Altounian Construction, Inc. v. Administrative District Council 1 of Illinois of International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers

**What Happened** Altounian Construction, Inc. had a dispute with the Administrative District Council 1 of Illinois of the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers. The union filed two separate arbitration cases against the construction company in June and December 2019. However, the construction company chose not to participate in the first arbitration hearing and failed to challenge the decision within the required 90-day deadline. When the company lost both arbitration cases, they tried to overturn the decisions in federal court. **What the Court Decided** The federal court sided with the union and upheld both arbitration awards. The judge ruled that Altounian Construction gave up its right to challenge the June 2019 decision by skipping the arbitration process and missing the deadline to file an appeal. For the December 2019 award of $111,375.05, the court found that the company didn't provide strong enough evidence to justify overturning the arbitrator's decision. **Why This Matters for Workers** This ruling reinforces that arbitration decisions are generally final and binding. When employers try to avoid or ignore arbitration proceedings, courts will typically uphold the union's victory. Workers can feel more confident that arbitration awards in their favor will be protected, even if employers later try to challenge them in court.