APPENDIX M:

• Jurisdiction: United States

APPENDIX M:

Arbitration Rules for AAA Arbitrations

1. Substitution of Rules: The parties have substituted these rules as part of their arbitration agreement to be the complete and entire substitute for the published labor arbitration rules of the American Arbitration Association (hereinafter the AAA), the right to do so has been recognized under Section 1 of the AAA labor arbitration rules itself. These rules and any amendment of them shall apply as written below for disputes arising and appealed to arbitration during the term of the collective bargaining agreement, but matters arising during any no contract period, or not already appealed to arbitration during the term of a contract period, shall not be arbitrable. The parties intend arbitration to be a “creature of contract,” not a “term and condition of employment.”

2. AAA and Delegation of Duties: Although the parties authorize AAA to administer arbitration when that agency is selected, the AAA may not add to, subtract from, or modify the contents of these rules. The moving party (defined as the union) is responsible for moving the arbitration forward. AAA shall not self-initiate the scheduling of any arbitration and shall not move forward to schedule an arbitration without an express request from one of the parties. Any case in which such a request is not received from the moving party within sixty (60) days of the date of filing or of the latest request after initial filing, shall result in the case being automatically dismissed for laches (undue delay).

3. Jurisdiction: To avoid any conflicts of interest regarding fees, the arbitrator shall not have the power to rule on the arbitrator’s own jurisdiction, including any objections with respect to the existence, scope, or validity of the arbitration agreement. All gateway issues, whether substantive or procedural, are intended to be determined by the courts unless the responding party expressly agrees to submit such matters to the arbitrator under such terms and conditions as the responding party may specify. All threshold issues raised by the responding party shall be bifurcated from the merits, heard first, and an award rendered before any hearing on the merits. To avoid conflict of interest regarding fees, if there are any jurisdictional or threshold issues raised, for a hearing on the merits, the parties shall select a different arbitrator.

The responding party may object to the jurisdiction of the arbitrator or to the arbitrability of a claim or counterclaim at any time through the opening statement on the first day of hearing.

The filing of any litigation by the responding party regarding arbitrability shall automatically stay arbitration pending final judicial determination, including any appeals. AAA shall not act to move the arbitration forward while such litigation is pending.

4. Panel of Neutral Labor Arbitrators: When the parties elect AAA arbitration, the arbitrator shall be chosen from the National Roster of Labor Arbitrators and shall be appointed as specified in the CBA.

5. Initiation under an Arbitration Clause in a Collective Bargaining Agreement:Arbitration under an arbitration clause in a collective bargaining agreement under these rules may be initiated by the union, the moving party, only if, and after, the moving party has complied with all contractual jurisdictional, substantive, and processing requirements, including time limits, which are to be strictly construed, by giving written notice in writing to the responding party of its intention to arbitrate within the time limits provided in the CBA (if no time limits are provided, within ten (10) calendar days of the final pre-arbitration step answer). The notice must set forth expressly the specific articles/sections of the contract alleged violated and the specific relief requested. General statements such as “all sections that may apply” or “to be made whole in every way” or similar generalities must be found insufficient. The notice of arbitration must be accompanied by the filing fee for AAA.

The responding party will then frame the issue to be submitted to the arbitrator and forward it together with a copy of the notice to any regional office of the AAA, a copy of the collective bargaining agreement and other relevant documents that relate to the dispute, including the arbitration provisions, and the filing fee. The arbitrator shall have no power to amend the framed issue.

6. Answer: No formal answer to the demand for arbitration is required. There shall be no pre-arbitration discovery.

7. Limitation on Information: Neither party is required to provide the other with any statement in advance of the arbitration of its positions, strategies, or statements from any witness.

8. Fixing of Locale: The parties may mutually agree on the location of the arbitration. If the parties cannot agree, the responding party shall select the location, which must be within a twenty-five mile radius of the location where the grievance arose and will make the logistical arrangements. If the site is a hotel or other location requiring a payment, the costs of the location shall be divided equally among the parties.

9. Qualifications of Arbitrator: Any neutral arbitrator appointed or selected by mutual agreement of the parties shall be subject to disqualification for...