Arbitration is similar to ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution). It is a technique of solving the dispute out side the court. Resolve the dispute informally is called Arbitration. In this process the parties meet with a professional third party who assists them in resolving the dispute. This third party is known as arbitrator. It is a less formal and often more consensual way to resolve the dispute than is done in the courts. In this process the third party imposes a decision and both the parties involve in the dispute have to follow the decision. Arbitration can also be said binding dispute resolution. Arbitration is different from the ADR, because ADR is non-binding and Arbitration is binding. Arbitration is commonly used for resolving commercial disputes.
There are a lot of delusions related with labor arbitration in the United States. The main misconception is about the evolution of arbitration in the United States. Most of the people think that it came into existence in 1970s, but arbitration is a very old process of solving disputes between people and nations. There are many form of arbitration. Grievance arbitration is one of them. Grievance arbitration was promoted by the labor unions in the United States. But today culture of compulsory arbitration is growing for resolving the dispute. According to many labor educators and authors there should be a medium for resolving the dispute in every business. If the dispute with the workers does not resolved, then the productivity deceases. That’s why collective bargaining agreements are on rise. Collective bargaining agreements contain arbitration clauses for resolving dispute. Means grievance arbitration is on rise. There were only 73% labor contracts contained arbitration clauses in America by the year 1944. This figure rose at 95% by the year 1980. At present 98% of all collective bargaining agreements or labor contracts contain arbitration clauses in the United States.
This method of dispute resolution (Grievance arbitration) is also supported by the federal government of the United States. That’s why government passed Interstate Commerce Act in 1887. In this act there was a voluntary arbitration clause for the workers and labors in the Railroad industry. In the support of the arbitration, government passed Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) in 1925. This act increased the reliability and authority of the arbitration. The Civil Rights Act of 1991 encouraged people for using the arbitration in the interpretation of antidiscrimination laws.
There is no one which can exactly tell about the time when arbitration got started, but it is said that it was long before the twentieth century. There are many examples of arbitration from the history such as King Solomon was an arbitrator, the father of Alexander the Great used arbitration for resolving territorial disputes. Arbitration is very old in the United Kingdom. It is older than the common law system. England is using arbitration for resolving the commercial disputes since 1224. There was a great importance of arbitration in the ancient Rome for resolving the disputes. This method was also used by the Native American tribes for resolving disputes within the tribe and between different tribes. There was an arbitration clause in the will passed by the George Washington, first president of the United States.
Before 1930 arbitration was extensively used in the United States for negotiation. Because of the industrialization and the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 arbitration has been used at many places. Grievance arbitration became a preferred method in 1945 for resolving the dispute.
In Grievance Procedure first Labor Relations Staff informs the employer in writing of the grievance. Then Labor Relations Staff and employee meet with the designate or with the Director of the employee. Then the grievance is presented. If a satisfactory solution does not come out after the resolution of the grievance, the employer is then notified in writing that the grievance will continue. After this employee and Labor Relations meet with the General Manager and present the grievance. If the employee and the Labor Relations Staff still do not get a satisfactory solution, then the CIPP Grievance Arbitration Approval Committee will meet to review the case. The employee can present his/her case to the Grievance Arbitration Approval Committee without hesitation. At the end a panel of three members hears the grievance and makes a ruling.
At present, American Arbitration Association (AAA) is the most famous arbitration organizations in the world. There are over 800 employees in 35 offices in the American Arbitration Association. It represents over 8,000 mediators and arbitrators worldwide. American Arbitration Association controlled a lot of cases in recent years and it administered many cases every year. Now grievance arbitration is not limited up to the labor industry. It has expanded beyond its scope in some last decades in the United States. For example arbitration method was used for arbitration, who took drugs in the Olympic events of 1996.
Arbitration can be used to reduce the burden on the United States courts. In many cases there is no need of going into courts, they can be solved with the help of the arbitration such as property disputes, divorces, wills, and similar other cases. Arbitration can be used to free up the courts to handle mostly criminal cases. According to many economists arbitration is a fastest growing industry of the United States. In the United States, every year more than 70,000 grievance and interest arbitration cases are governed by arbitrators and because of the final and binding nature of arbitration approximately all the cases are solved by this.
Now it can be said that arbitration is oldest forms of dispute resolution processes. in the workplace in unionized settings and in the nonunion settings grievance arbitration has proved a broadly accepted method for conflict resolution. The main reason behind the popularity of grievance arbitration is World War II, because the companies didn’t want to decrease their productivity during the war. It is sure that arbitration will decrease the burden of the United States courts in the very near future and it would be beneficial for both the parties involved in the dispute.
References
Grievance/Arbitration Procedure. Retrieved February 25, 2009 from http://www.cipp.on.ca/english/grieve_arb.htm
Massey, R.V. History of Arbitration and Grievance Arbitration in the United States. Retrieved February 25, 2009 from http://www.wvu.edu/~exten/depts/ilsr/arbitration_history.pdf
