Local Joint Executive Board of Hotel & Restaurant Employees & Bartenders International Union v. 3539 Century, Inc.

Plaintiff Local Joint Executive Board of Hotel and Restaurant Employees and Bartenders International Union of Long Beach and Orange County brought an action in the superior court to bind defendants 3539 Century, Inc., dba Stops Coffee Shop and Pete Vescio to a collective bargaining agreement originally entered between the plaintiff and Lynwood Catering Corporation, dba Stops Coffee Shop (Lynwood). The plaintiff also sought to be recognized by the defendants as the exclusive bargaining agent for the employees of the Stops Coffee Shop. Plaintiff contended in the trial court that it was entitled to prevail because defendants were the successors to the business of Lynwood. The trial court upheld this position-despite plaintiff’s failure to demonstrate that a substantial number of Lynwood’s employees had been employed by defendants. The trial court concluded that the number of employees *823 carried over was without significance. Defendants maintain that the case of Howard Johnson Co. v. Hotel Employees, 417 U.S. 249 [ 41 L.Ed.2d 46 , 94 S.Ct. 2236 ] requires us to reverse the judgment. We agree.

Facts

On May 22, 1972, plaintiff and Lynwood executed a collective bargaining…