Bell Production Engineers Association v. Bell Helicopter Textron, Division of Textron, Inc.

ALVIN B. RUBIN, Circuit Judge:

For almost four years, an employer, Bell Helicopter Textron (Bell), and a union, Bell Production Engineers Association (BPEA), have engaged in a dispute concerning Bell’s right, under its collective bargaining agreement, to create a job classification called Tool Application Engineer (TAE). Bell considered the classification to be one not covered by its collective bargaining agreement with the union and, therefore, sought to define it without consulting the union and to fill the job with employees not in the collective bargaining unit. The union contested the…