July 27, 2007

The Tennessean, via the Institute for Legal Reform, reports that Caterpillar has sued the UAW for breach of contract.

In a suit filed in U.S. District Court in Nashville, Caterpillar claims that the union breached its collective bargaining agreement by backing ex-employees' litigation over health-care benefits. The same U.S. District court had granted class-action status earlier in July to retirees upset that the company no longer paid health benefits fully for life. Caterpillar's suit against the UAW has been added to that case as a so-called third-party complaint.

Unions have for some time sacrificed future employees to protect current ones. In this case, it seems they turned on past employees, then (if Caterpillar's complaint is accurate) encouraged those employees to sue. It will be most interesting to see how this suit develops.