Kraft Foods, Inc. v. Office & Professional Employees International Union, Local 1295

**What Happened** Kraft Foods had a dispute with union workers represented by the Office & Professional Employees International Union. The company disagreed with an arbitration decision that ordered them to pay back wages to production employees. Kraft appealed this decision to federal court, arguing that the arbitrator didn't have the authority to make this award because their union contract included a "no-modification clause" - meaning the contract supposedly couldn't be changed or interpreted in ways that weren't explicitly written. **What the Court Decided** The First Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the workers and upheld the arbitration award. The court ruled that the arbitrator did have the authority to order back pay, even though the contract had a no-modification clause. The court found that awarding back pay was within the arbitrator's proper role of interpreting and enforcing the existing contract terms. **Why This Matters for Workers** This decision strengthens workers' rights in union arbitration cases. It shows that arbitrators can still provide meaningful remedies like back pay even when employers try to use contract language to limit those remedies. Workers can feel more confident that arbitration can result in real financial compensation when employers violate their rights.