Sheet Metal Workers Local 57 Welfare Fund v. Tampa Sheet Metal Company, Inc.

In this appeal, we determine the effect of an interest arbitration clause in a collective bargaining agreement upon parties to the agreement after the agreement expires. We affirm the district court’s ruling that such a clause, in combination with other expansive provisions, mandates arbitration under the agreement.

Tampa Sheet Metal Company, Inc. (TSM), the appellant, is an employer governed by the provisions of the National Labor Relations Act. TSM and Sheet Metal Workers Local 57 (Local 57) were parties to a collective bargaining agreement which contained an interest arbitration clause. In…