Labor-Management Relations Act

Granite Rock Company v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Issues

Whether a federal court or an arbitrator decides in the first instance if a contract containing an arbitration provision was formed.

Whether §301(a) of the Labor-Management Relations Act, which governs federal jurisdiction for contract violations, not only applies to contracting parties but also to entities not party to the contract that may have interfered with the contract.

 

Petitioner, Granite Rock, and respondent, Teamsters Local 287, negotiated a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (“CBA”) which included no-strike and arbitration clauses. A dispute arose regarding the validity of the agreement after Local 287 initiated a strike with the support of respondent, International Brotherhood of Teamsters (“IBT”). Granite Rock sued Local 287 and IBT under §301(a) of the Labor-Management Relations Act. The district court found that the agreement including the arbitration clause was valid and, therefore, referred Granite Rock and Local 287 to arbitration. The court, however, dismissed the claim against IBT, holding that §301(a) did not apply. The Ninth Circuit upheld IBT’s dismissal but held that the district court should have also deferred the question of whether a contract was formed to arbitration. The Supreme Court must now decide if a federal court has initial jurisdiction to determine the validity of a contract containing an arbitration clause and whether §301(a) allows plaintiffs to sue others not party to the contract.

Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties

1. Does a federal court have jurisdiction to determine whether a collective bargaining agreement was formed when it is disputed whether any binding contract exists, but no party makes an independent challenge to the arbitration clause apart from claiming it is inoperative before the contract is established?

2. Does Section 30l(a) of the Labor-Management Relations Act, which generally preempts otherwise available state law causes of action, provide a cause of action against an international union that is not a direct signatory to the collective bargaining agreement, but effectively displaces its signatory local union and causes a strike breaching a collective bargaining agreement for its own benefit?

For years, petitioner, Granite Rock, a California cement company, and respondent, Teamsters Local 287 (“Local 287”) (the local chapter of respondent, International Brotherhood of Teamsters (“IBT”)), had a Collective Bargaining Agreement (“CBA”). See 

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Additional Resources

·      Wex: Law about Collective Bargaining
 
·      Concrete Products: Granite Rock Jury Delivers Teamsters Crushing Breach of     Contract Verdict
 
·      Cornell ILR: Collective Bargaining Subject Guide

 

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Unite Here Local 355 v. Mulhall

Issues

Does an agreement stipulating that an employer will remain neutral and give access to employee information in exchange for a union’s support of an employer-friendly ballot initiative, constitute a “thing of value” in violation § 302 of the Labor-Management Relations Act; or, must a thing of value be monetary for purposes of § 302?

In 2004, UNITE HERE Local 355 (“Local 355”) entered into an agreement with Hollywood Greyhound Track, Inc. (“Mardi Gras”), the employer of Martin Mulhall. Mardi Gras agreed to help Local 355 unionize Mardi Gras’s employees by remaining neutral in the process and giving Local 355 access to its facilities and employee information. If the unionization effort was successful, Mardi Gras would recognize Local 355 as the exclusive bargaining agent for its employees. In exchange, Local 355 promised to support a Florida ballot initiative that would allow casinos to operate slot machines in Broward and Miami-Dade Counties. Mulhall opposed the unionization effort and sought to block the agreement under § 302 of the Labor-Management Relations Act. Mulhall argues that under § 302 Mardi Gras’s promises are “things of value” and thus constitute an illegal payment from an employer to a union. Local 355 disagrees and contends that cooperative employer-union agreements have long been considered lawful. The Eleventh Circuit held that an employer’s promises in union-organizing agreements may constitute “things of value,” implicating § 302. The Supreme Court’s decision will impact the future of cooperative employer-union agreements and the way that employees and unions try to unionize. 

Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties

Whether an employer and union may violate § 302 of the Labor-Management Relations Act by entering into an agreement under which the employer promises to remain neutral to union organizing, grants union representatives access to the employer’s property and employers in exchange for the union’s promise to forego its right to picket, boycott, or otherwise pressure the employer's business?

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Facts

On August 23, 2004, Petitioner UNITE HERE Local 355 (“Local 355”), entered into an agreement with Respondent Hollywood Greyhound Track, Inc. (“Mardi Gras”), the employer of Co-Respondent Martin Mulhall. See Mulhall v. Unite Here Local 355, 667 F.3d 1211, 1213 (11th Cir.

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