International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union No. 46 v. Trig Electric Construction Co.

**Union vs. Construction Company: Court Rules Federal Law Blocks State Lien Claims** This case involved a dispute between the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union No. 46 and Trig Electric Construction Company (along with Lydig Construction and Fidelity). The union tried to use Washington state laws to place a lien on a public construction project to recover unpaid employee benefit contributions that should have gone to worker pension and health plans. The Washington Supreme Court ruled against the union. The court decided that federal law (specifically ERISA, which governs employee benefit plans) prevented the union from using state lien laws to collect these unpaid contributions. The court said federal law takes priority over state law in this situation and refused to change its previous decisions on similar cases. **What This Means for Workers:** This ruling makes it harder for unions to collect unpaid benefit contributions on behalf of workers. When employers fail to pay required contributions to worker pension and health funds, unions have fewer tools available under state law to recover that money. Workers may need to rely more heavily on federal enforcement mechanisms, which can be slower and more complex than state-level remedies. This could potentially impact the security of worker benefit funds.