MEMORANDUM OPINION
This сause came before the court upon the twice amended motion of defendant General Motors Corporation (GM) to dismiss, and upon the motion of plaintiffs to amend their complaint. The motions having been set on a regularly scheduled motion docket, oral argument having been heard, and matters outside the pleadings having been presented to and not excluded by the court, the defendant’s motion shall be treated as one for summary judgment.
Plaintiffs, and thе class they seek to represent, had been employed by GM at plants in various American cities. Pursuant to a procedure granting eligible seniority emрloyees covered by the GM-UAW National Agreement preferential consideration for hiring at certain new plants, plaintiffs and all putative class members were hired to work in the Tuscaloosa plant. Plaintiffs contend, however, that they were not accorded preferential consideration, thаt 150 other persons were hired by the Tuscaloosa plant, resulting in a lower sеniority status for plaintiffs, and that, as a consequence, all plaintiffs and putative class members were laid off in October 1980. Plaintiffs also contend that they have filed no grievance because GM and the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) have taken the position that the procedure for preferential cоnsideration cannot be the subject of a grievance.
On March 19, 1981, plaintiffs filеd this action, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, against GM and UAW under § 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA), 29 U.S.C. § 185. Plaintiffs alleged that defendant UAW hаs breached its duty of fair representation and that defendant GM has breached its agreement with UAW to accord plaintiffs preferential consideration. Thus, plaintiffs’ action is one that has been characterized as a hybrid § 301-breach of duty action.
Among the grounds for its motion to dismiss, defendant contends that рlaintiffs’ claims are barred by the six-month limitations period prescribed by § 10(b) of the Nаtional Labor Relations Act (NLRA), 29 U.S.C. § 160(b). Defendant directs the court’s attention to thе Supreme Court’s opinion in
United Parcel Service, Inc. v. Mitchell,
“[A]n employee may go behind a final and binding award under a collective-bargaining agreement and seek relief against his employer and union оnly when he demonstrates that his union’s breach of its duty ‘seriously undermine[d] the integrity of the arbitral process.’ ”
Applying the six-month limitations period to this case, plaintiffs’ claims are time-barred since “[a]ll employes who are members of the putative class, those who were laid off in October, 1980, were hired between July, 1979 and April, 1980.” (Handley Affidavit). Plaintiffs did not file their complaint until March 19, 1981. Plaintiffs would have known at the time they were hired, or shortly thereafter, of their alleged inferior seniority status. [Defendants’ Exhibit A: Agreement Between General Motors Corpоration and the UAW, 43-46 (September 14, 1979)]. Therefore, the court is of the opinion that summary judgment is due to be granted in favor of defendants and that plaintiffs’ motion to amend their complaint is thereby rendered moot.