International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Afl-cio, et al. v. Hechler (481 U.S. 851)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided May 26, 1987 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 481 U.S. 851 · 107 S. Ct. 2161
- Decided
- May 26, 1987
- Term
- October Term 1986
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Blackmun
- Issue area
- Federalism
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice Blackmun delivered the opinion of the Court. In Allis-Chalmers Corp. v. Lueck, 471 U. S. 202 (1985), this Court held that “when resolution of a state-law claim is substantially dependent upon analysis of the terms of an agreement made between the parties in a labor contract,” the plaintiff’s claim is pre-empted by §301 of the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947 (LMRA), 61 Stat. 156, 29 U. S. C. §185. 471 U. S., at 220. The question presented by this case is whether a state-law tort claim that a union has breached its duty of care to provide a union member with a safe workplace is sufficiently independent of the collective-bargaining agreement to withstand the pre-emptive force of §301. I At all times relevant to this case, plaintiff-respondent Sally Hechler was employed by Florida Power and Light Company (Florida Power) as an electrical apprentice. Petitioners, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and its Local 759 (collectively referred to as the Union), are the exclusive bargaining representatives for the bargaining unit in which respondent was employed. On January 11, 1982, Florida Power assigned respondent to a job in an electrical substation that required her to perform tasks she alleges were beyond the scope of her training and experience. Shortly after commencing her new assignment, respondent was injured when she came into contact with highly…
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