Can a union contract away a member’s right to bring a lawsuit for employment discrimination?

Yes. In 2009, the US Supreme Court held in 14 Penn Plaza v. Pyett that a clear and unmistakable provision in a collective bargaining agreement that requires union members to arbitrate an Age Discrimination in Employment Act claim is enforceable as a matter of federal law. The High Court’s decision was a break from the majority of federal appeals courts, which had declined to compel union arbitration of statutory claims. As in any contractual negotiation, the High Court said, a union may agree to the inclusion of an arbitration provision in a collective bargaining agreement in return for other concessions from an employer. Concern that a union may subordinate an individual employee's interests to the collective interests of all employees in the bargaining unit was rejected as an unsustainable collateral attack on the National Labor Relations Act.