Kodiak Oil Field Haulers, Inc. v. Teamsters Union Local No. 959

Kodiak Oil Field Haulers, Inc. (“KOH”) commenced this suit under section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 185 , when Teamsters Union Local No. 959 (“the union”) refused to acknowledge KOH’s asserted right under the collective bargaining agreement to fire an employee for conduct KOH contends amounted to dishonesty. The suit sought damages and declaratory relief. After a trial on the merits, the' district court dismissed KOH’s claims on the grounds that: (1) the underlying issue of the propriety of the discharge had been settled when KOH agreed to reinstate the employee in return for the union’s termination of a work stoppage; and (2) the Board of Arbitration, whose composition was challenged by KOH, had been validly selected in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement. We affirm.

The events which led to the filing of the original complaint are undisputed. KOH is engaged in the business of transporting heavy oil field equipment, including drilling derricks, to and from Alaska’s North Slope. One of its employees, Dennis Amsbaugh, was involved in an accident while transporting an oil derrick. He immediately reported the accident by radio to his…