Union Fairly Represented Union Employee in Grievance Hearing

The Tenth Circuit ruled in an unpublished decision today that a union member did not have a claim against his union for violating the duty of fair representation.  In Menges v. ABF Freight System, Inc., the court ruled that, although the union agent representing an employee in a grievance hearing after the employee was terminated may have had a grudge against the employee, the agent acted reasonably in the representation.  The court dismissed the employee’s claims that the agent attempted to sabotage his case, that the agent failed to present certain evidence, and that the agent failed to keep out certain evidence presented by the employer.