In re the Arbitration between Board of Education of City School District & Professional, Clerical and Technical Employees Ass'n

**School District Loses Attempt to Block Union Wage Arbitration** This case involved a dispute between a school district and a union representing professional, clerical, and technical school employees. The school district had withheld wage increases that the union believed were required under their collective bargaining agreement. When the union filed a grievance seeking arbitration to resolve the dispute, the school district went to court asking a judge to permanently block the arbitration process. The district argued that allowing arbitration would violate public policy and that previous federal court cases prevented the arbitration from moving forward. The court rejected the school district's arguments and ruled in favor of the union. The judge affirmed a lower court's decision to dismiss the district's request to stop the arbitration, meaning the union's grievance could proceed through the normal arbitration process outlined in their contract. This ruling is important for workers because it protects their right to use arbitration procedures established in union contracts. When employers try to avoid arbitration by taking disputes to court instead, workers can point to decisions like this one that uphold the arbitration process as the proper way to resolve workplace disputes covered by collective bargaining agreements.