CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, W. Wilsоn Goode, Mayor of the City of Philadelphia, Carlo R. Gambetta, Finance Director of the City of Philadelphia, Eric Pookrum, Treasurer of the City of Philadelphia, James Stanley White, Managing Director of the City of Philadelphia, Orville W. Jones, Personnel Director of the City of Philadelphia, Councilman Joseph E. Coleman, President of City Council, Councilman David Cohen, Councilman Francis Rafferty, Councilman Leland Beloff, Councilman Lucien E. Blackwell, Councilman John F. Street, Councilman Brian F. O‘Neill, Councilwoman Ann J. Land, Councilwoman Patricia Hughes, Councilwoman Joan L. Krajewski, Councilwoman Augusta A. Clark, Councilwoman Ann C. Verna, Philadelphia Board of Pension & Retirement, Anthony Witlin, Executive Director, Philadelphia Board of Pensions & Retirement, and Joseph C. Vignola, City Controller of the City of Philadelphia, Appellants, v. DISTRICT COUNCIL 33, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE, COUNTY & MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO, and Earl Stout, as Trustee Ad Litem and President of District Council 33, AFSCME, AFL-CIO.
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
Decided Oct. 1, 1991.
Resubmitted Sept. 30, 1991.
598 A.2d 256
Argued Oct. 24, 1989.
Deborah Willig and Alaine S. Williams, Philadelphia, for appellees.
Before NIX, C.J., and LARSEN, FLAHERTY, MCDERMOTT, ZAPPALA, PAPADAKOS and CAPPY, JJ.
ORDER
PER CURIAM:
AND NOW, this 30th day of September, 1991, the Application for Reconsideration is granted. Matter to be resubmitted on briefs.
OPINION OF THE COURT
LARSEN, Justice.
This is an appeal from an en banc order of the Commonwealth Court affirming the grant of a preliminary injunction by the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County. Appellees District Council 33 of AFSCME, et al. (Union), instituted the underlying action seeking to enjoin appellants City of Philadelphia, et al. (City), from enforcing Philadelphia Ordinance 1107, which would have put Municipal Retirement System Benefit Plan 1987 into effect. That plan, commonly known as Plan 1987, differed significantly and adversely from the benefit plan contained in the collective bargaining agreement then in effect between the parties. The issues raised by this appeal are (1) whether the Court of Common Pleas had subject matter jurisdiction over this action; and (2) whether the Union was entitled to preliminary injunctive relief enjоining the City from enforcing Philadelphia Ordinance 1107 as it pertains to the Union.
On July 22, 1986, the parties agreed to continue in effect, until June 30, 1988, the provisions of their previous collective bargaining agreement, including the pension and retirement benefit provisions referred to as Plan J. In December of 1984, the legislature had enacted the Municipal Pension
The Commission evaluated the financial condition of the City‘s pension plan and determined that the City‘s plan was “severely distressed.” This being the worst rating, the Commission found that the City was entitled to participate in Level III of the recovery program. The City then elected to participate in the program at that level.
One of the mandatory remedies required of Level III participants is:
The establishment of a revised benefit plan for newly hired municipal employees.... The revised benefit plan shall have a normal cost which is less than the normal cost of the benefit plan applicable to current municipal employees as reported in the most recent prior actuarial valuation report of the pension plan.
Philadelphia Ordinance 1107, passed on January 8, 1987, was designed to comply with the Act 205 requirement of establishing a revised benefit plan. The ordinance contained new benefit provisions, known as Plan 87, which
On January 14, 1987, the Union filed its complaint in equity claiming that the City, through Ordinance 1107, had unilaterаlly abrogated the pension provisions of the collective bargaining agreement and impaired the obligations of the contract in violation of the Pennsylvania and United States constitutions. The Union sought injunctive and declaratory relief. That same day, the Union filed a motion for preliminary injunction.
After a hearing, the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County issued an order on March 6, 1987 that (1) preliminarily enjoined the City from enforcing Ordinance 1107, as it pertained to the Union, until the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement, (2) maintained jurisdiction over the matter through June 30, 1988 or until a full hearing on the permanent injunction or other resolution, (3) stated that the injunction might be dissolved upon the City‘s showing that enforcement of the injunction would be more harmful than beneficial, and (4) required that the Union post a $15,000 bond. The City appealed, and the Commonwealth Court, sitting en banc, affirmed on December 18, 1987.
The City first asserts that the Court of Common Pleas did not have jurisdiction over this matter. The City characterizes this case as a labor dispute and claims that, as such, the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board (PLRB) has exclusive jurisdiction over the matter. The Public Employe Relations Act (PERA) provides:
The [PLRB] is empowered, as hereinafter provided, to prevent any person from engaging in any unfair practice listed in Article XII of this act. This power shall be exclusive and shall not be affected by any other means of
adjustment or prevention that have been or may be established by agreement, law, or otherwise.
[I]f a party directly seeks redress of conduct which arguably constitutes one of the unfair labor practices listed in Articlе XII (Section 1201) of the PERA,
43 P.S. § 1101.1201 (Supp.1976), jurisdiction to determine whether an unfair labor practice has indeed occurred and, if so, to prevent a party from continuing the practice is in the PLRB, and nowhere else.
Hollinger v. Department of Public Welfare, 469 Pa. 358, 366, 365 A.2d 1245, 1249 (1976).
Among the unfair labor practices listed in Article XII of the PERA is the refusal to “bargain collectively in good faith with an employe representative which is the exclusive representative of employes in an appropriate unit.”
One need only look at the complaint itself to see that the underlying case sounds in contract. In its complaint, the Union raises two contract issues—whether the City‘s enforcement of Philadelphia Ordinance 1107 breached the contract and whether that same enforcement violated the protections against laws impairing contracts contained in the Pennsylvania Constitution2 and the United States Con-
This Court, in Hollinger, supra, held the PLRB‘s exclusive jurisdiction over unfair labor practice cases “does not, of course, divest a court of jurisdiction to entertain suits for breach of contract merely because the alleged breach may arguably be an unfair labor practice.” 469 Pa. at 365 n. 10, 365 A.2d at 1249 n. 10 (emphasis in the original). As noted above, the complaint clearly alleges a breach of contract, and as such, the Court of Common Pleas had proper jurisdiction over this matter.
The City‘s second issue on appeal is whether the Union was entitled to preliminary injunctive relief enjoining the City from enforcing Philadelphia Ordinance 1107 as it pertains to the Union. The City claims that the Union has not met all of the requirements for a preliminary injunction. The prerequisites for a preliminary injunction, as established by this Court, are:
[F]irst, that it is necessary to prevent immediate and irreparable harm which could not be compensated by damages; second, that greater injury wоuld result by refusing it than by granting it; and third, that it properly restores the parties to their status as it existed immediately prior to the alleged wrongful conduct. (citation omitted). Even more essential, however, is the determination that the activity sought to be restrained is actionable, and that the injunction issued is reasonably suited to abate such activity. And unless the plaintiff‘s right is clear and the wrong is manifest, a preliminary injunction will not generally be awarded: Keystone Guild, Inc. v.
Pappas, 399 Pa. 46, 159 A.2d 681 (1960), and Herman v. Dixon, 393 Pa. 33, 141 A.2d 576 (1958).
Singzon v. Department of Public Welfare, 496 Pa. 8, 436 A.2d 125 (1981).
Where a preliminary injunction is merely prohibitory, as it is here, appellate courts will not review the merits of the controversy but will determine if there were any “apparently reasonable grounds” to support the lower court‘s action and will reverse only if no such grounds exist. Mazzie v. Commonwealth, 495 Pa. 128, 432 A.2d 985 (1981).
The City first argues that the Union failed to demonstrate that it was likely to succeed on the merits. The City contends that its unilateral decision to enact the new pension plan for nеwly hired employees did not, as the Union asserts, constitute a breach of contract or impair the constitutional right to contract. This contention must be rejected.
This Court‘s decision in City of Allentown v. Local 302, International Association of Fire Fighters, et al., 511 Pa. 275, 512 A.2d 1175 (1986) establishes the Union‘s clear right to relief. That case involved a suit brought by fire fighters challenging the validity of an ordinance pursuant to which all fire fighters hired after a certain date were ineligible for membership in the City of Allentown‘s pension fund and were required to participate in a plan established by the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement Law of 1974.4 The fire fighters argued that the new plan was contrary to the collective bargaining agreement then in effect between the parties. In City of Allentown, we held that the “unilateral decision by the City to initiate new pension terms for some members of the bargaining unit constituted a breach of the collective bargaining agreement.” Id., 511 Pa. at 287, 512 A.2d at 1181. “Once the matter is included in a collective bargaining agreement, it becomes, like any other contractual provision, binding on the parties to the agreement.” Id. If we were to allow provisions of a collective bargaining
The City asserts that both the trial court and the Commonwealth Court incorrectly relied on City of Allentown as controlling and dispositive of this issue because that case did not involve, as herein, an Ordinance enacted for the economic promotion of the Commonwealth. The City points out that the legislature passed Act 205 to prevent the impending funding crises of municipal government retirement systems. However, this Court has also held that unilateral, governmental action breaching employees’ contractual rights is an unconstitutional impairment of contract, despite having as its purpose the economic enhancement of the Commonwealth. Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties, et al., v. State System of Higher Education, et al., 505 Pa. 369, 479 A.2d 962 (1984).
The City also suggests that City of Allentown is distinguishable because in that case the City of Allentown elected to revise its benefit plan and in the case herein Act 205 forced the City to do so by “requir[ing] a municipality seeking assistance to take certain steps,” which include instituting a revised benefit plan (Appellants’ Brief at p. 10). The City misstates the facts. The City herein chose to participate in the Act 205 recovery program and was not statutorily compelled to do so, just as the City of Allentown chose to change its benefit plan. Furthermore, the City chose to participate specifically at Level III of the program and not at either of the two other levels that do not require a revised benefit plan. Therefore, City of Allentown is not distinguishable but instead is controlling here. Applying the holding of City of Allentown to the facts of the instant case, it is clear that “apparently reasonable grounds” exist to support the trial court‘s action.
The City next argues that the Union failed to show that it would suffer immediate or irreparable harm as a result of the City‘s enforcement of Philadelphia Ordinance 1107. Testimony offered at the hearing revealed that enforcement
Finally, the City argues that the public interest would be adversely affected by an injunction. Among the factors that a court must weigh in deciding whether or not to grant a preliminary injunction is the effect such a preliminary injunction would have on the public interest. Valley Forge Historical Society v. Washington Memorial Chapel, 493 Pa. 491, 501, 426 A.2d 1123, 1129 (1981); McMullan v. Wohlgemuth, 444 Pa. 563, 572-73, 281 A.2d 836, 841 (1971).
The City relies on Leonard v. Thornburgh, 75 Pa.Cmwlth.Ct. 553, 463 A.2d 77 (1983), where the Commonwealth Court addressed a taxpayer‘s action to enjoin the City of Philadelphia from collecting its wage tax at different rates for residents and non-residents. In Leonard, the Commonwealth Court found that the taxpаyer was likely to succeed on the merits but denied the preliminary injunction nonetheless. The court held that the enjoining of the collection of the wage tax would create a $60 million deficit and propel the City of Philadelphia into a “state of fiscal paralysis.” Id., 75 Pa.Cmwlth.Ct. at 564, 463 A.2d at 82.
In the instant case, the City alleges that participation in the Act 205 recovery program would require the City to change its actuarial funding standard to include a “level dollar amortization payment schedule.” Such a change
In point of fact, Act 205 provides for delayed implementation of the mandatory funding standard, and as such, the City would not have to expend the additional $82 million. See
Accordingly, we affirm the decision of the Commonwealth Court, which affirmed the decision of the Court of Common Pleas granting appellees’ request for a preliminary injunction.
ZAPPALA, PAPADAKOS and CAPPY, JJ., join in this opinion.
NIX, C.J., filed a dissenting opinion joined by FLAHERTY and MCDERMOTT, JJ.
The City of Philadelphia (“City“) appeals an en banc Commonwealth Court order which affirmed the grant of a preliminary injunction by the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County. District Council 33 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO (“Union“) had sought the injunction to prevent the implementation of City Ordinance 1107 which enacted Municipal Retirement System Benefit Plan 1987 (“Plan 87“). The Ordinance was enacted pursuant to the Municipal Pension Plan Funding Standard & Recovery Act,
I.
Act 205 came into existence by legislative enactment December 18, 1984. It sought a strengthening of municipal pension plans by requiring actuarially-based current funding standards and by establishing state-aided, voluntary remedial rules to aid seriously underfunded pension plans in achieving compliance with the standards.
In January, 1985 the City consulted with representatives of the Fraternal Order of Police, District Council 47 of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employes (“AFSCME“), International Association of Firefighters and District Council 33 of AFSCME regarding a review of the City‘s existing pension system (“Plan J“) and a consideration of a revised benefit plan for newly hired City employees. On August 15, 1985, the Pennsylvania Public Employee Retirement Study Commission wrote the City its pension system qualified as a financially distressed system at Level III. City Council elected to participate at Recovery Program Level III. On December 31, 1985, the Commission certified the City‘s authorization to participate in Level III
Nonetheless, in October, 1986 the Mayor caused to be introduced into City Council an ordinance seeking to establish a revised benefit system for newly hired employees. City Council introduced and passed its own Ordinance 1107 over the Mayor‘s veto. Ordinance 1107 created Plan 87.
On January 14, 1987, the Uniоn, by complaint in equity, sought 1) a preliminary and permanent injunction from the court of common pleas restraining the City from implementing Ordinance 1107, and 2) a declaration that the Ordinance is a breach of the collective bargaining agreement between the Union and the City and violates
II.
At the outset the City raises a question of jurisdiction of the common pleas court. Arguing the subject matter of the case is a labor dispute between the City and the Union, the City contends jurisdiction lies exclusively with the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board. This position is based upon a characterization of the controversy as a labor dispute, reference to sections 1101.1201(a) and 1101.1301 of the Public
The Union disputеs this charge and asserts the gravamen of the controversy is breach of contract with constitutional violations. Unquestionably the underlying case sounds in contract. The enactment of Ordinance 1107 with its pension Plan 87 in the face of a recently bargained contract continuing the effectiveness of pension Plan J clearly gives rise to a single issue: was the passage of Ordinance 1107, pursuant to Act 205, a constitutionally prohibited impairment of the obligation of contract then existing between the Union and the City.
Manifestly, the court of common pleas has subject matter jurisdiction over this constitutional contract issue. The City‘s argument that jurisdiction lies exclusively with the PLRB collapses totally when the sole issue raised by the controversy is recalled, for the PLRB does not have jurisdiction to determine constitutional issues. See,
Additionally, although the alleged breach of contract might conceivably be deemed an unfair labor practice, if the Union‘s constitutional arguments were to be upheld, such would not oust the jurisdiction of the court of common
[Exclusive power in the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board to prevent unfair labor practices] does not, of course, divest a court of jurisdiction to entertain suits for breach of contract merely because the alleged breach may arguably be an unfair labor practice. (Citations omitted.) (Emphasis in original.)
469 Pa. at 365, n. 10, 365 A.2d at 1249, n. 10. We therefore hold that jurisdiction over the subject matter raised by this case is in the court of common pleas.
The standard of review on appeal from the grant or denial of a preliminary injunction is firmly established. As early as 1884, in Paxson‘s Appeal, 106 Pa. 429, 437, this Court stated: “In cases of appeal from a decree refusing, or granting, a preliminary injunction, the general rule is to express no opinion upon the merits of the сase, but merely say whether we think the discretion of the court was rightly exercised: Hoffman‘s Appeal, 10 W.N.C., 401.” By 1909, the standard had been refined to the following: “On an appeal from a decree awarding or refusing a preliminary injunction we do not consider the merits of the case except to determine whether there was reasonable ground for the action of the court.” Delaware and Hudson Company v. Olyphant Borough, 224 Pa. 387, 389, 73 A. 458, 459. The precursor of our present standards opened a window on that narrow standard by applying “apparently reasonable grounds” and was enunciated by Mr. Justice von Moschzisker, later Chief Justice, in Sunbury Borough v. Sunbury and S.R. Co., 241 Pa. 357, 359, 88 A. 543, 544 (1913):
Our uniform rule is that upon an appeal from a decree which refuses, grants or continues a preliminary injunction, we will only look to see if there were any apparently reasonable grounds for the action of the court below, and we will not further consider the merits of the case or pass upon the reаsons for or against such action, unless it is plain that no such grounds existed or that the rules of
law relied upon are palpably wrong or clearly inapplicable.... (Citations omitted.)
One recent standard of review contains broad criteria for determining whether or not there were “apparently reasonable grounds” and is stated:
As a preliminary consideration, we recognize that on an appeal from the grant or denial of a preliminary injunction, we do not inquire into the merits of the controversy, but only examine the record to determine if there were any apparently reasonable grounds for the action of the court below. Only if it is plain that no grounds exist to support the decree or that the rule of law relied upon was palpably erroneous or misapplied will we interfere with the decision of the Chancellor. Intraworld Industries, Inc. v. Girard Trust Bank, 461 Pa. 343, 336 A.2d 316 (filed April 17, 1975); Credit Alliance Corp. v. Philаdelphia Minit-Man Car Wash Corp., 450 Pa. 367, 301 A.2d 816 (1973); Zebra v. Pittsburgh School District, 449 Pa. 432, 296 A.2d 748 (1972). “In order to sustain a preliminary injunction, the plaintiff‘s right to relief must be clear, the need for relief must be immediate, and the injury must be irreparable if the injunction is not granted.” Zebra v. Pittsburgh School District, 449 Pa. at 437, 296 A.2d at 750.
Roberts v. School District of Scranton, 462 Pa. 464, 469, 341 A.2d 475, 478 (1975).
This language has been quoted approvingly in Willman v. Children‘s Hospital of Pittsburgh, 505 Pa. 263, 479 A.2d 452 (1984); Ezy Parks v. Larson, 499 Pa. 615, 454 A.2d 928 (1982); Shenango Valley Osteopathic Hospital v. Department of Health, 499 Pa. 39, 451 A.2d 434 (1982); Singzon v. Department of Public Welfare, 496 Pa. 8, 436 A.2d 125 (1981).
Another current explication contains an even broader gauge when examining the “apparently reasonable grounds” aspect of the scope of review, introduces the term “essential prerequisites,” and has been set forth as follows:
The scope of our review on an appeal from a decree either granting or denying a preliminary injunction is “to examine the record only to determine ‘if there were any apparently reasonable grounds for the action of the court below....’ Lindenfelser v. Lindenfelser, 385 Pa. 342, 343-55, 123 A.2d 626, 627 (1956). (Emphasis supplied). Summit Township v. Fennell, 392 Pa. 313, 140 A.2d 789 (1958).” Alabama Binder & Chemical Corp. v. Pennsylvania Industrial Chemical Corp., 410 Pa. 214, 215, 189 A.2d 180, 181 (1963). And the essential prerequisites for the issuance of a рreliminary injunction are: first, that it is necessary to prevent immediate and irreparable harm which could not be compensated by damages; second, that greater injury would result by refusing it than by granting it; and third, that it properly restores the parties to their status as it existed immediately prior to the alleged wrongful conduct. Alabama Binder & Chemical Corp. v. Pennsylvania Industrial Chemical Corp., supra. Even more essential, however, is the determination that the activity sought to be restrained is actionable, and that the injunction issued is reasonably suited to abate such activity. And unless the plaintiff‘s right is clear and the wrong is manifest, a preliminary injunction will not generally be awarded: Keystone Guild, Inc. v. Pappas, 399 Pa. 46, 159 A.2d 681 (1960), and Herman v. Dixon, 393 Pa. 33, 141 A.2d 576 (1958). Albee Homes, Inc. v. Caddie Homes, Inc., 417 Pa. 177, 181, 207 A.2d 768, 770-71 (1965).
The “essential prerequisites” of Albee have been quoted in Singzon v. Commonwealth, Department of Public Welfare, supra; Valley Forge Historical Society v. Washington Memorial Chapel, 493 Pa. 491, 501, 426 A.2d 1123, 1128 (1981); Commonwealth v. Coward, 489 Pa. 327, 340, 414 A.2d 91, 98 (1980); New Castle Orthopedic Associates v. Burns, 481 Pa. 460, 464, 392 A.2d 1383, 1385 (1978); Bryant Co. v. Sling Testing and Repair, 471 Pa. 1, 6, 369 A.2d 1164, 1166 (1977); Commonwealth v. Graver, 461 Pa. 131, 135, 334 A.2d 667, 669 (1975); Credit Alliance Corpo-ration v. Philadelphia Minit-Man Car Wash Corporation, 450 Pa. 367, 371, 301 A.2d 816, 818 (1973).
Further, an additional factor, applied when relevant, in seeking “apparently reasonable grounds” is the possibility of an adverse effect upon the public. Vаlley Forge Historical Society v. Washington Memorial Chapel, supra; McMullan v. Wohlgemuth, 444 Pa. 563, 572, 281 A.2d 836, 841 (1971).
The Union argues it had a clear right to prevail on the ground that the unilateral decision by the City to initiate new pension terms for those employed after January 1, 1987, constituted a breach of contract that is prohibited by
We must be mindful that “the prohibition is not an absolute one and is not to be read with literal exactness like a mathematical formula.” Home Building and Loan Association v. Blaisdell, 290 U.S. 398, 428, 54 S.Ct. 231, 236, 78 L.Ed. 413 (1934). The state5 possesses authority to safeguard the vital interests of its people. Id. at 434, 54 S.Ct. at 238. Home Building and Loan reemphasized, quoting from Manigault v. Springs, 199 U.S. 473, 480, 26 S.Ct. 127, 130, 50 L.Ed. 274 (1905), that
[i]t is the settled law of this court that the interdiction of statutes impairing the obligation of contracts does not prevent the State from exercising such powers as are vested in it for the promotion of the common weal, or are necessary for the general good of the public, though contracts previously entered into between individuals may
thereby be affected. This power, which in its various ramifications is known as the police power, is an exercise of the sovereign right of the Government to protect the lives, health, morals, comfort and general welfare of the people, and is paramount to any rights under contracts between individuals.
Id., 290 U.S. at 437, 54 S.Ct. at 240. Home Building and Loan made it quite clear that
[n]ot only is the constitutional provision qualified by the measure of control which the State retains over remedial processes, but the State also continues to possess authority to safeguard the vital interests of its people. It does not matter that legislation appropriate to that end ‘has the result of modifying or abrogating contracts already in effect.’ Stephenson v. Binford, 287 U.S. 251, 276 [53 S.Ct. 181, 189, 77 L.Ed. 288]. Not only are existing laws read into contracts in order to fix obligations as between the parties, but the reservation of essential attributes of sovereign power is also read into contracts as a postulate of the legal order.
Id., 290 U.S. at 434, 435, 54 S.Ct. at 238, 239. The economic interests of the state may justify the exercise of its continuing and dominant protective power notwithstanding interference with contracts. Id. at 437, 54 S.Ct. at 239.
Pennsylvania has long recognized these principles. In DePaul v. Kauffman, 441 Pa. 386, 272 A.2d 500 (1971) (upholding the constitutionality of the Pennsylvania Rent Withholding Act,
With regard to leases that predate the effective date of the Act, it must be borne in mind that “the interdiction of statutes impairing the obligation of contracts does not prevent the state from exercising such powers as ... are necessary for the general good of the public, though contracts previously entered into between individuals may
Accord, Shapp v. Sloan, 480 Pa. 449, 473, 391 A.2d 595, 606-07 (1978) (Opinion by Justice Manderino, two Justices concurring and one Justice concurring in the result). See also, Cianfrani v. Commonwealth, State Employees Retirement Board, 57 Pa.Commw. 143, 426 A.2d 1260 (1981), affirmed 501 Pa. 189, 460 A.2d 753 (1983) (statutes passed for the general good of the public are constitutional even if the statute incidentally alters existing contract rights).
With the above principles in mind, we examine the factual situation here and find the action taken as directed by Ordinance 1107 enacted pursuant to Act 205 is part of an effort to effectuate a recovery program for municipal pension systems determined to be financially distressed. Such a purpose is clearly for the promotion of the common weal, the general good of the public, and is an exercise of the sovereign right of the govеrnment to protect lives, health, comfort and general welfare of the people.
The Federal government had passed the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA“) affecting private employee pension plans because, inter alia, despite enormous growth in employee benefit (including pension) plans, many employees with long years of employment were losing anticipated retirement benefits owing to the lack of vesting provisions and to the inadequacy of current minimum standards which endangered the soundness and stability of such plans with respect to adequate funds to pay
ERISA did not cover governmental employee benefit plans including such plans established and maintained by the government of any state or political subdivision thereof.
After finding “serious and growing unfunded liabilities in local government pension funds” and “[p]ublic employee retirement policy is of vital concern to both the executive and legislative branches of state government“, Pennsylvania‘s response to the issue was to pass the “Public Employee Retirement Study Commission Act“,
Clearly the Ordinance and pension Plan 87 were integral parts of a state plan enacted for the health and welfare of
The Union argues its right is clear, relying exclusively upon the second holding in City of Allentown v. Local 302, International Association of Fire Fighters, et al., 511 Pa. 275, 512 A.2d 1175 (1986). That case involved an interpretation of the language of the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement Law of 1974 (“1974 Act“),
However, the Union‘s reliance upon that case is misplaced. First, the holding in City of Allentown, that the unilateral decision by the City to initiate new pension terms for some members of the bargaining unit constituted a breach of the collective bargaining agreement, did not involve an Ordinance enacted pursuant to an act passed for the promotion of the economic well-being of the Commonwealth as was Act 205. The 1974 Act was a part of a legislative attempt to participate in and gain some control of the public employee pension plans proliferating in Penn-
Questions of the existence of irreparable harm, whether greater injury will occur by the refusing of an injunction than by granting it, and whether there will be a possible adverse effect upon the public have also been raised. In view of our decision that the Union has not shown a clear right to relief, there is no need to address the first two of these three issues. However, we emphasize the irreparable harm essential prerequisite for the granting of a preliminary injunction must be immediate and not in the future as was opined8 here and thus not established. Further, the
Accordingly, the judgment of the Commonwealth Court should be reversed and the preliminary injunction issued by the court of common pleas should be vacated.
FLAHERTY and MCDERMOTT, JJ., join this Opinion.