Chicago & NW Ry. Co. v. Brotherhood of Locomotive Eng.

• Decision Date: 02 February 1962
• Docket Number: Civ. No. 4-1159.
• Citation: 202 F. Supp. 277
• Parties: CHICAGO AND NORTH WESTERN RAILWAY COMPANY, a corporation, Plaintiff, v. BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS, an unincorporated association, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Iowa

202 F. Supp. 277

CHICAGO AND NORTH WESTERN RAILWAY COMPANY, a corporation, Plaintiff, v. BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS, an unincorporated association, et al., Defendants.

Civ. No. 4-1159.

United States District Court S. D. Iowa, Central Division.

February 2, 1962.

Carl McGowan and Jordan Jay Hillman, Chicago, Ill., and Frank W. Davis, of Davis, Huebner, Johnson, Burt & Fulton, Des Moines, Iowa, for plaintiff.

V. Craven Shuttleworth, Harry E. Wilmarth, Charles A. Hastings and William R. Shuttleworth, of Elliott, Shuttleworth & Ingersoll, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for defendants.

STEPHENSON, Chief Judge.

Plaintiff, Chicago and North Western Railway Company, (North Western) brought this action against defendants, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen, Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, Switchmen's Union of North America, AFL-CIO, all unincorporated associations, and various officials of each of said associations as officials of said associations and individually. Plaintiff seeks declaratory judgment as authorized by Title 28 U.S.C. § 2201 and § 2202, declaring the rights of the parties with respect to a controversy which has arisen regarding the lawful procedures to be followed in the coordination and consolidation of plaintiff's existing and newly acquired railroad yards in Marshalltown, Iowa.

In brief, plaintiff contends that the procedures governing personnel changes contemplated in the consolidation of railroad yards at Marshalltown, Iowa, are prescribed in a stipulation executed by the North Western and the defendants and authorized by the Interstate Commerce Commission as a part of its order approving plaintiff's acquisition of the properties and franchises of the Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway Company (M. & St. L.). Defendants contend the personnel changes contemplated involve seniority rights and other changes in rules that are contractual rights which can only be changed under procedures prescribed by the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C.A. § 151 et seq.).

North Western is a common carrier by railroad engaged in interstate commerce, and as such is subject to the provisions of the Interstate Commerce Act. Defendant associations are labor organizations, national in scope, each of which serves as the collective bargaining representative for certain of North Western's employees who may be effected by the proposed unification of North Western's old and newly acquired (M. & St. L.) railroad yards in Marshalltown, Iowa. Individual defendants named in plaintiff's complaint are various officers, representatives or agents of defendant organizations, whose duties relate to the representation of North Western employees, including those of the former M. & St. L.

The Interstate Commerce Commission pursuant to its authority under Section 5 of the Interstate Commerce Act (49 U.S.C.A. § 5) approved and authorized the purchase by North Western of the properties and franchises of the M. & St. L. (hereinafter referred to as the Merger) by formal order entered on October 13, 1960.¹ Pursuant to said order North Western acquired all of the railroad properties of M. & St. L., and effective November 1, 1960, said M. & St. L. ceased to exist as a common carrier.

Section 5(2) (f) of the Interstate Commerce Act (49 U.S.C.A. § 5(2) (f)) provides that in its approval of any unification transaction under said section "the Commission shall require a fair and equitable arrangement to protect the interests of the railroad employees affected." In accordance with this obligation the Commission found as follows:

"Applicants also entered into a stipulation² with railway labor organizations represented by the Railway Labor Executives' Association for the protection of all employees of the applicants whose bargaining representatives are members of the association. The stipulation is of the character contemplated by section 5(2) (f) of the act for the protection of railway employees who may be adversely affected by the transaction authorized. As to the employees covered by the stipulation, no conditions in our order are necessary. As to employees of the applicants not covered by the aforesaid stipulation, we will prescribe for their protection conditions similar to those set forth in Oklahoma Ry. Co. Trustees Abandonment, 257 I.C.C. 177."³

The stipulation (hereinafter referred to as the "stipulation") was executed by North Western, M. & St. L. and by the Railway Labor Executives Association, acting as the duly designated representatives of the four defendant labor organizations, as well as others. The "stipulation" provides:^3a

"That in the event the Interstate Commerce Commission shall grant the authority requested in Finance Docket No. 21115, the Commission may accept this agreement as one providing a fair and equitable arrangement for the protection of the interests of such employes as provided in Section 5(2) (f) of the Interstate Commerce Act, as amended."

The "stipulation" also provided:

"It is mutually agreed as follows:

"That the Agreement of May, 1936, Washington, D. C., commonly referred to as the Washington Job Protection Agreement, is hereby adopted and shall be applied for the protection of employees of the above-named carriers who may be adversely affected by Interstate Commerce Commission approval of the applications or petitions in the proceedings designated as Finance Docket No. 21115, the primary object of which is the merger of the carriers named above, with the following modifications: * * *"

Pertinent portions of the Washington Job Protection Agreement as incorporated in the "stipulation" provide as follows:

"Section 1. That the fundamental scope and purpose of this agreement is to provide for allowances to defined employees affected by coordination as hereinafter defined, and it is the intent that the provisions of this agreement are to be restricted to those changes in employment in the Railroad Industry solely due to and resulting from such coordination. * * *"

"Section 2(a). The term `coordination' as used herein means joint action by two or more carriers whereby they unify, consolidate, merge or pool in whole or in part their separate railroad facilities or any of the operations or services previously performed by them through such separate facilities."

"Section 5. Each plan of coordination which results in the displacement of employes or rearrangement of forces shall provide for the selection of forces from the employes of all the carriers involved on bases accepted as appropriate for application in the particular case; and any assignment of employes made necessary by a coordination shall be made on the basis of an agreement between the carriers and the organizations of the employes affected, parties hereto. In the event of failure to agree, the dispute may be submitted by either party for adjustment in accordance with Section 13."

The "stipulation" further provides:

"2. Section 13 is deleted and the following inserted in lieu thereof:

"In the event any dispute or controversy arises (including disputes described in Section 5 but excepting those defined in Section 11) with respect to the protection afforded by this agreement, including an interpretation, application or enforcement of any of its provisions which cannot be settled by the carrier or carriers and the employe, or his authorized representative, within 30 days after the dispute arises, it may be referred by either party to an arbitration committee, for consideration and determination. Upon notice in writing served by one party on the other of intent by that party to refer the dispute or controversy to an arbitration committee, each party shall, within 10 days, select one member of the arbitration committee and the two members thus chosen shall select a third member who shall serve as chairman. Should the two members be unable to agree upon the appointment of the third member within 10 days, either party may request the National Mediation Board to appoint the third member. The decision of the majority of the arbitration committee shall be final and conclusive."

Prior to November 1, 1960, each company, by virtue of its separate identity, conducted its own switching operations at Marshalltown, Iowa, over and in its own separate yard tracks and facilities.

North Western handled its switching in its Marshalltown yard through a single yard engine assigned to one 8-hour shift 5 days each week. Plaintiff's employees at this yard consisted of the following classes and numbers: One engineer, represented for collective bargaining purposes by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers; one fireman, represented by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen; one yard foreman and two yard helpers, each represented by the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen. The engineer and fireman held seniority in their respective crafts over the east-subdivision of plaintiff's Iowa Division, which included its Marshalltown yards. The yard foreman and helpers held seniority in their respective crafts in all of plaintiff's yards on its Iowa Division.

M. & St. L. handled its larger Marshalltown yard switching operations through the assignment of yard engines covering two 8-hour shifts, one shift covering 6 days, and the other 7 days, each week. The following classes and number of employees were assigned to each shift: One engineer, represented for collective bargaining purposes by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers; one fireman, represented by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen; and one yard foreman and two yard helpers, represented by the Switchmen's Union of North America, AFLCIO. Each of the engineers and firemen held seniority in their respective crafts on all M. & St. L. lines of railroad south of Albert Lea, Minnesota, to Peoria, Illinois. Seniority of the yard foreman and helpers was limited to the Marshalltown yards. In addition to these employees, there was also assigned to a single 8-hour...