Judicial Review of Contract Interpretation by Labor Arbitrators: Whose Brand of Industrial Justice - Houston Lighting & (and) Power Co. v. Int'l Bhd. of Elec. Workers, Local Union No. 66

Authors

Michael G. Munsell

Abstract

The United States Supreme Court has prescribed the deference owed to an arbitrator's interpretation of labor agreements. The Court's decisions have made clear the narrow grounds upon which an arbitration award may be reversed. In Houston Lighting & Power Co. v. Int'l Bhd of Elec. Workers, Local Union No. 66, the employer claimed that the labor arbitrator had exceeded his authority by misinterpreting the labor agreement. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals had to weigh the policy of deference to the arbitrator's interpretation against the need to ensure that the arbitrator acted within the authority which the parties to the labor agreement granted him.

Recommended Citation

Michael G. Munsell, Judicial Review of Contract Interpretation by Labor Arbitrators: Whose Brand of Industrial Justice - Houston Lighting & (and) Power Co. v. Int'l Bhd. of Elec. Workers, Local Union No. 66, 1996 J. Disp. Resol. (1996)
Available at: https://scholarship.law.missouri.edu/jdr/vol1996/iss2/8