Stevens Engineers & Constructors, Inc. v. Local 17 Iron Workers Pension Fund, 877 F.3d 663

Background

Stevens Engineers & Constructors (Stevens), a construction company, had a series of CBAs with Iron Workers Local 17 requiring contributions to the Local 17 Pension Fund until April 2013, when Stevens terminated the CBA and stopped directly employing ironworkers.
The CBA defined craft jurisdiction (ironworker tasks) and incorporated national inter-union agreements, including the National Maintenance Agreement (NMA), which governs pre-job conferences and exclusive job assignments among crafts.
For a Lorain County U.S. Steel renovation (No. 4 Seamless), Stevens held a pre-job conference and assigned demolition and power rigging to millwrights under the NMA; Local 17 objected but did not pursue the NMA dispute resolution process.
The Fund’s Trustees assessed withdrawal liability (~$5,056,017), relying on an abrogated 1971 rigging agreement and asserting Stevens performed work within the CBA jurisdiction after withdrawal.
An arbitrator and the district court found Stevens not liable: the contested rigging/demolition work had been assigned to millwrights under the NMA (outside Local 17’s jurisdiction), and limited incidental work by non-ironworkers did not impose liability.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Fund)	Defendant's Argument (Stevens)	Held
Whether work assigned to another union under the NMA counts as "work in the jurisdiction of the CBA" for §1383(b) withdrawal liability	“Jurisdiction” should be read broadly; work performed in the geographic area and of the craft type supports liability regardless of NMA assignment	The CBA incorporated the NMA; properly assigned work belongs to the assigned union and thus is outside Local 17’s jurisdiction and does not trigger §1383(b) liability	Work assigned via the NMA to another craft is not within the CBA’s jurisdiction for §1383(b); no withdrawal liability for rigging/demolition assigned to millwrights
Whether the Fund can independently assess withdrawal liability despite Local 17 not challenging the NMA assignment	The Fund is not bound by union inaction and may assess liability on employers even if the union failed to pursue inter-union remedies	The Fund lacked an independent basis to impose liability for work that never fell within Local 17’s jurisdiction; assignments under the NMA control entitlement to contributions	The Fund cannot override NMA job assignments; it had no independent power to retroactively convert assigned work into Local 17 work for withdrawal liability purposes
Whether post-assessment discoveries (drilling holes for rebar, unloading machinery) can support withdrawal liability	After-acquired facts show Stevens performed work within Local 17’s jurisdiction, so the Fund can rely on them to justify liability	The discovered tasks were either not mandatory ironworker work or were assignable under the NMA and were assigned to other crafts, so they do not establish liability	The tasks did not establish liability: rebar-drilling was not necessarily ironworker work; unloading was assignable and was not assigned to Local 17
Whether incidental/unauthorized acts by non-ironworkers create employer liability	Even limited performance of ironworker work by others should support liability	Stevens did not authorize, order, or ratify the unauthorized acts and stopped them when discovered; employer not liable for acts outside scope of employment	Incidental unauthorized work (small rebar installation; brief grating/handrail work) did not impose liability because Stevens neither directed nor condoned it

Key Cases Cited

H.C. Elliott, Inc. v. Carpenters Pension Tr. Fund for N. California, 859 F.2d 808 (9th Cir. 1988) (construction-industry exception recognizes dispatching of employees among contractors and limits withdrawal liability when contributions continue)
Carpenters Pension Tr. Fund for N. California v. Underground Constr. Co., 31 F.3d 776 (9th Cir. 1994) (CBA obligations, not mere ownership or participation, determine contribution duties)
Carpenters Fringe Benefit Funds of Ill. v. McKenzie Eng’g, 217 F.3d 578 (8th Cir. 2000) (fund not entitled to contributions for work assigned to a competing union absent challenge through assignment process)
Michels Corp. v. Cent. States, Se., & Sw. Areas Pension Fund, 800 F.3d 411 (7th Cir. 2015) (an employer’s obligation to contribute is tied to the CBA)
Cent. States, Se. & Sw. Areas Pension Fund v. Int’l Comfort Prods., LLC, 585 F.3d 281 (6th Cir. 2009) (MPPAA construed according to its text; avoid common-law inferences)
Findlay Truck Line, Inc. v. Cent. States, Se. & Sw. Areas Pension Fund, 726 F.3d 738 (6th Cir. 2013) (recognizing MPPAA’s policy favoring contribution collection but not overriding statutory limits)
G & W Const. Co. v. Operating Eng’rs Local 324 Health Care Plan, 783 F.3d 1045 (6th Cir. 2015) (funds entitled to rely on written plan/CBA terms; union failings do not affect funds’ right to collect amounts due and owing)
Tackett v. M & G Polymers USA, LLC, 811 F.3d 204 (6th Cir. 2016) (clear contractual terms control over extrinsic area practices)
Concrete Pipe & Prod. of Cal., Inc. v. Constr. Laborers Pension Tr. for S. Cal., 508 U.S. 602 (1993) (arbitrator may receive new evidence in review of plan sponsor determinations)
Lewis v. Benedict Coal Corp., 361 U.S. 459 (1960) (employer’s contractual pledge to a fund creates enforceable obligation independent of union action)