Laborers Clean-Up Contract Administration Trust Fund v. Uriarte Clean-Up Service, Inc.

This action was brought under section 301(a) of the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947, as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 185 (a), and section 502(e) of the Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 1132 (e), to recover wages and fringe benefit contributions allegedly owing under a collective bargaining agreement. The district court determined that wages and fringe benefits were due and awarded damages to plaintiff, including interest and attorneys' fees. Defendants appeal.

I

Defendants are engaged in the business of contracting to clean up construction sites. The record indicates that the history of such businesses in Southern California has been a troubled one. Intense competition led contractors to avoid costs in almost any way possible. Frequent victims were the employees who were often noncitizens with little or no command of the English language. Although employees bargained collectively for wages and fringe benefits, they were powerless to enforce the terms of their collectively bargained agreements. All too often, employers paid only a fraction of the wages and fringe benefit payments bargained for by the employees’ union.

Recognizing…