American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO v. American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO
| Decision Date | 01 September 1981 |
| Docket Number | Nos. 79-2519,79-2520,E,HEADQUARTERS,AFL-CI,s. 79-2519 |
| Citation | 665 F.2d 1096 |
| Parties | 108 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2105, 61 A.L.R.Fed. 709, 214 U.S.App.D.C. 278, 92 Lab.Cas. P 13,026 AMERICAN POSTAL WORKERS UNION,LOCAL 6885, Earl Jones, President, Burlene Windell, Ronald Bernstein, Sidney Coplon, Lewis Gerlach, E. Victor Hobbs, and Marie Rose, Appellants, and Linneaus M. Parker, David C. Drake, Jay D. Fadley, Joseph E. Hannigan, Naguib M. Mikheal, Thomas Norman, and Eugene E. Nowak, Intervenor-Appellants, v. AMERICAN POSTAL WORKERS UNION,mmet Andrews, President, Richard Wevodau, United States Postal Service, and Edward Ward, Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — District of Columbia Circuit |
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (D.C. Civil Action No. 78-1480).
Daniel B. Edelman, Washington, D. C., with whom Charles R. Both, Washington, D. C., was on the brief, for appellants.
Daniel B. Jordan, Washington, D. C., with whom Thomas P. Powers and Patrick J. Riley, Washington, D. C., were on the brief, for appellees American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO, Emmet Andrews, and Richard Wevodau.
Sherryl A. Cagnoli, Supervisory Atty., U. S. Postal Service, Washington, D. C., with whom Charles F. C. Ruff, U. S. Atty. and Stephen E. Alpern, Associate Gen. Counsel, U. S. Postal Service, Washington, D. C., were on the brief, for appellees United States Postal Service and Edward Ward.
Robert F. Gore, Memphis, Tenn., for intervenor-appellants.
Before TAMM and MIKVA, Circuit Judges, and PHILIP NICHOLS, Jr., * Judge, United States Court of Claims.
Opinion for the Court filed by Circuit Judge MIKVA.
Appellants, a local union and its members, challenge a contract agreed to by their parent union, the American Postal Workers Union, and employer, the United States Postal Service. Seeking injunctive, declaratory, and compensatory relief, appellants argue that the bargaining process leading to the contract was defective in a number of ways and violated their rights under the federal labor laws. They appeal from orders of the district court dismissing the allegations against the Postal Service defendants and granting summary judgment with respect to the claims against the union defendants. We agree with appellants that the union's refusal to submit the collective bargaining agreement to the local for ratification, while giving other union members the right to ratify their contracts, was inconsistent with the equal rights provision of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, § 101(a)(1), 29 U.S.C. § 411(a)(1) (1976). We therefore find the district court's order of summary judgment on that claim erroneous and reverse for further consideration of the parties' contentions. On all other issues, we affirm.
The Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 (PRA), 39 U.S.C. §§ 101-5605 (1976), provided for the first time that postal labor relations were to be similar to those in the private sector and were, to the extent consistent with the PRA, to be subject to the requirements of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 151-169 (1976). See 39 U.S.C. § 1209(a) (1976). The American Postal Workers Union (APWU or union) was created in July, 1971, with the merger of four national unions, each representing one craft in the United States Postal Service (USPS or Postal Service). The union conducted collective bargaining negotiations with the Postal Service, which resulted in a "National Agreement" dated July 20, 1971. That agreement was not referred to the union's members for approval because the APWU constitution did not provide for contract ratification by the membership.
At the 1972 APWU convention, however, the constitution was amended by the addition of article XIX, which established certain procedures to be followed in negotiating future contracts. Included in article XIX was a provision requiring "(a)pproval by a majority of the union members voting who are covered by the proposed agreement." Joint Appendix (J.A.) at 128. 1 At that time, the APWU represented only employees governed by the national agreement.
Beginning in 1973, the APWU was selected as the bargaining representative for a number of small, non-mail processing units in the USPS, which are excluded from coverage under the national agreement. Bargaining for employees in those departments was conducted by a union official, with the assistance of a committee of employees from the unit. APWU presidents interpreted article XIX of the union constitution as applying only to national units, and collective bargaining agreements for non-mail processing units were not subject to ratification votes. 2
Following a representation election, the APWU was certified in November, 1977, as the exclusive bargaining representative for employees in the Postal Service's Research and Development Department in Rockville, Maryland. APWU Local 6885, which represents those employees, and its members are the appellants in this case. Negotiations between the union and the USPS aimed at an initial bargaining agreement began on February 15, 1978. Because the parties were unable to reach a consensus, bargaining was suspended on May 15, 1978. Both sides then began preparing for factfinding, a procedure available under the PRA when ninety days of negotiation have failed to produce a contract and when the parties have been unable to agree on an alternative procedure for resolution of the conflict. See 39 U.S.C. § 1207(b), (d) (1976). Under this provision, a three-member factfinding panel conducts an investigation and submits a report on its findings, which may be accompanied by recommendations. 3
Richard Wevodau, the APWU official assigned to represent Local 6885 at the bargaining table, was skeptical about the usefulness of factfinding and requested another bargaining session prior to factfinding. The USPS agreed, on the condition that only the chief negotiators meet. Those negotiations resulted in a tentative agreement on all issues one day prior to the first scheduled day of factfinding. The contract became effective on July 15, 1978.
Appellants allege that the bargaining procedure was defective in a number of respects. First, they maintain that the APWU 4 breached its promises to the local, and violated article XIX of its constitution and section 101(a)(1) of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA), 29 U.S.C. § 411(a)(1) (1976), by failing to submit the proposed contract to Local 6885 members for ratification. The local also contends that appellees breached their statutory duty of fair representation, see NLRA § 9(a), 29 U.S.C. § 159(a) (1976), and fiduciary duty, see LMRDA § 501, 29 U.S.C. § 501 (1976), in several ways: by covertly resuming negotiations without consulting the local; by making concessions on union demands; by breaching promises to suspend bargaining during factfinding; by reneging on a pledge to permit the local's committee to attend bargaining sessions; by executing the contract without complying with appellants' request for a copy; and by failing to submit the proposed agreement to the membership for ratification. Intervenors, nonunion workers in the affected unit, contend further that the union deprived them of their statutory right to factfinding. 5 The court below, by order dated November 26, 1979, dismissed each of these claims on appellees' motion for summary judgment. See J.A. at 109.
Alleging that the USPS defendants knew of, and assisted, the union's breach of its duty of fair representation, appellants' complaint also names as defendants the Postal Service and its chief negotiator, Edward Ward. The district court granted the motion to dismiss the claims against these appellees on February 14, 1979. See J.A. at 107. Appellants challenge both orders.
Appellants insist that, in failing to submit the proposed contract to Local 6885 members for approval, the union acted inconsistently with its constitution and with appellants' entitlement to "equal rights and privileges" under section 101(a)(1) of the LMRDA, 29 U.S.C. § 411(a)(1) (1976). With respect to the first argument, appellants maintain that article XIX of the union constitution, see note 1 supra, must be read to require ratification of any contract, not just of a national agreement. They draw support from a brochure distributed by the union, see J.A. at 154, 6 and from representations allegedly made during the organizational campaign. Appellants also note that the union constitution was amended in 1978 to give non-mail processing units the right of ratification. 7
Appellees have two responses. First, they argue that the federal courts have no jurisdiction to consider this contention. The relevant statutory provision is section 1208(b) of the PRA, which is similar to section 301(a) of the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947 (LMRA), 29 U.S.C. § 185(a) (1976), and gives federal courts jurisdiction over "(s)uits for violation of contracts between the Postal Service and a labor organization representing Postal Service employees, or between any such labor organizations." 39 U.S.C. § 1208(b) (1976). 8 The union maintains that its constitution is not a contract under the terms of section 1208(b). The circuits have split on this issue, and this court has once declined to resolve the controversy. See 1199 DC, National Union of Hospital & Health Care Employees v. National Union of Hospital & Health Care Employees, 533 F.2d 1205, 1207-08 (D.C.Cir.1976). 9
Second, appellees insist that refusing to allow Local 6885 members to ratify the contract was in accord with the union constitution. They dispute appellants' reading of article XIX and point to its plain language, in particular the many references...
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