District Council No. 9 International Union of Painters and Allied Trades v…

Background

District Council No. 9 International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, A.F.L.-C.I.O. sought confirmation of an arbitration award against Speedo Corporation. The union and Speedo were parties to a collective bargaining agreement. In 2020, union representatives observed two union members performing unregistered overtime work and a non-union member performing work covered by the agreement. The union alleged that this conduct violated the agreement and demanded arbitration before the Joint Trade Committee.

The Joint Trade Committee held a hearing on August 12, 2020. It found that Speedo violated several provisions of the collective bargaining agreement and ordered Speedo to pay a $10,000 fine for failing to register a job for overtime work and $2,000 in liquidated damages for hiring non-union labor. The agreement stated that the committee’s awards, including fines and penalties, were final and binding. The union notified Speedo of the award and later demanded payment, but Speedo did not pay.

Court’s Analysis

The union filed the petition to confirm the award on December 3, 2020. Speedo did not oppose the petition or otherwise respond. The court treated the unanswered petition as an unopposed motion for summary judgment, meaning a request for judgment without a trial when there is no genuine dispute over an important fact. The court still reviewed the union’s submissions rather than granting the petition solely because Speedo failed to respond.

The court found no material factual dispute preventing enforcement. The collective bargaining agreement authorized the Joint Trade Committee to decide disputes between the parties and provided that its awards were final and binding. The union submitted evidence of the alleged violations, notice of the arbitration hearing, the committee’s award, notice of the award, and the later demand for payment. Nothing before the court suggested that the fines, which were calculated under the agreement’s schedule of fines, were incorrect. The court therefore confirmed the arbitration award under the deferential standard governing review of arbitration decisions.

Ruling

Judge Ronnie Abrams granted the petition to confirm the arbitration award. The Clerk of Court was directed to enter judgment for $12,000 and close the case. The opinion also noted that the union had not requested attorneys’ fees or costs; if it later seeks them, its counsel must submit contemporaneous time records for the court’s review.