BTEA

HOW THE NY PLAN FOR THE RESOLUTION OF JURISDICTIONAL DISPUTES WORKS

Background. The New York Plan For The Resolution of Jurisdictional Disputes, otherwise known and referred to as the NY Plan, is a written agreement between organized labor through the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York and union contractors who are members of the Building Trades Employers' Association.

Its purpose is to resolve jurisdictional disputes between trade unions while continuing the construction process without interruption or delay. The Plan has been in existence since 1903. It was amended in 1996 and further amendments are currently under discussion. It is the only local Plan of its kind in the nation.

The Building Trades Employers' Association is responsible for processing cases of jurisdictional disputes in accordance with the procedures in the NY Plan and for maintaining all records and transcripts of the proceedings.

Authority. The authority of the NY Plan comes from two sources:

The Constitution and By-Laws of the Building & Construction Trades Council Of Greater New York which requires all trade union affiliates of the Council to be party to the Plan and to follow its procedures and comply with the jurisdictional decisions recorded in the Green Book

Language included in collective bargaining agreements between trade union affiliates of the Building and Construction Trades Council and contractors who are members of the Building Trades Employers' Association and their member associations that requires following its NY Plan procedures for the resolution of jurisdictional disputes and in the awarding of construction contracts based on the jurisdictional decisions of record in the Green Book.

General Provisions. The unions bound to the NY Plan shall not engage in any strikes, work stoppages or picketing as a result of a jurisdictional dispute with another union bound by the NY Plan.

THE PROCEDURE FOR RESOLVING JURISDICTIONAL DISPUTES

1. STEP ONE-DIRECT RESOLUTION
Whenever a dispute arises on a jobsite over an assignment of work, the trade union objecting to the assignment, through its business manager or business agent, shall contact the business manager or business agent of the trade assigned the work for a meeting.

The meeting shall be held within two (2) business days of the request.

2. STEP TWO-MEDIATION
In the event representatives of the trade unions involved in the dispute are unable to resolve the dispute for any reason within this two (2) day period---the challenging trade may request mediation.

This request may be made by telephone or in writing to the President of the Building and Construction Trades Council and shall conduct the mediation within seven (7) business days of the date of submission.

The mediation shall be conducted by the President of the Building and Construction Trades Council and the President of the Building Trades Employers' Association. Employers are not allowed to participate in the mediation.

3. STEP THREE-ARBITRATION
If the dispute is not resolved by mediation, the challenging trade union may request an arbitration hearing on the work in question. That request must be made within seven (7) business days of the date of the mediation.

The request shall be made in writing and submitted to the Building and Construction Trades Council and the Building Trades Employers' Association.

The Arbitration Hearing shall be conducted within fourteen (14) business days of the request and shall be scheduled by the Building Trades Employers' Association.

The Arbitration Panel shall be convened by the President of the Building Trades Employers' Association who shall also preside as Chairman of the Arbitration Panel.

Arbitration Panel members shall be contractor representatives selected from the Building Trades Employers' Association Board of Governors and/or recommended by its member associations.

No attorneys are allowed at the hearing as representatives of either party.

ARBITRATION PANEL DECISION CRITERIA

The Arbitration Panel shall be bound by the following criteria in making its decision:

1. Previous Green Book Decisions; or where there are none

2. International agreements of record between the trade unions.

If none of these apply for any reason, including but not limited to reasons regarding technological advances in the industry—the Arbitration Panel shall base its decision on the following criteria:

3. The established trade practice and the prevailing practice in the Greater New York geographical area.

It is important to understand that National Agreements between International Unions and National Contractor Associations are not recognized in jurisdictional work assignments in New York City unless the scope of work assigned is consistent with the prevailing trade practice in New York City.

THE RENDERING OF DECISIONS

The Arbitration Panel shall render its decision immediately after the close of the arbitration hearing and shall submit its decision in writing to both of the trade unions involved.

The decision is final and binding to all parties and is area-wide in nature. The decision is entered into the Green Book and shall be used in the award of all construction contracts for the scope of work that was the subject of the dispute