveys a distinct singular purpose mandating that all employees covered by the Collective Bargaining Agreement, who work "...any assigned shift that begins before 6:00 a.m. or which ends after 7:00 p.m....receive a shift differential of fifty-five cents ($0.55) per hour for all hours worked on that shift..." Teamsters Local No. 320 and the University of Minnesota, BMS Case No. 03-PA-1173 (Fogelberg 2004), at p. 8.

The Arbitrator agreed with the Local that the word "any" in the language is crucial. "The inclusion of th[at] word in Section 22.1 logically and reasonably conveys a singular thought: that all shifts, regardless of their duration, are eligible for differential pay" (Id).

The Arbitrator ordered the University to "forthwith reimburse any employee...who was adversely affected by the University's misapplication of Section 22.1 since August 21, 2002, when the class action complaint was submitted."

This was a terrific case to win. Special thanks to University of Minnesota - Duluth member Molly Cherro for coming down to Minneapolis to testify on behalf of the Local. She did a great job. Congratulations, everyone!

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