Citizens Communications must arbitrate an International Brotherho...
Citizens Communications must arbitrate an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers claim that the company violated a collective bargaining agreement by reducing employee retirement benefits, said the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. The court affirmed a…
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decision by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. Citizens argued that IBEW couldn’t arbitrate without first getting consent from the retirees currently eligible for benefits. The company cited two cases: Rosetto v. Pabst Brewing Co. and Cleveland Electric v. Utility Works Union. The court said Citizens’ reading of the cases was “plausible,” but “we decline to adopt such a broad rule,” because it “ignores the fact that reductions in retiree benefits may also affect current employees who are undisputably still represented by the union under an extant CBA.” The proposed rule “is based on unsound assumptions about the preclusive effect of arbitration involving retiree benefits,” it said.