Brittain v. Am. Fed'n of Gov't Emps.

FREDERICK L. BRITTAIN, Plaintiff, v. AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO, Defendant.

Case No. 3:20-cv-92-TJC-PDB

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA JACKSONVILLE DIVISION

June 7, 2021

ORDER

The Court must decide whether a long-serving labor union officer was afforded adequate due process in an internal union disciplinary proceeding. This case comes before the Court on Defendant American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO's ("AFGE") motion for summary judgment (Doc. 44), to which Plaintiff Frederick L. Brittain responded (Doc. 47).¹ AFGE also filed a reply (Doc. 50). The motion for summary judgment pertains exclusively to Count I of Brittain's complaint (Doc. 1), as the Court's January 13, 2021 Order (Doc. 42) dismissed Counts II, III, and IV. Count I alleges that AFGE violated the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act("LMRDA"), 29 U.S.C. § 411(a)(5), by disciplining Brittain without providing him due process.

I. FACTS

A. AFGE Local 1976, AFGE Local 2779, and Brittain

AFGE is a national labor organization that represents federal government and private sector employees. Doc. 1 ¶ 8. AFGE's National Constitution governs union affairs. Doc. 44-7 ¶ 8. The National Constitution and AFGE policies distinguish between bargaining unit employees and management officials. For example, while bargaining unit employees are entitled to representation, a supervisor "may not . . . receive personal representation in administrative or judicial proceedings from a local, district, council or AFGE" under AFGE's Policy on Supervisors and Management Officials Who Retain Membership in AFGE Locals. Doc. 44-4 at 45-47, 76.

AFGE has local chapters around the United States. Locals' constitutions or bylaws set out the terms and conditions of local membership. See Docs. 44-6 at 59; 44-4 at 34; see also Docs. 44-2 at 12-15. AFGE Local 1976 represents bargaining unit employees at North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System in Lake City, Florida ("Lake City VA"). See Doc. 44-2 at 11; February 14, 2014 Letter from National President Cox, Doc. 44-6 at 81 ("Local 1976 only has authority to represent bargaining unit employees at Lake City and Tallahassee, Florida, and Valdosta and Waycross, Georgia."). Frederick L.Brittain was a member of Local 1976 from 1996 to 2017 and president of the local from 2001 until 2016. See Doc. 44-2 at 7. At all relevant times, Brittain was a federal employee employed by Lake City VA. Docs. 1 ¶ 17; 44-2 at 5.

AFGE Local 2779 represents bargaining unit employees at Lake City VA's sister facility, Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System in Gainesville, Florida ("Gainesville VA"). See Doc. 44-2 at 23. Muriel Newman, a Gainesville VA bargaining unit employee, was president of Local 2779 at all relevant times. Docs. 44-3 at 110; 44-2 at 30. Newman had a hostile relationship with Brittain, and filed multiple internal AFGE complaints against Brittain during his tenure as President of Local 1976. See Docs. 44-2 at 32, 52, 156-57.

Glenda Skinner, a laboratory supervisor at Gainesville VA, reported to and worked under the same management official as Newman. See id. at 26, 38. Although Gainesville VA falls under the jurisdiction of AFGE Local 2779, Skinner paid dues to AFGE Local 1976 until approximately August 29, 2016, at which time she was informed that she was not eligible to be a Local 1976 member. See id. at 46; 44-6 at 91.

At an unspecified time before April 18, 2016, Brittain agreed to represent Skinner in an Equal Employment Opportunity Complaint ("EEO Complaint") against the Department of Veterans Affairs. Doc. 44-2 at 25, 27-28, 148, 150. Brittain's representation of Skinner was not his first representation of a management official. During his tenure as president, Brittain, in his personalcapacity, represented approximately six management officials in a variety disputes (e.g., EEO complaints and pay disputes) against the Department of Veteran Affairs. See id. at 17-18. In contrast to Skinner's EEO Complaint, in which she alleged Newman was creating a hostile working environment, see id. at 31-32, 50-51, 150-53, most of Brittain's representations of management officials did not involve allegations against bargaining unit employees, see id. at 18. Furthermore, it is unclear whether the national AFGE leadership knew of Brittain's past representations of management officials. Id. at 19-22.

On June 17, 2016, in his capacity as Skinner's representative, Brittain emailed the Director of the Florida/South Georgia VA System (the "VA Director"), and other members of hospital management, reporting that Denys Krol, a Gainesville VA bargaining unit employee member of AFGE Local 2779, was improperly accessing a Gainesville VA laboratory. See Doc. 44-2 at 42-43, 158-60; see also id. at 24. In the email, Brittain also requested that management investigate the matter and revoke Krol's access to the laboratory. Doc. 44-2 at 160. Brittain sent a separate email on June 17, 2016 to the VA Director and other management officials to notify them of Newman's use of explicit language on government computers. See Doc. 44-2 at 157.²

Following these events, Brittain received a letter from AFGE National President J. David Cox dated July 22, 2016, specifying that Brittain's representation of Skinner, receipt of dues from Skinner, and sending of the June 17 emails to management constituted chargeable offenses under the National Constitution.³ See Doc. 44-2 at 45-48, 161-62. The letter also suspended Brittain from the office of President of AFGE Local 1976. Doc. 44-2 at 106, 161. In September 2016, Cox suspended Brittain as a delegate to an AFGE national convention. Docs. 1 ¶ 21; 44-6 at 15. Later, Brittain received a notice of hearing dated December 22, 2016 from Cox, stating that "an independent trial committee will conduct a hearing . . . on January 10th" at a specified time and place (the "Hearing"). Doc. 44-2 at 54, 163. Following receipt of the notice, Brittain selected Bryan R. Hardison to represent him in the disciplinary proceeding. Docs. 44-2 at 55; 44-6 at 108.

Cox represented to Brittain that settlement of the charges was an option, if, at a minimum, Brittain resigned from being President of Local 1976. See Doc. 44-3 at 100. Brittain responded that he would not resign. See id. at 102.

B. Brittain's Disciplinary Proceedings⁴

The National Constitution sets forth multiple processes for bringing and processing charges against union members. See, e.g., National Constitution, art. XXIII; see also Docs. 44-7 ¶ 9; 44-4 at 21. In Brittain's case, Cox preferred the charges against Brittain and appointed a three-member Trial Committee to determine Brittain's guilt. Docs. 44-2 at 98-99, 101; 44-4 at 71-72; 44-7 ¶ 12. The Trial Committee consisted of Jeanette McElhaney, Lino Penas, and Horace Cooper. Docs. 44-2 at 59; 44-6 ¶¶ 3-4. The Trial Committee first learned of the charges against Brittain on January 5, 2017. Doc. 44-6 ¶ 8. Brittain did not know or have any interactions with Penas or Cooper before the Hearing. Docs. 44-2 at 59; 44-6 ¶ 9. However, Brittain was familiar with McElhaney because he had filed a protest to invalidate an election in which McElhaney was a candidate. See infra Part I.C.; Doc. 44-2 at 59. Brittain and McElhaney also attended the same conventions, conferences, and national union events. Doc. 44-4 at 5. Brittain believes that McElhaney was biased against him due to the election protest, see infra at 8, and requested that McElhaney be removed from the Trial Committee. See Doc. 1 ¶ 23. This request was denied. Id.

At the Hearing, the Trial Committee admitted evidence and permitted witnesses as long as there were no party objections, see Doc. 44-4 at 56, and as long as the proposed witnesses were not management officials—AFGE practice was to exclude management officials from disciplinary proceedings, Docs. 44-6 ¶¶ 18-19; 44-4 at 54. When a party raised objections, the Trial Committee listened to the views of the parties, and then proceeded to decide whether to admit the evidence at issue. See Docs. 44-4 at 54, 56; 44-2 at 82-84.

AFGE objected to almost all the witnesses and evidence Brittain tried to introduce. Doc. 44-2 at 66. The Trial Committee allowed Brittain and Brittain's witness Robert Van Slyke, Newman's predecessor as president of Local 2779, to testify. Docs. 44-2 at 66, 75; 44-6 ¶¶ 14, 17; see also Doc. 47-1 ¶ 23. However, the committee did not allow Mary Devlin, former secretary-treasurer of Local 2779, or Skinner to testify on Brittain's behalf. Doc. 47-1 ¶¶ 23, 29-30. The parties dispute whether Brittain attempted to call Cox as a witness. See Docs. 47-1 ¶ 26; 44-6 ¶ 16; 44-4 at 43-44, 53-54.

AFGE called Newman, Mary Pararo, and Bill Kudrie as witnesses, and Brittain's representative Hardison cross-examined Pararo. Doc. 44-6 ¶ 13. In terms of documentary evidence, the Trial Committee admitted twelve joint exhibits and two of Brittain's individual exhibits, see Docs. 44-2 at 72-73, 78, 80-82; 44-4 at 39-40; 44-6 ¶ 15, and excluded a police report and witnessstatements that provide details on a 2015 altercation between Newman and Skinner, see Docs. 44-2 at 82; 44-4 at 53; 44-3 at 115, 120-26.

A letter from Cox dated February 10, 2017 notified Brittain that the Trial Committee found him guilty as charged. Docs. 44-4 at 73; 44-2 at 75-76. The letter also stated that, as a penalty, Brittain was removed from his position as President of Local 1976, precluded from being appointed to any office within AFGE for 3.5 years, precluded from running for any office or being a delegate within AFGE for 3.5 years, and precluded from membership within AFGE for 3.5 years. Doc. 44-4 at 73. A report of the Trial Committee's decision (the "Trial Committee Report") was attached to the February 10th letter. Id. at 74-75.

In March 2017, Brittain filed an appeal, to which fifteen exhibits were attached, with the AFGE National Executive Council. Docs. 44-3 at 23-24; 44-2 at...