Huge v. Long's Hauling Co., Inc.

Citation442 F. Supp. 1041
Decision Date08 November 1977
Docket NumberCiv. A. No. 77-269.
PartiesHarry HUGE, C. W. Davis and Paul R. Dean, as Trustees of the United Mine Workers of America Health and Retirement Funds, Plaintiffs, v. LONG'S HAULING COMPANY, INC., a corporation, Defendant.
CourtUnited States District Courts. 3th Circuit. United States District Court (Eastern District of Pennsylvania)

Jack Plowman, Plowman & Spiegel, Pittsburgh, Pa., for plaintiffs.

John J. McLean, Jr., Robert A. King, Buchanan, Ingersoll, Rodewald, Kyle & Buerger, Pittsburgh, Pa., for defendant.

MEMORANDUM

McCUNE, District Judge.

Plaintiffs, Trustees of the United Mine Workers of America Health and Retirement Funds (Trustees) seek a preliminary injunction enjoining defendant, Long's Hauling Company (Long's), from violating the terms of the National Bituminous Coal Wage Agreement of 1974 (National Agreement). Under the terms of the National Agreement, which the Trustees seek to enforce, employers who have become bound by the National Agreement are required to make designated payments and reports to the Trustees. The Trustees are third party beneficiaries to the National Agreement.

Long's opposes the Trustees' motion, arguing that the National Agreement is unenforceable due to alleged violations by the United Mine Workers of America (UMW) of §§ 8(d) and 8(e) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and alleged violation of § 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act by the UMW and the Trustees. We find that even assuming the truth of the facts underlying these allegations, they are not, as a matter of law, defenses to recovery by the Trustees.

Long's is a corporation engaged in a trucking operation in and about Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, with principal offices in Duquesne, Pennsylvania. Long's employees are, and have been since 1962, represented in collective bargaining by the UMW, and United Mine Workers of America, District 5 (District 5). During the period in which Long's employees have been represented by the UMW, Long's and District 5 have negotiated several collective bargaining agreements. Consistently, these agreements have been based on the National Agreement, but have contained a clause rendering, inter alia, the "Welfare Retirement Clause" of the National Agreement inapplicable. A supplemental agreement was negotiated, and health and pension benefits were arranged through a private pension fund other than the United Mine Workers of America Health and Retirement Fund. This practice continued until 1975, when Long's signed the 1974 National Agreement without supplement. The circumstances of this signing constitute the substance of Long's defense.

In January of 1975, while hauling coal for Barnes and Tucker Coal Company, Long's employees were stopped by representatives of the UMW. The UMW representatives informed Long's employees that they could not continue hauling coal from that company until Long's signed the National Agreement.1 Upon communication by Long's of this ultimatum to District 5, Long's was again told to sign the National Agreement. At no time were the termination requirements of the current collective bargaining agreement between Long's and District 5 complied with by the UMW or District 5. Due to the intransigence of the UMW and the weight of economic pressure, Long's signed the National Agreement without supplement. No unfair labor practice charge was filed at that time or thereafter by Long's. Long's merely ignored the National Agreement, continuing to follow the provisions of the supplemented local agreement, making payments not to the Trustees, but to the pension fund established by the local agreement.

The National Agreement was signed by Long's on February 4, 1975. The National Agreement was apparently ignored by everyone until this action was filed by the Trustees on March 14, 1977, over two years later.

Long's raises three defenses to the Trustees' motion for a preliminary injunction. They assert that the methods used by the UMW constitute a violation of § 8(d) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA); that the force exerted upon them was due to a "hot cargo" clause in violation of § 8(e) of the NLRA; and that the UMW joined with the Bituminous Coal Operator's Association to force operators such as Long's into signing the National Agreement, constituting a violation of § 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act. A fourth defense, that of noncompliance by the UMW and District 5 with the termination provision of the former collective bargaining agreement, was raised in Long's response but was not briefed. This fourth argument is, however, without merit, since Long's has clearly waived these provisions by waiting over two years to assert them.

We do not reach the merits of Long's argument with respect to NLRA violations. We do not, in an action commencing in this court, have jurisdiction over unfair labor practice charges. Any conduct which is even arguably a § 8 violation must first be brought before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) before it can be asserted here. San Diego Building Trades Council, etc. v. Garmon, 359 U.S. 236, 79 S.Ct. 773, 3 L.Ed.2d 775 (1959). Furthermore, even if we had jurisdiction, we could not consider these defenses. Because they are asserted over six months after their occurrence, they are barred by § 10(b) of the NLRA. Local Lodge No. 1424 v. N.L. R.B., 362 U.S. 411, 80 S.Ct. 822, 4 L.Ed.2d 832 (1960). Long's has not cited, nor are we aware of, any cases which allow defensive use of an unfair labor practice not brought before the NLRB and not brought within six months of its occurrence.

Long's additionally contends that the collective bargaining agreement upon which ...

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    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit
    • February 28, 1995
    ...from their employer. Unfair labor practice charges must be brought before the National Labor Relations Board. Huge v. Long's Hauling Co., 442 F.Supp. 1041, 1043 (W.D.Pa.1977), aff'd, 590 F.2d 457 (3d Cir.1978), cert. denied, 442 U.S. 918, 99 S.Ct. 2840, 61 L.Ed.2d 285 The district court den......
  • Huge v. Long's Hauling Co., Inc.
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    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit
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    ...injunction granted to the trustees of the United Mine Workers of America Health and Retirement Funds. See Huge v. Long's Hauling Co., 442 F.Supp. 1041 (W.D.Pa.1977). The trustees brought this suit under section 301 of the Labor-Management Relations Act (LMRA), 29 U.S.C. § 185, to enforce an......
  • WATERFRONT COM'N v. CONST. & MARINE EQUIP.
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    ...see Rosa v. RTC, 938 F.2d 383, 400 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 981, 112 S.Ct. 582, 116 L.Ed.2d 608 (1991); Huge v. Long's Hauling Co., 442 F.Supp. 1041, 1043 (W.D.Pa.1977), aff'd, 590 F.2d 457 (3d Cir.1978), cert. denied, 442 U.S. 918, 99 S.Ct. 2840, 61 L.Ed.2d 285 (1979). In other wo......
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