Lippert Tile Co., Inc. v. Int'l Union of Bricklayers & Allied Craftsmen, No. 12-2658 (7th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CaseThe Lippert tile installation business employs union workers. Some customers require or prefer union workers for tile installation projects, but others prefer nonunion labor. In 2004 the Lipperts created a new tile installation company that employed non-union workers solely to serve those customers. The union filed a successful grievance with the joint arbitration committee (JAC), seeking union benefits for non-union tile installers working for the new company. The Lipperts petitioned to vacate the award, arguing that the new company should not be bound by the award because it was not a party to the collective bargaining agreement. The district court granted the union’s motion to enforce the award, finding that the nominally new company could be treated as the same with the old company for purposes of the agreement under the “single employer” doctrine. The Seventh Circuit affirmed. By failing to present it to the JAC, the Lipperts waived an argument that the arbitration award is unenforceable because the National Labor Relations Board has never found that the non-union laborers are in the same bargaining unit as the union laborers. The companies, which are centrally operated by the same entity, are one and the same for purposes of arbitrability under the contract.
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