LABORERS DISTRICT COUNCIL OF ALABAMA, ON BEHALF OF LABORERS INTERNATIONAL LOCAL 559, ET AL., PLAINTIFFS-APPELLANTS,
v.
MCDOWELL CONTRACTORS, INC., ET AL., DEFENDANTS-APPELLEES

11th Cir. | 1982-07-06
No. 81-7765
Before GOLDBERG , HILL and HATCHETT, Circuit Judges.
680 F.2d 94 Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (1982) Negative Treatment
Cited by 8 cases

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Holding

A union or its pension fund cannot enforce a prehire agreement against a contractor without demonstrating majority representation on the project.


Facts & Procedural History

A union and pension fund trustees appealed a district court ruling that their prehire agreement was unenforceable against a contractor without proof o…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM:

PER CURIAM:

In this appeal, we are asked whether a union or its pension fund may enforce the provisions of an area-wide “prehire” labor agreement1 against a construction contractor building a project within the covered area, when the union has not shown that it represents a majority of those working on the project in question.

In proceedings below, the district court held: (1) that in the absence of a showing of a union majority at a given project, the terms of an area-wide prehire labor agreement would not be enforceable against the employer with respect to that project; and (2) that if the union could not enforce the terms of the prehire agreement, neither could its pension fund. Dissatisfied with the district court’s ruling, the plaintiff union and pension fund trustees brought this appeal.

We find that the issues presented herein are controlled by clear precedent. On the basis of the Supreme Court’s recent opinion in Kaiser Steel Corporation v. Mullins, et al., -U.S.-, 102 S.Ct. 851, 70 L.Ed.2d 833 (1982)2 and the Fifth Circuit’s en banc decision set forth in N. L. R. B. v. Haberman Construction Company, 641 F. 2d 351 (5th Cir. 1981),3 the decision of the district court is

AFFIRMED.

. § 8(f) of the Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 158© (1976), provides for prehire agreements such as the one here in question.

. In Kaiser Steel Corporation v. Mullins, supra, the Supreme Court held that an employer’s obligation to contribute to a union pension fund is unenforceable if the underlying labor-management agreement is itself unenforceable.

. As a decision of the “old” Fifth Circuit, N. L. R. B. v. Haberman, supra serves as binding precedent for this panel unless or until overruled by a decision of the Supreme Court or the Eleventh Circuit sitting en banc. See, Bonner v. City of Prichard, Alabama, 661 F. 2d 1206 (11th Cir. 1981).

Concurrence
GOLDBERG, Circuit Judge,

GOLDBERG, Circuit Judge,

specially concurring:

As a senior member of the “born-again” Fifth Circuit, I sit with my friends and former colleagues on this court as a visitor, a judicial interloper. As a guest, I am naturally reluctant to burden my hosts with, torrid tales of bygone battles, for there is no surer way to wear out one’s welcome. However, a good guest should not sit in stony silence when the conversation turns to matters of great moment. Thus, I feel that I must add a personal note of reluctant concurrence.

As the author of the panel opinion in N. L. R. B. v. Haberman Construction Company, 618 F. 2d 288 (5th Cir. 1980), my views on the issues presented in this case are a matter of record. It is my position that the rule set forth by the en bane court in Ha-berman leaves those in the construction trades without the effective protections of collective bargaining, nomadic orphans in labor’s maelstrom.

The rule adopted by the en banc court in Haberman forces unions to demonstrate majority support at each construction project before they can enforce an area-wide prehire agreement at that project. I believe that this rule imposes an impossible burden upon the exercise of important rights secured by the National Labor Relations Act. However, my views in this matter have been rejected. This panel is bound to follow the rule set forth in the 5th Circuit’s en banc opinion in Haberman. Only en banc reconsideration by the Eleventh. Circuit can change this result.

Thus, while I adhere to the views expressed in the panel opinion in Haberman, I recognize that well established principles of stare decisis require this panel to affirm the decision of the district court. Having duly noted my reservations, I concur.


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  • JIM McNEFF, Inc. v. Todd, 461 U.S. 260 (U.S. 1983)
    …rpenters v. Mayhew Co., 664 F. 2d 215 (CA10 1981); and Contractors, Laborers, Teamsters & Engineers Health & Welfare Plan v. Associated Wrecking Co., 638 F. 2d 1128 (CA8 1981), with Laborers District Council of Alabama v. McDowell Contractors, Inc., 680 F. 2d 94 (CA11 1982), and Baton Rouge Building & Construction Trades Council v. E. C. Schafer Construction Co., 657 F. 2d 806 (CA5 1981). In Higdon, we addressed the question whether holding a prehire contract to be unenforceable in a § 301 suit would be co…
  • …e-hire agreement into a valid collective bargaining contract, binding on Southern Stress. On August 5, 1982, the court noted McDowell, a newly issued decision dealing with the majority requirement. Laborers District Council v. McDowell Contractors, 680 F. 2d 94 (11th Cir.1982). In McDowell, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed a district court’s holding that in the absence of a showing of union majority at a specific project, the terms of an area-wide pre-hire agreement are not enforceable against the employer wi…
  • …of 1978, we can only conclude that the district court erred in holding Epley liable for fringe benefits for work performed on the Tuttle-White site. REVERSED. . This court’s prior ruling in Laborers District Council v. McDowell Contractors, Inc., 680 F. 2d 94 (11th Cir.1982), was overruled by the Supreme Court to the extent it held that absent majority status the monetary obligations assumed by an employer under a prehire agreement could not be enforced. . The district court found, and we agree, that al…

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