Cormier v. PPG Industries, Inc.
| Decision Date | 18 June 1981 |
| Docket Number | Civ. A. No. 751320. |
| Citation | 519 F. Supp. 211 |
| Parties | Melvin J. CORMIER, et al. v. P. P. G. INDUSTRIES, INC. and Local 470 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Louisiana |
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Etta Kay Hearn, Baton Rouge, La., Mark T. McDonald, Houston, Tex., for plaintiffs.
Robert K. McCalla and Keith M. Pyburn, Jr., McCalla, Thompson, Pyburn & Ridley, New Orleans, La., Oliver P. Stockwell and Fred H. Sievert, Jr., Stockwell, Sievert, Viccellio, Clements & Shaddock, Lake Charles, La., for defendants P.P.G. Industries, Inc.
Robert T. Jacques, Drewett, Jacques & Thomas, Lake Charles, La., for Local 470, International Ass'n of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
This class action was brought under the provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C., Section 2000e, et seq. (Title VII) and under 42 U.S.C. Section 1981.
The court bifurcated the trial and tried the question of liability, leaving the damage question to be decided later, depending on the outcome of the question of liability.
Plaintiffs are black employees employed at the chemical plant operated by PPG Industries, Inc., in Lake Charles, Louisiana. On June 13, 1977, this Court defined the class of plaintiffs as follows:
(1) All present and former black employees employed as of or at any time after October 21, 1974, by PPG Industries, Inc., at its Lake Charles Chemical Plant located on Columbia Southern Road near Lake Charles, Louisiana, in any maintenance or production department job classification covered by the collective bargaining agreement in effect or which at any material time has been in effect between Defendant PPG Industries, Inc. and Local 470 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, (2) All present and former black employees employed as of or at any time after October 21, 1974 by PPG Industries, Inc., at its Lake Charles Chemical Plant located on Columbia Southern Road near Lake Charles, Louisiana, in any job classification or position not covered by the collective bargaining agreements in effect or which at any material time have been in effect between Defendant PPG Industries, Inc. and Local 470 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
Defendant, PPG Industries, Inc., (hereinafter PPG) is a diversified company engaged in the operation of the chemical plant involved in these proceedings.
Defendant, Local 470, International Association of Machinists, (hereinafter Local 470) is a labor organization within the meaning of Section 2(5) of the National Labor Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 152(5), and represents the hourly employees in the production and maintenance jobs at the Lake Charles, Louisiana plant.
PPG is engaged in the manufacture of basic chemicals and chemical compounds, including chlorine, vinyl chloride, EDC, triethane, etc., through highly intricate and sophisticated procedures of breaking down and combining various chemicals. These chemicals are exceedingly hazardous. Many of the chemicals are highly volatile and explosive.
There were extensive pretrial proceedings in this case with ample opportunity for discovery and for the proper formulation of issues.
The following issues were pursued by the plaintiffs:
At the close of the plaintiffs' case both defendant PPG and defendant Local 470 filed a number of motions to dismiss certain issues and to redefine the scope of the class.
The court, for the reasons stated in its March 26, 1980 ruling, which are hereby adopted as findings of fact, decertified the plaintiffs as proper representatives of the sub-class of black employees not covered by the union contract as described in the original certification order dated June 13, 1977.
Only one of the named plaintiffs, Mr. Noah Lewis, was a member of this second sub-class. Plaintiffs were permitted to proceed with litigation of Mr. Lewis' individual claim.
The court also dismissed plaintiffs' allegation that Local 470 had failed to represent them without regard to their race or color. This ruling was based on the fact that a number of plaintiffs, and other black witnesses called on behalf of the plaintiffs, testified that representatives of Local 470 repeatedly responded to their grievances and complaints and assisted them in obtaining action from the company.
Plaintiffs in this case offered over forty employee witnesses. The testimony of these witnesses consisted almost entirely of opinion evidence. The plaintiffs repeatedly testified about things they "felt" or "believed" to be discriminatory. However, they offered little if any credible factual information to support this allegation.
The court also notes that there was almost a total absence of allegations of any overt racial harassment or other overt discrimination which occurred at the plant at anytime.
The earliest EEOC charge filed by an individual named plaintiff was on April 18, 1975. (Pl. Exh. 1). One hundred and eighty days preceding April 18, 1975 is October 21, 1974.
Under the provisions of Title VII, an alleged illegal act by the Company is not timely and actionable unless it occurred on or after October 21, 1974. However, the court allowed plaintiffs to present testimony concerning incidents which occurred substantially before this period of time and received statistics for a five year period before this date in order to allow plaintiffs to attempt to show a pattern or practice of discrimination leading up to and continuing into the period covered by this suit.
Additionally, to the extent plaintiffs challenged the seniority system, plaintiffs were permitted to introduce evidence relevant to that issue without any time limitation.
Employees in jobs covered by the collective bargaining agreement are presently classified into 15 separate department or lines of progression. Employees enter these departments through one of two entry pool job classifications. Employees who qualify for the utility crew by passing two job related tests are eligible to go into the skilled power generation, chlorine — caustic production, organic (Plant B) silica, lead loader and maintenance lines of progression. Other employees, hired into the yard utility crew are eligible to enter the diaphragm, mercury, and glanor cell repair, pigments packer, pels shipper, and yard lines of progression. The system is depicted on pages 35 and 36 of Joint Exhibit 16.
Employees within each line of progression are promoted based on the amount of time they have spent within the department. Absent special circumstances employees are not allowed to transfer from one department to another. Employees are allowed to transfer from the yard utility crew to the utility crew, however, if they qualify for this position by passing the required tests.
To properly understand the development and operation of this departmental seniority system, it is necessary to review in detail the history of the system and the factors which were considered in structuring the system.
The plant commenced operations during 1947. At that time it was owned by Southern Alkali Corporation, a separate corporation, owned in part by PPG and American Cyanamid Company. It was purchased by PPG in 1951 when its name was changed to Columbia Southern Chemical Corporation. Approximately one year earlier Southern Alkali Corporation employed an experienced labor relations director, Mr. Clem White.
Mr. White was responsible for formulating and implementing labor relations policies for the new plant, including the determination of what job classifications would be created and how they would be organized into departments and progression lines. To insure the labor relations policies were developed in an orderly and systematic way, Mr. White wrote a twelve chapter book describing in detail the recommended steps he would follow in developing the labor relations policies.
In order to decide what job classifications should be created and how they should be organized into departments and progression lines, Mr. White recommended an analysis of the functions to be performed at the plant, a listing of the duties to be performed by employees with a detailed listing of the complexities and risks involved in the performance of those duties. Pursuant to the written procedures, Mr. White analyzed the functions to be performed at the plant, the duties employees would be expected to perform, and the complexity of those duties and risks of personal injury or damage to the equipment and processes if the duties were improperly performed.
In this connection, he interviewed supervisors employed by the company and experienced in the operation...
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