Opinion ID: 1983937
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Suit for Breach of Contract.

Text: Plaintiffs also assert a right to maintain this action because their petition sets out a claim for breach of contract under 29 U.S.C.A. § 185(a) of the Labor Management Relations Act. It is true that section permits direct action for certain types of contract violations, but this is not one of them. That statute carves out an exception to the preemption rule for contracts between an employer and a labor organization or between two labor organizations. See William E. Arnold Co. v. Carpenters' District Council, 417 U.S. 12, 94 S.Ct. 2069, 40 L.Ed.2d 620 (1974); Smith v. Evening News Association, 371 U.S. 195, 83 S.Ct. 267, 9 L.Ed.2d 246 (1962); Charles Dowd Box Co. v. Courtney, 368 U.S. 502, 82 S.Ct. 519, 7 L.Ed.2d 483 (1962); Dugdale Construction Co. v. Operative Plasterers and Cement Masons, Local 538, 257 Iowa 997, 135 N.W.2d 656 (1965). The present dispute is between individual employees and the authorized representatives of a labor organization. It does not come within the terms of the exception recognized by § 185(a). See Amalgamated Association of Street, Electric Railway and Motor Coach Employees of America v. Lockridge, 403 U.S. 274, 91 S.Ct. 1909, 29 L.Ed.2d 473, 486 (1971). In some circumstances employees are allowed to sue for contract violations without going through their union. Smith v. Evening News Ass'n., 371 U.S. at 200, 83 S.Ct. at 270, 9 L.Ed.2d at 251. However, here the contract itself, rather than the form of redress sought, is excluded from the operation of the statute.