Drywall Tapers and Pointers of Greater New York Local Union 1974 v. ATO…

Background

The union and ATO entered into a collective bargaining agreement on June 28, 2017. The agreement required ATO to submit weekly payroll or “remittance” reports and to make contributions to various funds for covered employees. It also required disputes to be submitted to the Local 1974 Joint Trade Board for final and binding arbitration.

The union determined that ATO failed to submit remittance reports from July 23, 2019, through September 10, 2019. After a hearing on October 28, 2019, the Joint Trade Board found that ATO violated the collective bargaining agreement and ordered ATO to pay $4,000 in fines. The award applied a penalty schedule that imposed a $500 penalty for each failure to submit a remittance report. ATO did not comply with the award.

Court’s Review

The union petitioned under Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act and Section 9 of the Federal Arbitration Act to confirm the award. Because ATO did not appear or file an opposition, the court treated the petition and supporting record similarly to an unopposed summary-judgment motion. The court explained that its review of a labor-arbitration award is very limited: it generally does not reconsider the arbitrator’s decision on the merits, but asks whether the arbitrator acted within the authority granted by the collective bargaining agreement and based the award on that agreement.

The court found no indication of fraud or dishonesty, disregard of the collective bargaining agreement, or action outside the Joint Trade Board’s authority. It concluded that the award was based on undisputed evidence that ATO failed to submit the required reports and on the penalty schedule in the parties’ trade agreement.

Disposition

Judge Gregory H. Woods granted the petition to confirm the arbitration award. The court confirmed the award, directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment for the union in the amount of $4,000, and directed the Clerk to close the case.