Brundridge v. Fluor Federal Services, Inc.

— We are concerned today with federal preemption of a state law claim filed by workers who were parties to a collective bargaining agreement. In a recent decision, the United States Supreme Court held that the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. §§ 1-16, requires enforcement of arbitration clauses in employment contracts, subject to certain exceptions. Circuit City Stores, Inc. v. Adams, 532 U.S. 105,121 S. Ct. 1302,149 L. Ed. 2d 234 (2001). The 11 appellants here1 were union pipe fitters working at the Hanford nuclear facility as employees of Fluor Daniel Northwest, Inc. In 1999, they filed a…