In re the Arbitration between Wells Fargo Armored Service Corp. & Office & Professional Employees International Union, Local No. 153
This case concerns an appeal by Office and Professional Employees International Union, Local No. 153, against Wells Fargo, seeking to compel arbitration after Wells Fargo discharged an employee. The dispute arose when Wells Fargo refused arbitration, citing the union's alleged non-compliance with preliminary grievance steps, which Special Term deemed a condition precedent to arbitration. The appellate court reversed this decision. It clarified that in labor-management agreements, unlike commercial arbitrations, compliance with grievance procedures constitutes procedural arbitrability, a matter for the arbitrator, not the court, to decide. Citing Federal law and the specific language of the collective bargaining agreement, the court denied Wells Fargo's request for a permanent stay and granted the union's motion to compel arbitration.