10.2190/CN.32.4.c R2812W80U8123725 3 Exploring the "Lumpiness" of Grievance Arbitration Decision Making 287 304 20100302 20100302 20100302 20100302 R2812W80U8123725.pdf http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=R2812W80U8123725 4 Rafael Gely Timothy D. Chandler University of Missouri Louisiana State University This article examines arbitrator decision making in discipline cases involving alleged workplace violence. The basic premise of the article is that arbitrator decision making is more "lumpy" than the existing literature suggests. That is, when deciding grievances, arbitrators consider factors in combination rather than in isolation from one another. The analysis of content-coded arbitration decisions relies primarily on qualitative techniques to examine the effects of various factors on arbitration outcomes. The results suggest that arbitrators base decisions on combinations of factors. Specifically, union arguments built around the incident that gave rise to the discipline or equal protection claims are associated with union success at arbitration. <i>Kelly-Springfield Tire Co.</i>, 37 Lab. Arb. (BNA) 704; (1961) (McCoy, Arbitrator). J. Gross, Value judgments in decisions of labor arbitrators, <i>Industrial & Labor Relations Review, 21</i>:1, pp. 55-72, 1967. D. K. Scott and S. Taylor, An analysis of absenteeism cases taken to arbitration: 1975-1981, <i>Arbitration Journal, 38</i>:3, pp. 61-70, 1983. Patricia A. Simpson and Joseph J. Martocchio, The influence of work history factors on arbitration outcomes, <i>Industrial & Labor Relations Review, 50</i>:2, pp. 252-257, 1997. C. R. Deitsch and D. A. Dilts, An analysis of arbitrator characteristics and their effects on decision making in discharge cases, <i>Labor Law Journal, 40</i>:2, pp. 112-116, 1989. D. Soulliere, Pathways to attrition: A qualitative comparative analysis of justifications for police designations of sexual assault complaints, <i>The Qualitative Report, 10</i>:3, pp. 416-438, 2005. B. Bemmels, The effect of grievants' gender on arbitrators' decisions, <i>Industrial Labor Relations Review, 41</i>:2, pp. 251-262, 1988. M. Gootnick, Violence, in <i>Labor and employment arbitration</i>, T. Bornstein, A. Gosline, and M. Greenbaum (eds.), New York: Matthew Bender, 2007. C. Ragin, <i>The comparative method: Moving beyond qualitative and quantitative strategies</i>, Berkeley, Calif: University of California Press, 1987. C. Ragin: S. E. Mayer, and K. A. Drass, Assessing discrimination: A boolean approach, <i>American Sociological Review, 49</i>:2, pp. 221-234, 1984. V. Roscigno and R. Hodson, The organizational and social foundations of worker resistance, <i>American Sociological Review, 69</i>:1, pp. 14-39, 2004. <i>Workplace violence prevention and response</i>, Alexandria, Va.: ASIS International, 2005. <i>Workplace violence survey: 2004</i>, Alexandria, Va.: Society for Human Resources Management, 2005. R. Block and J. Stieber, The impact of attorneys and arbitrators on arbitration awards, <i>Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 40</i>:4, pp. 543-555, 1987. J. Stieber, R. N. Block, and L. F. Corbitt, How representative are published arbitration decisions?, in W. J. Gershenfeld (ed.), <i>Arbitration 1984: Absenteeism, Recent law. Panels, and Published Decisions</i>, Proceedings of the Thirty-Seventh Annual Meeting of the National Academy of Arbitrators, Washington, D.C.: Bureau of National Affairs, 1985. R. I. Abrams and D. R. Nolan, Toward a theory of "just cause" in employee discipline cases, <i>Duke Law Journal, 1985</i>:3/4, pp. 594-623, 1985. M. A. Lucero, K. L. Middleton, and S. R. Valentine, Protecting the rights of alleged sexual harassment perpetrators: Guidance from the decision of labor arbitrators, <i>Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 16</i>:2, pp. 71-87, 2004. B. S. Klaas, D. Mahoney, and H. N. Wheeler, Decision-making about workplace disputes: A policy-capturing study of employment arbitrators, labor arbitrators, and jurors, 45 <i>Industrial Relations, 45</i>:1, pp. 68-95, 2006. <i>Stone Container Corp.</i>, 114 Lab. Arb. (BNA) 395; (2000) (Louis Imundo, Arbitrator). <i>Simeus Food International</i>, 114 Lab. Arb. (BNA) 436; (2000) (Sidney Moreland, Arbitrator). <i>Electric Machinery Co.</i>, 115 Lab. Arb. (BNA) 1039; (2001) (Daniel Jacobowski, Arbitrator). <i>ESAB Welding & Cutting Products</i>, 115 Lab. Arb. (BNA) 79, 81; (2000) (Benjamin Wolkinson, Arbitrator). <i>Solar Turbines Inc.</i>, 85 Lab. Arb. (BNA) 525, 529; (1985) (Walter Kaufman, Arbitrator). <i>Lewis Tree Service, Inc.</i>, 114 Lab. Arb. (BNA) 852; (2000) (Richard Djssen, Arbitrator).