Beltran v. State of Cal.

• Decision Date: 19 September 1985
• Docket Number: Civ. No. 83-722-JLI(I).
• Parties: Guadalupe BELTRAN, et al., Plaintiffs, v. STATE OF CALIFORNIA; United Farm Workers of America, AFL-CIO, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of California

617 F. Supp. 948

Guadalupe BELTRAN, et al., Plaintiffs, v. STATE OF CALIFORNIA; United Farm Workers of America, AFL-CIO, et al., Defendants.

Civ. No. 83-722-JLI(I).

United States District Court, S.D. California.

September 19, 1985.

Scott A. Wilson, Littler, Mendelson, Fastiff & Tichy, San Diego, Cal., Robert F. Gore, Nat. Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, Springfield, Va., for plaintiffs.

Kathy Christian, Agr. Labor Relations Bd., John Van de Kamp, Atty. Gen., State of Cal., and Carlos Alcala, Sacramento, Cal., for defendants.

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER

IRVING, District Judge.

Presently before the court are cross-motions for summary judgment on the issue of the constitutionality of § 1153(c) of the California Labor Code. Plaintiffs, agricultural workers for Sun Harvest, Inc., contend that this section violates their first amendment free speech and associational rights, and has a disparate impact upon them, as persons of Mexican-American or hispanic origin. Defendants and the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB) as amicus curiae, contend there is no constitutional violation and request judgment on this issue in favor of defendants. Having considered the pleadings and exhibits on file, the arguments of counsel, and for the reasons stated below, the court finds § 1153(c) of the California Labor Code unconstitutional as an abridgment of the first amendment to the United States Constitution.

I.

The statutory background and facts as stipulated to by counsel are summarized below.

A.

In amending the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) in 1947, Congress specifically excluded "agricultural laborers" from the provisions of the Act, and left this area of labor relations to the states. See 29 U.S.C. § 152(3). Until 1975, the California State Legislature allowed labor relations with respect to this exempted area to develop under the common law of the state. In order to clarify and codify the common law as it developed, the Agricultural Labor Relations Act (ALRA) was enacted, and was in many respects parallel to the NLRA. It is a variance from the NLRA added to the ALRA which is at issue here.

Through its amendments to the NLRA, Congress essentially provided a scheme whereby employers and their employees, through a collective bargaining representative, could enter into Union Shop arrangements. That is, employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement containing a Union Shop clause must join the union, but may be terminated by the employer at the request of the union only if the employee has failed to pay dues or equivalent fees. In this regard, 29 U.S.C. § 157 provides:

Employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection, and shall also have the right to refrain from any or all of such activities except to the extent that such right may be affected by an agreement requiring membership in a labor organization as a condition of employment as authorized in section 158(a)(3) of this title.

29 U.S.C. § 158(a)(3) allows discrimination in employment by an employer with regard to union membership only if a union shop clause has been agreed upon:

Nothing in this Act shall preclude an employer from making an agreement with a labor organization ... to require as a condition of employment membership therein ... Provided further, that no employer shall justify any discrimination against an employee for nonmembership in a labor organization ... if he has reasonable grounds for believing that membership was denied or terminated for reasons other than the failure of the employee to tender the periodic dues and the initiation fees uniformly required as a condition of acquiring or retaining membership. ...

Thus, the federal scheme restricts employer discrimination against an employee solely to nonpayment by the employee of union dues and initiation fees. With the enactment of § 1153(c), the California legislature, as noted above, followed the NLRA model quite closely. However, in one major respect, the legislature apparently felt it necessary to give expanded control to the union, were there to be a union shop clause in a collective bargaining agreement. To this end, § 1152 provides:

Employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection, and shall also have the right to refrain from any or all such activities except to the extent that such right may be affected by an agreement requiring membership in a labor organization as a condition of continued employment as authorized in subdivision (c) of section 1153.

Section 1153(c) in part provides:

Nothing in this part ... shall preclude an agricultural employer from making an agreement with a labor organization ... to require as a condition of employment, membership therein ... For purposes of this chapter, membership shall mean the satisfaction of all reasonable terms and conditions uniformly applicable to other members in good standing; provided, that such membership shall not be denied or terminated except in compliance with a constitution or bylaws which afford full and fair rights to speech, assembly, and equal voting and membership privileges for all members, and which contain adequate procedures to assure due process to members and applicants for membership.

As is apparent from the wording of the California statute, more than mere payment of dues is required: good standing by the employee, as determined by the union, is necessary in order to retain employment.

B.

In this case, plaintiffs were covered by a collective bargaining agreement entered into between the United Farm Workers and Sun Harvest, Inc., a California corporation, which contained a union shop clause as permitted by § 1153(c):

Union membership shall be a condition of employment. Each worker shall be required to become a member of Union immediately following five (5) continual days after the beginning of employment, or five (5) days from the date of signing of this agreement, whichever is later; and to remain a member of Union in good standing. Union shall be the sole judge of the good standing of its members. Any worker who ... has been determined to be in bad standing by Union pursuant to the provisions of the Union's constitution, shall be immediately discharged....

Stipulation of Facts for purposes of summary judgment (quoting Sun Harvest— UFW Collective Bargaining Agreement, Article 2, ¶ A, February, 1976) (emphasis added).

In January 1979, this collective bargaining agreement expired, and upon failure to reach a new agreement, the UFW commenced concerted action against the employer, Sun Harvest. At the onset of the strike, the union apparently enjoyed 100% participation of Sun Harvest workers covered by the expired agreement. Each of the six plaintiffs as well supported the strike. However, each of the six plaintiffs crossed picket lines within three to six months after the strike began.

The UFW believes these actions violated its constitution which prohibits crossing picket lines, and working without authorization during a strike, and the plaintiffs were tried by UFW Ranch Committees. Each was found guilty, and subsequently expelled from the union. The UFW then requested Sun Harvest terminate plaintiffs, and Sun Harvest complied. From this point on, plaintiffs have attempted to have their constitutional claims resolved, but have been faced with a procedural nightmare.

In February 1980, the plaintiffs pursued relief both in the Superior Court for the Imperial County, and in administrative proceedings before the ALRB. In the state court action, plaintiffs sought declaratory and injunctive relief as to the constitutionality of § 1153(c); the Superior Court declined relief on the ground that exclusive jurisdiction was vested with the ALRB. Accordingly, that court did not dismiss the action, but waited for a narrowing construction of § 1153(c).

Concurrently, plaintiffs proceeded with unfair labor practice actions before the ALRB. Plaintiffs George, Michael and Donald Moses, together with Beltran and Salinas, alleged the ALRA was violated by discharging plaintiffs on a discriminatory and selective basis, without due process of law, and for conduct which occurred when there was no collective bargaining agreement. Hearings were held in October 1980, and in September 1981, a decision was rendered finding the Ranch Committee trials violated due process and were thus in violation of the ALRA.

These plaintiffs also filed unfair labor practice charges contending that § 1153(c) was overbroad in its membership requirements; the General Counsel for the ALRB denied the charges on the grounds that the state legislature did not intend to make such a discharge an unfair labor practice for reasons other than failure to pay dues and fees. In its consideration of the issue, however, the Board upheld the validity of § 1153(c) on the ground that the union rule requiring members to respect picket lines was reasonable within the meaning of § 1153(c). While rejecting plaintiffs' contentions, the Board did find the Ranch Committee trials violated due process, and ordered reinstatement and back pay.

Plaintiff Pasillas proceeded in like fashion, and met with like results as to the formal membership requirements of the collective bargaining agreement. However, Pasillas was not afforded the same relief because it was found he had failed to exhaust internal union remedies provided in the UFW constitution. The ALRB decision is reported at 8 ALRB No. 103 (1982). All plaintiffs sought review of the ALRB's decision by the California...