594
Stevens, J., concurring in judgment
§ 302(c)(5). Id., at 533-534; see ante, at 586. We granted certiorari to review that holding. See Pet. for Cert. i.
I would decide this case on the narrow ground presented: that the refusal to make the transfer at issue did not violate § 302(c)(5), 29 U. S. C. § 186(c)(5) (1988 ed., Supp. III). That provision allows payments into trusts not only "for the sole and exclusive benefit of the employees of [the contributing] employer," but also for the benefit of "such employees, families, and dependents jointly with the employees of other employers making similar payments, and their families and dependents." To the extent respondents' previous contributions to the Greater Funds have not been used already to benefit respondents' own employees, they now will be used for the benefit of "employees of other employers making similar payments, and their families and dependents." Ibid. Hence, the Greater Funds continue to operate within the constraints of § 302(c)(5), and no transfer is required.
That some portion of respondents' contributions will go to benefit the employees of other contributors is, of course, in the nature of a multiemployer plan. Such plans operate precisely as suggested by the language of § 302(c)(5), by pooling employer contributions for the joint benefit of all participating employees. Segregation of funds by an employer is neither feasible nor contemplated. "An employer's contributions are not solely for the benefit of its employees or employees who have worked for it alone." Concrete Pipe & Products of Cal., Inc. v. Construction Laborers Pension Trust for Southern Cal., post, at 638. See also Stinson v. Ironworkers Dist. Council of Southern Ohio and Vicinity Benefit Trust, 869 F. 2d 1014, 1021-1022 (CA7 1989) (use of employer's contributions for benefit of other than own employees does not violate "sole and exclusive benefit" requirement); British Motor Car Distributors, Ltd. v. San Francisco Automotive Industries Welfare Fund, 882 F. 2d 371, 377-378 (CA9 1989) (same).
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