{"attribution":{"source":"legal.exploreworldai.com","canonical":"https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/judgment-text?id=us:ca1-25-1598-2026-09-29","cite_as":"NovaCopilot, legal.exploreworldai.com (https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/judgment-text?id=us:ca1-25-1598-2026-09-29)","license":"https://legal.exploreworldai.com/revision","version":"legal-2026-10-11","fingerprint":"ewai:us:e0b409","proof":"sha256:05c4532176a536002e6282c369567a7658391aa50f7f9380dd3e24f030838a9e","jurisdiction":"us","lang":"en","publisher":"NovaCopilot by ExploreWorld Legal","terms":"https://legal.exploreworldai.com/om"},"brand_source":"Source: NovaCopilot","item":{"schema_version":"1.0.0","id":"us:ca1-25-1598-2026-09-29","jurisdiction":"us","lang":"en","brand_source":"Source: NovaCopilot","brand":{"product":"NovaCopilot","platform":"ExploreWorldAI","infrastructure":"ExploreWorld Legal","infrastructure_url":"legal.exploreworldai.com","legal_entity":"Valkiv Ventures AB","permanent_url":"https://legal.exploreworldai.com/novacopilot","source":"Source: NovaCopilot","powered_by":"Powered by NovaCopilot","license":"https://legal.exploreworldai.com/licensvillkor"},"sections":[{"title":"United States Court of Appeals","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"For the First Circuit","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"No. 25-1598","paragraphs":["para_4","para_5","para_6"]},{"title":"HARVARD GRADUATE STUDENTS UNION - UNITED AUTOWORKERS, LOCAL","paragraphs":["para_8","para_9"]},{"title":"APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS","paragraphs":["para_12"]},{"title":"Before","paragraphs":["para_14","para_15"]},{"title":"Robert A. Fisher, with whom John Ayers-Mann and Seyfarth Shaw","paragraphs":["para_17"]},{"title":"Patrick N. Bryant, with whom Pyle Rome Ehrenberg PC was on","paragraphs":["para_19"]},{"title":"September 14, 2026","paragraphs":["para_21"]},{"title":"THOMPSON, Circuit Judge. Since the mid-eighteenth","paragraphs":["para_23","para_24","para_25","para_26","para_27","para_28","para_29","para_30"]},{"title":"Autoworkers, Local 5118 (\"Union\"), which brings this case against","paragraphs":["para_32","para_33","para_34","para_35","para_36","para_37"]},{"title":"I. Background","paragraphs":["para_39","para_40","para_41","para_42"]},{"title":"2 According to its official website, Harvard University is a","paragraphs":["para_44","para_45","para_46","para_47","para_48"]},{"title":"285, 260 F.3d 16, 18 (1st Cir. 2001) (accepting the facts that the","paragraphs":["para_50","para_51","para_52","para_53"]},{"title":"A. The Parties and the Terms of their Agreement","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"We start with the origins of the Union. After it","paragraphs":["para_56"]},{"title":"Board (\"NLRB\") to become the exclusive bargaining representative","paragraphs":["para_58","para_59"]},{"title":"The CBA, which was effective until June 30, 2025, included numerous","paragraphs":["para_61","para_62","para_63","para_64","para_65","para_66","para_67","para_68","para_69","para_70"]},{"title":"Harvard University who serve as Research Assistants","paragraphs":["para_72"]},{"title":"(regardless of funding sources, including those","paragraphs":["para_74","para_75","para_76"]},{"title":"Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, to name a","paragraphs":["para_78","para_79","para_80","para_81","para_82","para_83","para_84","para_85","para_86","para_87"]},{"title":"Assistant is \"[a] graduate student usually appointed on","paragraphs":["para_89","para_90","para_91","para_92","para_93","para_94","para_95","para_96","para_97","para_98","para_99"]},{"title":"Under the terms of the CBA, Harvard was required to","paragraphs":["para_101","para_102"]},{"title":"2 of the CBA -- that were in the bargaining unit. It also agreed","paragraphs":["para_104","para_105","para_106"]},{"title":"Research Assistant in the Psychology Department, he never received","paragraphs":["para_108","para_109"]},{"title":"Article 6 of the CBA. This grievance requested that Harvard","paragraphs":["para_111","para_112","para_113"]},{"title":"Union filed a second grievance with Harvard wherein it claimed","paragraphs":["para_115","para_116","para_117"]},{"title":"3 An appointment letter inducts the student worker into the","paragraphs":["para_119","para_120","para_121","para_122","para_123","para_124","para_125","para_126"]},{"title":"(2) pay the Union dues that would have been paid by the psychology","paragraphs":["para_128","para_129","para_130"]},{"title":"B. Arbitration and the Ensuing Litigation","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"In due course, the grievances were submitted for","paragraphs":["para_133","para_134"]},{"title":"(1) whether the grievance was substantively arbitrable;","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"(2) if yes, whether the grievance was timely filed and","paragraphs":["para_137"]},{"title":"(3) whether Harvard violated the CBA by classifying the","paragraphs":["para_139","para_140","para_141","para_142"]},{"title":"4 Harvard does not challenge the arbitrator's timeliness","paragraphs":["para_144","para_145","para_146","para_147"]},{"title":"(4) whether there is a remedy if Harvard violated the","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"CBA.5","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"A series of four evidentiary hearings before the","paragraphs":["para_151","para_152","para_153","para_154","para_155","para_156"]},{"title":"Before the arbitrator, the parties weaved diverging","paragraphs":["para_158","para_159","para_160","para_161"]},{"title":"Because the psychology doctoral students received funding that was","paragraphs":["para_163","para_164","para_165"]},{"title":"(\"NLRA\") as interpreted in Trustees of Columbia University in New","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"York, 364 N.L.R.B. 1080, 1083 (2016). Any research undertaken by","paragraphs":["para_168"]},{"title":"5 From the Union's perspective, only issues (3) and (4) were","paragraphs":["para_170","para_171","para_172","para_173","para_174","para_175","para_176","para_177"]},{"title":"Not surprisingly, the Union was of another mind. It","paragraphs":["para_179"]},{"title":"Assistant[s]\" as defined by Articles 1 and/or 2 of the CBA (we'll","paragraphs":["para_181","para_182","para_183","para_184","para_185","para_186","para_187","para_188","para_189","para_190"]},{"title":"Harvard's violation of the CBA, an appropriate remedy should be","paragraphs":["para_192"]},{"title":"6 Principal Investigators are tenured or tenured-track faculty","paragraphs":["para_194","para_195","para_196"]},{"title":"Then came the arbitrator's decision (part one and part","paragraphs":["para_198"]},{"title":"Harvard's insistence that she answer the precursor question of","paragraphs":["para_200","para_201","para_202","para_203","para_204","para_205","para_206"]},{"title":"Harvard violated it by excluding Research Assistants from the","paragraphs":["para_208","para_209","para_210","para_211","para_212","para_213"]},{"title":"7 To quote the arbitrator:","paragraphs":["para_215","para_216","para_217","para_218","para_219","para_220","para_221","para_222","para_223","para_224","para_225"]},{"title":"In answering that question, the arbitrator pointed out","paragraphs":["para_227","para_228","para_229","para_230","para_231","para_232","para_233","para_234","para_235","para_236"]},{"title":"Organismic and Evolutionary Biology (\"OEB\") graduate students who","paragraphs":["para_238","para_239"]},{"title":"The arbitrator noted that in one particular lab, two","paragraphs":["para_241","para_242","para_243","para_244","para_245"]},{"title":"8 In 2017 the NLRB found that the first-year OEB graduate","paragraphs":["para_247","para_248"]},{"title":"OEB students already included in the bargaining unit, regardless","paragraphs":["para_250","para_251","para_252","para_253","para_254","para_255","para_256","para_257"]},{"title":"Based on these factors, the arbitrator found that \"the","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"University violated the CBA by failing to classify psychology PhD","paragraphs":["para_260"]},{"title":"1 and/or as Research Assistant 1 under Article 2.\" The arbitrator","paragraphs":["para_262","para_263"]},{"title":"(2) provide lost benefits and payments to the formerly omitted","paragraphs":["para_265","para_266"]},{"title":"Having lost in arbitration, Harvard sought the district","paragraphs":["para_268"]},{"title":"Harvard argued -- among other things -- that the award should be","paragraphs":["para_270","para_271","para_272","para_273","para_274","para_275","para_276","para_277","para_278","para_279","para_280"]},{"title":"Responding to Harvard's complaint, the Union pushed back","paragraphs":["para_282"]},{"title":"It asseverated that the award was grounded in the terms of the","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"CBA, the grievance was addressed through the mutually agreed upon","paragraphs":["para_285","para_286","para_287","para_288","para_289"]},{"title":"Eventually, the parties filed cross-motions for summary","paragraphs":["para_291","para_292","para_293","para_294"]},{"title":"9 The district court awarded the Union costs, but denied its","paragraphs":["para_296","para_297","para_298"]},{"title":"Union, AFL-CIO v. Nonotuck Res. Assocs., Inc., 64 F.3d 735, 737","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"(1st Cir. 1995) (quoting Wash. Hops. Ctr. v. Serv. Emp. Int'l","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"Union, 746 F.2d 1503, 1510 (D.C. Cir. 1984)). The district court","paragraphs":["para_302","para_303","para_304","para_305"]},{"title":"II. Discussion","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"Much as it did below, Harvard advances here three primary","paragraphs":["para_308","para_309","para_310","para_311","para_312","para_313","para_314","para_315","para_316","para_317","para_318","para_319"]},{"title":"LLC, 932 F.3d at 7 (quoting Mt. Valley Prop., Inc. v. Applied Risk","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"Servs., Inc., 863 F.3d 90, 93 (1st Cir. 2017)). We'll say more","paragraphs":["para_322","para_323"]},{"title":"A. Substantive Arbitrability","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"Raising first the issue of substantive","paragraphs":["para_326","para_327","para_328"]},{"title":"Inc., 64 F.3d 735, 739 (1st Cir. 1995) -- Harvard once again","paragraphs":["para_330","para_331","para_332","para_333"]},{"title":"Referring to the students as \"non-employees,\" Harvard","paragraphs":["para_335","para_336","para_337","para_338","para_339","para_340","para_341","para_342"]},{"title":"But, says Harvard, because they are \"students who receive funds\"","paragraphs":["para_344","para_345","para_346","para_347","para_348","para_349"]},{"title":"10 Harvard applies this argument to other students that could","paragraphs":["para_351","para_352","para_353","para_354","para_355","para_356","para_357","para_358"]},{"title":"In reaching a contrary conclusion, one that coincides","paragraphs":["para_360","para_361","para_362","para_363","para_364","para_365"]},{"title":"But that reasoning, says Harvard, is flawed. Pointing","paragraphs":["para_367","para_368","para_369","para_370","para_371","para_372","para_373","para_374","para_375","para_376","para_377","para_378","para_379","para_380","para_381"]},{"title":"Not true, counters the Union. The arbitrator was not","paragraphs":["para_383","para_384","para_385","para_386","para_387","para_388","para_389"]},{"title":"Harvard contends, move the needle. The Union argues that we ought","paragraphs":["para_391","para_392","para_393","para_394","para_395","para_396"]},{"title":"Harvard had violated them. And even if students who might","paragraphs":["para_398","para_399","para_400","para_401","para_402"]},{"title":"11 It's worth noting that Harvard conceded during oral","paragraphs":["para_404","para_405","para_406"]},{"title":"Here's our take. As earlier noted, \"substantive","paragraphs":["para_408","para_409"]},{"title":"Serv. Emps. Int'l Union, AFL-CIO, 64 F.3d at 739. And while a","paragraphs":["para_411","para_412","para_413","para_414","para_415","para_416","para_417"]},{"title":"Even with those principles in the backdrop, Harvard","paragraphs":["para_419","para_420","para_421","para_422","para_423","para_424","para_425"]},{"title":"849 (1st Cir. 1980); see also NLRB v. Me. Sugar Indus., Inc., 425","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"F.2d 942, 946 (1st Cir. 1970) (explaining that the NLRB enjoys","paragraphs":["para_428","para_429","para_430","para_431","para_432"]},{"title":"(\"While it is possible to construe the relief sought as calling","paragraphs":["para_434","para_435","para_436","para_437"]},{"title":"On behalf of the psychology doctoral students, the Union","paragraphs":["para_439"]},{"title":"Articles 1 and 2 of the CBA (relating to who is within the","paragraphs":["para_441","para_442","para_443","para_444","para_445","para_446"]},{"title":"United Food & Com. Workers Union, 527 F.3d 1, 4 (1st Cir. 2008)","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"(finding that an issue was arbitrable \"because the parties had","paragraphs":["para_449","para_450","para_451"]},{"title":"United Paperworkers Int'l Union v. Misco, Inc., 484 U.S. 29, 37-","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"38 (1987) (\"Because the parties have contracted to have disputes","paragraphs":["para_454","para_455","para_456","para_457","para_458","para_459","para_460","para_461","para_462","para_463"]},{"title":"Thus, after concluding she needn't answer whether the students","paragraphs":["para_465"]},{"title":"NLRA, she put her focus on legal contract interpretation. The","paragraphs":["para_467"]},{"title":"Grievance Clause behind her to address an interpretation grievance","paragraphs":["para_469","para_470"]},{"title":"Constr. Indus. of Mass., Inc. v. Healey, 844 F.3d 318, 324 (1st","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"Cir. 2016) (emphasizing \"the primacy of the arbitrator in CBA","paragraphs":["para_473"]},{"title":"(explaining that the courts give \"great deference\" to an","paragraphs":["para_475","para_476"]},{"title":"A reading of Columbia does not help Harvard's arguments","paragraphs":["para_478","para_479","para_480","para_481","para_482","para_483","para_484","para_485"]},{"title":"The parties had already agreed in the CBA that \"Research","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"Assistant[s],\" as therein defined, may be included in the","paragraphs":["para_488"]},{"title":"Specifically, the parties acknowledged in Article 20 of the CBA","paragraphs":["para_490"]},{"title":"Assistant\" in their capacity as employees in the bargaining unit","paragraphs":["para_492","para_493","para_494","para_495","para_496","para_497","para_498","para_499"]},{"title":"So here, we reject Harvard's substantive arbitrability","paragraphs":["para_501"]},{"title":"12 These students include the OEB doctoral students we","paragraphs":["para_503","para_504"]},{"title":"B. The Essence of the CBA","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"Making an argument similar to the last, Harvard next","paragraphs":["para_507","para_508","para_509"]},{"title":"Assistant[s]\" to be \"employed by\" Harvard. Harvard claims that","paragraphs":["para_511","para_512","para_513","para_514","para_515","para_516","para_517"]},{"title":"Classification provision defining a \"Research Assistant,\" which","paragraphs":["para_519","para_520"]},{"title":"Along similar lines, Harvard argues that the arbitrator","paragraphs":["para_522","para_523","para_524","para_525","para_526"]},{"title":"Furthermore, taking aim at the district court's interpretation of","paragraphs":["para_528","para_529","para_530","para_531","para_532","para_533"]},{"title":"To all of this, the Union counters that the arbitrator's","paragraphs":["para_535","para_536","para_537","para_538","para_539","para_540","para_541"]},{"title":"Likewise, the Union argues that the arbitrator merely applied \"a","paragraphs":["para_543","para_544","para_545"]},{"title":"Building on our earlier point that an arbitrator's award","paragraphs":["para_547","para_548","para_549","para_550","para_551","para_552"]},{"title":"42, 212 F.3d at 65. A successful challenge to an arbitration award","paragraphs":["para_554","para_555","para_556","para_557","para_558","para_559","para_560","para_561","para_562","para_563"]},{"title":"Chauffeurs, Warehousemen & Helpers of Am., Loc. No. 379, 29 F.3d","paragraphs":["para_565"]},{"title":"Tackling Harvard's second argument first, one that","paragraphs":["para_567","para_568","para_569","para_570"]},{"title":"It is evident that the arbitrator didn't solely rely on","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"Article 2. Specifically, she premised her decision on the","paragraphs":["para_573","para_574","para_575","para_576","para_577","para_578","para_579","para_580","para_581","para_582","para_583"]},{"title":"Harvard also fails to show where in all of this the","paragraphs":["para_585","para_586","para_587","para_588","para_589","para_590","para_591","para_592","para_593"]},{"title":"Div. of Constr. Indus. of Mass., 29 F.3d at 747 (holding that once","paragraphs":["para_595","para_596","para_597"]},{"title":"Servs., Inc. v. Union General de Trabajadores de P.R., 961 F.2d","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"317, 319 (1st Cir. 1992) (\"[A] court should uphold an award that","paragraphs":["para_600","para_601","para_602"]},{"title":"Dorado Beach Hotel Corp. v. Union de Trabajadores de la Industria","paragraphs":["para_604","para_605","para_606"]},{"title":"(1st Cir. 1982). \"[A]s long as the arbitrator is even arguably","paragraphs":["para_608","para_609","para_610","para_611","para_612"]},{"title":"C. Public Policy","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"Harvard's last argument for vindication is that the","paragraphs":["para_615","para_616","para_617","para_618","para_619","para_620"]},{"title":"Public policy would be better served, says Harvard, if the Union","paragraphs":["para_622","para_623","para_624","para_625"]},{"title":"The Union counters that the award doesn't contravene","paragraphs":["para_627","para_628","para_629","para_630","para_631","para_632","para_633","para_634","para_635","para_636","para_637"]},{"title":"We've recognized an exception to \"the general rule that","paragraphs":["para_639","para_640","para_641","para_642","para_643","para_644"]},{"title":"Grace & Co. v. Local Union 759, Int'l Union of United Rubber","paragraphs":[]},{"title":"Workers, 461 U.S. 757, 766 (1983)). It is not enough that an award","paragraphs":["para_647"]},{"title":"Rather, the public policy purportedly violated must be ascertained","paragraphs":["para_649","para_650"]},{"title":"That is presumably why Harvard cites to the NLRA in","paragraphs":["para_652","para_653","para_654","para_655","para_656","para_657"]},{"title":"It has long been recognized by the Supreme Court and","paragraphs":["para_659","para_660"]},{"title":"(1975), \"right to . . . engage in concerted activities for mutual","paragraphs":["para_662","para_663","para_664"]},{"title":"Pivoting off Harvard's own premise, we conclude that in","paragraphs":["para_666","para_667","para_668","para_669","para_670","para_671","para_672","para_673","para_674","para_675","para_676","para_677","para_678","para_679"]},{"title":"Union. So we echo the district court here in concluding that the","paragraphs":["para_681","para_682","para_683","para_684","para_685","para_686"]},{"title":"Harvard does not clearly show that the award creates an","paragraphs":["para_688","para_689","para_690"]},{"title":"Inc. v. Tanner, 72 F.3d 234, 241–42 (1st Cir. 1995) (finding that","paragraphs":["para_692","para_693","para_694"]},{"title":"NLRA and finding no other explicit, well defined public policy","paragraphs":["para_696","para_697","para_698","para_699"]},{"title":"III. Conclusion","paragraphs":["para_701","para_702","para_703"]}],"paragraphs":[{"text":"United States Court of Appeals","paragraph_id":"para_1"},{"text":"For the First Circuit","paragraph_id":"para_2"},{"text":"No. 25-1598","paragraph_id":"para_3"},{"text":"PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE,","paragraph_id":"para_4"},{"text":"Plaintiff, Appellant,","paragraph_id":"para_5"},{"text":"v.","paragraph_id":"para_6"},{"text":"HARVARD GRADUATE STUDENTS UNION - UNITED AUTOWORKERS, LOCAL","paragraph_id":"para_7"},{"text":"5118,","paragraph_id":"para_8"},{"text":"Defendant, Appellee.","paragraph_id":"para_9"},{"text":"APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT","paragraph_id":"para_10"},{"text":"FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS","paragraph_id":"para_11"},{"text":"[Hon. Leo T. Sorokin, U.S. District Judge]","paragraph_id":"para_12"},{"text":"Before","paragraph_id":"para_13"},{"text":"Gelpí, Thompson, and Dunlap,","paragraph_id":"para_14"},{"text":"Circuit Judges.","paragraph_id":"para_15"},{"text":"Robert A. Fisher, with whom John Ayers-Mann and Seyfarth Shaw","paragraph_id":"para_16"},{"text":"LLP were on brief, for appellant.","paragraph_id":"para_17"},{"text":"Patrick N. Bryant, with whom Pyle Rome Ehrenberg PC was on","paragraph_id":"para_18"},{"text":"brief, for appellee.","paragraph_id":"para_19"},{"text":"September 14, 2026","paragraph_id":"para_20"},{"text":"- 2 -","paragraph_id":"para_21"},{"text":"THOMPSON, Circuit Judge. Since the mid-eighteenth","paragraph_id":"para_22"},{"text":"century, unions have been instrumental in protecting workers'","paragraph_id":"para_23"},{"text":"rights, promoting fair wages, and advocating for safer working","paragraph_id":"para_24"},{"text":"conditions. Indeed, unions were born out of a need to protect the","paragraph_id":"para_25"},{"text":"common interest of workers, a goal enshrined in a multitude of","paragraph_id":"para_26"},{"text":"federal and state labor laws. As of 2024, more than 14 million","paragraph_id":"para_27"},{"text":"workers across the United States -- almost 10% of the country's","paragraph_id":"para_28"},{"text":"workforce -- belong to a union.1 Among them are the graduate","paragraph_id":"para_29"},{"text":"student workers of the Harvard Graduate Students Union -- United","paragraph_id":"para_30"},{"text":"Autoworkers, Local 5118 (\"Union\"), which brings this case against","paragraph_id":"para_31"},{"text":"the President and Fellows of Harvard College (\"Harvard\").2 After","paragraph_id":"para_32"},{"text":"the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts","paragraph_id":"para_33"},{"text":"upheld an arbitration award for the Union, Harvard asks us to","paragraph_id":"para_34"},{"text":"vacate it. Finding no error in the district court's decision to","paragraph_id":"para_35"},{"text":"uphold the arbitrator's judgment or in the arbitrator's","paragraph_id":"para_36"},{"text":"construction of the collective bargaining agreement, we affirm.","paragraph_id":"para_37"},{"text":"I. Background","paragraph_id":"para_38"},{"text":"\"We rehearse the facts as supportably found by the","paragraph_id":"para_39"},{"text":"arbitrator.\" Zayas v. Bacardi Corp., 524 F.3d 65, 66 (1st Cir.","paragraph_id":"para_40"},{"text":"1 Economic News Release: Union Members Summary, U.S.","paragraph_id":"para_41"},{"text":"Bureau Lab. Stat. (Feb. 18, 2026), https://perma.cc/SQ77-QMHB.","paragraph_id":"para_42"},{"text":"2 According to its official website, Harvard University is a","paragraph_id":"para_43"},{"text":"co-educational, private research institution of higher education","paragraph_id":"para_44"},{"text":"located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Harvard College is one of","paragraph_id":"para_45"},{"text":"the fourteen schools that are a part of the University.","paragraph_id":"para_46"},{"text":"- 3 -","paragraph_id":"para_47"},{"text":"2008); see also Bos. Med. Ctr. v. Serv. Emps. Int'l Union, Loc.","paragraph_id":"para_48"},{"text":"285, 260 F.3d 16, 18 (1st Cir. 2001) (accepting the facts that the","paragraph_id":"para_49"},{"text":"arbitrator found). And because this appeal follows cross-motions","paragraph_id":"para_50"},{"text":"for summary judgment, we'll draw all reasonable inferences in favor","paragraph_id":"para_51"},{"text":"of the respective non-movant. Ramos-Santiago v. United Parcel","paragraph_id":"para_52"},{"text":"Serv., 524 F.3d 120, 122 (1st Cir. 2008).","paragraph_id":"para_53"},{"text":"A. The Parties and the Terms of their Agreement","paragraph_id":"para_54"},{"text":"We start with the origins of the Union. After it","paragraph_id":"para_55"},{"text":"successfully filed a petition with the National Labor Relations","paragraph_id":"para_56"},{"text":"Board (\"NLRB\") to become the exclusive bargaining representative","paragraph_id":"para_57"},{"text":"for graduate student workers at Harvard, the parties ratified a","paragraph_id":"para_58"},{"text":"collective bargaining agreement (the \"CBA\") on November 27, 2021.","paragraph_id":"para_59"},{"text":"The CBA, which was effective until June 30, 2025, included numerous","paragraph_id":"para_60"},{"text":"stipulations between the parties. The articles most relevant to","paragraph_id":"para_61"},{"text":"this appeal are:","paragraph_id":"para_62"},{"text":"• Article 1 (the \"Recognition Clause\") (agreeing that the","paragraph_id":"para_63"},{"text":"bargaining unit includes (1) \"all students\" enrolled in","paragraph_id":"para_64"},{"text":"degree programs and employed by Harvard and who provide","paragraph_id":"para_65"},{"text":"instructional services \"including graduate and","paragraph_id":"para_66"},{"text":"undergraduate Teaching Fellows (teaching assistants,","paragraph_id":"para_67"},{"text":"teaching fellows, course assistants),\" (2) \"all students","paragraph_id":"para_68"},{"text":"enrolled in Harvard degree programs (other than","paragraph_id":"para_69"},{"text":"undergraduate students at Harvard College) employed by","paragraph_id":"para_70"},{"text":"Harvard University who serve as Research Assistants","paragraph_id":"para_71"},{"text":"- 4 -","paragraph_id":"para_72"},{"text":"(regardless of funding sources, including those","paragraph_id":"para_73"},{"text":"compensated through Training Grants),\" and (3) students","paragraph_id":"para_74"},{"text":"employed by Harvard and enrolled in graduate schools","paragraph_id":"para_75"},{"text":"including Harvard Business School, Harvard Law, and","paragraph_id":"para_76"},{"text":"Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, to name a","paragraph_id":"para_77"},{"text":"few).","paragraph_id":"para_78"},{"text":"• Article 2 (Titles & Classification) (classifying a","paragraph_id":"para_79"},{"text":"\"Research Assistant 1\" as a Harvard-enrolled graduate","paragraph_id":"para_80"},{"text":"student worker conducting \"research (including","paragraph_id":"para_81"},{"text":"scientific rotations) under the supervision of","paragraph_id":"para_82"},{"text":"faculty/principal investigator/museum curator\").","paragraph_id":"para_83"},{"text":"• Article 6 (Grievance and Arbitration) (outlining the","paragraph_id":"para_84"},{"text":"process by which a grievance under the agreement is","paragraph_id":"para_85"},{"text":"resolved and arbitrated if necessary).","paragraph_id":"para_86"},{"text":"• Article 20 (Compensation) (explaining that a Research","paragraph_id":"para_87"},{"text":"Assistant is \"[a] graduate student usually appointed on","paragraph_id":"para_88"},{"text":"an annual basis for a 12-month period to perform research","paragraph_id":"para_89"},{"text":"work under the supervision of a faculty/principal","paragraph_id":"para_90"},{"text":"investigator\"; that \"[t]he parties understand that the","paragraph_id":"para_91"},{"text":"work of a Research Assistant is a blend of academic and","paragraph_id":"para_92"},{"text":"employment endeavors and that clear separation of each","paragraph_id":"para_93"},{"text":"is difficult\"; and that \"[t]he stipend that such an RA","paragraph_id":"para_94"},{"text":"receives could be characterized as financial assistance","paragraph_id":"para_95"},{"text":"or compensation or both\").","paragraph_id":"para_96"},{"text":"- 5 -","paragraph_id":"para_97"},{"text":"• Article 33 (Union Security) (providing that individuals","paragraph_id":"para_98"},{"text":"in the bargaining unit can opt in or out of the Union).","paragraph_id":"para_99"},{"text":"Under the terms of the CBA, Harvard was required to","paragraph_id":"para_100"},{"text":"provide the Union with a weekly list of graduate student workers","paragraph_id":"para_101"},{"text":"-- including \"Research Assistant[s]\" as defined by Articles 1 and","paragraph_id":"para_102"},{"text":"2 of the CBA -- that were in the bargaining unit. It also agreed","paragraph_id":"para_103"},{"text":"to provide an \"appointment letter\" to each graduate student worker","paragraph_id":"para_104"},{"text":"upon their hiring.3 But that didn't happen for one graduate student","paragraph_id":"para_105"},{"text":"worker. Though this PhD candidate was slotted to serve as a","paragraph_id":"para_106"},{"text":"Research Assistant in the Psychology Department, he never received","paragraph_id":"para_107"},{"text":"an appointment letter. And when the Union got wind of this","paragraph_id":"para_108"},{"text":"omission, it filed a grievance with Harvard as required under","paragraph_id":"para_109"},{"text":"Article 6 of the CBA. This grievance requested that Harvard","paragraph_id":"para_110"},{"text":"provide the student with an appointment letter and add him to the","paragraph_id":"para_111"},{"text":"list of Union-represented graduate student workers. Nearly three","paragraph_id":"para_112"},{"text":"months later -- and with that grievance still unresolved -- the","paragraph_id":"para_113"},{"text":"Union filed a second grievance with Harvard wherein it claimed","paragraph_id":"para_114"},{"text":"that Harvard had in fact excluded all graduate student workers","paragraph_id":"para_115"},{"text":"conducting research in the Psychology Department from its weekly","paragraph_id":"para_116"},{"text":"bargaining unit lists and, consequently, deprived them of union","paragraph_id":"para_117"},{"text":"3 An appointment letter inducts the student worker into the","paragraph_id":"para_118"},{"text":"bargaining unit. It lists the faculty members or supervisors that","paragraph_id":"para_119"},{"text":"the student worker will report to, location, schedule, and a","paragraph_id":"para_120"},{"text":"statement that the student worker's position is covered by the","paragraph_id":"para_121"},{"text":"CBA.","paragraph_id":"para_122"},{"text":"- 6 -","paragraph_id":"para_123"},{"text":"representation. In this second grievance, the Union requested","paragraph_id":"para_124"},{"text":"that Harvard (1) include all omitted graduate student workers from","paragraph_id":"para_125"},{"text":"the Psychology Department in the weekly bargaining unit lists,","paragraph_id":"para_126"},{"text":"(2) pay the Union dues that would have been paid by the psychology","paragraph_id":"para_127"},{"text":"doctoral students had they been properly included in the bargaining","paragraph_id":"para_128"},{"text":"unit, and (3) notify in writing those that were omitted of their","paragraph_id":"para_129"},{"text":"coverage under the CBA.","paragraph_id":"para_130"},{"text":"B. Arbitration and the Ensuing Litigation","paragraph_id":"para_131"},{"text":"In due course, the grievances were submitted for","paragraph_id":"para_132"},{"text":"arbitration as prescribed by Article 6 of the CBA. The questions","paragraph_id":"para_133"},{"text":"before the arbitrator were as follows:","paragraph_id":"para_134"},{"text":"(1) whether the grievance was substantively arbitrable;","paragraph_id":"para_135"},{"text":"(2) if yes, whether the grievance was timely filed and","paragraph_id":"para_136"},{"text":"thus procedurally arbitrable;4","paragraph_id":"para_137"},{"text":"(3) whether Harvard violated the CBA by classifying the","paragraph_id":"para_138"},{"text":"grievants (specifically, the psychology doctoral","paragraph_id":"para_139"},{"text":"students) as non-Union graduate student workers","paragraph_id":"para_140"},{"text":"thereby omitting them from the weekly bargaining","paragraph_id":"para_141"},{"text":"unit list; and","paragraph_id":"para_142"},{"text":"4 Harvard does not challenge the arbitrator's timeliness","paragraph_id":"para_143"},{"text":"decision on appeal, so we consider it waived and will not address","paragraph_id":"para_144"},{"text":"it. See, e.g., Stamp v. Metro. Life Ins. Co., 531 F.3d 84, 87–88","paragraph_id":"para_145"},{"text":"(1st Cir. 2008).","paragraph_id":"para_146"},{"text":"- 7 -","paragraph_id":"para_147"},{"text":"(4) whether there is a remedy if Harvard violated the","paragraph_id":"para_148"},{"text":"CBA.5","paragraph_id":"para_149"},{"text":"A series of four evidentiary hearings before the","paragraph_id":"para_150"},{"text":"arbitrator occurred between July and October 2023. After those","paragraph_id":"para_151"},{"text":"proceedings concluded, the arbitrator issued two consecutive","paragraph_id":"para_152"},{"text":"decisions; the first addressed Harvard's timeliness challenge,","paragraph_id":"para_153"},{"text":"while the second addressed the merits. Because it is the merits","paragraph_id":"para_154"},{"text":"decision that animates Harvard's allegations of error, we'll focus","paragraph_id":"para_155"},{"text":"our scrutiny on how the controversy got teed up below.","paragraph_id":"para_156"},{"text":"Before the arbitrator, the parties weaved diverging","paragraph_id":"para_157"},{"text":"arguments as to whether the psychology doctoral students were","paragraph_id":"para_158"},{"text":"\"Research Assistant[s]\" under the CBA. For its part, Harvard first","paragraph_id":"para_159"},{"text":"insisted that the Union's grievance wasn't substantively","paragraph_id":"para_160"},{"text":"arbitrable. Its central merits argument, in short, went like this.","paragraph_id":"para_161"},{"text":"Because the psychology doctoral students received funding that was","paragraph_id":"para_162"},{"text":"not tied to any employment responsibilities or service","paragraph_id":"para_163"},{"text":"requirements to Harvard, they weren't, as a matter of law,","paragraph_id":"para_164"},{"text":"definitionally \"employees\" under the National Labor Relations Act","paragraph_id":"para_165"},{"text":"(\"NLRA\") as interpreted in Trustees of Columbia University in New","paragraph_id":"para_166"},{"text":"York, 364 N.L.R.B. 1080, 1083 (2016). Any research undertaken by","paragraph_id":"para_167"},{"text":"them -- even if done under the supervision of a Harvard faculty","paragraph_id":"para_168"},{"text":"5 From the Union's perspective, only issues (3) and (4) were","paragraph_id":"para_169"},{"text":"on the table. The arbitrator deemed issues (2) through (4) in","paragraph_id":"para_170"},{"text":"need of resolution.","paragraph_id":"para_171"},{"text":"- 8 -","paragraph_id":"para_172"},{"text":"member -- was done purely for academic, not employment, purposes.","paragraph_id":"para_173"},{"text":"And because these doctoral students were not statutory employees,","paragraph_id":"para_174"},{"text":"they didn't qualify for membership in the bargaining unit, and as","paragraph_id":"para_175"},{"text":"such, couldn't have their grievance resolved pursuant to the terms","paragraph_id":"para_176"},{"text":"of the CBA of which they were not a part.","paragraph_id":"para_177"},{"text":"Not surprisingly, the Union was of another mind. It","paragraph_id":"para_178"},{"text":"argued that the psychology doctoral students are \"Research","paragraph_id":"para_179"},{"text":"Assistant[s]\" as defined by Articles 1 and/or 2 of the CBA (we'll","paragraph_id":"para_180"},{"text":"get more into the specifics of those Articles momentarily) because","paragraph_id":"para_181"},{"text":"they performed lab-based work under the supervision of a faculty","paragraph_id":"para_182"},{"text":"member or a lab Principal Investigator.6 Therefore, in accordance","paragraph_id":"para_183"},{"text":"with the CBA, these graduate student workers properly belonged in","paragraph_id":"para_184"},{"text":"the bargaining unit. The source of these students' compensation,","paragraph_id":"para_185"},{"text":"which Harvard maintained should bar them from Article 1 and/or 2's","paragraph_id":"para_186"},{"text":"definition of \"Research Assistant[s],\" should not impact their","paragraph_id":"para_187"},{"text":"inclusion in the bargaining unit because the CBA explicitly permits","paragraph_id":"para_188"},{"text":"students who receive \"financial assistance or compensation or","paragraph_id":"para_189"},{"text":"both\" from any source to be members of the Union. Therefore, given","paragraph_id":"para_190"},{"text":"Harvard's violation of the CBA, an appropriate remedy should be","paragraph_id":"para_191"},{"text":"fashioned.","paragraph_id":"para_192"},{"text":"6 Principal Investigators are tenured or tenured-track faculty","paragraph_id":"para_193"},{"text":"members in the Psychology Department that run labs and conduct","paragraph_id":"para_194"},{"text":"research.","paragraph_id":"para_195"},{"text":"- 9 -","paragraph_id":"para_196"},{"text":"Then came the arbitrator's decision (part one and part","paragraph_id":"para_197"},{"text":"two). Deeming it irrelevant to the task at hand, she declined","paragraph_id":"para_198"},{"text":"Harvard's insistence that she answer the precursor question of","paragraph_id":"para_199"},{"text":"whether the psychology doctoral students were statutory","paragraph_id":"para_200"},{"text":"\"employees\" as defined by the NLRB in Columbia. She disagreed","paragraph_id":"para_201"},{"text":"with Harvard's position that declining to do so made the matter","paragraph_id":"para_202"},{"text":"substantively inarbitrable. Rather, her role (as she put it) was","paragraph_id":"para_203"},{"text":"to review the contract between the parties (the CBA) and, based","paragraph_id":"para_204"},{"text":"upon her interpretation of the CBA's Article 1 \"refined language","paragraph_id":"para_205"},{"text":"relating to bargaining unit eligibility,\" determine whether","paragraph_id":"para_206"},{"text":"Harvard violated it by excluding Research Assistants from the","paragraph_id":"para_207"},{"text":"bargaining unit. In other words, as the arbitrator framed the","paragraph_id":"para_208"},{"text":"issue, the question before her wasn't whether the bargaining unit","paragraph_id":"para_209"},{"text":"would expand to include the psychology doctoral students; it was","paragraph_id":"para_210"},{"text":"whether the students, extant, fit within the CBA's already-defined","paragraph_id":"para_211"},{"text":"bargaining unit definition -- a critical distinction for our","paragraph_id":"para_212"},{"text":"upcoming take on this kerfuffle.7","paragraph_id":"para_213"},{"text":"7 To quote the arbitrator:","paragraph_id":"para_214"},{"text":"The University's insistence that I must,","paragraph_id":"para_215"},{"text":"necessarily, first determine whether","paragraph_id":"para_216"},{"text":"psychology graduate students meet a common law","paragraph_id":"para_217"},{"text":"employment standard, in effect, seeks to","paragraph_id":"para_218"},{"text":"revisit and reexamine settled matters. The","paragraph_id":"para_219"},{"text":"parties, through their negotiations and","paragraph_id":"para_220"},{"text":"agreements, have agreed-upon language","paragraph_id":"para_221"},{"text":"defining bargaining unit status. As a","paragraph_id":"para_222"},{"text":"contract arbitrator, I will not revisit or","paragraph_id":"para_223"},{"text":"disturb those agreements.","paragraph_id":"para_224"},{"text":"- 10 -","paragraph_id":"para_225"},{"text":"In answering that question, the arbitrator pointed out","paragraph_id":"para_226"},{"text":"that the burden of persuasion rested with Harvard to demonstrate","paragraph_id":"para_227"},{"text":"why the CBA should be interpreted to exclude a position from a","paragraph_id":"para_228"},{"text":"particular bargaining unit. As to her analysis, the arbitrator","paragraph_id":"para_229"},{"text":"observed that the plain language, the parties' history and past","paragraph_id":"para_230"},{"text":"practices, and the CBA as a whole established that that the","paragraph_id":"para_231"},{"text":"psychology doctoral students who conducted research, including","paragraph_id":"para_232"},{"text":"grant-funded research, under the supervision of Harvard faculty or","paragraph_id":"para_233"},{"text":"a lab Principal Investigator, qualified as \"Research Assistant[s]\"","paragraph_id":"para_234"},{"text":"under Article 1 \"and/or\" Article 2 of the CBA. She also determined","paragraph_id":"para_235"},{"text":"that the psychology graduate students were much like first-year","paragraph_id":"para_236"},{"text":"Organismic and Evolutionary Biology (\"OEB\") graduate students who","paragraph_id":"para_237"},{"text":"were previously found by the NLRB to be improperly omitted from","paragraph_id":"para_238"},{"text":"the bargaining unit.8","paragraph_id":"para_239"},{"text":"The arbitrator noted that in one particular lab, two","paragraph_id":"para_240"},{"text":"non-psychology doctoral students and two psychology doctoral","paragraph_id":"para_241"},{"text":"students all received National Science Foundation grants, had the","paragraph_id":"para_242"},{"text":"same responsibilities, and performed identical lab duties, yet the","paragraph_id":"para_243"},{"text":"non-psychology doctoral students were in the bargaining unit while","paragraph_id":"para_244"},{"text":"the psychology doctoral students were not. There was no","paragraph_id":"para_245"},{"text":"8 In 2017 the NLRB found that the first-year OEB graduate","paragraph_id":"para_246"},{"text":"students were assigned to and conducting scientific research in a","paragraph_id":"para_247"},{"text":"lab that was equivalent to the work being done by the more senior","paragraph_id":"para_248"},{"text":"OEB students already included in the bargaining unit, regardless","paragraph_id":"para_249"},{"text":"of the source of the students' funding.","paragraph_id":"para_250"},{"text":"- 11 -","paragraph_id":"para_251"},{"text":"distinction between the research conducted by the non-psychology","paragraph_id":"para_252"},{"text":"doctoral students and that of the psychology doctoral students","paragraph_id":"para_253"},{"text":"that justified designating only the psychology doctoral students'","paragraph_id":"para_254"},{"text":"research as purely academic (as Harvard contends). She further","paragraph_id":"para_255"},{"text":"noted that the CBA \"shows an express and deliberate rejection of","paragraph_id":"para_256"},{"text":"an academic/employment binary.\"","paragraph_id":"para_257"},{"text":"Based on these factors, the arbitrator found that \"the","paragraph_id":"para_258"},{"text":"University violated the CBA by failing to classify psychology PhD","paragraph_id":"para_259"},{"text":"students conducting research as Research Assistants under Article","paragraph_id":"para_260"},{"text":"1 and/or as Research Assistant 1 under Article 2.\" The arbitrator","paragraph_id":"para_261"},{"text":"ordered Harvard to: (1) designate all of the psychology doctoral","paragraph_id":"para_262"},{"text":"students performing lab-based research among the bargaining unit;","paragraph_id":"para_263"},{"text":"(2) provide lost benefits and payments to the formerly omitted","paragraph_id":"para_264"},{"text":"psychology doctoral students; and (3) process claims that had been","paragraph_id":"para_265"},{"text":"submitted by those students.","paragraph_id":"para_266"},{"text":"Having lost in arbitration, Harvard sought the district","paragraph_id":"para_267"},{"text":"court's intervention and asked it to vacate the arbitration award.","paragraph_id":"para_268"},{"text":"Harvard argued -- among other things -- that the award should be","paragraph_id":"para_269"},{"text":"vacated because (1) the grievance was filed on behalf of students","paragraph_id":"para_270"},{"text":"not within the bargaining unit and therefore it was not","paragraph_id":"para_271"},{"text":"substantively arbitrable, (2) the arbitrator didn't draw her","paragraph_id":"para_272"},{"text":"decision from the essence of the CBA and exceeded her authority","paragraph_id":"para_273"},{"text":"because (a) she ignored \"clear contractual language\" and (b) she","paragraph_id":"para_274"},{"text":"had no power to include the psychology graduate student workers in","paragraph_id":"para_275"},{"text":"- 12 -","paragraph_id":"para_276"},{"text":"the bargaining unit, and (3) the award disrupted public policy","paragraph_id":"para_277"},{"text":"because only employees (which Harvard contended the psychology","paragraph_id":"para_278"},{"text":"doctoral students were not) were allowed to unionize and be","paragraph_id":"para_279"},{"text":"included in the bargaining unit.","paragraph_id":"para_280"},{"text":"Responding to Harvard's complaint, the Union pushed back","paragraph_id":"para_281"},{"text":"with a counterclaim of its own seeking confirmation of the award.","paragraph_id":"para_282"},{"text":"It asseverated that the award was grounded in the terms of the","paragraph_id":"para_283"},{"text":"CBA, the grievance was addressed through the mutually agreed upon","paragraph_id":"para_284"},{"text":"process outlined in the CBA, and the arbitrator's remedy did not","paragraph_id":"para_285"},{"text":"violate public policy. Therefore, it urged the court to confirm","paragraph_id":"para_286"},{"text":"and implement the awards in their entirety, and grant the Union","paragraph_id":"para_287"},{"text":"costs, attorneys' fees, expenses and other \"just and proper\"","paragraph_id":"para_288"},{"text":"relief.","paragraph_id":"para_289"},{"text":"Eventually, the parties filed cross-motions for summary","paragraph_id":"para_290"},{"text":"judgment, each seeking judgment as a matter of law on their","paragraph_id":"para_291"},{"text":"respective claims. The district court denied Harvard's motion for","paragraph_id":"para_292"},{"text":"summary judgment but granted the Union's9, thereby confirming the","paragraph_id":"para_293"},{"text":"arbitration award. Harvard appeals, and here is where we come in.","paragraph_id":"para_294"},{"text":"9 The district court awarded the Union costs, but denied its","paragraph_id":"para_295"},{"text":"request for attorney's fees because (quoting our precedent) it","paragraph_id":"para_296"},{"text":"determined that Harvard's actions weren't \"frivolous,","paragraph_id":"para_297"},{"text":"unreasonable, or without foundation.\" Loc. 285, Serv. Emps. Int'l","paragraph_id":"para_298"},{"text":"Union, AFL-CIO v. Nonotuck Res. Assocs., Inc., 64 F.3d 735, 737","paragraph_id":"para_299"},{"text":"(1st Cir. 1995) (quoting Wash. Hops. Ctr. v. Serv. Emp. Int'l","paragraph_id":"para_300"},{"text":"Union, 746 F.2d 1503, 1510 (D.C. Cir. 1984)). The district court","paragraph_id":"para_301"},{"text":"also denied the Union interest payments because the award accounted","paragraph_id":"para_302"},{"text":"for lost benefits and payments and didn't explicitly include","paragraph_id":"para_303"},{"text":"interest payments. The Union has not appealed that decision.","paragraph_id":"para_304"},{"text":"- 13 -","paragraph_id":"para_305"},{"text":"II. Discussion","paragraph_id":"para_306"},{"text":"Much as it did below, Harvard advances here three primary","paragraph_id":"para_307"},{"text":"arguments as to why the arbitrator's award should be vacated, and","paragraph_id":"para_308"},{"text":"we'll walk through each in turn. We begin with our standard of","paragraph_id":"para_309"},{"text":"review before tackling Harvard's claims and the Union's responses","paragraph_id":"para_310"},{"text":"to them. A foreshadower's note: it doesn't end well for Harvard.","paragraph_id":"para_311"},{"text":"\"We review the district court's decision to confirm or","paragraph_id":"para_312"},{"text":"vacate an arbitration award de novo[.]\" Dialysis Access Ctr., LLC","paragraph_id":"para_313"},{"text":"v. RMS Lifeline, Inc., 932 F.3d 1, 7 (1st Cir. 2019). And in","paragraph_id":"para_314"},{"text":"undertaking our review, we remain mindful that \"[a]rbitral awards","paragraph_id":"para_315"},{"text":"are nearly impervious to judicial oversight[,]\" Teamsters Loc.","paragraph_id":"para_316"},{"text":"Union No. 42 v. Supervalu, Inc., 212 F.3d 59, 61 (1st Cir. 2000),","paragraph_id":"para_317"},{"text":"and that \"[a] federal court's authority to defenestrate an","paragraph_id":"para_318"},{"text":"arbitration award is extremely limited,\" Dialysis Access Ctr.,","paragraph_id":"para_319"},{"text":"LLC, 932 F.3d at 7 (quoting Mt. Valley Prop., Inc. v. Applied Risk","paragraph_id":"para_320"},{"text":"Servs., Inc., 863 F.3d 90, 93 (1st Cir. 2017)). We'll say more","paragraph_id":"para_321"},{"text":"about the ungenerous circumscription of our review once we delve","paragraph_id":"para_322"},{"text":"into the analysis.","paragraph_id":"para_323"},{"text":"A. Substantive Arbitrability","paragraph_id":"para_324"},{"text":"Raising first the issue of substantive","paragraph_id":"para_325"},{"text":"arbitrability -- a concept examining whether a dispute involves","paragraph_id":"para_326"},{"text":"subject matter the parties contractually agreed to arbitrate, Loc.","paragraph_id":"para_327"},{"text":"285, Serv. Emps. Int'l Union, AFL-CIO v. Nonotuck Res. Assocs.,","paragraph_id":"para_328"},{"text":"Inc., 64 F.3d 735, 739 (1st Cir. 1995) -- Harvard once again","paragraph_id":"para_329"},{"text":"- 14 -","paragraph_id":"para_330"},{"text":"contends that the issue of whether the psychology doctoral students","paragraph_id":"para_331"},{"text":"were wrongly omitted from the bargaining unit was not substantively","paragraph_id":"para_332"},{"text":"arbitrable.10","paragraph_id":"para_333"},{"text":"Referring to the students as \"non-employees,\" Harvard","paragraph_id":"para_334"},{"text":"contends that the students must have been first classified as","paragraph_id":"para_335"},{"text":"\"employees\" under the NLRA's statuary definition before they could","paragraph_id":"para_336"},{"text":"be included in the bargaining unit. As Harvard sees it, Trustees","paragraph_id":"para_337"},{"text":"of Columbia University in New York, 364 N.L.R.B. 1080, 1083 (2016),","paragraph_id":"para_338"},{"text":"dictates why that is so. For the psychology doctorial students to","paragraph_id":"para_339"},{"text":"meet the statutory definition of employees they must have a common","paragraph_id":"para_340"},{"text":"law employment relationship with Harvard -- that is they had to","paragraph_id":"para_341"},{"text":"provide services to Harvard in exchange for compensation. See id.","paragraph_id":"para_342"},{"text":"But, says Harvard, because they are \"students who receive funds\"","paragraph_id":"para_343"},{"text":"for the sole purpose of \"pursu[ing] their own academic goals,\"","paragraph_id":"para_344"},{"text":"they are not employees. See id. at 1095. This type of status","paragraph_id":"para_345"},{"text":"determination, and \"whether [this] group of 'employees'","paragraph_id":"para_346"},{"text":"constitutes a unit appropriate for collective bargaining,\" does","paragraph_id":"para_347"},{"text":"not \"depend upon contract interpretation but involve[s] the","paragraph_id":"para_348"},{"text":"application of statutory policy, standards, and criteria\" --","paragraph_id":"para_349"},{"text":"10 Harvard applies this argument to other students that could","paragraph_id":"para_350"},{"text":"potentially be considered \"Research Assistant[s]\" under the CBA,","paragraph_id":"para_351"},{"text":"but because the original questions at arbitration centered around","paragraph_id":"para_352"},{"text":"the psychology doctoral students' place in the bargaining unit and","paragraph_id":"para_353"},{"text":"the award applies only to those students, we too will keep our","paragraph_id":"para_354"},{"text":"focus on them.","paragraph_id":"para_355"},{"text":"- 15 -","paragraph_id":"para_356"},{"text":"crucial threshold matters for the NLRB, not an arbitrator. See","paragraph_id":"para_357"},{"text":"Marion Power Shovel Co., 230 N.L.R.B. 576, 577-78 (1977).","paragraph_id":"para_358"},{"text":"In reaching a contrary conclusion, one that coincides","paragraph_id":"para_359"},{"text":"with the Union's view, the district court reasoned that it was","paragraph_id":"para_360"},{"text":"unclear whether Article 1 (the \"Recognition Clause\") was relying","paragraph_id":"para_361"},{"text":"on the NLRA definition of \"employees,\" and without a clear","paragraph_id":"para_362"},{"text":"invocation of that statute, the arbitrator's determination that","paragraph_id":"para_363"},{"text":"the definition was not controlling as to who was included in the","paragraph_id":"para_364"},{"text":"bargaining unit was not an implausible interpretation of the CBA.","paragraph_id":"para_365"},{"text":"But that reasoning, says Harvard, is flawed. Pointing","paragraph_id":"para_366"},{"text":"to the very first words of the Recognition Clause -- \"As reflected","paragraph_id":"para_367"},{"text":"in the National Labor Relations Board Case 01-RC-186442\" -- Harvard","paragraph_id":"para_368"},{"text":"says these words were an express callback to the specific NLRB","paragraph_id":"para_369"},{"text":"representation process the parties had previously engaged in,","paragraph_id":"para_370"},{"text":"meaning the clause was intended to cover only those employees","paragraph_id":"para_371"},{"text":"already deemed appropriate by the NLRB for inclusion in the","paragraph_id":"para_372"},{"text":"bargaining unit. Had the psychology students wished to be part of","paragraph_id":"para_373"},{"text":"the unit, the Union \"could [have] file[d] a petition to represent","paragraph_id":"para_374"},{"text":"a group of individuals or it could [have] file[d] a unit","paragraph_id":"para_375"},{"text":"clarification petition if it contend[ed] the group should be added","paragraph_id":"para_376"},{"text":"to an existing bargaining unit.\" In Harvard's words: \"The","paragraph_id":"para_377"},{"text":"fundamental point is that the NLRB, not an arbitrator, decides","paragraph_id":"para_378"},{"text":"questions under the Act, such as whether the students are employees","paragraph_id":"para_379"},{"text":"and whether they can be added to the existing unit.\"","paragraph_id":"para_380"},{"text":"- 16 -","paragraph_id":"para_381"},{"text":"Not true, counters the Union. The arbitrator was not","paragraph_id":"para_382"},{"text":"required to determine as a threshold matter whether the psychology","paragraph_id":"para_383"},{"text":"doctoral students were statutory \"employees\" under the NLRA before","paragraph_id":"para_384"},{"text":"proceeding to the merits. Rather, the dispute was substantively","paragraph_id":"para_385"},{"text":"arbitrable because the NLRB process is not the exclusive means to","paragraph_id":"para_386"},{"text":"determine whether an employee is represented by a union or included","paragraph_id":"para_387"},{"text":"within the definition of a recognition clause. And the CBA","paragraph_id":"para_388"},{"text":"reference to the NLRB's certification of the Union does not, as","paragraph_id":"para_389"},{"text":"Harvard contends, move the needle. The Union argues that we ought","paragraph_id":"para_390"},{"text":"to accept the district court's determination that this reference","paragraph_id":"para_391"},{"text":"did not unambiguously compel the arbitrator to interpret the CBA","paragraph_id":"para_392"},{"text":"as incorporating NLRA standards or definitions. Instead,","paragraph_id":"para_393"},{"text":"resolving the parties' grievances was a classic example of contract","paragraph_id":"para_394"},{"text":"interpretation, which only required the arbitrator to scrutinize","paragraph_id":"para_395"},{"text":"the CBA, particularly Articles 1 and 2, and determine whether","paragraph_id":"para_396"},{"text":"Harvard had violated them. And even if students who might","paragraph_id":"para_397"},{"text":"otherwise be arguably excluded from the Act's definition of","paragraph_id":"para_398"},{"text":"\"employee\" are, in fact, included in the bargaining unit, the NLRA","paragraph_id":"para_399"},{"text":"does not legally preclude such membership, says the Union, if the","paragraph_id":"para_400"},{"text":"parties voluntarily agreed to allow it and the CBA manifests such","paragraph_id":"para_401"},{"text":"an intent.11","paragraph_id":"para_402"},{"text":"11 It's worth noting that Harvard conceded during oral","paragraph_id":"para_403"},{"text":"argument here that parties could voluntarily agree to include non-","paragraph_id":"para_404"},{"text":"employees within a bargaining unit.","paragraph_id":"para_405"},{"text":"- 17 -","paragraph_id":"para_406"},{"text":"Here's our take. As earlier noted, \"substantive","paragraph_id":"para_407"},{"text":"arbitrability\" refers to whether a dispute involves a subject","paragraph_id":"para_408"},{"text":"matter the parties contractually agreed to arbitrate. Loc. 285,","paragraph_id":"para_409"},{"text":"Serv. Emps. Int'l Union, AFL-CIO, 64 F.3d at 739. And while a","paragraph_id":"para_410"},{"text":"party can't be forced to submit to arbitration any issue it hasn't","paragraph_id":"para_411"},{"text":"agreed to so submit, a presumption of arbitrability arises if the","paragraph_id":"para_412"},{"text":"parties agreed, in a CBA arbitration clause, to arbitrate the","paragraph_id":"para_413"},{"text":"dispute. See id. at 738. If doubts arise on whether the","paragraph_id":"para_414"},{"text":"arbitration covers a given issue, they \"should be resolved in favor","paragraph_id":"para_415"},{"text":"of coverage.\" Id. (quoting AT & T Techs, Inc. v. Commc'n Workers","paragraph_id":"para_416"},{"text":"of Am., 475 U.S. 643, 650 (1986)).","paragraph_id":"para_417"},{"text":"Even with those principles in the backdrop, Harvard","paragraph_id":"para_418"},{"text":"believes the parties put the cart before the horse by not first","paragraph_id":"para_419"},{"text":"turning to the NLRB for a preliminary determination on the status","paragraph_id":"para_420"},{"text":"of the PhD students within the bargaining unit. However, we don't","paragraph_id":"para_421"},{"text":"see it as so. Harvard is right in that under the laws of this","paragraph_id":"para_422"},{"text":"circuit, the scope of the bargaining unit is for the NLRB to","paragraph_id":"para_423"},{"text":"decide. See Int'l Ass'n of Machinists & Aerospace Workers, AFL-","paragraph_id":"para_424"},{"text":"CIO (Loc. 2201) v. Int'l Air Serv. of P.R., Inc., 636 F.2d 848,","paragraph_id":"para_425"},{"text":"849 (1st Cir. 1980); see also NLRB v. Me. Sugar Indus., Inc., 425","paragraph_id":"para_426"},{"text":"F.2d 942, 946 (1st Cir. 1970) (explaining that the NLRB enjoys","paragraph_id":"para_427"},{"text":"\"broad discretion\" when determining the scope of a bargaining unit","paragraph_id":"para_428"},{"text":"in an election to unionize). But that's not to be confused with","paragraph_id":"para_429"},{"text":"who fits within the definition of an already-established, NLRB-","paragraph_id":"para_430"},{"text":"- 18 -","paragraph_id":"para_431"},{"text":"recognized unit. See Int'l Ass'n of Machinists, 636 F.2d at 849","paragraph_id":"para_432"},{"text":"(\"While it is possible to construe the relief sought as calling","paragraph_id":"para_433"},{"text":"for a determination of the scope of the bargaining unit","paragraph_id":"para_434"},{"text":"represented, a task committed exclusively to the [NLRB], labor","paragraph_id":"para_435"},{"text":"policy supplies a preference for interpreting questions as","paragraph_id":"para_436"},{"text":"arbitrable in such a situation.\")","paragraph_id":"para_437"},{"text":"On behalf of the psychology doctoral students, the Union","paragraph_id":"para_438"},{"text":"filed the underlying grievance seeking an interpretation of","paragraph_id":"para_439"},{"text":"Articles 1 and 2 of the CBA (relating to who is within the","paragraph_id":"para_440"},{"text":"bargaining unit). It did so citing to Article 6 of the CBA,","paragraph_id":"para_441"},{"text":"wherein the parties agreed that any student worker, a group of","paragraph_id":"para_442"},{"text":"student workers, or the Union could file a grievance regarding","paragraph_id":"para_443"},{"text":"\"the interpretation, the application, or claimed violation(s) of","paragraph_id":"para_444"},{"text":"a specific provision(s)\" of the CBA, with said grievance to be","paragraph_id":"para_445"},{"text":"resolved by an arbitrator. See UMass Mem'l Med. Ctr., Inc. v.","paragraph_id":"para_446"},{"text":"United Food & Com. Workers Union, 527 F.3d 1, 4 (1st Cir. 2008)","paragraph_id":"para_447"},{"text":"(finding that an issue was arbitrable \"because the parties had","paragraph_id":"para_448"},{"text":"contracted for the decision of an arbitrator, not a judge\"). Once","paragraph_id":"para_449"},{"text":"the parties were before the arbitrator, she necessarily had to","paragraph_id":"para_450"},{"text":"review the CBA to interpret the bargaining unit parameters. See","paragraph_id":"para_451"},{"text":"United Paperworkers Int'l Union v. Misco, Inc., 484 U.S. 29, 37-","paragraph_id":"para_452"},{"text":"38 (1987) (\"Because the parties have contracted to have disputes","paragraph_id":"para_453"},{"text":"settled by an arbitrator chosen by them rather than by a judge, it","paragraph_id":"para_454"},{"text":"is the arbitrator's view of the facts and of the meaning of the","paragraph_id":"para_455"},{"text":"- 19 -","paragraph_id":"para_456"},{"text":"contract that they have agreed to accept.\"); see also Int'l Ass'n","paragraph_id":"para_457"},{"text":"of Machinists, 636 F.2d at 849 (applying our \"preference for","paragraph_id":"para_458"},{"text":"interpreting questions as arbitrable\" to \"the question of whether","paragraph_id":"para_459"},{"text":"or not the employees in question came within the definition of the","paragraph_id":"para_460"},{"text":"bargaining unit\"). Furthermore, the arbitrator confined her focus","paragraph_id":"para_461"},{"text":"to the issue of whether Harvard violated the CBA, not -- as Harvard","paragraph_id":"para_462"},{"text":"contends -- whether to expand the scope of the bargaining unit.","paragraph_id":"para_463"},{"text":"Thus, after concluding she needn't answer whether the students","paragraph_id":"para_464"},{"text":"were \"employees,\" specifically common law employees, under the","paragraph_id":"para_465"},{"text":"NLRA, she put her focus on legal contract interpretation. The","paragraph_id":"para_466"},{"text":"arbitrator was therefore acting with the force of the CBA's","paragraph_id":"para_467"},{"text":"Grievance Clause behind her to address an interpretation grievance","paragraph_id":"para_468"},{"text":"-- a responsibility typically reserved for an arbitrator and","paragraph_id":"para_469"},{"text":"entitled great deference by the courts. See Lab. Rels. Div. of","paragraph_id":"para_470"},{"text":"Constr. Indus. of Mass., Inc. v. Healey, 844 F.3d 318, 324 (1st","paragraph_id":"para_471"},{"text":"Cir. 2016) (emphasizing \"the primacy of the arbitrator in CBA","paragraph_id":"para_472"},{"text":"interpretation\"); see also Bos. Med. Ctr., 260 F.3d at 21","paragraph_id":"para_473"},{"text":"(explaining that the courts give \"great deference\" to an","paragraph_id":"para_474"},{"text":"arbitrator's interpretation of a matter that the parties to a CBA","paragraph_id":"para_475"},{"text":"have agreed to arbitrate).","paragraph_id":"para_476"},{"text":"A reading of Columbia does not help Harvard's arguments","paragraph_id":"para_477"},{"text":"here, either. Trs. of Columbia Univ., 364 N.L.R.B. at 1083. In","paragraph_id":"para_478"},{"text":"short, the NLRB found there, as Harvard argues, that graduate","paragraph_id":"para_479"},{"text":"student workers completing work in exchange for compensation by","paragraph_id":"para_480"},{"text":"- 20 -","paragraph_id":"para_481"},{"text":"the university met the common-law test for employment and should've","paragraph_id":"para_482"},{"text":"been included in the bargaining unit. Id. at 1082-83. Given this","paragraph_id":"para_483"},{"text":"finding, it sent the case back to the Regional Director for union","paragraph_id":"para_484"},{"text":"certification. Id. at 1083, 1101. But this case is different.","paragraph_id":"para_485"},{"text":"The parties had already agreed in the CBA that \"Research","paragraph_id":"para_486"},{"text":"Assistant[s],\" as therein defined, may be included in the","paragraph_id":"para_487"},{"text":"bargaining unit, despite receiving third-party funding.","paragraph_id":"para_488"},{"text":"Specifically, the parties acknowledged in Article 20 of the CBA","paragraph_id":"para_489"},{"text":"the difficulty in separating the research conducted by a \"Research","paragraph_id":"para_490"},{"text":"Assistant\" in their capacity as employees in the bargaining unit","paragraph_id":"para_491"},{"text":"from the research conducted in their capacity as students","paragraph_id":"para_492"},{"text":"fulfilling an academic requirement. Moreover, the Union's","paragraph_id":"para_493"},{"text":"bargaining unit included graduate student workers other than the","paragraph_id":"para_494"},{"text":"psychology doctoral students that conducted their first- and","paragraph_id":"para_495"},{"text":"second-year research under the same academic requirement rubric as","paragraph_id":"para_496"},{"text":"the psychology doctoral students (i.e. their own research under","paragraph_id":"para_497"},{"text":"the supervision of a Harvard faculty member with third-party","paragraph_id":"para_498"},{"text":"funding).12","paragraph_id":"para_499"},{"text":"So here, we reject Harvard's substantive arbitrability","paragraph_id":"para_500"},{"text":"argument and proceed.","paragraph_id":"para_501"},{"text":"12 These students include the OEB doctoral students we","paragraph_id":"para_502"},{"text":"previously mentioned.","paragraph_id":"para_503"},{"text":"- 21 -","paragraph_id":"para_504"},{"text":"B. The Essence of the CBA","paragraph_id":"para_505"},{"text":"Making an argument similar to the last, Harvard next","paragraph_id":"para_506"},{"text":"contends that the award should be vacated because the arbitrator","paragraph_id":"para_507"},{"text":"ignored the plain language of the CBA. It first brings our","paragraph_id":"para_508"},{"text":"attention to Article 1 of the CBA, which requires \"Research","paragraph_id":"para_509"},{"text":"Assistant[s]\" to be \"employed by\" Harvard. Harvard claims that","paragraph_id":"para_510"},{"text":"this language dictates a requirement that those within the","paragraph_id":"para_511"},{"text":"bargaining unit be \"employed by\" it, \"[r]egardless of whether this","paragraph_id":"para_512"},{"text":"is a reference to a statutory requirement under the NLRA, an","paragraph_id":"para_513"},{"text":"independent contractual requirement, or both . . . .\" Instead of","paragraph_id":"para_514"},{"text":"properly understanding the language in this fashion, the","paragraph_id":"para_515"},{"text":"arbitrator (Harvard contends) impermissibly extended the CBA to","paragraph_id":"para_516"},{"text":"the psychology doctoral students through Article 2's Titles and","paragraph_id":"para_517"},{"text":"Classification provision defining a \"Research Assistant,\" which","paragraph_id":"para_518"},{"text":"she supposedly couldn't do without first determining whether the","paragraph_id":"para_519"},{"text":"students were \"employed by\" Harvard as required under Article 1.","paragraph_id":"para_520"},{"text":"Along similar lines, Harvard argues that the arbitrator","paragraph_id":"para_521"},{"text":"ignored provisions of the CBA that excluded academic endeavors","paragraph_id":"para_522"},{"text":"when she considered Harvard's treatment of other students. By","paragraph_id":"para_523"},{"text":"nevertheless concluding that these psychology doctoral students","paragraph_id":"para_524"},{"text":"could be in the bargaining unit, Harvard claims that the arbitrator","paragraph_id":"para_525"},{"text":"improperly \"dispensed her own brand of industrial justice.\"","paragraph_id":"para_526"},{"text":"Furthermore, taking aim at the district court's interpretation of","paragraph_id":"para_527"},{"text":"the award, Harvard says the court erred first in giving credence","paragraph_id":"para_528"},{"text":"- 22 -","paragraph_id":"para_529"},{"text":"to the arbitrator's reliance on past practices despite her failure","paragraph_id":"para_530"},{"text":"to plainly state she was doing so, and further erred by","paragraph_id":"para_531"},{"text":"impermissibly making additional findings of fact in the Union's","paragraph_id":"para_532"},{"text":"favor that the arbitrator never made.","paragraph_id":"para_533"},{"text":"To all of this, the Union counters that the arbitrator's","paragraph_id":"para_534"},{"text":"award draws its essence from the CBA because she properly","paragraph_id":"para_535"},{"text":"interpreted the plain language of Articles 1 and 2 in the context","paragraph_id":"para_536"},{"text":"of the entire CBA, the bargaining history of the parties, and past","paragraph_id":"para_537"},{"text":"practices. For instance, the Union observes that the arbitrator","paragraph_id":"para_538"},{"text":"considered Article 20 of the CBA (which expressly highlighted the","paragraph_id":"para_539"},{"text":"difficulty in differentiating between work that was done for","paragraph_id":"para_540"},{"text":"academic and employment purposes) in reaching her conclusion.","paragraph_id":"para_541"},{"text":"Likewise, the Union argues that the arbitrator merely applied \"a","paragraph_id":"para_542"},{"text":"judicially-encouraged approach of common sense to recognize the","paragraph_id":"para_543"},{"text":"norm under the CBA\" when she compared similarly situated graduate","paragraph_id":"para_544"},{"text":"students included in the CBA to the psychology doctoral students.","paragraph_id":"para_545"},{"text":"Building on our earlier point that an arbitrator's award","paragraph_id":"para_546"},{"text":"is rarely set aside, see Bos. Med. Ctr., 260 F.3d at 21, we add","paragraph_id":"para_547"},{"text":"that \"a party who seeks judicial review [of an arbitrator's award]","paragraph_id":"para_548"},{"text":"ordinarily must demonstrate that the award is contrary to the plain","paragraph_id":"para_549"},{"text":"language of the CBA and that the arbitrator, heedless of the","paragraph_id":"para_550"},{"text":"contract language, preferred instead to write [her] own","paragraph_id":"para_551"},{"text":"prescription for industrial justice.\" Teamsters Loc. Union No.","paragraph_id":"para_552"},{"text":"42, 212 F.3d at 65. A successful challenge to an arbitration award","paragraph_id":"para_553"},{"text":"- 23 -","paragraph_id":"para_554"},{"text":"requires a showing \"that the award is (1) unfounded in reason and","paragraph_id":"para_555"},{"text":"fact; (2) based on reasoning so palpably faulty that no judge, or","paragraph_id":"para_556"},{"text":"group of judges, ever could conceivably have made such a ruling;","paragraph_id":"para_557"},{"text":"or (3) mistakenly based on a crucial assumption that is concededly","paragraph_id":"para_558"},{"text":"a non-fact.\" Id. at 66 (cleaned up). And we have repeatedly made","paragraph_id":"para_559"},{"text":"clear in the arbitration realm: so long as the arbitrator presents","paragraph_id":"para_560"},{"text":"any plausible basis for their interpretation of a CBA, we have no","paragraph_id":"para_561"},{"text":"business invalidating that interpretation. Lab. Rels. Div. of","paragraph_id":"para_562"},{"text":"Constr. Indus. of Mass., Inc. v. Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters,","paragraph_id":"para_563"},{"text":"Chauffeurs, Warehousemen & Helpers of Am., Loc. No. 379, 29 F.3d","paragraph_id":"para_564"},{"text":"742, 745 (1st Cir. 1994).","paragraph_id":"para_565"},{"text":"Tackling Harvard's second argument first, one that","paragraph_id":"para_566"},{"text":"essentially amounts to an accusation that the district court put","paragraph_id":"para_567"},{"text":"words in the arbitrator's mouth, we note that the arbitrator wasn't","paragraph_id":"para_568"},{"text":"required to provide comprehensive reasoning for her award. See","paragraph_id":"para_569"},{"text":"id. at 747. And so we keep our discussion here succinct.","paragraph_id":"para_570"},{"text":"It is evident that the arbitrator didn't solely rely on","paragraph_id":"para_571"},{"text":"Article 2. Specifically, she premised her decision on the","paragraph_id":"para_572"},{"text":"testimony of graduate student workers and Harvard faculty, the","paragraph_id":"para_573"},{"text":"relevant provisions of the CBA -- which she went through with a","paragraph_id":"para_574"},{"text":"fine-tooth comb -- and past practices. In the same fashion, the","paragraph_id":"para_575"},{"text":"arbitrator applied the specific facts as they pertain to the","paragraph_id":"para_576"},{"text":"psychology doctoral students against the \"context of the entire","paragraph_id":"para_577"},{"text":"contract.\" To the extent that Harvard argues that the arbitrator","paragraph_id":"para_578"},{"text":"- 24 -","paragraph_id":"para_579"},{"text":"didn't expressly state that she relied on past practices in","paragraph_id":"para_580"},{"text":"reaching her decision, we note once more that the arbitrator wasn't","paragraph_id":"para_581"},{"text":"required to provide the kind of comprehensive reasoning for her","paragraph_id":"para_582"},{"text":"award that Harvard urges. See id.","paragraph_id":"para_583"},{"text":"Harvard also fails to show where in all of this the","paragraph_id":"para_584"},{"text":"arbitrator's interpretation of the CBA fails to pass muster under","paragraph_id":"para_585"},{"text":"a Teamsters Local Union analysis (because the interpretation","paragraph_id":"para_586"},{"text":"somehow lacks facts and reason), or to show how a judge could not","paragraph_id":"para_587"},{"text":"conceivably reach the same conclusion as the arbitrator, or to","paragraph_id":"para_588"},{"text":"show that the award is based on a crucial assumption unsupported","paragraph_id":"para_589"},{"text":"by the facts. See 212 F.3d at 66–67. Where the arbitrator so","paragraph_id":"para_590"},{"text":"clearly leans on testimony, contractual language, and past","paragraph_id":"para_591"},{"text":"practices in reaching a plausible interpretation of the CBA, \"[a]","paragraph_id":"para_592"},{"text":"reviewing court can go no further.\" Id. at 67; see Lab. Rels.","paragraph_id":"para_593"},{"text":"Div. of Constr. Indus. of Mass., 29 F.3d at 747 (holding that once","paragraph_id":"para_594"},{"text":"an arbitrator provides their reasoning for an award, that award","paragraph_id":"para_595"},{"text":"cannot be vacated unless the reasoning \"strongly impl[ies] that","paragraph_id":"para_596"},{"text":"the arbitrator may have exceeded\" her authority); El Dorado Tech.","paragraph_id":"para_597"},{"text":"Servs., Inc. v. Union General de Trabajadores de P.R., 961 F.2d","paragraph_id":"para_598"},{"text":"317, 319 (1st Cir. 1992) (\"[A] court should uphold an award that","paragraph_id":"para_599"},{"text":"depends on an arbitrator's interpretation of a collective","paragraph_id":"para_600"},{"text":"bargaining agreement if it can find, within the four corners of","paragraph_id":"para_601"},{"text":"the agreement, any plausible basis for that interpretation.\");","paragraph_id":"para_602"},{"text":"Dorado Beach Hotel Corp. v. Union de Trabajadores de la Industria","paragraph_id":"para_603"},{"text":"- 25 -","paragraph_id":"para_604"},{"text":"Gastronomica de P.R., 959 F.2d 2, 4 (1st Cir. 1992); Bacardi Corp.","paragraph_id":"para_605"},{"text":"v. Congreso de Uniones Industriales de P.R., 692 F.2d 210, 211","paragraph_id":"para_606"},{"text":"(1st Cir. 1982). \"[A]s long as the arbitrator is even arguably","paragraph_id":"para_607"},{"text":"construing or applying the contract and acting within the scope of","paragraph_id":"para_608"},{"text":"his authority, that a court is convinced he committed serious error","paragraph_id":"para_609"},{"text":"does not suffice to overturn his decision.\" Misco, 484 U.S. at","paragraph_id":"para_610"},{"text":"38.","paragraph_id":"para_611"},{"text":"So again, Harvard fails to persuade.","paragraph_id":"para_612"},{"text":"C. Public Policy","paragraph_id":"para_613"},{"text":"Harvard's last argument for vindication is that the","paragraph_id":"para_614"},{"text":"award violates the \"dominant and well-established public policy\"","paragraph_id":"para_615"},{"text":"in favor of protecting workers' rights to determine whether they","paragraph_id":"para_616"},{"text":"want union representation. Harvard's specific concern here is","paragraph_id":"para_617"},{"text":"that the award forced all the psychology doctoral students -- who","paragraph_id":"para_618"},{"text":"have never been categorized as \"employees\" by the NLRB under the","paragraph_id":"para_619"},{"text":"NLRA -- into the bargaining unit without the option to opt out.","paragraph_id":"para_620"},{"text":"Public policy would be better served, says Harvard, if the Union","paragraph_id":"para_621"},{"text":"had instead filed a petition with the NLRB for it to determine","paragraph_id":"para_622"},{"text":"whether the psychology doctoral students belonged in the existing","paragraph_id":"para_623"},{"text":"bargaining unit rather than having the arbitrator \"backdoor\" them","paragraph_id":"para_624"},{"text":"in (or so Harvard says).","paragraph_id":"para_625"},{"text":"The Union counters that the award doesn't contravene","paragraph_id":"para_626"},{"text":"public policy because the NLRA doesn't preclude individuals who","paragraph_id":"para_627"},{"text":"don't fit within the statutory definition of \"employees\" from being","paragraph_id":"para_628"},{"text":"- 26 -","paragraph_id":"para_629"},{"text":"represented by a union, included in a bargaining unit, or being","paragraph_id":"para_630"},{"text":"subject to a CBA. It adds that union representation is based on","paragraph_id":"para_631"},{"text":"majority rule without a federal requirement that individual","paragraph_id":"para_632"},{"text":"employees have the right to vote on union representation,","paragraph_id":"para_633"},{"text":"especially after the union is certified as the exclusive bargaining","paragraph_id":"para_634"},{"text":"representative. The Union lastly claims that the award shouldn't","paragraph_id":"para_635"},{"text":"be set aside because it's not \"clearly repugnant\" to the NLRA or","paragraph_id":"para_636"},{"text":"\"palpably wrong\" so as to violate NLRB precedent.","paragraph_id":"para_637"},{"text":"We've recognized an exception to \"the general rule that","paragraph_id":"para_638"},{"text":"the arbitrator has the last word\" -- namely, the narrow public","paragraph_id":"para_639"},{"text":"policy expectation, which allows courts to vacate an arbitrator's","paragraph_id":"para_640"},{"text":"decision if the award violates \"an 'explicit . . . well defined","paragraph_id":"para_641"},{"text":"and dominant' public policy, as ascertained 'by reference","paragraph_id":"para_642"},{"text":"to . . . laws and legal precedents.'\" Mercy Hosp., Inc. v. Mass.","paragraph_id":"para_643"},{"text":"Nurses Ass'n, 429 F.3d 338, 343-44 (1st Cir. 2005) (citing W.R.","paragraph_id":"para_644"},{"text":"Grace & Co. v. Local Union 759, Int'l Union of United Rubber","paragraph_id":"para_645"},{"text":"Workers, 461 U.S. 757, 766 (1983)). It is not enough that an award","paragraph_id":"para_646"},{"text":"may be supposedly violative of some public policy notion. Id.","paragraph_id":"para_647"},{"text":"Rather, the public policy purportedly violated must be ascertained","paragraph_id":"para_648"},{"text":"by references to laws and legal precedents. E. Ass'd Coal Corp.","paragraph_id":"para_649"},{"text":"v. United Mine Workers of Am., Dist. 17, 531 U.S. 57, 62 (2000).","paragraph_id":"para_650"},{"text":"That is presumably why Harvard cites to the NLRA in","paragraph_id":"para_651"},{"text":"support of its claim that the award violates public policy. And","paragraph_id":"para_652"},{"text":"though Harvard is correct that the NLRA generally protects workers'","paragraph_id":"para_653"},{"text":"- 27 -","paragraph_id":"para_654"},{"text":"rights to unionize, see 29 U.S.C. § 157, we do not agree that the","paragraph_id":"para_655"},{"text":"psychology doctoral students' right to do so is infringed upon by","paragraph_id":"para_656"},{"text":"the arbitrator's award.","paragraph_id":"para_657"},{"text":"It has long been recognized by the Supreme Court and","paragraph_id":"para_658"},{"text":"this circuit that the NLRA protects workers' freedom of","paragraph_id":"para_659"},{"text":"association, NLRB v. J. Weingarten, Inc., 420 U.S. 251, 261–62","paragraph_id":"para_660"},{"text":"(1975), \"right to . . . engage in concerted activities for mutual","paragraph_id":"para_661"},{"text":"aid and protection,\" Tamburello v. Comm-Tract Corp., 67 F.3d 973,","paragraph_id":"para_662"},{"text":"979 (1st Cir. 1995), and to participate in collective bargaining,","paragraph_id":"para_663"},{"text":"Epic Sys. Corp. v. Lewis, 584 U.S. 497, 521 (2018).","paragraph_id":"para_664"},{"text":"Pivoting off Harvard's own premise, we conclude that in","paragraph_id":"para_665"},{"text":"line with the NLRA's purpose, the psychology doctoral students in","paragraph_id":"para_666"},{"text":"fact had the right to exercise their freedom of association and","paragraph_id":"para_667"},{"text":"determine whether they wanted to be in the Union. They were","paragraph_id":"para_668"},{"text":"specifically afforded that right through the CBA itself once the","paragraph_id":"para_669"},{"text":"arbitrator's award placed this category of workers in the","paragraph_id":"para_670"},{"text":"bargaining unit. Particularly, Article 33 of the CBA explicitly","paragraph_id":"para_671"},{"text":"states that graduate students within the bargaining unit \"are free","paragraph_id":"para_672"},{"text":"to decide whether or not they wish to join the Union and pay","paragraph_id":"para_673"},{"text":"membership dues and fees.\" It further states that every student","paragraph_id":"para_674"},{"text":"worker \"will be given the choice to affirm choosing to join the","paragraph_id":"para_675"},{"text":"Union or not for each appointment period, or if already a member,","paragraph_id":"para_676"},{"text":"if they wish to opt out.\" The CBA adds that \"[t]here will be no","paragraph_id":"para_677"},{"text":"fee or further consequences\" should a student worker not join the","paragraph_id":"para_678"},{"text":"- 28 -","paragraph_id":"para_679"},{"text":"Union. So we echo the district court here in concluding that the","paragraph_id":"para_680"},{"text":"award only declares that the psychology doctoral students belong","paragraph_id":"para_681"},{"text":"in the already-established bargaining unit, giving them an","paragraph_id":"para_682"},{"text":"opportunity to decide whether they want to belong to the Union,","paragraph_id":"para_683"},{"text":"without infringing on their associational rights. Vacating the","paragraph_id":"para_684"},{"text":"award would deprive these students of that opportunity to opt in","paragraph_id":"para_685"},{"text":"or out -- which Harvard concedes they should have.","paragraph_id":"para_686"},{"text":"Harvard does not clearly show that the award creates an","paragraph_id":"para_687"},{"text":"explicit conflict with other laws or legal precedent beyond its","paragraph_id":"para_688"},{"text":"general assertions regarding the NLRA, and that alone isn't enough","paragraph_id":"para_689"},{"text":"for us to endorse vacatur of the award. See Prudential-Bache Sec.,","paragraph_id":"para_690"},{"text":"Inc. v. Tanner, 72 F.3d 234, 241–42 (1st Cir. 1995) (finding that","paragraph_id":"para_691"},{"text":"a party's argument that an arbitration award violates public policy","paragraph_id":"para_692"},{"text":"fails when it can't clearly show a specific conflict with laws or","paragraph_id":"para_693"},{"text":"legal precedent). Seeing that the award does not frustrate the","paragraph_id":"para_694"},{"text":"NLRA and finding no other explicit, well defined public policy","paragraph_id":"para_695"},{"text":"against the award, we end our discussion here. See New England","paragraph_id":"para_696"},{"text":"Health Care Emps. Union, Dist. 1199, SEIU, AFL-CIO v. R.I. L.","paragraph_id":"para_697"},{"text":"Servs., 273 F.3d 425, 427–28 (1st Cir. 2001).","paragraph_id":"para_698"},{"text":"Again, Harvard cannot prevail.","paragraph_id":"para_699"},{"text":"III. Conclusion","paragraph_id":"para_700"},{"text":"Because we discern no reason for the award not to stand,","paragraph_id":"para_701"},{"text":"we decline to vacate the award and affirm the district court's","paragraph_id":"para_702"},{"text":"decision. 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