Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen v. Templeton

• Decision Date: 09 May 1950
• Docket Number: No. 14034.,14034.
• Citation: 181 F.2d 527
• Parties: BROTHERHOOD OF RAILROAD TRAINMEN v. TEMPLETON et al.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

181 F.2d 527 (1950)

BROTHERHOOD OF RAILROAD TRAINMEN v. TEMPLETON et al.

No. 14034.

United States Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit.

April 14, 1950.

Rehearing Denied May 9, 1950.

John Murphy, Kansas City, Mo. (J. Gordon Siddens and Tucker, Murphy, Wilson & Siddens, Kansas City, Mo., on the brief), for appellant.

Thomas P. Downs, Kansas City, Mo. (Frank W. Aylward, James P. Aylward and Terence M. O'Brien, Kansas City, Mo., on the brief), for appellee Harold H. Templeton.

E. C. Hartman, St. Louis, Mo. (John H. Lathrop, Sam D. Parker, Kansas City, Mo., and William J. Milroy, Chicago, Ill., on the brief), for appellees Atchison, T. & S. F. R. Co., and Panhandle & Santa Fe R. Co.

Before GARDNER, Chief Judge, and WOODROUGH and RIDDICK, Circuit Judges.

WOODROUGH, Circuit Judge.

This appeal is taken by the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, a labor union referred to as B. of R. T., to reverse a judgment entered against it in a civil action brought on behalf of the class of workmen on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe and the Panhandle and Santa Fe railroads called messenger-baggagemen. Workmen of that class are employed jointly by the Railway Express Agency, Incorporated, and the railroads and they do not belong to the B of R. T. The judgment determined that certain awards in favor of the B. of R. T. affecting the railroad employment of the messenger-baggagemen made by the First Division of the National Railroad Adjustment Board were void and that certain agreements thereafter made between the B. of R. T. and the railroads, referred to as "letter agreements", were merely an application and implementation of said awards wrongfully imposed upon the railroads and injunction was awarded to restore the situation as to the railroad employment of the class of messenger-baggagemen which existed prior to the awards.

The pleadings and evidence were voluminous but through extended pre-trial conferences, laborious digesting of the depositions of numerous witnesses and oral arguments and briefs of counsel during and at the conclusion of the evidence, the respective claims and contentions of the parties were clarified and the particulars impressed upon the trial court. The full consideration given by the trial court is most clearly shown by setting out its findings of fact as follows:

"Plaintiff is a citizen, resident and inhabitant of the State of Missouri. The individual members of the class that plaintiff here represents are citizens and inhabitants of various other states. The class which plaintiff here represents consists of approximately Two Hundred and Seventy-five (275) members, employees of the defendants Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company, and Panhandle and Santa Fe Railway Company, having a common interest in the relief here sought and whose several rights and property will be directly affected hereby. Defendant Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company is a corporation, incorporated under the laws of the State of Kansas. Defendant Panhandle and Santa Fe Railway Company is a corporation, incorporated under the laws of the State of Texas. Defendant Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen is a voluntary, unincorporated association and labor union, having its residence and principal place of business at Cleveland, Ohio. The matter here in controversy between the parties exceeds, exclusive of interest and costs, the sum of Three Thousand Dollars ($3,000.00).

"For many years, beginning sometime prior to 1892 and to September 15, 1945, the defendant Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company, and Panhandle and Sante Fe Railway Company (both said defendants will hereafter be referred to as `Santa Fe' regardless of their corporate entity and the particular portion of the Santa Fe system they serve), have uniformly by custom and practice, employed in `joint service' on the Eastern and Western Lines of the Santa Fe, express messengers also in the employ of the Railway Express Agency, Incorporated, or one of its predecessors (hereafter termed `Express Company'), for the handling of United States mail, baggage, Santa Fe mail, company material, and other items transported and carried by the Santa Fe in baggage cars on certain of its passenger trains. It now employs such express messengers in `joint service' on that portion of its railroad known as the Coast Lines. (The Eastern and Western Lines of the Santa Fe, informally stated, extend from Chicago, Illinois, to Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Coast Lines extend from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Los Angeles, California, and along the Pacific Coast.)

"The custom and practice of employing express messengers in such `joint service' arose perforce of certain written contracts entered into between the Santa Fe and the Express Company. Under said contracts it was agreed that the Express Company could arrange with the Santa Fe for station and train employees of the Santa Fe to act as agents and express messengers of the Express Company to handle express at railroad stations, subject to rules of the Express Company; and, that the Santa Fe could arrange with the Express Company for the agents and express messengers and other employees of the Express Company to act as station or train employees of the Santa Fe, subject to the rules of the Santa Fe and upon such terms as may be agreed upon by the two companies. Said contract specifically provided that all agents and employees of the Express Company while on the premises or on lines of the Santa Fe should conform to the general rules of the Santa Fe then in force, and in case any messenger or other employee of the Express Company should from any cause be objectionable to the Santa Fe he would be removed or discharged upon the written request of the Santa Fe.

"Under such arrangement, the Express Company has during all the times here in question hired express messengers who have been so engaged in `joint service' on the Santa Fe. The term `joint service' or `joint-serviceman' as hereafter used, means a type of employment whereby one individual serves as an express messenger and handles express for the Express Company, and also serves as a `train baggageman' and handles baggage, United States mail, railroad mail, and other items of railroad property. All the work so performed by such an individual is done in a baggage car operated by the railroad as part of the consist of passenger trains.

"`Joint service' exists on practically all railroads operating west of the Mississippi River and east of the Pacific Coast.

"At the present time and in recent years, the Brotherhood of Railway & Steamship Clerks, Etc. Union is, and has been, the collective bargaining agent for express messengers. The only existing collective bargaining agreement governing rates of pay, hours and working conditions for express messengers, whether in `joint service' or otherwise, is between the Clerks' Union and the Express Company. (No such agreement exists on behalf of any such employees with the Santa Fe. The Santa Fe could, of its own volition, terminate `joint service' on its lines at will.) Under the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement which the Clerks' Union has with the Express Company, the latter is given the right to establish seniority districts for all express messengers in its employ. Express messengers employed by the Express Company work in depots, on trains as express messengers only, and some of them work in `joint service'. Separate rosters or seniority lists are maintained by the Express Company for each such job classification. When an express messenger is hired by the Express Company and awarded a regular job, his depot seniority begins; when such a messenger enters train service or `joint service' he acquires what is termed `road seniority'. Both such seniorities continue to accrue to an express messenger in the employ of the Express Company after he enters train or `joint service' and such employee can bid back and forth for positions in each such job classification on the several railroads employing `joint service'. The bargaining agreement the Clerks' Union has with the Express Company provides for the bulletining of vacancies occurring in `joint service'. When such a vacancy occurs on the Santa Fe, the Express Company bulletins such vacancy and express messengers are invited to bid therefor. Ten (10) days after the date of filing bids, the Express Company posts a notice on the bulletin board, showing who is the successful bidder. The Santa Fe is thereupon notified of the person who is the successful bidder for a given train run, on which `joint service' is employed, and the successful bidder for such job then reports to the Santa Fe Baggage Car on that particular run and thereupon enters `joint service' on the Santa Fe. The Santa Fe at all times had knowledge of the bargaining agreement between the Express Agency and the Clerks' Union, and that jobs in `joint service' on its trains were filled by right of seniority arising perforce of such bargaining agreements. Express messengers in `joint service' are known and referred to by the Express Company and the Santa Fe as `messenger-baggagemen'. `Messenger-baggagemen', when handling express while in `joint service', are subject to the direction, instruction and control of the Express Company. When they handle baggage, United States mail, etc., the Santa Fe retains the right to direct and instruct, and did direct and instruct, `messenger-baggagemen' in all phases of such baggage work. The Santa Fe issued printed instructions to `train baggagemen' governing the handling of baggage and mail carried by it. Such instructions were received and followed by `messenger-baggagemen' in `joint service'; and, various daily reports required to be made by train baggagemen were made by `messenger-baggagemen' and submitted to the Santa Fe's General Baggage Agent. All `messenger-baggagemen' employed in `joint service' were paid for all work performed by them directly by the Express...