United Ass'n of Journeymen & Apprentices of Plumbing & Pipefitting Industry, Steamfitters & Refrigeration Union, Local 342, AFL-CIO v. Valley Engineers

We consider whether the district court is entitled to rely on an NLRB alter ego or single employer determination when the same issue regarding the employer’s status is presented to it in a suit brought under Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act.

BACKGROUND

Valley Engineers entered a collective bargaining agreement with Local 342; Vulcan Construction and Engineers, which is under the same ownership as Valley, has not. Plaintiffs — Local 342, three employee pension funds and Doyle Williams, a trustee of those funds — sued both companies and their president, Thomas R. Flynn, in federal district court under section 301 of the Labor-Management Relations Act 1 and ERISA section 502. 2 They sought to extend Valley’s collective bargaining agreement to Vulcan, claiming illegal double-breasting. 3 Plaintiffs needed to prove that the companies were either a “single employer” or “alter egos” — the two situations *613 where double-breasting is an unfair labor practice. Carpenters’ Local No. 1478 v. Stevens, 743 F.2d 1271, 1276 (9th Cir.1984), cert. denied, 471 U.S. 1015 , 105 S.Ct. 2018 , 85 L.Ed.2d 300 (1985).

Knowing that the NLRB had previously determined that Valley and…