N.A.A.C.P. v. Detroit Police Officers Association

In a previous appeal in this action, our Court published on June 12, 1987, an opinion, NAACP v. Detroit Police Officers Assn, 821 F.2d 328, 333 (6th Cir. 1987), holding that a purely voluntary affirmative action plan instituted by Mayor Young and the City designed to increase minority representation in the Detroit Police Department could not override the last-hired, first-fired layoff provision of the Unions collective bargaining agreement with the City. We held further that because the Union had not engaged in intentional discrimination, its failure to bargain forcefully against the layoffs made for budgetary reasons did not breach its duty of fair representation. The appeal in the previous case was from a ruling by the District Court that the voluntary plan alone by its own force required a finding of liability against the City and Mayor Young, and an injunctive order disallowing them from laying off 900 black police officers until the plan goals had been met. See NAACP v. Detroit Police Officers Assn, 591 F. Supp. 1194 (E.D.Mich. 1984). We reversed the injunctive orders below and remanded the action for further proceedings.