United Steelworkers v. Retirement Income Plan for Hourly-Rated Employees of Asarco, Inc.

This case involved a dispute between the United Steelworkers union and ASARCO, Inc. over pension benefits for retired hourly employees. The union and retirees claimed that ASARCO had breached their collective bargaining agreement by failing to provide promised pension benefits. ASARCO argued that the pension disputes should not be resolved through arbitration as outlined in their labor contract. The court sided with the union and retirees on all major points. The appeals court confirmed that pension benefit disputes must be resolved through arbitration, as specified in the collective bargaining agreement between the union and company. The court also upheld an award of $140,556.25 in attorney's fees to the union. However, because ASARCO had filed for bankruptcy, the court sent the case back to determine how the bankruptcy proceedings would affect payment of these fees. This ruling matters for workers because it reinforces that companies must honor arbitration clauses in union contracts, even for pension disputes. It also shows that unions can recover legal costs when they successfully defend workers' pension rights, though bankruptcy can complicate collecting those awards.