General Drivers & Helpers Union, Local No. 554 v. County of Douglas

Summary

The Nebraska Supreme Court considered whether the term “start” in a collective bargaining agreement’s pay scale required all newly hired equipment mechanics to receive the lowest listed wage or merely identified the beginning of a permissible wage range. The court held that, when the agreement was read as a whole, “start” unambiguously denoted the beginning of a pay scale and that the County could set a new hire’s wage at a higher step within the negotiated range. The court affirmed summary judgment for Douglas County.

Holdings

1. The word "start" was unambiguous in context and denoted the beginning of a pay scale rather than a mandatory starting wage for every newly hired employee.
2. The County complied with the CBA by hiring Nickell at $22.05 per hour, a wage within the bargained-for pay range.
3. Summary judgment for the County was proper.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the word "start" in the CBA's pay-rate schedule unambiguously required every newly hired Equipment Mechanic II to receive the starting wage listed in the "Start" column.
2. Whether the CBA, construed as a whole and in light of its management-rights clause and vacancy-notice provisions, allowed the County to hire a new employee at a wage above the "Start" step but within the negotiated pay range.
3. Whether summary judgment for the County was proper.

Disposition

affirmed