International Union of Petroleum and Industrial Workers v. Western Industrial Maintenance, Inc.

Appellant, Western Industrial Maintenance, Inc. [“the company”] appeals from the district court’s award of attorneys’ fees in favor of appellee, International Union of Petroleum and Industrial Workers [“the union”]. The union petitioned the district court, pursuant to section 301 ( 29 U.S.C. § 185 ) of the Labor-Management Relations Act [“the Act”], for confirmation of an ar bitration award based on a collective bargaining agreement between the company and the union. The district court confirmed the arbitration award and found that the company’s refusal to comply with the award was without justification. Based on this finding, the court awarded attorneys’ fees to the union. The company argues that the union did not make a sufficient showing of bad faith to justify the award of attorneys’ fees. We conclude that the district court’s finding is supported by the record, is not clearly erroneous, and therefore the award of attorneys’ fees was not an abuse of discretion.

BACKGROUND

Betty Sparks is a former employee of the company and a member of the union. In September, 1981, she filed a grievance alleging that “the company acted in a discriminatory manner when they” laid her…