## Facts

- A collective-bargaining agreement between the Warwick Teachers Union and the Warwick School Committee governed promotions, providing that appointments turn on qualifications and that seniority controls when qualifications are equal.
- The School Committee posted a vacancy for Business Department Head at Warwick Veterans Memorial High School; Richard A. Belanger and Arthur B. Matteson (more senior) applied.
- Administrators interviewed candidates and reviewed credentials, unanimously recommended Belanger, and the superintendent concurred; the School Committee appointed Belanger effective August 1, 1972.
- Matteson filed a grievance through the Union alleging that because he was at least as qualified as Belanger, his greater seniority required his selection under the agreement.
- The Union processed the grievance through contractual steps and took it to arbitration; Belanger (a nonmember employee in the bargaining unit) was not contacted by the Union during the grievance process and the Union did not investigate his qualifications before backing Matteson.
- A three-member arbitration panel heard evidence; the School Committee defended its choice of Belanger while the Union advocated for Matteson.
- The arbitrators found Matteson’s qualifications at least equal to Belanger’s and awarded the position to Matteson based on seniority.
- Belanger sued to vacate the award; the Superior Court found the Union breached its duty of fair representation and vacated the award, reinstating Belanger.
- Matteson and the Union appealed.

## Issues

1. Whether the exclusive bargaining representative owed a duty of fair representation to a nonmember employee in the bargaining unit and breached that duty by supporting a grievance without minimally investigating the affected employee’s qualifications.
2. Whether a union’s breach of the duty of fair representation during grievance processing requires vacatur of an arbitration award affecting the employee.
3. Whether arbitration of a promotional appointment impermissibly delegated the school committee’s statutory authority or exceeded arbitral power.

## Decision

- The Rhode Island Supreme Court held the Union breached its duty of fair representation by failing to conduct even a minimal investigation of Belanger’s qualifications before committing to Matteson’s grievance.
- The court nevertheless reinstated the arbitration award, concluding the arbitration hearing was full and fair and Belanger’s position was effectively presented by the School Committee.
- The court rejected the claim that arbitrating the promotion unlawfully surrendered the School Committee’s statutory authority; the arbitrators permissibly interpreted and applied the contract’s promotion clause.
- Disposition: appeal sustained; Superior Court judgment vacated; arbitrators’ award reinstated.

## Legal Principles

- An exclusive bargaining representative must represent all employees in the bargaining unit, including nonmembers, in a manner that is not arbitrary, discriminatory, or in bad faith.
- A union breaches that duty when, in processing a grievance that threatens another unit member’s employment interest, it fails to make even a minimal investigation of that member’s qualifications or position.
- A union’s breach during pre-arbitration grievance handling does not automatically invalidate an arbitration award; vacatur requires a basis tied to unfairness in the arbitration proceeding (e.g., fraud, misconduct, or denial of a fair hearing).
- A public school committee may agree by collective bargaining to binding arbitration of disputes over promotional decisions; arbitrators may interpret and apply contractual criteria (qualifications and seniority) without usurping statutory authority.

## Conclusion

The court found the union failed its fair-representation duty to a nonmember teacher by supporting a seniority-based promotion grievance without minimally investigating the incumbent’s qualifications, but it reinstated the arbitration award because the arbitration hearing was fair and the employer adequately presented the incumbent’s position; the promotion dispute was also properly arbitrable under the collective-bargaining agreement.


Belanger v. Matteson, 346 A.2d 124 (R.I. 1975)