Trap Rock Industries, Inc. v. Local 825, International Union of Operating Engineers, Afl-Cio

OPINION OF THE COURT

GARTH, Circuit Judge:

This appeal presents for our review the question of the effect to be given a clause in a collective bargaining agreement which reserved to the employer’s discretion the right to demote and ultimately to discharge an employee who failed to perform assigned duties properly or who failed to meet the qualifications of his job. The district court ruled against the employer and granted the Union’s motion to compel arbitration. We reverse.

I

Trap Rock Industries, Inc. (“Trap Rock”) is engaged in the quarrying industry and was the employer of Freddy Torres, a…