Three cases involving arbitration procedures and awards medified and
reaffirmed the basics of the Steelworkers' trilogy. in the first case, the
company and the union couldn't agree on whether the disputed situation
involved the contract. The union argued the decision should be made by
the arbitrator after appointment, while the company maintained arbitrability
should be up to the courts. The Supreme Court agreed with the company
and declared the courts ultimately are responsible for deciding the
arbitrability of contract disputes. This doesn't mean that an arbitrator can't
rule on arbitrability; it means that a decision is subject to court review. If a
dispute exists, a party can petition the courts to decide arbitrability before
the case is heard .