In the Matter of United Public Workers, Afscme Local 646, Afl-Cio v. Watada

**What the Case Was About** The United Public Workers union (UPW) and the Hawaii Department of Education had a labor dispute that went through arbitration. During this process, the arbitrator refused to decide certain issues related to labor law violations. The union then asked the Hawaii Labor Relations Board to reopen their case about prohibited labor practices, claiming the employer failed to bargain in good faith and broke a settlement agreement. **What the Court Decided** The court sided with the Department of Education. Both the Hawaii Labor Relations Board and the circuit court rejected the union's request to reopen their case. The court upheld the Labor Relations Board's decision that the union could not restart proceedings just because the arbitrator declined to address certain statutory issues. **Why This Matters for Workers** This ruling shows that unions and workers have limited options to retry labor disputes once they've been resolved through arbitration. If an arbitrator chooses not to address certain legal issues during the arbitration process, unions typically cannot go back to labor boards to get a second chance at those claims. Workers should understand that choosing arbitration over other legal processes may limit their ability to pursue all potential remedies for workplace disputes.