Harris v. Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1637, AFL-CIO

**Harris v. Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1637: Court Dismisses Late Union Grievance Claim** This case involved a worker named Harris who sued their union for failing to properly handle a workplace grievance. Harris claimed the union broke its duty to represent them under their collective bargaining agreement. The dispute centered on when exactly Harris's legal claim began - was it when a union representative named Foster refused to file Harris's grievance on February 28, 2019, or when Harris later contacted another union official named Hanley on March 3, 2019? The court dismissed Harris's lawsuit, ruling that it was filed too late. The judge determined that Harris's claim started on February 28, 2019, when Foster refused to file the grievance, not on the later March date. Since workers have only six months to file this type of lawsuit against their union, and Harris waited longer than that, the case was thrown out regardless of whether the union actually did anything wrong. **What this means for workers:** If you believe your union has failed to represent you properly, you must act quickly. You have only six months from when the union's wrongful action occurs to file a lawsuit, and the clock starts ticking immediately when the union refuses to help you - not when you make additional attempts to get assistance.