Opinion ID: 3149180
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The 2010 Amendment to the Metropolitan Pier and

Text: Exposition Authority Act In 2009, McCormick Place began losing conventions and exhibitions to competitor convention centers. To help McCormick Place remain competitive, the Illinois legislature amended the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority Act in 2010 (the “Amendment”). Central to the legislative action was the finding that, among other costs, the “mark-up” on union labor work had “substantially increased exhibitor and show organizer costs,” and had made McCormick Place a less attractive venue than other convention centers. 70 ILCS 201/5.4(a)(13). To address this problem, the Amendment forbade MPEA from serving “as the exclusive provider of electrical services,” and demanded that MPEA “make every effort to substantially reduce exhibitor’s costs.” 70 ILCS 210/5.4(f). The Amendment allowed MPEA two choices: to retain an outside electrical contractor or offer its own electrical services at cost. In 2011, to comport with the Amendment’s demands, MPEA contracted with Freeman and GES to provide electrical services at McCormick Place. Freeman and GES then hired No. 15-1241 5 workers for McCormick Place electrical work from the Union’s McCormick Call list, pursuant to the CBA. Plaintiffs were among those workers hired. D. The Side Agreements and Termination of Plaintiffs On June 29, 2011, the Union entered into “Interpretive Side Letter” agreements with Freeman and GES. These agreements—made without Plaintiffs’ knowledge—allowed Freeman and GES to hire electrical workers outside of the established CBA referral process. To continue working at McCormick Place, Freeman and GES had to hire electrical labor provided by MPEA itself, instead of from the established McCormick Call list. After making the “Interpretive Side Letter” agreements with the Union, Freeman and GES entered into agreements with MPEA called the “McCormick Place Utility Services Agreements” (“MPUSAs”) on June 30, 2011. These MPUSAs established their own referral process, separate from the referral process detailed in the CBA. On August 15, 2011, Freeman and GES terminated Plaintiffs and all other Union employees. Since that time, Freeman and GES have used only in-house McCormick Place electricians that MPEA provides for electrical work at the site. Plaintiffs claim that their termination and Freeman’s and GES’ respective use of in-house electricians contravenes both the CBA hiring process and the demands of the Amendment. Plaintiffs further claim to have “filed numerous grievances” with the Union against their respective employers, but such grievances were “to no avail.” Further, after filing their grievances, Plaintiffs received copies of the “Interpretive Side Letter” agreements on October 4, 2011. This was the first time that the Plaintiffs 6 No. 15-1241 became aware of the side agreements between the Union, Freeman, and GES. E. Procedural History On November 30, 2011, Plaintiffs filed an internal charge against their local Union officers with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers’ regional Vice President. Two weeks later, on December 14, 2011, Plaintiffs filed the present lawsuit. The first complaint alleged four counts against the Union, Freeman, and MPEA. Count I, against the Union, alleged breach of duty of fair representation implicit in the Labor-Management Relations Act (“LMRA”), 29 U.S.C. §§ 158(b) and 159(a). Count II, also against the Union, alleged breach of duty of fair representation implicit in § 301. Count III, against Freeman and MPEA, alleged violations of a collective bargaining agreement under § 301. Count IV, against the Union, alleged failure to permit inspection in violation of 29 U.S.C. §§ 414 and 431. Plaintiffs later amended their complaint, adding GES as a defendant and adding two requests for declaratory judgment. Notably, Plaintiffs also converted their count against MPEA from a § 301 violation of the CBA to a state law tortious interference claim. The amended complaint alleges six causes of actions. Counts I and II, against the Union, still allege breach of duty of fair representation. Count III, against Freeman and GES, alleges violation of a collective bargaining agreement under § 301. Count IV, against MPEA, alleges a state common law claim for intentional interference with contracts. Count V is a request for declaratory judgment: that the district court declare the MPUSAs between MPEA, Freeman, and GES illegal No. 15-1241 7 and unenforceable. Count VI is also a request for declaratory judgment, specifically that the district court declare the “Interpretive Side Letter” agreements between the Union, Freeman, and GES illegal and unenforceable. All Defendants moved to dismiss the respective counts against them. On April 14, 2015, the district court denied dismissal of Counts I, II, III, and VI. However, the district court dismissed Count V for lack of standing. It also dismissed Count IV, the state law tortious interference claim against MPEA, as preempted by § 301. It noted the long-standing precedent that § 301 preempts any state law claim whose resolution requires interpretation of the relevant collective bargaining agreement. E.g., Allis-Chambers Corp. v. Lueck, 471 U.S. 202, 220 (1985); Lingle v. Norge Div. of Magic Chef, Inc., 486 U.S. 399, 413 (1988). It reasoned that analysis of Plaintiffs’ state law tortious interference with contracts claim would require interpretation of the CBA. Accordingly, the district court concluded that § 301 preempts the tortious interference claim. Plaintiffs then appealed only the dismissal of the tortious interference claim against MPEA.