Alvarez

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Esteban Alvarez worked as a millwright for defendant Peterson Hydraulics, Inc. (PHI) from March 1989 to October 2010. He was assigned an assistant from the start, to whom he routinely delegated heavy lifting, pulling, pushing and other heavy labor activities. Alvarez was a member of a carpenters union, a signatory of a CBA with PHI. Article XV of the CBA, entitled, “Equal Employment Opportunity,” provided that “The Employer and the Union will not discriminate against any person with regard to employment or Union membership because of his race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin, or ancestry and hereby declare their acceptance and support of existing laws. This shall apply to hiring, placement and training during employment, rates of pay or other forms of compensation, layoff or termination and application for admission to Union membership.” The CBA also contained an arbitration clause that provides in relevant part that “The Contractor and the Union agree to submit all disputes concerning the interpretation or application of this Agreement to arbitration . . . .” Alvarez incurred three separate work-related injuries between September 2007 and March…