What is the test for a plaintiff to bring an action under section 301 of the LMRA against an employer for breach of a collective bargaining agreement?

Section 301 of the LMRA governs actions by an employee against an employer for breach of a collective bargaining agreement. ³ Before bringing such an action, the employee must exhaust grievance procedures provided by the relevant collective bargaining agreement. See Hines v. Anchor Motor Freight, Inc., 424 U.S. 554, 563, 96 S.Ct. 1048, 1055, 47 L.Ed.2d 231 (1976). Plaintiffs do not claim that they fall within any exception to the rule requiring exhaustion, see Vaca v. Sipes, 386 U.S. 171, 185-86, 87 S.Ct. 903, 914-15, 17 L.Ed.2d 842 (1967), and concede that they did not exhaust the pertinent grievance procedures. Plaintiffs argue instead that they are asserting state-law tort claims independent of their rights under the collective bargaining agreements.