Worthington Pump & Mach. Corp. v. Local No. 259

• Decision Date: 29 October 1945
• Docket Number: No. 3714.,3714.
• Citation: 63 F. Supp. 411
• Parties: WORTHINGTON PUMP & MACHINERY CORPORATION v. LOCAL NO. 259 OF THE UNITED ELECTRICAL RADIO AND MACHINE WORKERS OF AMERICA et al.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Massachusetts

63 F. Supp. 411

WORTHINGTON PUMP & MACHINERY CORPORATION v. LOCAL NO. 259 OF THE UNITED ELECTRICAL RADIO AND MACHINE WORKERS OF AMERICA et al.

No. 3714.

District Court, D. Massachusetts.

October 29, 1945.

James M. Healy and Avery, Healy & Button, all of Holyoke, Mass., for plaintiff.

Harold B. Roitman, of Boston, Mass., Grant & Angoff, and Sidney S. Grant, all of Boston, Mass., for defendant.

WYZANSKI, District Judge.

This case arises on a motion to dismiss a complaint for declaratory relief filed in this court on May 15, 1945. In view of the nature of the controversy it seems to me appropriate for me to state at once from the bench my conclusion.

The plaintiff is a Delaware corporation. In the complaint the defendants named are Local No. 259 of the United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers of America, which is not alleged to be a corporation and which may be assumed to be a voluntary association; the individual Massa and the individual Hogan, both of whom are alleged to be residents of Massachusetts. There is an allegation that "the members of" Local 259 "are citizens of Massachusetts."

The Bill of Complaint, in substance, asks for the construction of certain provisions of a collective bargaining agreement made on November 17, 1943, between the plaintiff and the Local. It is not asserted that there were any other parties to the contract, and the annexed Exhibit "A" would indicate that there were no other parties. It has been agreed between counsel in open court that, as of May 15, 1945, the collective bargaining contract, Exhibit "A", was in force and effect as a result of an understanding between the plaintiff and the Local that, pending negotiation and execution of the new contract, the old contract executed in 1943 should govern their relations.

According to the bill, the defendant Hogan, an hourly paid employee, was dismissed on March 24, 1945, that is to say, approximately six weeks prior to the filing of the Bill of Complaint. The bill does not state the rate of wages or the weekly or other earnings of the aforesaid Hogan. In open court, plaintiff's counsel indicated that he was prepared to show that the annual earnings were in the neighborhood of $3,000 to $4,000.

The complaint states that the union requested to have the matter of the defendant Hogan's discharge arbitrated under the provisions of the aforesaid collective bargaining agreement but the plaintiff declined, on the ground that the matter was not a dispute arising under said agreement and was therefore not appropriate for arbitration under said agreement.

Paragraph 6 of the complaint reads as follows: — "The controversy was duly certified to the National War Labor Board on April 3, 1945. On April 25, 1945 the War Labor Board voted: `That inasmuch as the contract between the parties provides for arbitration for the settlement of grievances, the case should be submitted to arbitration in accordance with the contract. Concerning the proper procedure the Board voted unanimously that the question of arbitrability should be placed in the same proceeding before the arbitrator who will, if necessary, make a determination of the case on its merits. In the light of its considerable experience with the problem of arbitration, the Board feels that a single proceeding is sufficient even when claims of nonarbitrability are involved.'"

An affidavit filed at this hearing, which by concession of the plaintiff may be considered by the Court, shows that the Regional War Labor Board for the First Region, on June 29, 1945, issued a directive order deciding the dispute between the parties in accordance with the following terms and conditions: —

"1. The parties are hereby directed to use the grievance procedure of the contract for the disposition of the grievance involving Francis W. Hogan.

"2. The arbitrator shall rule first on the arbitrability of the grievance under the contract and he shall rule on the merits of the case only in the event he finds the grievance is properly arbitrable."

The plaintiff filed a petition with the First Regional War Labor Board on July 12, 1945, requesting review of the directive order. August 20, 1945, the Regional War Labor Board refused a review but transferred the case to the National War Labor Board in Washington, D. C., where the case is now awaiting final review by the National War Labor Board.

1. This Bill of Complaint purports to invoke the socalled diversity jurisdiction of the United States District Court. In order to establish such jurisdiction the plaintiff must show that there is between the plaintiff on the one hand and the defendants on the other hand diversity of citizenship and that there is an amount of $3,000 involved in controversy. While the Court may be skeptical as to whether each and every member of Local 259 is a citizen of the United States and a citizen of a State other than Delaware (not including the District of Columbia or any other foreign country), and while the Court may be skeptical of the capacity of the plaintiff, in view of the wage scale of Mr. Hogan and in view of the short period left for the collective agreement to run, to show that...