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

Background

The petitioner filed a petition asking the court to confirm an arbitration award issued by the Joint Board of the Drywall Taping Industry. The award found that Tiger Contracting Corp., also identified as Tiger Contracting Corporation, violated the collective bargaining agreement by hiring two non-union laborers. It directed Tiger to pay $20,000 in fines for violating Article 1 and Article XIII, Section 6, Violation 6 of the agreement.

Court’s Analysis

The opinion explains that judicial review of an arbitration award under the Labor Management Relations Act is very limited. A court generally does not reconsider the arbitrator’s factual findings or interpretation of the parties’ agreement. Instead, it asks whether the arbitrator was at least arguably interpreting or applying the agreement, acted within the authority granted by that agreement, and did not ignore the agreement’s plain language.

Article XIII, Section 6, Violation 6 provided for a first-offense fine of $2,000 for each non-union laborer, plus $1,000 in liquidated damages. A second offense could result in a fine of $5,000 for each non-union laborer, plus $1,500 in liquidated damages. The opinion states that the award did not indicate Tiger was a repeat offender and that neither the first-offense nor second-offense provisions would result in a $20,000 fine.

Order

The court did not confirm or reject the arbitration award in this order. Judge Sarah Netburn requested clarification about whether the arbitrator correctly interpreted and applied the agreement and acted within the arbitrator’s authority when ordering Tiger to pay $20,000. The petitioner was ordered to submit a letter responding to that question by October 14, 2022.