Midwest Operating Engineers Welfare Fund .v Quarry

Dist. Ct. did not err in granting plaintiffs-pension funds’ motions for summary judgment in ERISA actions against defendants-employers in ERISA action seeking to have defendants pay for delinquent contributions to said plans under circumstances where: (1) relevant language in plans called for defendants to contribute specified dollar amount “for each hour for which an employee receives wages” under the collective bargaining agreement; (2) union that had negotiated said collective bargaining agreements had been subsequently decertified; and (3) defendants ceased making contributions as of date of decertification. Defendants’ obligation to pension funds survived decertification of union, and nothing in ERISA made obligation to contribute to pension plans dependent on existence of valid collective bargaining agreement. Ct. further noted that instant pension plans were third-party beneficiaries of collective bargaining agreements and were entitled to enforce said agreements even if union could not enforce them.