Arbitration, collective bargaining.

The Hanover School Committee of Suffolk County decided to abolish the position of supervisor of music one day after the collective bargaining agreement with the union was scheduled to end. The teacher lost his job, and the Hanover Teacher's Association invoked the arbitration provisions of the expired collective bargaining agreement to save the individual's job. The opposing parties eventually agreed to submit the matter to arbitration. The arbitrator concluded that the committee violated the agreement and ordered the teacher reinstated to his position and compensated for his lost earnings. The committee now appeals the arbitrator's decision.

The Superior Court of Suffolk County vacated the award. The Appeals Court affirmed the superior court for the stated reason that the abolition of the position was "committed" to a nondelegable decision of the committee. Further, it was beyond the power of the committee to bind itself to a contract that had already expired or to delegate to an arbitrator the power to bind the committee.

The Hanover Teacher's Association loses. The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts upheld the decision of the lower court, reasoning that the arbitrator had exceeded his powers