COURT ORDERS EQUITABLE TO HONOR UNION WORKERS

(09/30/2008)

A federal judge upheld an arbitrator's award ordering Equitable Resources to honor its contract with members of the United Steelworkers. The decision is the latest chapter in a lengthy legal battle between Equitable Resources and the union. The battle started earlier this year when Equitable Resources merged its subsidiary, Kentucky West Virginia Gas, into two other segments. The company argued that by restructuring its business and folding the subsidiary into the two larger business segments it invalidated the workers contract. Equitable further argued that its actions destroyed the workers' bargaining unit and eliminated the collective bargaining relationship between USW Local and the company. The two sides entered binding arbitration in July to determine whether or not the company was required to honor its contract with the union. The arbitrator, Jeffrey Jacobs, issued a 35-page decision rebutting the company's arguments and ordering the company to continue to honor the contract with the USW. Equitable quickly filed a motion in federal court to vacate the arbitrator's decision. Oral hearings on the issue were held on September 23, at which time Amul Thapar, a federal judge in the eastern district of Kentucky, issued a bench decision siding with the union and ordering the company to honor its contract with its workers. Earlier this year, the courts ordered Massey Coal to re-instate union workers they fired several years ago when ownership of a company changed, Massey hired all non-union labor.

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