Sufficiency of Evidence

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Cremation Society of Illinois, Inc. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 727

Case No.: 16-2322

Officials: BAUER and WILLIAMS, Circuit Judges, and DEGUILIO, * District Judge.

Focus: Sufficiency of Evidence

Cremation Society’s argument on appeal, is whether this unit of combined employees contained more than one employee performing bargaining unit work. As noted above, the CBA provides that “bargaining unit work” explicitly includes removals, transportation of remains, embalming, funeral directing, and all other work historically done by the bargaining unit. The Klein affidavit identified three funeral directors, Mary Sullivan (who is Klein’s wife), Eric Klemundt, and Katherine Howes, who were Cremation Society employees working exclusively at OBS and regularly performing work, such as transportation of remains, embalming, preparing bodies for cremation, and conducting funeral services. As the district court found, Klein based his affidavit on personal knowledge; he was employed by Sullivan Olson for sixteen years, including a brief period of employment by Cremation Society.

We reject Cremation Society’s assertion that Klein’s statements are “bare” and “unsupported.” Cremation Society fails to present any evidence to rebut Klein’s affidavit. More‐ over, Grantham’s deposition testimony also corroborates Klein’s affidavit and supports the conclusion that Cremation Society’s funeral directors performed covered work at the time of Sullivan Olson’s repudiation. The undisputed evidence shows that, as a single employer, Cremation Society and Sullivan Olson had more than one employee engaged in bargaining unit work. Therefore, Sullivan Olson’s unilateral repudiation was not lawful under the one‐man unit rule. Accordingly, the district court properly granted summary judgment in the Union’s favor.

Affirmed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.