NOT PRECEDENTIAL
`
`
`UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
`FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
`_____________
`
`No. 20-1689
`_____________
`
`SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL
`UNION HEALTHCARE PENNSYLVANIA
`
`v.
`
`HERITAGE VALLEY HEALTH SYSTEM,
` Appellant
`
`______________
`
`Appeal from the United States District Court
`for the Western District of Pennsylvania
`(D.C. No. 2-19-cv-00393)
`District Judge: Hon. J. Nicholas Ranjan
`______________
`
`Submitted under Third Circuit L.A.R. 34.1(a)
`November 19, 2020
`______________
`
`Before: JORDAN, KRAUSE, and RESTREPO, Circuit Judges.
`
`(Filed: February 1, 2021)
`______________
`
`OPINION*
`______________
`
`
`
`
`
`
`* This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and, pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7, does not
`constitute binding precedent.
`
`
`
`
`
`UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
`FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
`_____________
`
`No. 20-1689
`_____________
`
`SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL
`UNION HEALTHCARE PENNSYLVANIA
`
`v.
`
`HERITAGE VALLEY HEALTH SYSTEM,
` Appellant
`
`______________
`
`Appeal from the United States District Court
`for the Western District of Pennsylvania
`(D.C. No. 2-19-cv-00393)
`District Judge: Hon. J. Nicholas Ranjan
`______________
`
`Submitted under Third Circuit L.A.R. 34.1(a)
`November 19, 2020
`______________
`
`Before: JORDAN, KRAUSE, and RESTREPO, Circuit Judges.
`
`(Filed: February 1, 2021)
`______________
`
`OPINION*
`______________
`
`
`
`
`
`
`* This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and, pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7, does not
`constitute binding precedent.
`
`
`
`
`RESTREPO, Circuit Judge
`
`
`
`Resolution of this appeal requires us to determine whether a collective bargaining
`
`agreement between a hospital and a nurses’ union mandates that a staffing dispute be
`
`arbitrated. Because we agree with the District Court that the plain language of the
`
`agreement requires arbitration, we will affirm.
`
`I.
`
`
`
`Facts and Procedural History
`
`Heritage Valley Health System (“Heritage Valley”) owns and operates a hospital
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`in Beaver, Pennsylvania that employs registered nurses represented by the Service
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`Employees International Union Healthcare Pennsylvania (“Union”). The Union and
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`Heritage Valley entered into a collective bargaining agreement effective from July 1,
`
`2016 until June 30, 2019 (the “CBA”). Under the CBA, Heritage Valley was required to
`
`maintain certain nurse-to-patient staffing ratios in each unit of the hospital. The ratios
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`were collectively bargained for between the parties and differed depending on the shift
`
`and hospital unit.
`
`
`
`Heritage Valley also employs non-unionized patient care assistants. Patient care
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`assistants do not require a nursing license and their responsibilities require less skill than
`
`those performed by the unionized nurses. Heritage Valley typically assigns patient care
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`assistants to help three to four registered nurses, which means that each patient care
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`assistant tends to many more patients than a single registered nurse during a shift.
`
`
`
`The Union filed a grievance under the CBA in October 2018 alleging that Heritage
`
`Valley assigned registered nurses to work as patient care assistants on at least three
`
`separate dates, requiring the nurses to care for more patients than permitted by the
`2
`
`
`
`
`
`mandatory staffing ratios. The Union contended that “pulling” these nurses to work as
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`patient care assistants breached multiple articles of the CBA and that Article 7 of the
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`CBA required Heritage Valley to arbitrate the alleged breach.
`
`
`
`Heritage Valley refused to arbitrate, arguing that its actions were both permitted
`
`under the CBA and excluded from the Agreement’s arbitration clause by Article 10.5(a).
`
`Heritage Valley contends that Article 10.5(a) of the CBA requires the Union to submit its
`
`grievance to the “Professional Practice Committee” for a “recommended solution,” and
`
`explicitly excludes arbitration as a means of resolution. Article 10.5 states in full:
`
`10.5. Voluntary Floating/Pulling/Use of Agency Nurses The parties
`
`agree that it is in the interest of patient care that all staff assigned to a
`particular unit or work area shall be properly trained, oriented, and familiar
`with the policies and procedures of that unit or work area. To this end, the
`following guidelines shall apply:
`
`(a) Heritage Valley, Beaver shall not provide regular ongoing
`staffing in any area through the use of Agency personnel,
`temporary or contract nurses or floating/pulling of employees.
`In the event that such potential problem areas are identified,
`they shall be referred to the Professional Practice Committee for
`a recommended solution, and any dispute shall not be subject to
`the grievance and arbitration procedure in Article 7.
`
`
`The Professional Practice Committee is an internal committee created by the CBA
`
`
`
`
`
`
`App. 85.
`
`that is comprised of representatives from Heritage Valley and the Union. Article 10.1
`
`dictates that, among other responsibilities, the Committee may develop recommendations
`
`regarding staffing that will be forwarded to Heritage Valley’s administration, which must
`
`consider the recommendations but maintains the authority to set the hospital’s staffing
`
`
`
`3
`
`
`
`levels. In refusing to arbitrate, Heritage Valley invited the Union to consider submitting
`
`the “pulling” issue to the Committee for a recommended solution.
`
`
`
`The Union declined the invitation and filed a lawsuit in District Court, claiming its
`
`grievance alleged an arbitrable violation of the CBA. The parties agreed that the case
`
`presented a question of pure contract interpretation, that there was no dispute of material
`
`fact, and that the case should be resolved on cross-motions for summary judgment. App.
`
`6-7. Accordingly, the District Court proceeded to summary judgment on the contract
`
`interpretation issue. The Court’s interpretation of the CBA was that the Union’s
`
`grievance constituted an arbitrable claim. It therefore denied Heritage Valley’s motion,
`
`granted summary judgment in the Union’s favor, and ordered the Union’s pending
`
`grievance be referred to arbitration in accordance with the procedures set forth in Article
`
`7 of the CBA. Heritage Valley filed this appeal.1
`
`II.
`
`Standard of Review and Discussion
`
`
`
`Unless the agreement clearly provides otherwise, the courts are tasked with
`
`interpreting agreements to determine whether the parties agreed to arbitrate the dispute in
`
`question. Rite Aid of Pa., Inc. v. United Food and Com. Workers Union, Local 1776, 595
`
`F.3d 128, 131 (3d Cir. 2010). The District Court’s interpretation and application of the
`
`parties’ arbitration agreement is subject to our plenary review. Id. We have no factual
`
`findings to review, given that the parties “agree[d] that all material facts are undisputed.”
`
`App. 28.
`
`
`1 We have jurisdiction over this appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291.
`4
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`“[A]rbitration is a matter of contract and a party cannot be required to submit to
`
`arbitration any dispute which he [or she] has not agreed so to submit.” United Steelworks
`
`of Am. v. Warrior & Gulf Nav. Co., 363 U.S. 574, 582 (1960). But given the “strong
`
`federal policy in favor of resolving labor disputes through arbitration,” see Rite Aid of
`
`Pa., Inc., 595 F.3d at 131, doubts regarding whether an arbitration clause covers the
`
`dispute “should be resolved in favor of coverage,” United Steelworkers of Am., 363 U.S.
`
`at 582-83.
`
`
`
`Where, as here, the collective bargaining agreement contains a broad arbitration
`
`clause, there is a presumption of arbitrability, and that presumption can be rebutted by
`
`“only the most forceful evidence of a purpose to exclude the claim from arbitration.” AT
`
`& T Techs., Inc. v. Commc’ns Workers of Am., 475 U.S. 643, 650 (1986).2 Accordingly,
`
`to rebut the presumption, the opposing party must identify language in the agreement that
`
`expressly excludes the dispute from arbitration, or provide “strong and forceful” evidence
`
`of the parties’ intent to not arbitrate the matter. United Steelworkers of Am. v. Lukens
`
`Steel Co., 969 F.2d 1468, 1475 (3d Cir. 1992). But where the contract’s language “is
`
`explicit and unambiguous regarding whether the [g]rievance is arbitrable[,] there is no
`
`
`2 Article 7 of the CBA is titled “Grievance Procedure” and it details the steps to
`arbitration. Article 7.2 states that “[a] grievance which has not been resolved” by an
`internal process may “be referred to arbitration by the Union[.]” App. 79. Article 7.1
`defines grievance broadly as “any dispute or complaint arising between the parties hereto,
`under or out of this Agreement or the interpretation, application, or any alleged breach
`thereof . . ..” Id. at 78. And under Article 7.5, the arbitrator “shall have jurisdiction”
`over “disputes arising out of grievances as defined in Section 7.1 of this Article[.]” Id. at
`79.
`
`
`
`5
`
`
`
`need to look to extrinsic evidence.” Local 827, IBEW v. Verizon N.J., Inc., 458 F.3d 305,
`
`312 (3d Cir. 2006) (quoting Lukens, 989 F.2d at 673).
`
`A. CBA’s plain language
`
`
`
`Heritage Valley hinges its refusal to arbitrate on its interpretation of Article 10.5
`
`of the CBA, which it claims expressly excludes the Union’s grievance from the CBA’s
`
`arbitration provision. Specifically, Heritage Valley posits that Article 10.5 requires
`
`disputes over allegations of “pulling” nurses be referred to the Professional Practice
`
`Committee, and that the Committee’s proposed solution is not subject to arbitration. The
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`District Court properly rejected this interpretation as contrary to the CBA’s plain
`
`language.
`
`
`
`Under Pennsylvania law, it is well-settled that the intent of contracting parties is
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`determined by the writing of the contract. Am. Eagle Outfitters v. Lyle & Scott Ltd., 584
`
`F.3d 575, 587 (3d Cir. 2009). Because the CBA’s plain language is clear that the Union’s
`
`grievance is arbitrable, we need to look no further than the Agreement’s writing to decide
`
`that the Union was entitled to summary judgment. See Brokers Title Co. v. St. Paul Fire
`
`& Marine Ins. Co., 610 F.2d 1174, 1178 (3d Cir. 1979).
`
`
`
`The first sentence of Article 10.5(a) states the hospital “shall not” provide ongoing
`
`staffing in any area of the hospital through the use of “pulling” nurses. App. 85.
`
`According to the CBA’s plain language, therefore, the pulling of nurses despite the
`
`mandate that Heritage Valley not do so would constitute a violation of the CBA’s terms.
`
`Such a violation qualifies as a grievance under the Article 7 arbitration clause, and the
`
`Union may refer unresolved grievances to arbitration. App. 78-79. Article 10.5(a)
`6
`
`
`
`
`
`instructs the Professional Practice Committee to handle “potential problem areas”
`
`involving staffing, not alleged CBA violations. App. 85. Moreover, Article 10.5(a)
`
`excludes disputes arising from the Committee’s “recommended solution[s]” from
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`arbitration; there is no suggestion that the exclusion extends to disputes arising from
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`Heritage Valley’s allegedly violative conduct. App. 85. Because the plain language is
`
`unambiguous, we need to look no further to affirm the District Court’s grant of summary
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`judgment in favor of the Union.
`
`B. Extrinsic evidence of parties’ intent
`
`
`
`Heritage Valley acknowledges on appeal that this case “comes down” to contract
`
`interpretation but still argues the District Court erred by ignoring forceful evidence of the
`
`parties’ intent to exclude the instant grievance from arbitration. Brief for Appellant 11,
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`14. Specifically, Heritage Valley contends that the parties engaged in a “course of
`
`conduct under the CBA” that is contrary to the District Court’s interpretation of the
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`Agreement. Brief for Appellant, 14. The “course of conduct” evidence seemingly
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`consists of an incident in 2015 where the Union did not pursue arbitration in a similar
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`staffing dispute. Heritage Valley further argues that, because the Union did not attempt
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`to re-negotiate the terms of Article 10.5 in the subsequent collective bargaining
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`agreement, the parties did not intend for such staffing disputes to be subject to arbitration.
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`Because we agree with the District Court that the CBA’s plain language unambiguously
`
`mandates arbitration, we need not consider whether this extrinsic evidence overcomes the
`
`presumption of arbitrability. See Local 827, 458 F.3d at 312 (“Given the clarity of the
`
`
`
`7
`
`
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`language in this CBA, we find that the bargaining history cited by [the plaintiff] is
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`inapposite.”).3
`
`III. Conclusion
`
`
`
`For the foregoing reasons, we agree with the District Court’s ruling that the
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`grievance is arbitrable under the CBA and affirm the grant of the Union’s motion for
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`summary judgment.
`
`
`3 Heritage Valley argues the Union’s other claims of CBA violations all involve
`the “floating and pulling” of nurses and are therefore also excluded from arbitration
`pursuant to Article 10.5(a). Because we conclude that the Union’s grievance arising from
`Article 10.5(a) is not excluded from the CBA’s arbitration clause, we do not need to
`address this argument on appeal.
`
`
`
`8
`
`
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