Southwest Administrators, Inc. v. K-J Distributors, Inc.

703 F. Supp. 841, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15280, 1988 WL 142867
CourtDistrict Court, D. Arizona
DecidedDecember 28, 1988
DocketNo. CIV 87-1534 PHX PGR
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 703 F. Supp. 841 (Southwest Administrators, Inc. v. K-J Distributors, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Southwest Administrators, Inc. v. K-J Distributors, Inc., 703 F. Supp. 841, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15280, 1988 WL 142867 (D. Ariz. 1988).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND OPINION

ROSENBLATT, District Judge.

This is a removed action filed by Southwest Administrators, Inc. (“Southwest”) against K-J Distributors, Inc., dba Shamrock Distributing Co. (“Shamrock”) in which it is alleged that certain Shamrock employees, not included by Shamrock in the collective bargaining unit, were actually performing bargaining unit work thereby requiring Shamrock to make contributions on their behalf to the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Trust Fund (“Trust”). Southwest contends Shamrock’s failure to pay the contested contributions is a violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) and a breach of the collective bargaining agreement (“Agreement”) between Shamrock and the Teamsters Union.

Defendant Shamrock is an Arizona corporation with distributing facilities in Phoenix and Tempe. Plaintiff Southwest is the administrator and assignee for the Trustees of the Trust. Effective April 1,1981 to April 1, 1984, Shamrock was one of ten employers participating in an Agreement with Local Union No. 83 and Local Union No. 104 of the International Brotherhood of teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America. Shamrock and Local Union No. 83 were the only two parties entering the subsequent Agreement effective April 1, 1984 to April 1, 1987.

Article 13 in both Agreements required pension contributions from the employer on behalf of each member of the bargaining unit, as defined in Article 3 of each Agreement (“warehouse lead person, warehouse-men and local and intra-state drivers”). Southwest alleges that certain Shamrock employees not technically described as “drivers” or “warehousemen” were performing driver and warehouse tasks and pension contributions should have been made on their behalf.

On February 26, 1988 Shamrock received a determination of the bargaining unit from the NLRB, as defined as:

All regular full-time and part-time local drivers and warehousemen, including working warehouse lead person; but excluding salespersons, draft department employees, maintenance employees, temporary or college program and seasonal employees, mechanics, merchandisers, breakage employees, draft technicians, office clerical employees, guards and supervisors as defined in the Act.

The decision expressly notes no determination of the bargaining unit for prior years is intended or made.

Pending before this Court is Shamrock’s Motion for Summary Judgment filed on the grounds that this Court lacks jurisdiction, that Plaintiff is not entitled to the relief requested and that judgment be granted Shamrock as a matter of law.

Jurisdiction

Southwest alleged federal jurisdiction pursuant to the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) Sec. 301(a), 29 U.S.C. Sec. 185(a) and ERISA Sec. 502, 29 U.S.C. Sec. 1132. ERISA grants jurisdiction to federal courts in civil actions brought by a plan fiduciary, such as Southwest, to enforce rights under the plan and to clarify rights to future benefits under the plan. 29 U.S.C. Sec. 1132(a), (e). In conjunction, Southwest alleges a breach by Shamrock of the- Agreement, thereby invoking federal [843]*843jurisdiction under NLRA Sec. 301(a), 29 U.S.C. Sec. 185(a).

Shamrock contends the action centers on the determination of the collective bargaining unit, a task delegated to the NLRB in NLRA Secs. 7, 9(a), 29 U.S.C. Secs. 157, 159(a). In the alternative, Shamrock contends the claim is arguably an unfair labor practice claim under NLRA Sec. 8, 29 U.S.C. Sec. 158, and therefore subject to NLRB jurisdiction, citing Laborers Health and Welfare Trust Fund for Northern California v. Advanced Lightweight Concrete Co., Inc., 484 U.S. 539, 108 S.Ct. 830, 98 L.Ed.2d 936 (1988). The Supreme Court’s opinion is somewhat more flexible than Shamrock contends, “[i]n cases like this, which involve either an actual or an ‘arguable’ violation of Sec. 8 of the NLRA, federal courts typically defer to the judgment of the NLRB.” Id. 108 S.Ct. at 837.

Shamrock supports its contention that the NLRB, not federal court, has jurisdiction over bargaining unit disputes by citing Local No. 3-193 International Woodworkers of America v. Ketchikan Pulp Co., 611 F.2d 1295 (9th Cir.1980). Ketchikan, however, is easily distinguished; the dispute was between the employer and the union and focused on extending union representation to worksites recently acquired by the employer. Both parties clearly had access to the NLRB and the dispute did not involve a representational question at the original worksite.

Although the Ninth Circuit has acknowledged the strong policy of judicial deference to the NLRB on representation issues, Ketchikan, at 1299, the court has also affirmed the Congressional mandate that pension plan trustees have a forum in which to enforce trust obligations, including claims against employers for delinquent pension contributions. Advanced Lightweight Concrete, 108 S.Ct. at n. 14; Laborers Health and Welfare Trust Fund for Northern California v. Kaufman & Broad of Northern California, Inc., 707 F.2d 412, 416 (9th Cir.1983). In Advanced Lightweight Concrete, the Supreme Court affirmed the Ninth Circuit’s decision to deny plan trustees of a multi-employer plan access to federal district court for their suit against a participating employer for contributions due after the collective bargaining agreement expired and before a new one was adopted. The Court concluded the employer’s actions constituted an unfair labor practice which preempted the ERISA claim and presented an issue for the NLRB. Advanced Lightweight Concrete, 108 S.Ct. at 838. Of key significance to the ERISA claim preemption was the Court’s determination that access to federal courts under ERISA Sec. 502 “is limited to the collection of ‘promised contributions’ ” and does not control where the employer engages in bad faith after the agreement was expired. Id. 108 S.Ct at 836. In the instant case, Southwest seeks to do what the Court accepted, to recover “promised contributions” from the employer.

Both parties cite Kaufman & Broad, a factually similar case, to support their arguments. Kaufman & Broad, an employer, was a party to a collective bargaining agreement requiring employer contributions to four trust funds (“Funds”) for time spent on work within the union’s jurisdiction. The employer failed to contribute for work it contended was beyond the scope of the union’s jurisdiction. The Funds’ state court action was removed to federal court under LMRA Sec. 301. Kaufman & Broad moved for summary judgment on the grounds that 1) federal court had no jurisdiction because the issue was union representation and primary jurisdiction rested with the NLRB, and 2) it never understood callback work to be covered by the agreement. The Ninth Circuit noted that the district court’s Sec. 301 jurisdiction “to entertain suits upon a collective bargaining agreement generally survives an objection based on primary jurisdiction, and in such cases the district court and the [NLRB] have concurrent jurisdiction.” Kaufman & Broad, at 415. The court found Ketchikan

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703 F. Supp. 841, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15280, 1988 WL 142867, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/southwest-administrators-inc-v-k-j-distributors-inc-azd-1988.