WALLER v. City of Spokane Fire Department, Defendant. (2020)

MEMORANDUM ***

Don Waller worked for the City of Spokane Fire Department and was represented by a union known as IAFF Local 29. After another fire department employee filed a complaint with human resources alleging workplace misconduct by Waller and others, the City and union entered into a settlement agreement that provided for less severe discipline in exchange for waiver of the union members’ right to administratively appeal the discipline. Waller appeals from the district court's grant of judgment on the pleadings to the City as well as its decision denying him leave to amend his complaint. We affirm.

1. The district court properly granted the City's motion for judgment on the pleadings, a decision we review de novo. See Vega v. United States, 881 F.3d 1146, 1152 (9th Cir. 2018). Waller argues that the City violated his rights under the Due Process Clause by denying him the opportunity to pursue post-discipline review. That argument fails due to the longstanding legal principle that unions are free to negotiate settlements without the affected members’ consent, even if the settlement waives rights that the members would otherwise have had. See Shane v. Greyhound Lines, Inc., 868 F.2d 1057, 1061 (9th Cir. 1989); Mahon v. NLRB, 808 F.2d 1342, 1345 (9th Cir. 1987). Here, the union permissibly waived Waller's right to seek post-discipline review in the course of negotiating a settlement of the disciplinary charges he and other union members faced.

2. Because the district court properly dismissed the only federal law claim Waller asserted, the court did not abuse its discretion by denying Waller leave to amend his complaint to add a new state law claim. See Curry v. Yelp Inc., 875 F.3d 1219, 1224 (9th Cir. 2017).

AFFIRMED.