Fairmont General Hospital

A union (plaintiff) represented the employees of the Medical Records Department (department) at Fairmont General Hospital, Inc. (hospital) (defendant). A six-month backlog of transcriptions of medical-record dictation developed in the department. The backlog threatened the hospital’s accreditation because it was longer than the minimum required time for transcriptions of dictations that was imposed by an accreditation commission. Although physicians had complained about delays in transcriptions, the backlog was present only a month before the accreditation commission was scheduled to review the hospital’s accreditation. Accordingly, the hospital contacted a subcontractor, which indicated that it could transcribe the backlog before the accreditation review. Under a labor agreement between the hospital and the union, the hospital was authorized to contract out union work under some circumstances. But the hospital was required to use union personnel if reasonable and practical and to confer with the union in good faith to avoid contracting union work. The hospital met with the union to discuss the possibility of subcontracting the work. The union responded that it could also meet the deadline if transcription employees worked overtime. The hospital countered that the employees had months to complete the transcriptions but had failed to do so, even when working overtime. The hospital ultimately subcontracted the work and had the backlog transcribed. The union brought a grievance, arguing that the hospital did not comply with the contracting provisions. According to the union, these provisions required the union’s consent before the hospital could contract out work. The hospital responded that union approval of contracting was not required; instead, the hospital was required only to confer with the union in good faith. Because the hospital conferred with the union in good faith here, the hospital argued, it complied with the provisions. The parties submitted the matter to arbitration.