09-2964 Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Fund v. Auffenberg Ford, Inc.

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Labor
ERISA; modification

An oral agreement cannot modify a written agreement, even if written notice is provided.

“Auffenberg cites Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Fund v. Behnke, Inc., 883 F.2d 454 (6th Cir. 1989), in support of the proposition that CBAs can be orally modified as long as written notice is given. But the Behnke case stands for the opposite proposition: in Behnke, the court found that an oral CBA was unenforceable because ‘the LMRA and ERISA require employer contributions to trust funds on behalf of employees to be pursuant to detailed written agreements specifying the employer’s duty to contribute.’ Id. at 459 (emphasis in original). Auffenberg focuses on the binding ‘interim’ CBA in Behnke, claiming that it was binding because it was communicated in writing to the pension fund, but this overlooks the fact that the interim CBA was a written, and not oral, agreement. See id. at 456-57.”

Affirmed.

09-2964 Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Fund v. Auffenberg Ford, Inc.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Gettleman, J., Manion, J.

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