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If no satisfactory agreement of a grievance has been reached under the procedure provided in Article 42, and the grievance or dispute related to the determination of rights and obligations conferred or created by this Agreement, and a written request for arbitration is made by the Union within ten (10) working days after the final answer in Step 4 of the grievance procedure, such dispute shall be submitted for final and binding arbitration in accordance with the following procedure.
Section 2. The City and the Union shall, within one (1) week of' the election of either party to arbitrate, meet to mutually agree upon an arbitrator. If this cannot be done, the parties may select an arbitrator from a Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) panel or panels of not less than seven (7) choices. The panel(s) shall be generated by a random selection process by the City, a union representative may be present for the random selection process. In the event that either party, before any striking of names occurs, feels that the panel is unsatisfactory, that party shall have the right to request one (1) additional panel. Within ten (10) days of receipt of the panel, the arbitrator shall thereafter be selected from the panel of arbitrators by alternate striking of names until one (1) name remains. The party who strikes first shall be determined by the toss of a coin. The City will promptly notify the arbitrator of the appointment.
Section 3.0 The arbitration shall be conducted under the rules set forth in this Agreement and shall proceed as follows:
Section 3.1 Upon notification of appointment, the arbitrator shall communicate with the parties as soon as practicable to arrange for the date and place of hearing; or, if questions of material fact are not at issue, to arrange for the joint submission of stipulations of fact and relevant documentation concerning the grievance.
Section 3.2 If no hearing is to be conducted, each party shall submit to the arbitrator Its statement of position regarding the grievance. Prior to the date of the hearing or submission of documents, the parties shall, jointly or separately, provide the arbitrator with a written statement of the issue or issues to be resolved in the arbitration proceeding.
Section 3.3 The arbitrator shall have exclusive jurisdiction and authority to resolve grievances as defined in this Agreement. The arbitrator shall have the authority to issue subpoenas enforceable in any court of competent jurisdiction and shall administer oaths to all witnesses testifying in any proceeding.
Section 3.4 The arbitrator shall have no power to change, amend, add to, subtract from or otherwise alter or supplement this Agreement or any part thereof or any amendment thereto.
Section 3.5 The arbitrator shall have no power to consider or rule upon any matter which is stated in this Agreement not to be subject to arbitration or which is not a grievance as defined in this Agreement or which is not covered by this Agreement.
Section 3.6 Except as provided for in Section 3.2, the decision of the arbitrator shall be based solely upon the evidence and arguments presented by the respective parties in the presence of each other.
Section 3.7 Upon timely notice prior to the scheduling of hearings and when mutually agreed, the consolidation of one (1) or more grievances based upon similar circumstances for hearing and resolution before the same arbitrator shall be permitted.
Section 3.8 The arbitrator shall render a decision not later than thirty (30) calendar days after the conclusion of the final hearing. The findings of the arbitrator made in accordance with the jurisdictional authority under this Agreement shall be final and binding on the parties. The arbitrator's decision shall be in writing and shall set forth the arbitrator's findings and conclusions on the issues submitted unless agreed in writing by the parties.
Section 3.9 In all cases, except disciplinary matters, the party claiming misinterpretation or misapplication of this Agreement shall have the burden of proving its contention by a preponderance of competent evidence.
Section 4.0 This Agreement constitutes a contract between the parties which shall be interpreted and applied by the parties and the arbitrator in the same manner as any other contract under the laws of the State of Florida. The function and purpose of the arbitrator is to determine disputed interpretations of terms actually found in the Agreement or to determine disputed facts upon which the application of the Agreement depends. The arbitrator, therefore, shall not have the authority to change the intent of the parties as determined by generally accepted rules of contract construction. The arbitrator shall not render any decision which, in practical or actual effect, modifies, revises, detracts from, or adds to any of the terms or provisions of this Agreement.
Section 4.1 The costs for the services of the arbitrator shall be borne by the losing party. The parties shall bear the costs of their own representatives and witnesses. The FOP shall have the right to compensate its witnesses from the Time Pool and one (1) FOP representative who is on duty shall be entitled to attend arbitration hearings at straight time rates. Either party to this Agreement desiring a transcript of the arbitration hearing shall be responsible for the cost of the transcript unless otherwise agreed to, in writing, by the parties. |
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