Court Opinion

ID: 9790743
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 01:58:54.835424+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:37:31.318228
License: Public Domain

Judge MARQUEZ
dissenting:
I respectfully dissent.
Because in my view the claims of plaintiff, Annette Y. Lyons, were preempted by the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA), 29 U.S.C.A. § 141, et seq. (1988), I would hold that the trial court erred in denying the motion to dismiss filed by defendant, Teamsters Local Union No. 961 (Union).
Section 301 of the LMRA, 29 U.S.C.A. § 185(a) (1988) provides, as pertinent here:
Suits for violation of contracts between an employer and a labor organization representing employees in an industry affecting commerce ... or between any such labor organizations, may be brought in any district court of the United States having jurisdiction of the parties....
When resolution of a state law claim is substantially dependent upon analysis of the terms of an agreement made between the *1223parties in a labor contract, that claim must either be treated as a § 301 claim, or dismissed as pre-empted by federal labor-contract law. Allis Chalmers Corp. v. Lueck, 471 U.S. 202, 105 S.Ct. 1904, 85 L.Ed.2d 206 (1985).
The LMRA preempts state court jurisdiction in a dispute involving a collective bargaining agreement even if the plaintiff is not a union member. Saunders v. Amoco Pipeline Co., 927 F.2d 1154 (10th Cir.1991).
Jurisdiction exists as long as the suit is for violation of a contract between a union and an employer even if neither party is a union or an employer. The only requirement under § 301 is that the suit be based on an alleged breach of contract between an employer and a labor organization and that resolution of the lawsuit is focused upon and governed by the terms of the contract. Painting & Decorating Contractors Ass’n v. Painters & Decorators Joint Committee, 707 F.2d 1067 (9th Cir.1983).
As the majority notes, Lyons contends that she was promised that her employment was subject to the same terms and conditions as are contained in collective bargaining agreements between the Union and certain employers on behalf of the Union’s membership. She filed her complaint alleging that the Union had terminated her without just cause and, as pertinent here, based her claims against the Union on breach of contract and promissory estoppel. The majority also acknowledges that Lyons seeks to enforce contract terms that were essentially borrowed from the Union’s collective bargaining agreements.
Lyons’ wrongful discharge claims arise out of conduct purportedly occurring during the course of her employment with the Union, thus requiring an analysis of what the collective bargaining agreements permitted. She alleged that she was an employee of the Union and believed that her employment with defendant was subject to, and that she was the beneficiary of, the terms and conditions of the agreement entered into by defendant on behalf of its membership, including, but not limited to, the provisions of the National Master Freight Agreement and the Western States Area Supplemental Agreement, as well as the Bylaws of Teamsters Local Union No. 961, and the Constitution of the Teamsters 23rd International Convention, and that she was terminated in violation of the policies and procedures of the Union.
She alleged she was terminated without good cause, without proper notice, and without procedural due process. She claimed that the then president of the Union informed her she would be entitled to certain rights set forth in the collective bargaining agreement and that she relied on those provisions relating to just cause for discharge.
Specifically, Lyons asserted that she was not given a warning letter as required by the Western States Area Supplemental Agreement and that her grievance was not processed. Thus, her claim of wrongful termination was based on the terms and conditions of the collective bargaining agreement.
The jury here was instructed that, in order to find a breach of the employment contract, it had to find that the Union had policies, practices, or procedures requiring corrective discipline prior to discharge; or requiring just cause to discharge; or affording a protest/grievance to the Union’s employees and that the Union failed to comply with those policies, practices, or procedures. It was similarly instructed concerning Lyons’ claim of promissory estoppel. The only evidence of such policies, practices, or procedures consisted of the collective bargaining agreements, copies of which were provided to the jury.
In my view, resolution of this claim depends upon the interpretation and application of the terms and provisions of the collective bargaining agreements. Section 301 jurisdiction is not dependent upon the parties to the suit, but rather, upon the nature or subject matter of the action. Painting & Decorating Contractors Ass’n v. Painters & Decorators Joint Committee, supra.
Lyons has not alleged that she was discharged for refusing to engage in illegal conduct, see Bloom v. General Truck Drivers Local 952, 783 F.2d 1356 (9th Cir.1986); Montoya v. Local Union III, 755 P.2d 1221 (Colo.App.1988), that some state public policy is implicated, see Martin Marietta Corp. v. *1224Lorenz, 823 P.2d 100 (Colo.1992), or that there were grounds independent of any collective bargaining agreement. See Ferris v. Bakery, Confectionery & Tobacco Union, 867 P.2d 38 (Colo.App.1993); Painting & Decorating Contractors Ass’n v. Painters & Decorators Joint Committee, supra.
Thus, I would conclude that Lyons’ claims arise from the alleged breach of the terms of collective bargaining agreements and that state court jurisdiction is preempted by the LMRA.