Rodney Kim, John Tokunaga, Wesley Teruya v. Thomas Fujikawa, Kenneth Kitashima, Myrtle Tanaka

This case and a companion case, Int’l Bhd. of Elec. Workers, Local 1186 v. Pacific Elec. Contr. Assoc., 827 F.2d 1400 (IBEW v. PECA), decided today, concern interpretation of the collective bargaining agreement v between the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1186 (IBEW or Union) and the Pacific Electrical Contractors Association (PECA). In 1985, the PECA-IBEW Employee Health and Welfare Trust Fund (H & W Fund) began running a deficit. The H & W Fund actuary recommended eradicating the deficit by increasing revenues, decreasing employee benefits or both. The six trustees of the H & W Fund (three appointed by IBEW and three appointed by PECA) deadlocked on what course of action to pursue. The PECA trustees, Kim, et al., filed this action to compel submission of its proposal to reduce benefits to an umpire pursuant to terms of H & W Fund Agreement and § 302 of the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA). 2The Union trustees, Fujika wa, et al., counterclaimed requesting that the court compel submission to the Joint Conference Committee (JCC) of the Union’s demand for supplemental contributions. The JCC is a joint PECA-IBEW committee formed to resolve grievances…