Alvarez v. Administrator, Unemployment Compensation Act

• Decision Date: 09 December 1952
• Citation: 93 A.2d 298,139 Conn. 327
• Court: Connecticut Supreme Court
• Parties: ALVAREZ et al. v. ADMINISTRATOR, UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION ACT, et al. Supreme Court of Errors of Connecticut

Page 298

93 A.2d 298

139 Conn. 327

ALVAREZ et al. v. ADMINISTRATOR, UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION ACT, et al.

Supreme Court of Errors of Connecticut.

Dec. 9, 1952.

John A. Arcudi, Bridgeport, for the appellants (plaintiffs).

Harry Silverstone, Asst. Atty. Gen., with whom, on the brief, was George C. Conway, Atty. Gen., for the appellee (defendant administrator).

Before BROWN, C. J., and JENNINGS, BALDWIN, INGLIS and O'SULLIVAN, JJ.

INGLIS, Justice.

The question in this case is whether the unemployment of the plaintiffs was due to a labor dispute so that pursuant to § 7508(3) of the General Statutes they are ineligible for benefits on account of that unemployment.

The facts found by the unemployment commissioner may be stated as follows The seventy-eight union plaintiffs, who are appealing, were, on April 20, 1951, and prior thereto, production employees of the United Cloak Manufacturing Company, Inc., hereinafter referred to as United, of Stamford, Connecticut. They were members of Local 147 of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. The local organization will hereinafter be called the Local and the parent organization the International. The Local was a branch of the Joint Board of Cloak, Suit, Skirt and Reefer Makers' Union, hereinafter denominated the Union, which in turn was an affiliate of the International. United was a sub-manufacturer for Jaunty Juniors, Inc., hereinafter called Jaunty, of New York City. That is to say, United manufactured garments exclusively for Jaunty from cloth furnished by the latter and United's operations, from the bolt of cloth through to the completed garments, were entirely performed in its factory at Stamford independently of any auxiliary processes at Jaunty's plant or any other factory. Supervision of production and maintenance of the plant were in the exclusive control of United. It was United to which the state looked for payment of contributions to be unemployment compensation fund on account of United's employees. Most of those employees were paid on a piece rate basis and, for the merchandise produced, United was paid the cost of the labor which went into the manufacture of the garments plus an agreed allowance for overhead and profit. Jaunty was a manufacturer. It manufactured clothing in its own shop in New York and also farmed out the production of clothing to a number of outside firms, as it did to United. It was also a jobber.

United was a member of the American Cloak and Suit Manufacturers' Association, Inc., and Jaunty was a member of the Merchants' Ladies' Garment Association, Inc. Each of these associations was the representative of all of its members in their collective bargaining with their respective employees, and they had entered into essentially identical contracts with the Union, as bargaining agent for those employees, and the International. The term of the contracts ran from July 28, 1948, to May 31, 1951. They stated that the parties agreed that 'the unit appropriate for collective bargaining and for all other purposes under existing law, is and shall continue to be: all production workers engaged in the crafts * * * employed by all of the members of the aforementioned associations and by all other employers in the Metropolitan District in contractual relations with the Union.' The effect of this was that the production employees of United and the production employees of Jaunty were to be considered as members of the one bargaining unit.

The contracts recognized that piece rates to be paid to employees of sub-manufacturers would have to be agreed upon for each style of garment at the time the style was designed and ordered. They contemplated that if the same style was manufactured by the manufacturer in his own plant the piece rates therefor should be the same there as they were in the sub-manufacturer's plant. Accordingly, the contracts provided that in the adjustment of piece rates the jobber or manufacturer, the representatives of the workers of his inside and contractor's shops and a representative of the Union should participate and that the member of the employers' association, i. e. the sub-manufacturer, might also be present for the purpose of settling his overhead. It was further provided that piece rates on identical garments manufactured by a manufacturer in his inside shop and in the shops of his sub-manufacturers should be settled at the same time. The contracts contained the further provision that a manufacturer should pay to his sub-manufacturer at least an amount sufficient to enable the sub-manufacturer to pay to his workers the wages agreed upon and in addition a reasonable amount to cover his overhead. It was customary in practice for the jobber or manufacturer to agree upon piece rates with the Local, but such an agreement was not binding and work under it was not supposed to be started until it was approved by the Union.

Early in April, 1951, during a seasonal shutdown, negotiations were started to determine the piece rates to be paid in United's plant in manufacturing for Jaunty two new styles of garment, to be known as Nos. 927 and 930. Pursuant to the contracts and in accordance with custom, these negotiations were had on United's premises between a representative of Jaunty and representatives of the Local. The negotiations failed and Jaunty discontinued efforts to come to an agreement. Thereafter, United, acting as the agent of Jaunty, renewed the discussion and it and the Local reached a mutually satisfactory settlement of piecework rates on the two styles of garments. These piece rates did not reduce any employee's pay below the minimum earnings computed on an hourly basis as provided in the contract. On April 16, the shop chairman of the Local notified the business representative of the Union in New York that the rates had been agreed upon. The business representative did not advise the Local that these rates were unsatisfactory, and work on the production of the styles in question, which had been begun, was continued.

On Friday, April 20, the business representative of the Union, acting upon instructions from his superiors in the Union, advised the shop chairman of the Local that the piece rates were not satisfactory and ordered the members of the Local to stop work immediately and not to return to work until new piecework rates on styles Nos. 927 and 930 had been agreed upon between Jaunty and the Union. Pursuant to this order, the plaintiffs stayed away from work from April 23 until May 29. By the latter date piece rates on styles Nos. 927 and 930 had been agreed upon between Jaunty and the Union and the plaintiffs returned to work. The rates finally determined were somewhat higher than those agreed upon between United and the Local. At the time the plaintiffs quit work, there was sufficient work on styles Nos. 927 and 930 at United to keep them employed at full time for an indefinite period, and, except for the stoppage of work by the plaintiffs, United would have continued their employment at the piece rates theretofore agreed upon.

The plaintiffs made claim for unemployment benefits for the period from April 23 to May 29. The unemployment commissioner concluded that the unemployment of the plaintiffs during that period was caused by the dispute over piece rates between Jaunty and the Union, in which the Union had authority to represent the Local, that this dispute was a labor dispute, and therefore that the plaintiffs, being members of the Local, were ineligible for compensation. He accordingly upheld the administrator's denial of benefits to the plaintiffs. Upon appeal, the Superior Court rendered judgment affirming the commissioner's decision. From that judgment this appeal has been taken.

The correctness of the commissioner's decision depends upon whether the provisions of § 7508(3) ¹ of the General Statutes are applicable to the facts of...