ASS'N OF CONTRACTING PLUMBERS OF NYC v. Local no. 2, 86 Civ. 9005(MEL)

• Citation: 676 F. Supp. 523
• Decision Date: 06 January 1988
• Docket Number: 86 Civ. 4048(MEL) and 87 Civ. 0255(MEL).,No. 86 Civ. 9005(MEL),86 Civ. 9005(MEL)
• Parties: The ASSOCIATION OF CONTRACTING PLUMBERS OF the CITY OF NEW YORK, INC., Plaintiff, v. LOCAL UNION NO. 2 UNITED ASSOCIATION OF JOURNEYMEN and APPRENTICES OF the PLUMBING AND PIPEFITTING INDUSTRY OF the UNITED STATES AND CANADA, AFL-CIO, Peter Salzarulo, as President, and Michael Celletti, as Secretary-Treasurer and John and Jane Doe, as members of the Union, Defendants, Local 638 United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada, AFL-CIO, and United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada, AFL-CIO, and the Mechanical Contractors Association of New York, Inc., Intervenors-Defendants. CONTRACTING PLUMBERS ASSOCIATION OF GREATER NEW YORK, INC., Plaintiff, v. LOCAL UNION NO. 1 UNITED ASSOCIATION OF JOURNEYMEN AND APPRENTICES OF the PLUMBING AND PIPEFITTING INDUSTRY OF the UNITED STATES AND CANADA, AFL-CIO, Joseph Santoro, as President, and Frank Rutter as Secretary-Treasurer and John and Jane Doe, as members of the Union, Defendants, United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada, AFL-CIO, and Local 638 United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada, AFL-CIO, and the Mechanical Contractors Association of New York, Inc., Intervenors-Defendants. LOCAL UNION NO. 2 UNITED ASSOCIATION OF JOURNEYMEN AND APPRENTICES OF the PLUMBING AND PIPEFITTING INDUSTRY OF the UNITED STATES AND CANADA, AFL-CIO, Peter Salzarulo, Michael Celletti, Denis Noonan, Ben Fishman, Michael Eustace, Alan Rothman, Strat Scarlatos, Peter J. Bishop, John Daly, Mel Goldsmith, and Kevin O'Lenahan, Individually and as Officers of Local Union No. 2, and as Trustees and Participants to the Local 2 Pension Fund, Fringe Benefit Fund, Supplemental Benefit Fund and Contribution Fund, Holiday and Benefit Fund, Security Benefit Fund, and on behalf of the individual participants thereto, and John and Jane Doe, as members of Local Union No. 2, and Plumbers and Gasfitters Local No. 1 of the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada, AFL-CIO, Edward Koziarz, Donald Sclafani, Thomas Parrella, and Frank Rutter, Individually, and as Officers of Local Union No. 1, and as Trustees and Participants to the Welfare Fund of Plumbing Industry Board Plumbers Local Union No. 1, Vacation, Expense, and Holiday Fund of Plumbing Industry Board Plumbers Local Union No. 1, Additional Security Benefits Fund of Plumbing Industry Board Plumbers Local Union No. 1, Pension Fund of Plumbing Industry Board Plumbers Local Union No. 1, Trade Education Fund of Plumbing Industry Board Plumbers Local No. 1, and on behalf of the individual participants thereto, and Plumbers Local Union No. 371 of the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada, AFL-CIO, Frank A. LaRocca, Genaro Salzano, and Frank P. Geoffredo, Individually and as Officers of Local Union No. 371, and as Trustees and Participants to the Local 371 Pension Fund, Welfare Fund, Apprenticeship Training Fund, and Additional Security Fund, and on behalf of the individual participants thereto, Plaintiffs, v. The UNITED ASSOCIATION OF JOURNEYMEN AND APPRENTICES OF the PLUMBING AND PIPEFITTING INDUSTRY OF the UNITED STATES AND CANADA, AFL-CIO, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

676 F. Supp. 523

The ASSOCIATION OF CONTRACTING PLUMBERS OF the CITY OF NEW YORK, INC., Plaintiff, v. LOCAL UNION NO. 2 UNITED ASSOCIATION OF JOURNEYMEN and APPRENTICES OF the PLUMBING AND PIPEFITTING INDUSTRY OF the UNITED STATES AND CANADA, AFL-CIO, Peter Salzarulo, as President, and Michael Celletti, as Secretary-Treasurer and John and Jane Doe, as members of the Union, Defendants, Local 638 United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada, AFL-CIO, and United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada, AFL-CIO, and the Mechanical Contractors Association of New York, Inc., Intervenors-Defendants.

CONTRACTING PLUMBERS ASSOCIATION OF GREATER NEW YORK, INC., Plaintiff, v. LOCAL UNION NO. 1 UNITED ASSOCIATION OF JOURNEYMEN AND APPRENTICES OF the PLUMBING AND PIPEFITTING INDUSTRY OF the UNITED STATES AND CANADA, AFL-CIO, Joseph Santoro, as President, and Frank Rutter as Secretary-Treasurer and John and Jane Doe, as members of the Union, Defendants, United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada, AFL-CIO, and Local 638 United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada, AFL-CIO, and the Mechanical Contractors Association of New York, Inc., Intervenors-Defendants.

LOCAL UNION NO. 2 UNITED ASSOCIATION OF JOURNEYMEN AND APPRENTICES

OF the PLUMBING AND PIPEFITTING INDUSTRY OF the UNITED STATES AND CANADA, AFL-CIO, Peter Salzarulo, Michael Celletti, Denis Noonan, Ben Fishman, Michael Eustace, Alan Rothman, Strat Scarlatos, Peter J. Bishop, John Daly, Mel Goldsmith, and Kevin O'Lenahan, Individually and as Officers of Local Union No. 2, and as Trustees and Participants to the Local 2 Pension Fund, Fringe Benefit Fund, Supplemental Benefit Fund and Contribution Fund, Holiday and Benefit Fund, Security Benefit Fund, and on behalf of the individual participants thereto, and John and Jane Doe, as members of Local Union No. 2, and Plumbers and Gasfitters Local No. 1 of the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada, AFL-CIO, Edward Koziarz, Donald Sclafani, Thomas Parrella, and Frank Rutter, Individually, and as Officers of Local Union No. 1, and as Trustees and Participants to the Welfare Fund of Plumbing Industry Board Plumbers Local Union No. 1, Vacation, Expense, and Holiday Fund of Plumbing Industry Board Plumbers Local Union No. 1, Additional Security Benefits Fund of Plumbing Industry Board Plumbers Local Union No. 1, Pension Fund of Plumbing Industry Board Plumbers Local Union No. 1, Trade Education Fund of Plumbing Industry Board Plumbers Local No. 1, and on behalf of the individual participants thereto, and Plumbers Local Union No. 371 of the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada, AFL-CIO, Frank A. LaRocca, Genaro Salzano, and Frank P. Geoffredo, Individually and as Officers of Local Union No. 371, and as Trustees and Participants to the Local 371 Pension Fund, Welfare Fund, Apprenticeship Training Fund, and Additional Security Fund, and on behalf of the individual participants thereto, Plaintiffs, v. The UNITED ASSOCIATION OF JOURNEYMEN AND APPRENTICES OF the PLUMBING AND PIPEFITTING INDUSTRY OF the UNITED STATES AND CANADA, AFL-CIO, Defendant.

Nos. 86 Civ. 9005(MEL), 86 Civ. 4048(MEL) and 87 Civ. 0255(MEL).

United States District Court, S.D. New York.

January 6, 1988.

Joseph S. Kaming, Elizabeth C. Kaming, New York City, for plaintiffs The Association of Contracting Plumbers of the City of New York and Constructing Plumbers Ass'n of Greater New York, Inc.

Kennedy & Casey, P.C., New York City, for plaintiffs Local 2, Local 1, and Local 371; Stanley Q. Casey, John F. Hamilton, of counsel.

Donald J. Capuano, James R. O'Connell, Francis J. Martorana, O'Donoghue & O'Donoghue, Washington, D.C., and Peter Herman, Cohen, Weiss & Simon, New York City, for defendant United Ass'n of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the U.S. and Canada.

Richard S. Brook, Mineola, N.Y., for defendant Local 638.

LASKER, District Judge.

These consolidated actions concern a decision by the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada, AFL-CIO ("UA") awarding to UA Local Union No. 638 ("Local 638"), whose members are pipefitters, exclusive jurisdiction over the installation of combination standpipe-sprinkler risers within Local 638's geographical territory.¹ UA Local Unions Nos. 1, 2 and 371 ("the plumbing locals"), whose members are plumbers, and their respective employer groups, The Contracting Plumbers Association of Greater New York, Inc. and The Association of Contracting Plumbers of the City of New York, Inc. ("the employer groups"), have moved for a preliminary injunction enjoining the UA from enforcing this decision, alleging that the procedures followed in reaching the decision violated the UA Constitution and various provisions of federal labor law. The UA has moved for summary judgment dismissing all the plaintiffs' claims.² The motion for a preliminary injunction is denied; the motion for summary judgment is granted.

FACTS

The following facts are not in dispute. Locals 1 and 2 are local unions chartered by the United Association to represent employees engaged in the plumbing trade in, respectively, Kings and Queens counties, and Bronx and New York counties. Local 638 is a local union chartered by the United Association to represent employees engaged in the pipefitting trade in New York City and Nassau and Suffolk counties.

Plumbers and pipefitters³ have a history of trade line jurisdictional disputes which date back to the nineteenth century. The United Association was founded in 1889 with the hope—unrealized to this day—of unifying the two trades and ending such disputes. The plumber-pipefitter dispute at issue here, concerning which local union has jurisdiction over the installation of combination standpipe-sprinklers, began in 1980. Prior to that year, standpipes, which supply water for fire hose connections, and sprinkler risers, which carry water used to feed automatic fire sprinkler systems, had been separately installed. Locals 1 and 2 and other New York City area plumbing locals had jurisdiction over the installation of standpipes and Local 638 had jurisdiction over the installation of sprinkler risers within their respective geographic jurisdictions. In 1980, however, New York City passed a law which permitted builders to combine standpipes and sprinkler risers into one pipe for installation and use in commercial buildings. After passage of this law, both the plumbers locals and Local 638 claimed trade jurisdiction over installation of the combination standpipe-sprinkler risers.

In the fall of 1980, Local 638 requested Martin Ward, who was then UA General President, to assign an International Representative as provided under § 4 of the UA Constitution to resolve its trade dispute with Local 2 over the combination standpipe-sprinkler risers.⁴ Joseph Petrucelli, who was assigned as International Representative, met with the interested parties, investigated the dispute, and on November 19, 1980, awarded the disputed work to Local 638. Locals 1 and 2 then appealed this decision to General President Ward, who affirmed International Representative Petrucelli's decision on September 17, 1981. Local 2 then appealed General President Ward's decision to the UA General Executive Board. On April 23, 1982, after a hearing, the General Executive Board held that in New York City "the work of installing a combination standpipe-sprinkler riser is the work of either Local 2 or Local 638."⁵ The effect of this decision, then, was to allow both Local 638 and Local 2, as well as the other plumbing locals, to install these combination standpipe-sprinkler risers in New York City.

Next, Local 638 appealed the General Executive Board's decision to the 33rd Convention of the United Association, pursuant to § 219 of the UA Constitution.⁶ The 33rd Convention was held in Las Vegas, Nevada from July 28, 1986 through August 1, 1986. Presiding over the convention was General President Marvin J. Boede, who was first elected in October 1982 and was re-elected to a five year term on the second day of the convention, July 29, 1986. Under UA Constitution § 26, governing the appointment of standing committees at the UA Convention, Boede appointed the members of the Committee on Appeals and Grievances ("the Appeals Committee"). On the first day of the convention, July 28, 1986, the names of the members appointed to the Appeals Committee were announced to the convention, and Local 638's appeal, the only appeal filed to the convention, was referred to the Appeals Committee for review. The following day, July 29, the record of the appeal was submitted to the Committee, and on July 30 and 31, the Committee met in formal session and received testimony and other evidence on the dispute. J. Russell St. Eloi, chair of the Appeals Committee, drafted a report to the convention delegates on Local 638's appeal which he believed would be supported by a majority of the Committee's members. He completed this draft on the evening of July 31, 1986.

On Friday morning, August 1, 1986, before the final session of the convention convened, Boede had a meeting with his staff at which they discussed the plumber-pipefitter dispute and the possibility that a special committee should be appointed to resolve the dispute.

Also on the morning of August 1st, the Appeals Committee voted eighteen to five to recommend denial of Local 638's appeal. The Committee's final report, based on St. Eloi's draft, was completed...