Larry L. Foster v. United Steelworkers of America, Local Union No. 13600

The plaintiff in this case, a truckdriver, was terminated by his employer after refusing to ride with another driver whom he considered to be unsafe. The union led him to believe that he could be reinstated after a discharge under those circumstances and began arbitration of the dispute but did not pursue it to the end. Foster then filed this “hybrid 301” suit against the employer (for breach of the collective bargaining agreement) and the union (for breach of its duty of fair representation).

After the plaintiff had presented his evidence in a bench trial before the district court, both the…