Barber v. Union Carbide Corp.

NEELY, Justice:

We granted this appeal to clarify our arbitration law under principles developed in Board of Education v. Miller, 160 W.Va. 473, 236 S.E.2d 439 (1977). The appellant, Thomas Barber, was an employee of the appellee, Union Carbide Corporation, when his labor union, the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International (OCAW) obtained a pension and insurance agreement from the appellee employer.

In 1974 Mr. Barber filed a claim for total and permanent disability under the provisions of the plan, and his claim was denied. The contract that established the plan between the union and the…