Delaney v. INTERN. UNION UAW NO. 94

• Citation: 675 N.W.2d 832
• Decision Date: 25 February 2004
• Docket Number: No. 02-1733.,02-1733.
• Parties: Dennis E. DELANEY, Steven J. Roddick, Richard Bartels and Dennis C. Wolter, Appellants, v. INTERNATIONAL UNION UAW LOCAL NO. 94 OF JOHN DEERE MANUFACTURING COMPANY and Daniel White, Appellees.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Iowa

675 N.W.2d 832

Dennis E. DELANEY, Steven J. Roddick, Richard Bartels and Dennis C. Wolter, Appellants, v. INTERNATIONAL UNION UAW LOCAL NO. 94 OF JOHN DEERE MANUFACTURING COMPANY and Daniel White, Appellees.

No. 02-1733.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

February 25, 2004.

Charles C. Brown, Jr. of the Law Office of Charles C. Brown, Jr., Ryan, for appellants.

Michael J. Coyle of Fuerste, Carew, Coyle, Juergens & Sudmeier, P.C., Dubuque, for appellees.

STREIT, Justice.

Labor disputes are not for the faint of heart. In a tough campaign at a John Deere plant, four nonunion workers were repeatedly derided as "scabs" and "freeloaders" in the local union's newsletter. They sued the union and its president for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, extortion, and "interference with [their] employment and economic relationship." The four nonunion employees also alleged the defendants violated Iowa's right-to-work law.

The defendants moved for summary judgment. The district court granted the motion and dismissed the entire lawsuit, because, it reasoned, the content of the union's newsletter was constitutionally protected free speech. The plaintiffs appeal. We find federal labor law preempts the plaintiffs' claims and affirm.

I. Scope of Review

Our scope of review on appeal from an entry of summary judgment is well-settled:

We, like the district court, are obliged to view the factual record in the light most favorable to the resisting party, affording that party all reasonable inferences that the record will bear. Summary judgment is proper only if the record made shows that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. If the conflict in the record concerns only the legal consequences flowing from undisputed facts, entry of summary judgment is proper.... Our review, therefore, is for the correction of errors at law.

Garofalo v. Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity, 616 N.W.2d 647, 649-50 (Iowa 2000) (citations omitted).

II. Facts and Prior Proceedings

Dennis Delaney, Steven Roddick, Richard Bartels, and Dennis Wolter, the plaintiffs, were hired by John Deere Dubuque Works in 1972, and shortly thereafter joined Local Number 94 of the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America. Daniel White, a defendant, is president of the local, which represents all but nine of the nine hundred workers at the plant.

The union was last on strike at John Deere Dubuque Works in 1987. Since then, the union and Deere have entered into several collective bargaining agreements. The plaintiffs maintained nearly continuous,¹ dues-paying membership in the union from hire until after the last relevant agreement. All four plaintiffs also walked the picket line in support of the union.

For various and somewhat vague reasons, the plaintiffs quit the union in 1998 and 1999. Once the plaintiffs left, their names began to appear in the local union newsletter, which contained a "scab list." The scab list named and derided all nonunion workers at the plant. The list was usually accompanied by drawings, commonly known as "clip-art," which were bought as part of a commonly sold computer software package.

The record before us contains fifteen editions of the newsletter, which, when read as a whole, demonstrate a concerted effort to persuade the plaintiffs to join the union. This campaign ramped up around "union-won" holidays.

The newsletter's April 1, 1999 edition, for example, referred to the plaintiffs as "freeloaders" who "will also be enjoying the UNION NEGOTIATED 3 day [Easter] weekend." Union members were encouraged to "[r]emember these SCABS for what they are and treat them accordingly." A drawing of a man with a clothespin on his nose, talking on a telephone, and holding a dead rat, accompanied the plaintiffs' names.

On July 1, 1999, the newsletter listed the plaintiffs' names next to a drawing of a lighted bomb (see Figure 1 above). The newsletter stated:

The SCABS will also be enjoying our UNION WON 4TH OF JULY HOLIDAY BENEFIT. They haven't contributed anything or walked the picket line to get this or any other benefit that we have worked for. Remember this when you see them in the plant or on the street! If they would like to be treated any other way we invite them to sign a check-off card!

The title to this paragraph contained a second lighted bomb. It stated: "We'd like to [picture of bomb] our SCABS."

On September 2, 1999, the newsletter reminded union members

Our SCABS will also be getting our three day UNION WON weekend. They pay no union dues, but they have no problem accepting our benefits. Think of that when you see them at work or on the street.

Next to the plaintiffs' names appeared a drawing containing the following slogan: "and remember SCABS SUCK!" On November 11, 1999, a drawing of a large rat was placed next to the plaintiffs' names. The newsletter exclaimed

Did you receive your Performance Bonus Payout check recently? This is a UNION WON benefit. Unfortunately, our SCABS also received this payout and DID NOT pay the 1.15% union dues that everyone else did.... Treat them as they should be treated ... with disgust!

On November 23, 1999, the newsletter listed the plaintiffs' names under a drawing of a hatchet-wielding turkey chasing seven rats (there were seven nonunion workers listed below a heading entitled "S-C-A-B-S") (see Figure 2 below). The newsletter pointed out Thanksgiving was a union-won holiday, which the plaintiffs would be enjoying. The newsletter encouraged union members to post the article around the plant and urged nonmembers "to consider joining or reinstating themselves to our ranks."

Two years later, the same drawing of a hatchet-wielding turkey accompanied the plaintiffs' names, along with this paragraph:

It's so easy to forget about our freeloading little rodents when there is so much going on in our world. Just remember... they are cashing their Performance Bonus checks and enjoying our UNION won holiday without supporting the very group that got it for them. We were taught to turn the other cheek, but in this case they can kiss mine.

On January 13, 2000, the newsletter referred to the upcoming Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday as "another UNION WON BENEFIT we have because of the work and sacrifice of DUES PAYING MEMBERS !" The newsletter again encouraged union members to post the article around the plant and join the union.

On September 14, 2000, the newsletter contained the plaintiffs' names under the title "S-C-A-B-S," accompanied by a drawing of a rat being kicked out of the "main gate." The drawing, entitled "A FREE RIDE EVERY SCAB SHOULD GET," appeared with the following passage:

Our SCABS also receive this UNION WON benefit [i.e. a cost of living raise]. They sponge off what every one of us have helped bargain for. PLEASE REMEMBER THIS WHEN YOU SEE THEM IN THE PLANT OR ON THE STREET. Treat them like the leaches they are.

Whatever their excuse is for getting out of the Union, they must feel pretty darn sheepish for taking all our UNION WON benefits (cost-of-living, vacation, holidays, overtime pay, bereavement pay, health insurance, and the list goes on and on). Or maybe not, since they obviously haven't refused these benefits.

On February 8, 2001, under the title "The Whinin' Nine" and amongst two drawings of baseball players, the plaintiffs' names were listed with five other nonunion members and the following paragraph:

Did you hear about the new team in town? This team is made up of nine former members of Local 94. They would like to get some new uniforms and equipment, but they don't want to spend any of their own money on it. They thought that maybe the members of Local 94 would like to pay their way. They're used to operating this way. If they can get something for nothing, they're all for it. The Whinin' Nine, as they are known around the plant.... If you're tired of carrying these guys, tell them so. I'm sure none of us were taught how to freeload when we were growing up. Maybe all they need is a reminder that we don't appreciate what they're doing.

The plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in the district court against the union and its president in July 2001, claiming defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, extortion, "interference with employment and economic relationship," and violation of Iowa's right-to-work law. See Iowa Code § 731.4 (2001) (union membership may not be required as a condition of employment). The defendants moved for summary judgment, which the district court granted. Relying, in part, upon Old Dominion Branch No. 496, National Association of Letter Carriers, AFL-CIO v. Austin, 418 U.S. 264, 94 S.Ct. 2770, 41 L.Ed.2d 745 (1974) ("Letter Carriers"), the district court ruled the content of the newsletters was protected free speech. The plaintiffs appeal, alleging the district court erred in dismissing its claims.

III. The Merits

A. Defamation

Defamation, the sullying of ones good name, "is made up of the twin torts of libel and slander...." Johnson v. Nickerson, 542 N.W.2d 506, 510 (Iowa 1996). Whereas libel is written defamation, slander is oral defamation. Id. At issue in this case is libel. We have defined libel as "the `malicious publication, expressed either in printing or in writing, or by signs or pictures, tending to injure the reputation of another person or to expose [that person] to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule or to injure [the person] in the maintenance of [a] business.'" Id. (quoting Plendl v. Beuttler, 253 Iowa 259, 262, 111 N.W.2d 669, 670-71 (1961)).

1. Letter Carriers

In Letter Carriers, the United States Supreme Court addressed whether federal law preempts a nonunion employee's state libel action against a union. In an effort to increase its membership, a local union published a "List of Scabs" in its newsletter. 418 U.S. at 267, 94 S.Ct. at 2773, 41 L.Ed.2d at 752. The scab list...