15 N.Y.2d 181 (1965)

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When an issue has been fully considered and resolved by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in a decertification election proceeding, that issue is precluded from being re-litigated in a subsequent arbitration proceeding between the same parties.

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Summary

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This case addresses whether a prior determination by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regarding an employee’s discharge precludes subsequent arbitration of the same issue. The Court of Appeals of New York held that when the NLRB has definitively ruled on the reason for an employee’s termination (voluntary resignation vs. discharge), that issue cannot be revisited in arbitration. The court reasoned that allowing arbitration would undermine the NLRB’s authority and create the potential for conflicting outcomes on the same factual question.

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Facts

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Gerald Buchholz (Federal Tool and Instrument Co.) employed Joseph Klementowicz. Another employee filed a petition with the NLRB to decertify Local 463 as the collective bargaining representative. Klementowicz received a telegram recalling him to a prior job at Curtiss-Wright. He informed Buchholz of his resignation, effective September 12, 1961. Local 463 filed grievances with the NLRB alleging Klementowicz was unjustly discharged and alleging an unfair labor practice, claiming he was discharged for union activity. Buchholz informed the NLRB that Klementowicz voluntarily resigned. The NLRB dismissed the unfair labor practice charge. During a decertification election, Klementowicz’s ballot was challenged by Buchholz based on his voluntary resignation.

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Procedural History

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Local 463 demanded arbitration regarding Klementowicz’s