UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

HARRY GORGE; DANIEL WILLIAMS;

THOMAS JONES; BILLY KNEE; GEORGE

MINOR; KENNETH MOORE; GEORGE

BLOOM; RONALD WOMICK; EMANUEL

ZIEGLER; JAMES CHANEY; STANLEY

JOHNSON; THOMAS WINGROVE; WILEY

SMITH; JEROME BRACEY; FRANK

MILESKY; DAVID PEARSON; HAVON

BIRCHEN; FRED DAHLKE; GEORGE

ERHARDT; RANDY GROVES; CHARLEY

PARKER; JOE COED; TIM CADY, Local

Union 182; WAYNE MITTELSTADT;

DOUG DAILY, Local Union 182; LOUIS

ALAVA; MOHAMMAD STIF; BARRY HIEN,

Local Union 182; TONY PETRELLI,

Local Union 182; NELSON CORTOS;

No. 98-1022

MICHAEL DOLAN; ROBERT ROSS, Local

Union 182; ERIC GOMEZ; BRUCE

SCHILLING, Local Union 182; PATRICK

HOLOHAN; ROGER VANSLYKE, Local

Union 182; ANTHONY KANCELER;

CALVIN BECKER, Local Union 687;

THOMAS J. KERSTEN; DAVE BURDICK,

Local Union 687; DALE MOSER, Local

Union 687; BRUCE KRAMER; WILLIAM

MCMANUS; VERNAL PARKS, Local

Union 687; RICHARD VERITY; DALE

REMINGTON, Local Union 687; PHIL

SMITH, Local Union 687; MICHAEL J.

CIRINCIONE; BILL KAUFMAN; STEVE

BALDES, Local Union 294; AL BISHOP,

Local Union 294; ROBERT LAXER;
BOS RABIDOUX; RICH KERR; JIM

COOPER, Local Union 294; PAT

MUSTERIA; JAMES FUDALA; DICK

CORMIER, Local Union 294; GARY J.

RIEHL; JOE RUSSO; JIM DE RUSSO,

Local Union 294; RAYMOND

L'HEUREUX; WILLIAM TERRIL; MICHAEL

SANABRIA; DAN EAMES, Local Union

294; KEVIN SCOTT HARIS, Local Union

294; STEVEN HUBBARD; LES SELF; JOHN

STEVENSON; DONALD TENNEY; FRANK

KEARNEY, Local Union 294; ARTHUR

HEBERT; MIKE LEMIEUX, Local Union

294; THOMAS BERGER; GEORGE

MCGARRY, Local Union 294; ROBERT

BOUWICH; ROMEO LEVESQUE; BOB

HYDE; HANK MEAD, Local Union 294;

DONALD GOSSELIN; GRAHAM JENKINS;

DAVE CLAY; JAMES MILNE, Local

Union 294; KEITH KONZEN; MARK

IANUZZI; BILL MONTAGUE, Local Union

294; DENNIS MELLO; NORM

MORRISSETTE, Local Union 294;

WILLIAM LANDY; ROBERT REISER; JOHN

NILES, Local Union 294; WILLIAM

LEEK; WAYNE PECK, Local Union 294;

EDWARD GILLIS; JOHN MONACO; GERRY

NAPPI; MIKE SADDLER, Local Union

294; THOMAS FERRARO; RICHARD

LENNERTON; JOHN D. OGRASS; LEN

TAYLOR, Local Union 294; JOHN

PATTON; DAMMON AMESBURY, Local

Union 118; WILLIAM CUNHA; DAVID

DEMONICO; JOHN SAMUALSEN; FRANK

CUTAIAR, Local Union 118; ALBERTO

SANTOS; ROBERT ENSMAN, Local Union

118; WILLIAM ALEY; BRUCE REID;

 2
EVERETT SCHUMANN; ROBERT FLECK,

Local Union 118; JOE VIRUCT;

KENNETH GOUGH; PAUL FRITSCH, Local

Union 118; WILLIAM WHITMAN;

ROBERT LUONGO; JOE GALANTE, Local

Union 118; WILLIAM BROCK; LINDA S.

ARIAS; RUSSELL GOODENOUGH, Local

Union 118; CLARK GRICIOUS, Local

Union 118; JOHN R. BECK; JACK

IVESTER; EDWARD NEWSOME; RAYMOND

J. BITTMAN; JOHN KILEY, Local Union

118; JIM LING, Local Union 118;

GLADSTONE BROWN; DAVE SAHRELE,

Local Union 118; CHRIS FOWLER;

ALEX RANKIN; TERRY SCHEINER, Local

Union 118; GEORGE DAVIS; STUART F.

ENDRESS; ROB CUNNINGHAM; JULIS

SUMIZE, Local Union 118; GERALD

JACOVELLI; JOHN AYLWARD; STEVE

THAYER, Local Union 118; RONALD

WHEELER; BOB TOURVILLE, Local

Union 118; MIKE ERELLI; SAM AMICO,

Local Union 375; RICK FRANSON; DON

BARTON, Local Union 375; TOM

GIORDANO; JIM BELL, Local Union

375; PAUL LEAVITT; CHRIS BENNETT,

Local Union 375; THEODORE CARR;

TONY BETTI, Local Union 375;

RICHARD MARTIN; KEITH BLOUNT,

Local Union 375; JOHN WASHWELL;

TOM BOBAK, Local Union 375;

HERMAN SCHARK; CHARLES DAVIS,

Local Union 375; PAUL BOYLE; JOHN

GREENWOOD; RICH DEPCZYNSKI, Local

Union 375; SAM CHIASSON; RICHARD

 3
DUBICK, Local Union 375; JAMES

ERNEWEIN, Local Union 375; DAVE

HOWLAND; CHARLES BATES; RAY

GERWITZ, Local Union 375; PAUL

BELAIR; PAUL GOLAB, Local Union

375; PAUL VALOIS; DAVID GOOD, Local

Union 375; MIKE GRAZER, Local

Union 375; HAL TYREE; BOB

HARRINGTON, Local Union 375; DON

HERZOG; JOHN HASLAM, Local Union

375; FRED CRABBE; PRENTICE HINTON,

Local Union 375; EDDIE CASSADY;

ROBERT TRAVERS; LARRY HYMAN,

Local Union 375; ROBERT VOLLMAR;

JAMES BEHAN; THOMAS AULENBACH;

BOB JUREK, Local Union 375;

KEARNEY, LOCAl Union 375; PHIL

MALOUIN; BOB KOCH, Local Union

375; THOMAS FORDHAM; HOBAN

SANDFORD JR.; JOSEPH DEFALCO; SAM

LEONE, Local Union 375; PETE

LOSTRACCO, Local Union 375; FRANCIS

J. MULCAHEY; NICK SINOTTE; FRED

MCCUBBIN, Local Union 375; WAYNE

MILLER, Local Union 375; MAURICE

DONINI; MIKE MOGAVERO, Local Union

375; EDWARD ALEXANDROVICH; JOSEPH

JOHNSON; ROLAND DUQUETTE; LARRY

NOONAN, Local Union 375; LEE

PELCZNSKI, Local Union 375; RICHARD

KUPSELATIS; DARYL LEJEUNE; TOM

PHILLIPS, Local Union 375; ROCCO

NOTARANGELO; DON PIATEK, Local

Union 375; PAUL STARON; PETER

STARON; SAM PINTO, Local Union 375;

WILLIAM RITCHIE; PETE SCHREIBER,

 4
Local Union 375; ROBERT MCLEOD;

ROBERT SMITH; SAM SCIUMECA, Local

Union 375; BOB SLIWANSKI, Local

Union 375; AL CLARKSON; TOM

TEREBEEL; GEORGE URBINO, Local

Union 375; RAY YAW, Local Union

375; TERRY MCALLISTER; BILL SEIFER;

ARNOLD BUTTON, Local Union 649;

FRANCIS MULCAHEY; JIM HUNTER, Local

Union 649; MARK MULCAHEY; EUGENE

LAWRENCE, Local Union 649; TOM

FORDHAM; DOUG LENT, Local Union

649; JEFF PIERCE, Local Union 649;

HOBAN SANFORD; CRAWFORD CAREY;

DAVE RACKETT, Local Union 649;

JOHN HOPKINS; JOHN B. HART; BOB

WAKEMAN, Local Union 649; MIKE

HINES; JACK ALVERSON, Local Union

317; WALTER C. ALGER, JR., Local

Union 317; STEVE KINDLE; JOSEPH

FERENZI; RONALD J. BARNES, Local

Union 317; RAY DEMARTNO; ALBERT

D. BUSH, Local Union 317; JOHN

DEPOTO; ANDREW MONTGOMERY; ROGER

W. COSTANZO, Local Union 317; RAY

W. COLE, Local Union 317; JOSEPH M.

HART; JAMES OBEREMBT; DAVID R.

FARRANCE, SR., Local Union 317; LEO

FULLER, Local Union 317; TERRY D.

GEBMAN, Local Union 317; TED LAND;

JAMES GEORGES, Local Union 317;

EDWARD M. HENRY, Local Union 317;

CHARLES B. HLADUN, Local Union

317; JOSEPH M. LAGUZZA,

 5
Local Union 317; THOMAS G. LARMON,

JR., Local Union 317; DONALD G.

PALMER, Local Union 317; CARLOS J.

VENTURA; TIMOTHY H. REED, Local

Union 317; WILLIAM ARIAS; TOMASZ

BOCHENSKI; GREGORZ BOCHENSKI;

DARIUSZ DUDKIEWICZ; KEN EGAN;

JOSEPH A. CAPUTO, JR.; THOMAS P.

CIAPPIO; TONY KULISH; JIM LEDWITH;

THOMAS MCGINLEY; MAUREEN

MCLELLAN; ANGELA MELIBRUDA; LEE

R. NUTT; JOE PENA; LAWRENCE RYAN;

CHARLES A. SOJKA; JAME TRACEY;

LORRAINE VENDOLA; WAYNE WEBB;

GEORGE A. WOODS; GEORGE BRODBECK;

DAVID FABIAN; BLACEY FARINA;

GEORGE FIELD; HAROLD SAYNE; ROBERT

VOLMAR; ROBERT BLANCHARD; WILLIAM

DASKING; THOMAS DONOHUE; DONALD

FALCO; CHARLES GRANT; GEORGE

KNEER; ALFRED LAURIE; GERRY

LEMORE; FRANK PACE; MICHAEL

PAWLUKOWICZ; STANLEY ULIKOWSKI;

MARTIN WALTERS; FRANK YAGER; JOHN

YAPREM; ROBERTA BLOZEN; DANIEL

BOYLE; MIKE BYRNES; CHRIS

CALABRESE; FRANK DELUCA; WILLIAM

EPPS; GREG GIROUX; FRANK GROELING;

HAROLD HANSON; ALLAN B. JACOBSON;

AUGUST KLEIN; JOHN E. LEWIS; PAUL

MISERENDINO; MARTY O'NEILL; HENRY

A. PELUSO; JOHN TOLERICO; HERBERT

VROEGINDAY; ALLARD ATTMAN;

RICHARD COLACICCO; RUDOLPH A.

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ELMQUIST; MICHAEL FARRELLY; JAMES

B. FINAN; GLENN A. GERBOUNKIA;

GLENN GRAHAM; RICHARD HINTERSTEIN;

EVAN HUGHES; JOHN KOCIBAN; MIKE

LEWIS; JOHN S. MANDELA; PETER J.

MORRISON; WILLIAM MURPHY; FRANK

G. PAHEGHI; WILLIAM K. PARKER;

WALTER S. PRZYBYLSKI; FRED

QUARTUCCIO; MARK REED; JOSEPH G.

STABILE; ANDREW E. STOLTZ; JOHN F.

TIEDMANN; WILLIAM VOLK; GORDON

WRIGHT; MIKE YAWKOWSKI; CATHY

ESSIG; JAMES J. FLESCH; DAVID FRYER;

ROBERT D. GROSINSKI; RONALD A.

KRYSTOFLAK; PETER MICELI; JOSEPH

MOTA; RICHARD MURRAY; ROSE ANN

MUSTACHIO; PHILIP V. PECORA; TONY

PERROLLI; THOMAS ROY; JAMES

SINATRA; DONNA ZURITA; CHARLES

D'ANGELO; DANIEL A. DELISA; STEPHEN

GIBKI; ANTHONY J. GIGLIO; GEORGE

HYDE; LINDA KELLY; JOHN A. KOCH;

JAMEST. MCDYER; JAMES P. MEDLEY;

PETER M. OZELAS, JR.; PERCY

PETERMAN; ROBERT PHILLIPS; KEVIN

PISCAL; EDWIN L. TERON; LUDWIG

THEN; THOMAS P. BORCHERT; KENNETH

EGAN; STEPHEN JOHN FINAN; JAMES

KUHL; ANTHONY F. KURC; JOHN

MARIANI; ROBERT W. SOEHL; GEORGE

M. TERNINKO; KENNETH ZASTOCKI;

FRANCIS FARRELL; WILLIAM REILLY;

KEVIN RYDER; STUART NEEDLEMAN;

DANIEL FEENEY; PAUL BENOIT; HERBERT

MCALLISTER; MICHAEL ALLEN;

RAYMOND MAKSUT;

 7
GARY CORMIER; CARL DOUGHERTY;

BILL MOORE; TOM BERNIER; TIMOTHY

NILE; ART VEZINA; HARRY CLARK;

ALEX F. KLEINER; JAMES J. LINDNER;

WILLIAM H. COBB; MICHAEL BERNARD;

WILLIAM F. MYCHAYLEW; CLYDE P.

BEST; JOHN DOWSE; CHARLES J.

HUNTER; JOSEPH W. VELEHOSKI;

WILLARD T. MURRAY; THOMAS

PRENDERGAST; DENNIS B. ZURAWSKI;

WALTER SHEDLOCK; MICHAEL F.

MURNIN; ROY L. FOLLWEILER; WALLACE

D. WETHERHOLD; LEE A. MENGEL; LEE

H. SCHAPPEL; DENNIS A. DOUGHERTY;

DANIEL E. ZIOLKOWSKI; DAVID J.

LEINBACK; THOMAS G. ROSKO; WILLIAM

F. GATLING; PETER L. DONOVAN; PAUL

A. DOUGLAS; EARL SHOOP; MARYTE

WYE; ROBERT HELTEBRIDLE; KENNETH

SMITH; WILLIAM TORELLA; CHARLES

HERSH; RAY SPAGUE; DAVID HERBER;

KENNETH SHUE; HAROLD KOCH;

GORDON L. WAGNER; WILLIAM WHITE;

HAROLD LYNN; LESTER MILLER; DALE

FLOYD; STEPHEN HOBDAY; DAVE

LAUDENSLAGER; ROBERT AUKAMP; LYNN

KIMBLE; ROBERT SHERICK; DONALD

NEIDERMYER; KENNETH SCHELLHAMER;

PAUL AMBROSE, JR.; JESSE E. DIXON;

RICHARD J. BACHMAN; WILLIAM KELLY;

RICHARD LICHTENWALNER; SIDNEY M.

GERMAN; RICHARD MOSER; LARRY

 8
HALLMAN; DENNIS WANAMAKER; TERRY

SILFIES; JOE MUDLOCK; BOB

MAKARAVAGI,

Plaintiffs-Appellants,

v.

RONALD CAREY, General President of

the International Brotherhood of

Teamsters; DENNIS SKELTON, VicePresident of the International

Brotherhood of Teamsters;

INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF

TEAMSTERS; LOCAL 557, INTERNATIONAL

BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS; ABF

FREIGHT SYSTEM, INCORPORATED,

Defendants-Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the District of Maryland, at Baltimore.

Alexander Harvey II, Senior District Judge.

(CA-96-813-H, CA-96-1120)

Argued: October 28, 1998

Decided: December 29, 1998

Before WILKINSON, Chief Judge, and LUTTIG and

MOTZ, Circuit Judges.

_________________________________________________________________

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

_________________________________________________________________

COUNSEL

ARGUED: Joseph Schiffer Kaufman, SCHULMAN & KAUFMAN,

L.L.C., Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellants. James Arthur McCall,

 9
INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS, Washington, D.C.; Joseph Edward Santucci, Jr., MORGAN, LEWIS &

BOCKIUS, L.L.P., Washington, D.C., for Appellees. ON BRIEF:

Steven K. Hoffman, JAMES & HOFFMAN, P.C., Washington, D.C.;

Alissa A. Horvitz, Lisa J. Gitnik, MORGAN, LEWIS & BOCKIUS,

L.L.P., Washington, D.C., for Appellees.

_________________________________________________________________

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See

Local Rule 36(c).

_________________________________________________________________

OPINION

PER CURIAM:

Trucking company employees, laid off or reduced in seniority as

a result of a merger, sued their employer, their local union, and the

International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) and its officers. The

employees charged that the method for calculating seniority in the

merged corporation violated their collective bargaining agreement,

and that the IBT, its officers, and its locals breached their duty of fair

representation. The district court held that the seniority calculation

was not inconsistent with the collective bargaining agreement and that

the union's actions were not arbitrary. The court therefore granted

summary judgment to all defendants on all of the employees' claims.

We affirm.

I.

In the summer of 1995 Arkansas Best Corporation (ABC), corporate parent of Arkansas Best Freight System, Inc. (ABF), purchased

the stock of Worldway Corporation, the parent of Carolina Freight

Carriers Corporation and Red Arrow Freight Lines. ABC acquired

Worldway's stock through a subsidiary and then merged Carolina

Freight and Red Arrow into ABF. ABF, Carolina Freight, and Red

Arrow were unionized trucking companies with a total of over 16,000

employees and 500 freight terminals in overlapping regions through-

 10
out the United States. With the merger, ABF intended to close several

terminals and to lay off a number of workers.

The employees of the three companies were members of local

unions affiliated with the IBT. The IBT local unions and ABF, Red

Arrow, and Carolina Freight were each signatories to the National

Master Freight Agreement (NMFA), a collective bargaining agreement covering over 100,000 Teamsters in the trucking industry. The

NMFA consists of thirty-nine master articles and a number of area

supplemental agreements covering particular geographic regions.

The NMFA requires employers who combine their operations to

obtain the approval of a Change of Operations Committee (the Committee) made up of an equal number of union and employer representatives. Consistent with this requirement, on September 14 and 15,

1995, ABF and the union convened a Committee and held hearings

to consider the consolidation plan for the proposed merger. Approximately 160 local unions participated in the hearings.

Among the issues the Committee considered, and the primary issue

in this case, was the seniority treatment of the consolidated workforce.1

ABF and the union supported different plans. ABF suggested a hybrid

plan designed to protect the jobs of current ABF employees. The plan

proposed to dovetail only those Carolina Freight and Red Arrow

employees into the ABF seniority list that were needed to do the additional work of the combined entity, while the remaining Carolina

Freight and Red Arrow employees would be endtailed. The IBT, on

the other hand, claimed that a straight dovetail would be fairest to all

of its members. The local unions were split -- some supported a

dovetail and some supported an endtail.

Local 557 represented employees of both ABF and Carolina

Freight, and thus had members who favored each plan. Local 557

_________________________________________________________________

1 Two general methods are used for calculating employee seniority

after a consolidation: a "dovetail," in which the seniority lists of the combining companies are merged and each employee's seniority is determined by his actual date of hire; and an "endtail," in which the seniority

list of one company is tacked onto the end of the seniority list of the

other.

 11
handled this dilemma by declining to take a position, stating instead

that "the issue of the endtail or the dovetail remains within the confines of the committee and we know your decision will be a fair one."

Local 557's president also quoted language from his region's area

supplement suggesting that a dovetail should apply in the case of a

merger and an endtail should apply in the case of an acquisition.

After the hearings and several days of negotiations, on September

19, 1995, the Committee approved a uniform dovetail of all employees. The companies approved articles of merger, and ABF began

operating using the dovetailed seniority lists. The consolidated company closed several terminals and laid off a number of employees.

After the merger several individuals, including Harry Gorge, a

member of Local 557 and an ABF employee, filed unfair labor practice charges against ABF and IBT with the National Labor Relations

Board (NLRB). The NLRB dismissed these claims.

The ABF employees also challenged the dovetail in grievances

with the Committee. Upon consideration of one of the grievances the

Committee declared that the September 19 decision was final and

binding. The Committee denied that grievance and those of all similarly situated union members.

In February 1996 Gorge presented a grievance to a unionmanagement committee for the Maryland/D.C. region. This committee determined that it lacked jurisdiction to review decisions of the

Change of Operations Committee and dismissed the grievance.

Gorge and other members of Local 557 then filed suit against IBT,

Local 557, ABF, and two IBT officers -- its president and vicepresident, Ronald Carey and Dennis Skelton -- in the United States

District Court for the District of Maryland. Gorge charged that ABF

broke its collective bargaining agreement and that the IBT, its officers, and Local 557 violated their duty of fair representation under

section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 185

(LMRA). Gorge sought back pay, money damages, and the imposition of an endtail. The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation transferred four similar suits to the District of Maryland, and the cases

 12
were consolidated. After discovery the district court found for all

defendants on cross-motions for summary judgment.

II.

Our review of the briefs and our consideration of the arguments of

the parties have revealed that this appeal is without merit. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court for the reasons

stated in that court's thorough opinion.

A.

With regard to the claims against the IBT, plaintiffs' principal

argument is that the ABF consolidation was an acquisition, and that

the area supplements therefore required an endtail of the seniority lists

of the combining companies. In light of the language of the NMFA

and its area supplements, however, the IBT's actions were reasonable.

The "Supplemental Agreements are subject to and controlled by the

terms of this Master Agreement." NMFA art. 2,§ 2(a); see also, e.g.,

Md.-D.C. Supp. Agreement, preamble ("[The] Master Agreement

shall prevail over the provisions of this Supplement in any case of

conflict between the two . . . ."). The master agreement expressly

authorizes a dovetail regardless of "whether the transaction is called

a merger, purchase, acquisition, sale, etc." NMFA art. 5, § 2(a), (c).

Moreover, when freight terminals are combined the Change of Operations Committee has final and binding authority to approve the consolidation plan, id. art. 5, § 2(b), art. 8, § 6(a), (d), and has the

discretion to tailor the consolidation plan to the circumstances before

it, id. art. 8, § 6(g).

Given this express endorsement of dovetailing and this broad grant

of discretion to the Committee, nothing in the IBT's conduct was "arbitrary, discriminatory, or in bad faith." Vaca v. Sipes, 386 U.S. 171,

190 (1967). Dovetailing "is a familiar and frequently equitable solution to the inevitably conflicting interests which arise in the wake of

a merger or an absorption such as occurred here." Humphrey v.

Moore, 375 U.S. 335, 347 (1964); see also Ekas v. Carling Nat'l

Breweries, Inc., 602 F.2d 664, 667-68 (4th Cir. 1979). The IBT was

 13
therefore not unreasonable in sanctioning a dovetail of the consolidated workforce. Moreover, even assuming that they are subject to the

same duties as the IBT, the Committee and its union members likewise acted reasonably.2

Furthermore, as the district court found, the consolidation of the

trucking companies was the result of the merger of ABF, Carolina

Freight, and Red Arrow, not the result of an acquisition. The dovetail

was therefore consistent even with the area supplements as interpreted

by the plaintiffs and was not arbitrary.

B.

The resolution of plaintiffs' other claims flows directly from this

discussion of their claims against the IBT. As to ABF, there was no

breach of the collective bargaining agreement. As the district court

noted, the company's adherence to the final decision of the Committee was not itself a breach. Moreover, ABF had no independent duty

to deadlock the Change of Operations Committee to achieve a particular outcome.

As to the IBT officers, the district court appropriately found first,

that they are not liable under the LMRA for money damages, see 29

U.S.C. § 185(b); Complete Auto Transit, Inc. v. Reis, 451 U.S. 401,

_________________________________________________________________

2 Although plaintiffs contend that the IBT violated its own constitution

by allegedly ignoring the area supplements, the district court correctly

dismissed this argument as without merit. First, the union's constitution

does not affect the terms of this collective bargaining agreement. Second,

as the district court found, the specific provision cited by the plaintiffs

does not even apply to the seniority questions at issue in this case.

Plaintiffs additionally argue that the Change of Operations Committee's grievance procedure violated the union's duty of fair representation.

Again assuming arguendo that the Committee is subject to this duty, its

actions were reasonable. The Committee met, considered one grievance

fully, and denied it and all similar grievances. As the district court found,

this procedure was simply not "so far outside a wide range of reasonableness as to be irrational." Air Line Pilots Ass'n, Int'l v. O'Neill, 499 U.S.

65, 67 (1991) (internal quotation marks omitted); see also Marquez v.

Screen Actors Guild, Inc., 119 S. Ct. 292, 300 (1998).

 14
415-17 (1981), and second, that no equitable relief would be effective

or appropriate in these circumstances.

Finally, it was not arbitrary for Local 557 to decline to insist on an

endtail. Not only does the contract expressly authorize a dovetail,

there is also no evidence that a different approach on the part of Local

557 would have changed the decision of the Committee. Where a collective bargaining agreement "cover[s] a group or several groups of

employees, the sole inquiry should be whether, under all the circumstances, the union has considered the interests of all whom it represents." Ekas, 602 F.2d at 667. Faced with a conflict among its own

members, Local 557's neutral position was a reasonable one.

III.

For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the judgment of the district

court.

AFFIRMED

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