Alan MacQuattie et al. v. Ralph A. Malafronte et al.

Summary

The Supreme Court of Rhode Island affirmed summary judgment for school officials and union representatives in an action brought by two custodians concerning performance checklists, termination, unfair labor practices, and unfair union representation. The court held that the plaintiffs offered no evidence supporting their retaliation claim and that the use of the checklists did not violate the collective bargaining agreement. The court also concluded that the union-representation claim failed because the employer had not breached the agreement.

Holdings

1. Summary judgment was proper because the plaintiffs presented no evidence that the school committee terminated them because they attempted to grieve the use of the performance checklists; allegations in the pleadings alone were insufficient to create a genuine issue of material fact.
2. Summary judgment was proper on the unfair-representation claim because, in a hybrid claim involving an alleged collective-bargaining-agreement violation and unfair union representation, a plaintiff cannot prevail on the fair-representation claim if the employer did not violate the collective bargaining agreement. The plaintiffs presented no evidence that the performance checklists violated the agreement.
3. The Supreme Court affirmed the motion justice's determination that the case fell within an exception to the exhaustion-of-administrative-remedies requirement because the union had repudiated the collective bargaining agreement by preventing the plaintiffs from pursuing their grievance independently.

Questions Presented

1. Whether summary judgment was proper on the plaintiffs' claim that the school committee terminated them in retaliation for attempting to grieve the use of performance checklists, in violation of Rhode Island's unfair-labor-practice statute.
2. Whether summary judgment was proper on the plaintiffs' claim that the union breached its duty of fair representation by declining to pursue their grievance concerning the performance checklists.
3. Whether the Superior Court properly exercised jurisdiction despite the general requirement that unfair-labor-practice claims be presented first to the State Labor Relations Board.

Disposition

affirmed