Bloedel Donovan Lumber Mills v. International Woodworkers of America, Local No. 46

• Decision Date: 06 May 1940
• Docket Number: 27845.
• Citation: 102 P.2d 270,4 Wn.2d 62
• Parties: BLOEDEL DONOVAN LUMBER MILLS v. INTERNATIONAL WOODWORKERS OF AMERICA, LOCAL NO. 46, et al.
• Court: Washington Supreme Court

102 P.2d 270

4 Wn.2d 62

BLOEDEL DONOVAN LUMBER MILLS v. INTERNATIONAL WOODWORKERS OF AMERICA, LOCAL NO. 46, et al.

No. 27845.

Supreme Court of Washington, En Banc.

May 6, 1940

Suit to enjoin picketing by the Bloedel Donovan Lumber Mills, a corporation, against the International Woodworkers of America, Local No. 46, and others. From a judgment granting a temporary injunction, named defendant and others appeal.

Affirmed.

Appeal from Superior Court, Whatcom County; Ralph O. Olson, judge.

Stevenson & Gershon, of Seattle, for appellants.

W. H Abbott and Harold Lant, both of Bellingham, and McMicken Rupp & Schweppe, of Seattle, for respondent.

JEFFERS Justice.

This is an appeal by defendants, International Woodworkers of America, Local No. 46; William Wallace, individually and as its president; Frank Gerber, individually and as its vice-president; Matt Nelson, individually and as its financial secretary; Harry Lindsay, individually and as its recording secretary; John Doe, a member thereof; and Richard Roe, from a judgment granting a temporary injunction, whereby defendants were enjoined from picketing the plants of plaintiff, Boedel Donovan Lumber Mills.

Respondent corporation is engaged in the operation of a general lumber and sawmill business, in Whatcom county, Washington including in its operation a cargo mill, crib boom and box factory, a sash and door factory, a Larson Mill and log dump, and a logging camp. A substantial portion of respondent's products are sold in interstate commerce.

The appellant International Woodworkers of America, Local No. 46 to which we shall hereinafter refer as Local 46, is a labor organization, affiliated with the Committee of Industrial Organization, and the other appellants are officers and members thereof.

Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union, Local No. 2667, chartered by United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, and affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, is a labor organization, and will hereinafter be referred to as Local 2667.

Prior to March, 1939, respondent's mills had been shut down for about nine months, with the exception of some three or four weeks. During that time, a bitter controversy had existed between Local 46 and Local 2667, as to which union was the proper collective bargaining agency of all respondent's employees. Apparently in order to settle this controversy, the dispute was submitted to the National Labor Relations Board, and an election was held by secret ballot, under the supervision of the regional director of the board, as provided by the National Labor Relations Act, 29 U.S.C.A. §§ 151-166. The election resulted in a majority of the employees of respondent voting to be represented by Local 2667, and this result was certified by the board on April 10, 1939, in case No. R-695, entitled ' In the Matter of Bloedel Donovan Lumber Mills and Columbia Valley Lumber Co. and International Woodworkers of America, Local No. 46.'

On April 17, 1939, respondent entered into a working agreement with Local 2667, as the sole collective bargaining agency for all employees in the units covered by the certification of April 10th. The agreement provides, among other things, that respondent will employ only members of Local 2667 to the extent that they are available and competent. The agreement further outlines a method to be followed for collective bargaining, and contains provisions relative to hours, wages and working conditions--in fact, it covers generally the field of labor relations between respondent and its employees. Paragraph XVI of the agreement specifically provides that no strike or job action of any kind shall be caused or sanctioned by the union, or any of its members, until after the provisions of article V have been carried out (this being the paragraph relative to collective bargaining), and in no event shall a strike occur without approval by ballot of a majority of the union members employed by the company, and voting on a strike shall be conducted by the union members of the crew.

This agreement, at all times since its execution, has been, and is now, in full force and effect.

About October 2, 1939, respondent, desiring to expand its operations, submitted to both Local 46 and Local 2667 a proposal for such operations. It was the desire of respondent, as shown by this proposal, to not only increase the day shift at the cargo mill, but also to put on a night shift. Paragraph 2 of this proposal provides: 'All parties concerned recognize the validity of the existing contract between Local 2667 of the A. F. of L. and the company.'

Paragraph 3 provides: 'Men who are not now members of Local 2667 who are entitled to go to work under the terms of this proposal will sign membership applications with Local 2667 and take out working permit cards Before going to work, all in good faith.'

[4 Wn.2d 66] Paragraph 4 provides in part: 'Men will go to work in the various plants in accordance with their seniority rating as per the company lists at the different plants as of or immediately preceding July, 1938, with no exceptions.'

The proposal was ratified by both Local 46 and Local 2667, and pursuant to the proposal as ratified, respondent increased its operations, beginning October 9, 1939, and additional men were put to work. A number of the men who went to work after the increased operations had not theretofore been members of Local 2667, but these men, apparently recognizing the necessity of complying with the working agreement of April 17th and the proposal, applied for membership in Local 2667, on application blanks wherein the applicant recognized Local 2667 as the sole collective bargaining agent to act for applicant in all matters pertaining to rates of wages, hours and other conditions of employment, and wherein it was further provided that the applicant terminated membership in any other union, and rescinded the authority of any other union, committee, or person, to represent him.

From the testimony of J. N. Donovan, vice-president and general manager of respondent company, it appears that for the first few days after the increased operations started, there seemed to be some uncertainty relative to the provisions of the agreement of October 2nd, as to the seniority rights between night and day shift men, and some complaints were made relative to the right of certain men to day shift jobs. Mr. Wallace, president of Local 46, made complaint to Mr. Donovan about this matter. However, no complaint was ever made by or through Local 2667. The misunderstanding as to what jobs the men were entitled to, seems to have been caused by the fact that shortly prior to July, 1938, the date fixed in the agreement of October 2nd as the date for determining the seniority rating of the men, the night shift had been discontinued, and some of the men on the night shift, with seniority rights, had been transferred to day shift jobs. On October 14th, a meeting was held between the company and representatives of both Local 2667 and Local 46, at which time respondent explained that the policy would be to put back on the night shift the men who had last worked on the night shift when it was operating, and to put back on the day shift the men who had last worked on the day shift, at the time the mill was running a night and day shift. Mr. Donovan further testified that after this meeting, no further complaints were made to him, and he knew of none being made.

On October 19th and 20th, Local 2667 notified respondent, by letters, that the working permits of a number of men had been revoked, and asked respondent to lay these men off, pending further action by that union. These permits were revoked for the reason, as appears from the affidavit of R. N. Inge, president of Local 2667, that the men had failed to complete membership in Local 2667, in accordance with the terms of the agreement of April 17th and the proposal of October 2nd. Respondent, acting upon the above notice and request, laid off these men, all of whom were or had been members of Local 46.

About twelve o'clock, Sunday night, October 22nd, Mr. Wallace, president of Local 46, called Mr. Donovan on the telephone, and requested that Mr. Donovan meet with a committee of Local 46, to discuss certain grievances of the men whose working permits had been revoked, and also to discuss the claimed failure of respondent to comply with seniority requirements of the proposal of October 2nd. Mr. Donovan refused to meet with this committee of Local 46, for the reason that it was not the proper collective bargaining agency. Local 46 thereafter voted to strike, and upon the following day, October 23rd, commenced to picket respondent's plants. The men who by this record claimed to have made complaints, participated in the strike vote as members of Local 46.

This action was immediately instituted by respondent to obtain a temporary restraining order and temporary injunction. Upon the filing of the complaint, a temporary restraining order was issued, and after a hearing, in which affidavits were received and oral testimony taken, a temporary injunction was granted.

In addition to the facts already set forth, it further appears, from the affidavit of R. N. Inge, president of Local 2667, that all the employees of respondent in its operations are satisfied with the hours, rates of pay, and terms of employment, and that no labor dispute exists between respondent and Local 2667, the exclusive bargaining agency for the employees of respondent.

It does not appear that respondent has ever refused to discuss grievances with individual employees desiring to discuss such matters.

John McMahon, general mill superintendent of respondent, testified that several complaints had been made to him relative to...