Judge Richard Arcara
Defendant labor union (Local 264) represents 60 workers at Will Poultry Inc., (Will). Both are parties to a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) expiring in 2015. The Sept. 13, 2013, asset purchase agreement selling Will to a buyer intending to keep the business in Buffalo, required termination of all employees, and gave the buyer the discretion to offer employment to any or all of Will’s workers. Local 264 grieved layoff notices issued under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act as violating the CBA. It threatened strike if Will did not modify the CBA to include a “Successors and Assigns” clause. Finding the requirements of Boys Market v. Retail Clerks Union, Local 770 met, district court granted Will a preliminary injunction, under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65, barring Local 264 from striking, picketing or any work stoppage, and picketing of Will customers. The CBA contained a mandatory grievance and arbitration procedure and an implied no-strike clause, to which Local 264′s dispute with Will over the CBA’s modification was subject. The “traditional requirements” of equity were also satisfied. Will was irreparably harmed by the loss of business, its business reputation and customer goodwill due to work stoppages.
