Granite Rock Company v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters et al. (561 U.S. 287)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 24, 2010 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 561 U.S. 287 · 130 S. Ct. 2847
- Decided
- June 24, 2010
- Term
- October Term 2009
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority author
- Justice Thomas
- Issue area
- Unions
- Disposition
- Affirmed and reversed (or vacated) in part and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice Thomas delivered the opinion of the Court. This case involves an employer’s claims against a local union and the union’s international parent for economic damages arising out of a 2004 strike. The claims turn in part on whether a collective-bargaining agreement (CBA) containing a no-strike provision was validly formed during the strike period. The employer contends that it was, while the unions contend that it was not. Because the CBA contains an arbitration clause, we first address whether the parties’ dispute over the CBA’s ratification date was a matter for the District Court or an arbitrator to resolve. We conclude that it was a matter for judicial resolution. Next, we address whether the Court of Appeals erred in declining the employer’s request to recognize a new federal cause of action under § 301(a) of the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947 (LMRA), 61 Stat. 156, 29 U. S. C. § 185(a), for the international union’s alleged tortious interference with the CBA. The Court of Appeals did not err in declining this request. I Petitioner Granite Rock Company is a concrete and building materials company that has operated in California since 1900. Granite Rock employs approximately 800 employees under different labor contracts with several unions, including respondent International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 287' (Local). Granite Rock and Local were parties to a…
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