Local One Security Officers Union v. New York University

OPINION AND ORDER   In December 2018, a member of Plaintiff Local One Security Officers Union (“Local One”), Richard Berger, filed a lawsuit in New York state court (the “Berger Action”) against his employer, Defendant New York University (“NYU”), alleging that certain of NYU’s labor practices violated state law. Berger v. New York Univ., No. 19 Civ. 267 (S.D.N.Y.) (“Berger”). NYU took the view that the Berger Action breached a collective-bargaining agreement (“CBA”) between NYU and Local One, and it filed a grievance and Demand for Arbitration against Local One pursuant to the CBA’s dispute-resolution process. (Dkt. Nos. 8-5, 8-7.) Local One responded by filing this action, which seeks to enjoin NYU from proceeding with the arbitration it has initiated. (Dkt. No. 1

19-25.) Now before the Court is Local One’s motion for a preliminary injunction. (Dkt. No. 13.) For the reasons that follow, the motion is denied. I. Background Richard Berger, an NYU security guard and a member of Local One, filed a class action complaint against NYU in New York state court on December 11, 2018.¹ (Dkt. No. 8-6.) The complaint in the Berger Action alleges that NYU has “a policy and practice of requiring” its security guards “to regularly work over forty (40) hours in a week without paying them all earned overtime wages.” (Dkt. No. 8-6 2; see also id. 4.) More specifically, Berger has alleged that NYU does not pay its guards for some of the time they spend before and after each shift changing into and out of their uniforms and traveling to and from their assigned posts. (Dkt. No. 8-6