Operating Engineers Local 3 v. Marathon Petroleum Company LP

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

OPERATING ENGINEERS, LOCAL 3, Case No. 22-cv-09057-AGT

Plaintiff,

ORDER ON MOTION FOR

v. SUMMARY JUDGMENT

MARATHON PETROLEUM COMPANY Re: Dkt. No. 24 LP, et al., Defendants.

The International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 3, has moved for summary judg- ment on its only claim, which seeks to compel the defendants to arbitrate a dispute over whether certain work being performed at the defendants’ petroleum refinery is “Covered Work” under the terms of the parties’ project labor agreement (PLA). It is undisputed that the PLA is a type of collective-bargaining agreement. Whether the PLA requires the parties to arbitrate their dispute is therefore “an issue for judicial determina- tion.” AT&T Techs., Inc. v. Commc’ns Workers of Am., 475 U.S. 643, 649 (1986). “[P]ublic policy favors the resolution of labor disputes through arbitration.” Phoenix Newspapers, Inc. v. Phoenix Mailers Union Loc. 752, Int’l Bhd. of Teamsters, 989 F.2d 1077, 1080 (9th Cir. 1993). Courts have thus applied “a strong presumption in favor of arbitrability.” Id. Reflecting this presumption, the Supreme Court…