International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers v. CITIZENS TELECOMS. CO. OF CALIFORNIA

Appellant Citizens Telecommunications Co. (Citizens) and Appellee International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL-CIO Local 1245 (IBEW) are parties to a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in effect from October 2004 through September 2008. IBEW sought an order compelling Citizens to arbitrate IBEW’s claim that Citizens had violated the CBA by reducing employee retirement benefits. The district court granted the motion to compel arbitration and Citizens appealed, arguing that IBEW cannot arbitrate its grievance without first obtaining consent from the retirees currently eligible for benefits under the CBA. We affirm.

I. Background

Article 24.1 of the CBA provides that the “Citizens Utilities Medical Plan,” which includes the “Retiree Medical” plan, “shall be provided for all eligible employees in accordance with the terms of said plans.” This article further provides that Citizens may “make changes” to the plan, provided that, inter alia, “[t]he changes do not reduce the overall level of benefits.” Article 24.1 also contains the following arbitration provision:

In November 2005, Citizens informed IBEW, the exclusive bargaining agent for a group of Citizens…