
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 21, 1990                   TAG: 9003212292
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The New York Times
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                 LENGTH: Short

COURT BACKS UNION LAWSUIT JURY TRIALS

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 Tuesday that union members who sue their union for damages for failing to represent their interests are entitled to have their case heard by a jury.

The decision, in a case brought by truck drivers against a Teamsters' union local in North Carolina, resolved a disputed issue in labor law.

Suits by union members against their unions for breaching the legal "duty of fair representation" are fairly common, and many labor lawyers believe that union members get a more sympathetic hearing from a jury than they would if the case were tried solely before a judge.

The union members alleged that their union had failed to follow the grievance procedures that were part of the collective bargaining agreement. They sought back pay for the wages and benefits they lost.

Justice Thurgood Marshall said that the suit had elements of a breach of contract claim, which would have gone before a jury.

Marshall's opinion was joined in full by Chief Justice William Rehnquist and by Justices Byron White and Harry Blackmun. In separate concurring opinions, Justices William Brennan and John Paul Stevens agreed with the result.

Justice Anthony Kennedy filed a dissenting opinion that was joined by Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Antonin Scalia.

The decision upheld a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, in Richmond.

by CNB