Case: Labor Arbitration/Holiday Scheduling (Arb.)

Arbitrator Cary Morgen ruled that Nouryon Surface Chemistry didn’t violate the collective bargaining agreement with the union when it didn’t schedule unit operators to work on Thanksgiving Day. The union argued that the safety and non-bargaining unit work provisions of the contract had been violated because a supervisor was on duty and ancillary equipment continued to run (though the reactors were down). However, Arbitrator Morgen concluded that the supervisor didn’t perform any bargaining unit work while on duty, and that the operating conditions of the workplace that day didn’t constitute a safety violation.