Garcia v. Service Employees International Union, No. 19-16863 (9th Cir. 2021)
Annotate this Case
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's order granting in part a union's motion to dismiss and holding that five claims brought by a union member were preempted by section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA) and were thus "converted" into section 301 claims. In this dispute between union members and their union, plaintiff filed suit in state court challenging the trusteeship as violating the Nevada Service Employees Union's (the Local) constitution, the Service Employees International Union's (the International), and an affiliation agreement between the two organizations. After removal to federal court, the district court granted the Local's board's (the Union) motion to dismiss in part.
The panel concluded that section 301 completely preempts claims that require interpretation of a union constitution, to the extent the constitution is a contract between unions. The panel explained that savings clauses included in the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act did not repeal section 301's preemptive force. The panel also concluded that plaintiff's five claims required analysis of at least one section 301 labor contract. Therefore, plaintiff's claims were preempted and removable.
Court Description: Labor Law The panel affirmed the district court’s order granting in part a union’s motion to dismiss and holding that five claims brought by a union member were preempted by § 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act and were therefore “converted” into § 301 claims. This dispute between union members and their union arose out of a trusteeship imposed on Nevada Service Employees Union (the “Local”) by the Service Employees International Union (the “International”). Local member Raymond Garcia filed suit in state court against the International, International officials, and the Local’s board (collectively, the “Union”), challenging the trusteeship as violating the Local’s constitution, the International’s constitution, and an affiliation agreement between the two organizations. The Union removed the case to federal court. * The Honorable Eric N. Vitaliano, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of New York, sitting by designation. GARCIA V. SEIU 5 The panel concluded that Garcia’s claims required analysis of at least one § 301 labor contract and were therefore preempted and removable. Agreeing with other Circuits, the panel held that § 301 completely preempts state law claims based on contracts between labor unions, which may include union constitutions. The panel held that savings clauses included in the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act did not repeal § 301’s preemptive force. The panel held that in determining whether any state law claim is preempted and removable, the court employs a two-step analysis. First, the court determines whether the cause of action involves a right conferred by state law, as opposed to by a labor contract. If the labor contract alone creates the right, the claim is preempted and the analysis ends. Second, if the right underlying the state law claim exists independently of the labor contract, the court determines whether the right is nevertheless substantially dependent on analysis of a labor contract. Where there is substantial dependence, the state law claim is preempted by § 301. The panel addressed the parties’ remaining issues on appeal in a concurrently issued memorandum disposition.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.