Local Union No. 1992, of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers v. The Okonite Company

Plaintiff Local 1992 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (“Local 1992” or “the Union”) and defendant, The Okonite Company (“Okonite”), both argue that the severance agreement that they bargained for is unambiguous. The District Court held that the contract was unambiguous. Because in my opinion there is only one reasonable interpretation of the severance agreement, I agree. Unlike the District Court, however, I believe that Ok-onite advances the only reasonable interpretation — employees waived their rights to sue Okonite as a condition of receiving severance pay.…