International Ass'n of Machinists Workers, Local Lodge 964 v. BF Goodrich Aerospace Aerostructures Group

We must decide whether provisions of a collective bargaining agreement requiring a corporate employer to pay salary and benefits to a full-time union representative violate the federal Labor Management Relations Act.

I

BF Goodrich Aerospace Aerostructures Group (“Goodrich”) and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local Lodge 964 (“the union”) are longstanding parties to a collective bargaining agreement (“the agreement”). 1 Pursuant to the agreement, union members elect a “Chief Shop Steward” who continues to draw his salary and benefits while working primarily on “the investigation and prosecution of union grievances.” 2

*1048 In May 2000, James Cifu (“Cifu”) was elected Chief Shop Steward after serving nearly 20 years as a maintenance mechanic at Goodrich’s Riverside, California plant. Throughout his tenure at Riverside, Cifu was an exceptionally dedicated worker who always had requested and worked as many overtime hours as possible. Indeed, during the years preceding his election, Cifu testified that he had averaged the equivalent of 365 working days per year.

Following his election and in accord with the agreement, Cifu retained his formal…