Cariaga

On November 30, 1992, MacArthur B. Ca-riaga, dba Line Master, entered into a written subcontract with C.C. Myers in which Line Master agreed to perform paint striping work on a highway construction project for the California Department of Transportation. Paragraph 16 of the subcontract agreement provided:

At the time Myers entered into the subcontract with Line Masters, Myers was signatory to a multi-employer collective bargaining agreement entered into between various general contractors and the Laborers International Union of North America, Highway and Street Stripers. The collective bargaining agreement, knows as the Master Labor Agreement (MLA), provides for the arbitration of disputes by a Laborers’ Joint Arbitration Board (LJAB).

Line Master began the highway striping work in January 1993 and completed the project in August 1995. On February 12, 1996, the Laborers filed a charge before the LJAB claiming that Line Master had failed to comply with MLA requirements to pay contributions to Union Trust Funds. The LJAB held an arbitration hearing on February 29,1996 and found that Line Master had violated the MLA. The LJAB awarded damages to the Laborei’s and the Union Trust…