Smith v. Sipe

In my view, the complaint fails to state a cause of action for breach of the duty of fair representation and should, therefore, be dismissed.

The duty of a labor organization to fairly represent its members, which was created by Federal case law, is violated where a union’s conduct toward a member is arbitrary, discriminatory or in bad faith (see, Vaca v Sipes, 386 US 171,190; see also, Hines v Anchor Motor Frgt., 424 US 554, 568-569). A showing that a labor organization handled a member’s grievance in a perfunctory manner is also sufficient to establish a breach of the duty of fair…