Plumbers & Pipe Fitters Local Union No. 442 v. Ford Construction Co.

MEMORANDUM *

Plumbers and Pipe Fitters Local Union No. 442 and Ford Construction Company entered into a collective bargaining agreement. A dispute about whether work was correctly assigned to Laborers Union Local 1130 rather than to Plumbers arose, and was, ultimately, submitted to arbitration. The arbitrator dismissed Plumbers’ grievance as untimely. Plumbers brought an action to vacate the arbitrator’s award, but the district court ruled against it. We affirm.

(1) Plumbers first claims that because the arbitrator’s son was industrial relations director for the Associated General Contractors of California, Inc., which represents general contractors, including Ford on occasion, the arbitrator had evident partiality. We disagree. It is notable that the AGCC was not a party and did not represent or advise Ford regarding this dispute; in fact, it remained neutral and refused to lend its aid. Under the circumstances, Plumbers simply has not borne its burden of showing evident partiality. See Sheet Metal Workers Int’l Ass’n, Local Union No. 420 v. Kinney Air Conditioning Co., 756 F.2d 742, 745-46 (9th Cir.1985). The connection was simply too attenuated. There was no reasonable basis…