The hearing referee found that appellant was eligible for benefits and not otherwise disqualified. The board of review reversed and, relying on Applegate v Palladium Publishing Co, 95 Mich. App. 299; 290 N.W.2d 128 (1980), lv den 409 Mich. 904 (1980), held that "[m]andatory retirement provisions under a collective bargaining agreement constitute a voluntary leaving of employment. . . ." The Wayne Circuit Court affirmed the decision of the board of review, believing itself bound to that conclusion by Applegate, supra.
Members Viventi and Cohl looked to the statement of UAW officials who passed the emergency dues amendment and who explained the amendment to the UAW membership to determine the purpose for which the emergency dues were collected. In looking to these statements, members Viventi and Cohl relied upon Applegate v Palladium Publishing Co, 95 Mich. App. 299; 290 N.W.2d 128 (1980), lv den 409 Mich. 904 (1980). Having determined that the purpose of the UAW leadership binds the plaintiffs (UAW members), board members Viventi and Cohl conclude that the emergency dues were intended to fund local labor disputes at GM plants, including the foundry plants which caused the plaintiffs' unemployment.
In so doing, the UAW represents its members and they must ratify any contract agreed upon by the UAW and GM. Therefore, any `coercion' resulting from the terms of the contract does not make the plaintiffs' action in accord with the contract `involuntary.' As the Court of Appeals said in Applegate v. Palladium Publishing Co., 95 Mich. App. 299, 305; 290 N.W.2d 128 (1980), and we adopt here: "`Action taken by employees under a contract negotiated for them by their authorized agent must be considered their voluntary acts. In effect, plaintiff agreed to [act] pursuant to the collective bargaining agreement.
In so doing, the UAW represents its members and they must ratify any contract agreed upon by the UAW and GM. Therefore, any "coercion" resulting from the terms of the contract does not make the plaintiffs' action in accord with the contract "involuntary." As the Court of Appeals said in Applegate v. Palladium Publishing Co., 95 Mich. App. 299, 305; 290 N.W.2d 128 (1980), and we adopt here: "Action taken by employees under a contract negotiated for them by their authorized agent must be considered their voluntary acts. In effect, plaintiff agreed to [act] pursuant to the collective bargaining agreement.
Unlike the claimant in Larson, their choice was not between resignation and no income at all. Further, Larson was limited to its own facts in Applegate v Palladium Publishing Co, 95 Mich. App. 299, 307, n 3; 290 N.W.2d 128 (1980). We also find Copper Range Co, supra, inapplicable.
Since the employer and the union agreed to wage reductions, the question presented is whether the plaintiff is bound by the action taken by his union. The MESC referee in this case relied upon Applegate v. Palladium Publishing Co, 95 Mich. App. 299; 290 N.W.2d 128 (1980), lv den 409 Mich. 904 (1980), in support of his decision to disqualify plaintiff under ยง 29(1)(a) of the act. In Applegate, this Court held that, because a mandatory retirement provision was part of the claimant's union contract, the retiring claimant had left work voluntarily even though he personally wanted to continue working and was forced out by the provision.
Compare Kentucky Unemployment Insurance Commission v. Young, 389 S.W.2d 451 (Ky. 1965) (a case similar to McDonnell Douglass, but the court ruled that when retirement is the result of unilateral action by the employer, with no negotiation by the employee, the employee did not leave his job voluntarily). See also Kentucky Unemployment Insurance Commission v. Kroehler Mfg. Co., 352 S.W.2d 212 (Ky.App. 1961) (court agreed with McDonnell Douglass case because the employee's union negotiated the retirement age provision of the contract);Richardson v. Maine Employment Security Commission, 229 A.2d 326 (Me. 1967) (court found retired employee to have left his job "voluntarily without good cause attributable to such employment", but only after noting the jurisdictions that hold to the contrary and discussing the various economic considerations at issue); Applegate v. Palladium Publishing Co., 95 Mich. App. 299, 290 N.W.2d 128 (1980) (court renounced the "subjective approach" of Campbell Soup and decided the case in the manner of McDonnell Douglass). The Kentucky statute provides that a claimant is ineligible if "he has left his most recent suitable work voluntarily without good cause."