Section 217. Proceeding against body or officer; actions complaining about conduct that would constitute a union's breach of its duty of fair representation; four months

1.   Unless a shorter time is provided in
  the law authorizing the proceeding,  a  proceeding  against  a  body  or
  officer  must be commenced within four months after the determination to
  be reviewed becomes final and binding upon the petitioner or the  person
  whom he represents in law or in fact, or after the respondent's refusal,
  upon  the  demand of the petitioner or the person whom he represents, to
  perform its duty; or with leave of the court where the petitioner or the
  person whom he represents, at the time such determination  became  final
  and  binding  upon  him  or  at  the  time  of such refusal, was under a
  disability specified in section 208, within two years after such time.
    2. (a) Any action  or  proceeding  against  an  employee  organization
  subject  to  article fourteen of the civil service law or article twenty
  of the labor law which complains that  such  employee  organization  has
  breached  its duty of fair representation regarding someone to whom such
  employee organization has a duty shall be commenced within  four  months
  of  the  date  the employee or former employee knew or should have known
  that the breach has occurred, or within four  months  of  the  date  the
  employee or former employee suffers actual harm, whichever is later.
    (b) Any action or proceeding by an employee or former employee against
  an  employer  subject  to  article  fourteen of the civil service law or
  article twenty of the labor law, an essential element of which  is  that
  an employee organization breached its duty of fair representation to the
  person  making  the  complaint, shall be commenced within four months of
  the date the employee or former employee knew or should have known  that
  the  breach has occurred, or within four months of the date the employee
  or former employee suffers actual harm, whichever is later.