Connell v. United States Steel Corporation

• Decision Date: 24 January 1974
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 72-1118.
• Citation: 371 F. Supp. 991
• Parties: Willie CONNELL, Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES STEEL CORPORATION, a corporation, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Alabama

371 F. Supp. 991

Willie CONNELL, Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES STEEL CORPORATION, a corporation, et al., Defendants.

Civ. A. No. 72-1118.

United States District Court, N. D. Alabama, S. D.

January 24, 1974.

George C. Longshore, Cooper, Mitch & Crawford, Birmingham, Ala., for plaintiff.

Robert G. Tate and William C. Knight, Jr., Thomas, Taliaferro, Forman, Burr & Murray, Birmingham, Ala., for defendants.

FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

GUIN, District Judge.

Having heard the testimony of witnesses for the plaintiff and for the defendants, and on the basis of the pleadings, the stipulations and the exhibits of the parties, the Court enters the following findings of fact and conclusions of law:

I. Findings of Fact

1. The plaintiff, Willie Connell, is a former section foreman employed at the Wylam, Alabama, mine of Tennessee Coal & Iron Company.

The plaintiff brought this action for declaratory and injunctive relief on behalf of himself and as representative of a class composed of approximately 25 Wylam foremen whose seniority was terminated on April 23, 1945, by reason of having engaged in a strike against the company.

The Court finds that the members of the class are so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable, that there are questions of law or fact common to the class, the claim of the representative of the class is typical of the claims of the class, and that the named plaintiff will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class.

The Court further finds that the defendants' action in terminating Mr. Connell's seniority has general application to the members of the class whose seniority was terminated at the same time and for the same reason.

The Court finds that pursuant to Rule 23(c)(2) individual notice was given or attempted to be given to all class members. The notice, among other things, directed that the class member should return a postcard in the event that member desired to be excluded from the class. The Court finds that the following individuals exercised their option to exclude themselves from this action: A. E. Bridges, J. H. Hilton, and A. D. Hooper. Also, Mrs. Rufus Jones attempts to exclude Rufus Jones, who died on September 24, 1969, from this action.

2. The Court has diversity jurisdiction, 28 U.S.C.A. § 1332. The plaintiff is a citizen of the state of Alabama. The defendants are corporations having their principal place of business in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

3. The defendant, United States Steel Corporation (U.S. Steel), is the successor to the Tennessee Coal and Iron Company (T.C.I.). The defendant, Carnegie Pension Fund (the "Trustee"), is a nonprofit Pennsylvania corporation which acts as the trustee of funds used for the payment of disability and retirement pensions to eligible employees of U.S. Steel. U.S. Steel and the Trustee have contracted under seal to provide for the accumulation and administration of these funds.

4. The Court finds that while there may be issues with respect to the eligibility or entitlement of individual members of the class, there are certain other issues of general application. Issues common to the class are: (1) Can the Trustee legally give effect to the severance of seniority which T.C.I. imposed when the Wylam foremen struck; (2) Is the Alabama Statute of Limitations a defense to the action itself; (3) Is the Statute of Limitations a defense as to past accrued installments of disability or retirement pensions?

The Court has bifurcated the trial to the extent that all issues with respect to the eligibility or entitlement of individual class members are to be held in abeyance pending resolution of the three aforementioned issues.

5. The Tennessee Coal & Iron Company employed the plaintiff and other class members at its Wylam mine in the capacity of foremen. Using Mr. Connell as an example, he was first employed by T.C.I. on June 1, 1928. His employment record shows that he was continuously employed in various jobs from 1928 until he was promoted to Section Foreman on July 1, 1940. His record further shows that he remained employed as a section foreman until August 16, 1954, when it was said that he was "dropped from roll — reduction in force." His record also shows that on April 13, 1945, he "quit without notice." A notation also appears dated April 23, 1945, wherein it is said that he was "re-employed as a new employee on his former rate." The Court finds that similar entries were made on the personnel records of all class members.

6. Beginning in 1943, the testimony and company files and records show that a movement arose to organize categories of T.C.I. foremen into a labor organization affiliated with the Foreman's Association of America. Demands were made on T.C.I. to deal with the F.A.A. as the bargaining representative. A petition was filed with the National Labor Relations Board, seeking the certification of the F.A.A. as the bargaining representative of certain categories of T.C.I. foremen. By April 1945 approximately 75-80 per cent of the Wylam foremen were members of the F.A.A.

7. On April 1, 1945, the United Mine Workers of America, the collective bargaining representative of the hourly-paid mine employees, called a general strike resulting in the shutdown of coal mining production throughout the country. All of the T.C.I. mines, including Wylam, were shut down. Acting pursuant to the War Labor Disputes Act, the President of the United States seized the mines on April 12, 1945. Executive Order 9536.

8. The U.M.W. strike continued until April 23, 1945. The Wylam foremen continued to work at various tasks assigned them in the mines from the beginning of the U.M.W. strike until April 12 and 13, when many Wylam foremen, including all of the class members, went on strike to demand recognition of their union as the bargaining representative and to protest their working conditions.

9. During the period April 13 through April 23, the foremen continued to report to the mine at their regular shift starting time. For the first few days they attempted to speak to higher management in an attempt to gain recognition of their union as their bargaining representative. Thereafter no attempt was made, but testimony and contemporaneous company records show that the foremen continued to report to the mine at the start of their regular shift throughout the entire period of the strike. Management persisted in its refusal to discuss grievances with the foremen except on an individual basis.

10. On April 12, 1945, a letter was prepared by Robert Gregg, president of T.C.I., advising the Wylam foremen that "you are hereby informed that in the event you do not return to your regular assignment by Monday, April 16, 1945, you will be considered to have resigned without notice." Although the plaintiff denies he received such a letter, based upon the testimony of the witnesses it appears that all of the foremen either received the letter or were knowledgeable of its contents. Based upon existing documents, it appears that all of the members of the class had a notation placed in their personnel file to the effect that they "quit without notice." On the other hand, it is undisputed, and the Court so finds, that no hourly-paid employee at the Wylam mine lost his seniority by reason of the strike.

11. The U.M.W. strike ended April 23, 1945. The foremen's strike ended at the same time. No loss of coal production occurred as a result of the foremen's strike. The mine was ready for operation when the miners reported for work. T.C.I. hired all of the foremen on their same jobs and at the same rate of pay they held before the strike, but forfeited all their previously accumulated seniority.

12. The named plaintiff remained in the employ of T.C.I. until August 14, 1954, at which time his personnel record shows that he was laid off in a reduction of force. In accordance with company policy, his continuous service was broken two years later. Although Mr. Connell was for all practical purposes employed by T.C.I. for 26-28 years, he was ruled not eligible to receive a pension, either disability or retirement, because he did not accumulate 15 post-1945 years. Some of the other class members lost time for pension purposes and thereby received a smaller pension by reason of the severance of their seniority in 1945.

13. The Trustee's eligibility rules are as follows:

(a) Any Employe who, at the time of his retirement from employment subsequent to February 28, 1950, shall have had at least fifteen (15) years continuous service and shall have attained the age of 65 years, shall be entitled to receive a pension upon his retirement.

(b) Any Employe who shall have had at least fifteen (15) years continuous service and who shall have become through some unavoidable cause permanently incapacitated prior to age 65 (as the term "permanently incapacitated" shall be defined in the administrative regulations) shall be entitled to a pension upon his retirement after February 28, 1950. Such pension for permanent incapacity shall continue only so long as such pensioner shall be permanently incapacitated. The permanency of incapacity may be verified by medical examination prior to age 65 at any reasonable time.

14. The Court finds that T.C.I. was an employer within the meaning of the Wagner Act during the mine seizure and that T.C.I. employees, including foremen, did not lose their status and rights as employees under said act by reason of the seizure or by reason of the strike.

15. The Court finds that the Wylam foremen did not demonstrate an intention to quit their employment with T.C. I. during the period April 12-23, 1945.

16. In severing the seniority of the striking foremen, T.C.I. discriminated against the men and violated their rights under the Wagner Act. In refusing to acknowledge pre-1945 service, the Trustee is relying on an illegal act.

17. The Court finds that the plaintiff has equitable rights in said trust fund based on his years...