George R. Williams v. Pacific Maritime Association

This appeal is from an order of the district court dismissing several claims due to appellants’ failure to exhaust contractual remedies, and finding that appellees Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshoremen’s and Warehouse-men’s Union (ILWU) and ILWU Local 10 did not breach a duty of fair representation owed to appellants. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We disagree with the trial court on the initial question of exhaustion of remedies, but we rule that it was correct in concluding that there was no breach of the duty of fair representation, Accordingly, we affirm the judgment.

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Facts Underlying The Dispute

Appellants are former limited registration Class B longshoremen employed by PMA, an organization of steamship, steve-doring, and terminal companies doing business on the Pacific Coast. The ILWU is the exclusive bargaining representative of longshoremen in the area. Local 10 is the ILWU’s constituent local in the Port of San Francisco.

PMA, and the ILWU are parties to a collective bargaining agreement covering substantially all longshore work on the Pacific Coast. Under that agreement, a Joint Port Labor Relations Committee (the…