IRON WORKERS (BSOIW)
Members Seek Contempt Ruling Against New York Local
U.S. Dist. Judge Robert L. Carter of the S. Dist. of N.Y. ruled the
individual union members may proceed in their efforts to hold Int'l Ass'n
of Bridge, Structural & Ornamental Iron Workers Local 580 in contempt
of a 1988 consent judgment that enjoined the local from engaging in discriminatory
practices in its apprenticeship programs and job referral procedures. Carter
rejected the local's contention that only the EEOC, the original plaintiff
in the case, had standing to enforce the judgment. The union members filed
timely charges with the EEOC, Carter noted, and 18 months later the EEOC
had neither filed an order to show cause, nor issued a right to sue letter.
Because of EEOC's inaction, Carter ruled the union members could proceed
without a right to sue letter.
Carter also rejected the union's contention that individual union members should bring allegations of ongoing discrimination directly to the court-appointed special master and not to the court. Language in the consent judgment empowering the special master to monitor the union's compliance does not limit the right of aggrieved third-party beneficiaries to bring claims directly to the court. [BNA 5/7/01 (citing EEOC, Bennet v. Int'l Ass'n of Iron Workers Local 580)]
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