McCraw v. UNITED ASS'N OF JOURNEY. & APP. OF PLUMBING, ETC.

Decision Date11 February 1963
Docket NumberCiv. A. No. 3830.
Citation216 F. Supp. 655
PartiesJames R. McCRAW v. UNITED ASSOCIATION OF JOURNEYMEN AND APPRENTICES OF the PLUMBING AND PIPE FITTING INDUSTRY OF the UNITED STATES AND CANADA and Local Union No. 43 of the United Association.
CourtU.S. District Court — Eastern District of Tennessee

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Chambliss, Chambliss & Hodge, Chattanooga, Tenn., for plaintiff.

Martin F. O'Donoghue, Washington, D. C., for International.

S. Del Fuston, Chattanooga, Tenn., for Local No. 43.

FRANK W. WILSON, District Judge.

This is a suit for injunctive and other relief under Section 102 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 U.S.C.A. § 412) sometimes referred to as the Landrum-Griffin Act. The plaintiff charges the defendants, the United Association (hereinafter referred to as the "International Union") and its Local Union No. 43 (hereinafter referred to as the "Local Union"), with having wrongfully fined and suspended him in violation of Section 101 of the Act (29 U.S.C.A. § 411). The plaintiff also charges the defendants with having refused to let him see the books, records and accounts of the Local Union in violation of 29 U.S.C.A., § 431(c). By stipulation made at the time of the trial, this latter charge was limited to the Local Union, with no claim in this regard being made against the International Union.

The plaintiff, James R. McCraw, is a pipefitter by trade, and a resident of Chattanooga, Tennessee. The defendant, the International Union, with principal offices in Washington, D. C., is an international labor union for the plumbing and pipefitting trade. Local Union No. 43 is a local labor union chartered by the International Union, the said local having its principal offices in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The plaintiff first became a member of the International Union in 1943 and joined Local Union No. 43 in 1954. The plaintiff has remained a member of the International Union and of the Local Union at all times since becoming a member of the said respective organizations until he was suspended in 1961, which suspension is the subject matter of this lawsuit.

Upon January 26, 1961 the plaintiff filed charges with the Local Union against one C. Earle Williams, who was then the business agent for the Local Union, having served as business agent of the said local from 1949 through 1953 and again from 1956 through 1961. The plaintiff charged said C. Earle Williams with having discriminated against him while business agent of the local in the matter of referrals for employment in the trade. As a background to the filing of this charge, the plaintiff testified to a long history of his efforts to obtain employment in his trade in the Chattanooga area through the Local Union, and contended that Williams, as business agent, had discriminated against him both with respect to joining the local and with respect to referrals for employment. In accordance with the procedures and rules of the Local Union, the charges against Williams were referred by the membership to the Executive Board of the Local Union, which Board dismissed the charges, allegedly upon the ground that they were not properly drawn.

Shortly thereafter the plaintiff again attempted to file charges against Williams for discrimination, but on this occasion the membership voted not to accept the charges.1

Thereafter upon February 16, 1961 the plaintiff filed a charge against the Local Union with the National Labor Relations Board wherein he charged the Local Union with an unfair labor practice by reason of discrimination against the plaintiff in regard to securing employment, it being alleged that the said discrimination constituted a violation of Section 8(b) of the National Labor Relations Act. The National Labor Relations Board, after investigation, declined to issue a complaint upon the plaintiff's charges upon the ground of "insufficient evidence" and upon the ground that "it would not effectuate the purposes of the National Labor Relations Act to institute further proceedings at this time."

Upon May 9, 1961, C. Earle Williams filed charges with the Local Union against the plaintiff, charging the plaintiff with having filed the charge against the Local Union with the National Labor Relations Board without having first exhausted all remedies within the Local Union and the International Union. It was stated that the plaintiff, in so filing the charge with the National Labor Relations Board, acted without having first exhausted his remedies within the Local Union and the International Union and had thereby violated Section 222 of the International Union's constitution.2 A hearing was held by the Executive Board of the Local Union upon these charges upon June 15, 1961. The plaintiff was notified of the hearing and was present. Also present were those whom he had asked to be present as witnesses. At this hearing the plaintiff acted quite emotionally, if not angrily, when the Executive Board asked that the door to the hearing room be closed at the beginning of the hearing. Thereafter the plaintiff presented no witnesses and declined himself to make any statement other than to state his name and to affirm that he had filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board. Following the hearing the Executive Board voted to sustain the charges and imposed a fine of $100 upon the plaintiff.

In accordance with the constitution and rules of the Local Union and of the International Union, the plaintiff, by letter dated June 29, 1961, appealed the $100 fine to the General Executive Board of the International Union. Payment of the fine was suspended by the International Union pending decision by its General Executive Board. Upon appeal to the International, the plaintiff was accorded the right to submit any additional statement, but failed to do so. Pending the appeal, the International Field Representative, Lev G. Loring, came to Chattanooga to investigate the appeal. Notice was sent to the plaintiff to meet with Mr. Loring at a specified date and place. The plaintiff denies receiving this notice, however, and he did not appear for the said meeting. Thereafter Mr. Loring recommended that the International Union affirm the action of the local Executive Board in imposing the fine. Upon September 6, 1961 the International Union advised the plaintiff that its General Executive Board had denied the appeal and affirmed the action of the Local in placing a $100 assessment against him. The plaintiff appealed this action to the General Convention of the International Union. This appeal is pending, as the next General Convention will not be held until 1966. In the meantime, the $100 assessment remains in effect.

The plaintiff has at all times declined and refused to pay the $100 fine, contending that it was illegally and improperly imposed. Following the imposition of the fine by the Local Union upon June 15, 1961, the plaintiff continued to tender his dues and otherwise seek to maintain his membership and standing in the Union. The Local Union, however, from and after July 1, 1961, declined to accept the plaintiff's dues without payment of the fine first being made. About this same date the plaintiff was suspended from membership for non-payment of dues. Following the plaintiff's appeal to the International, and notification by the International that payment of the fine was suspended pending action by the General Executive Board on the appeal, the plaintiff continued to tender his dues, and otherwise seek to maintain his membership and standing in the Union, but by this time the Local Union declined to accept the dues without prior payment by the plaintiff of a $1.00 reinstatement fee. This $1.00 reinstatement fee the plaintiff likewise has at all times declined and refused to pay, contending that his suspension for non-payment of dues was at all times illegal and improper. The action of the Local Union in declining to accept payment of dues from the plaintiff without the plaintiff's first paying the fine is based upon a provision in the International constitution to this effect. Likewise, the suspension of the plaintiff from membership for non-payment of dues and requirement of the payment of a $1.00 reinstatement fee prior to acceptance of the dues by the Local Union purport to be based upon rules of the Union. The result has been that the plaintiff has been suspended from membership in the Local Union at all times from and after July 1, 1961.

Following the imposition of the fine and following the refusal of the Local Union to accept the plaintiff's dues from and after July 1, 1961 without prior payment by the plaintiff of the $100 fine and/or the $1.00 reinstatement fee, the plaintiff sought to attend union meetings and participate as a member in union activities. However, upon September 28, 1961, the plaintiff was requested to leave a meeting of the Local Union upon the ground that he was suspended for non-payment of dues. The plaintiff refused to leave the meeting. Thereupon he was physically removed from the meeting room by the president of the Local with the assistance of one or two members. The plaintiff was placed outside of the door to the meeting room and the door closed. The force and means used for his removal do not appear to have exceeded what was reasonable and necessary to accomplish this purpose considering his refusal to voluntarily leave and his resistance to being removed. In the course of the removal, or as a result of the plaintiff's efforts to regain admission after the door had been closed, he suffered a sprained or dislocated right thumb. For this injury he received conservative medical treatment over a period of six weeks and the injury has resulted in a ten per cent permanent disability to the plaintiff's right thumb by reason of pain and limited flexion. He incurred medical expense in the sum of $47.00.

The plaintiff introduced extension evidence of alleged discrimination on the part of the...

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