Opinion ID: 1232908
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Contravention of Federal Labor Law

Text: CRST and the Participants next argue Central States's expulsion of CRST was unlawful because the expulsion was contrary to federal labor law. CRST and the Participants contend, if the expulsion was based upon CRST's use of independent contractors, Central States's expulsion of CRST contravened the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA) because LMRA prohibits independent contractors from participating in the fund. CRST and the Participants also assert Central States's expulsion was contrary to MPPAA because Congress established withdrawal liability as a fund's specific remedy for declining employee participation. CRST and the Participants maintain Central States's expulsion of CRST was not authorized by, and outside of, the MPPAA withdrawal provisions because (1) the expulsion created an unauthorized complete withdrawal which substituted Central States's judgment for Congress's, and (2) CRST's transfer of work to independent contractors did not trigger MPPAA partial withdrawal liability. On de novo review, see WWC License, L.L.C. v. Boyle, 459 F.3d 880, 890 (8th Cir.2006), CRST's and the Participants' LMRA arguments are not persuasive. As discussed earlier, Central States did not expel CRST based upon CRST's use of independent contractors, but instead expelled CRST for maintaining an actuarially adverse employee group by failing to hire new employees and shifting work to independent contractors when employees departed. Thus, Central States's expulsion of CRST was not based upon an improper or unlawful reason, and did not constitute a violation of LMRA. CRST's and the Participants' argument regarding MPPAA is equally unpersuasive. In Cent. Hardware, 770 F.2d at 108, 110, we held Central States had authority under the Trust Agreement to expel an employer when the employer's bargaining unit decreased. Further CRST's and the Participants' brief concedes Central States has authority to expel an employer under Article III § 1 of the Trust Agreement, and CRST and the Participants cite no provision of ERISA or MPPAA which explicitly constrains Central States's Trust Agreement authority. Given our holding in Cent. Hardware, and CRST's and the Participants' concession, CRST and the Participants cannot now argue the MPPAA withdrawal provisions limit Central States's expulsion authority. The expulsion of CRST did not contradict federal labor law. See Cent. Transp., 472 U.S. at 570-71, 105 S.Ct. 2833 (stating Congress did not enumerate every power of pension fund trustees in ERISA, but instead outlined trustees' powers based upon the trustees' common law fiduciary duties and the general premise that trustees have all such powers as are necessary or appropriate for the carrying out of the purposes of the trust (internal marks and citations omitted)).