Int'l Ass'n of Fire Fighters v. Moon

• Decision Date: 27 March 2012
• Docket Number: WD 73847.,Nos. WD 73811,s. WD 73811
• Parties: INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIRE FIGHTERS, Respondent, v. Timothy MOON, et al., Appellants.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

364 S.W.3d 647

INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIRE FIGHTERS, Respondent,
v.
Timothy MOON, et al., Appellants.

Nos. WD 73811, WD 73847.

Missouri Court of Appeals,
Western District.

Feb. 7, 2012.
Motion for Rehearing and/or Transfer to
Supreme Court Denied March 27, 2012.

Application for Transfer Denied May 29, 2012.

[364 S.W.3d 649]

George Kapke, Lee's Summit, MO, for Appellants.

[364 S.W.3d 650]

Scott Brown, Kansas City, KS, for Respondent.

Before: ALOK AHUJA, P.J., THOMAS H. NEWTON, and JAMES EDWARD WELSH, JJ.

THOMAS H. NEWTON, Judge.

Mr. Timothy Moon, Mr. Lawrence Jones, and Mr. Joseph Robinette, employees of the Metropolitan Ambulance Services Trust (MAST) (hereinafter MAST Employees) appeal from the trial court's summary judgment in favor of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), Local No. 42 (hereinafter Local 42). Local 42 sought judgment to enforce fines it levied against the MAST Employees for organizing a rival union, Emergency Medical Service Workers (EMSW), in contravention of the IAFF Constitution. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand.

Factual and Procedural Background

Prior to 2005, employees of MAST were represented by Local I–34 of the IAFF. In 2005, the IAFF President ordered the merger of Local I–34 into Local 42 by Executive Order. The merger resulted in litigation that led to a court-ordered settlement. Employees of MAST were told they had the option to be “nonmembers” of the union, but would still be obligated to pay a monthly union service fee. As of 2005, the fee was reported to be 71.46% of the full union dues rates, or $35.72 per month.

In 2006, EMSW was formed and incorporated as a Missouri union. It petitioned to become the bargaining agent for the employees of MAST. The IAFF declared EMSW a “rival organization.”

Mr. Jones began working for MAST in 1979. In September 1980, he joined IAFF, signing a dues and payroll deduction authorization card. After Local I–34 was merged with Local 42, Mr. Jones became president and a founding member of EMSW, whose purpose he stated was to decertify Local 42 as the exclusive bargaining agent for the employees of MAST. On October 31, 2006, Mr. Jones withdrew from Local 42 by opting to pay a service fee instead. In a November 2009 deposition, he acknowledged that his conduct violated the IAFF Constitution as it “is written.”

Mr. Moon began working for MAST and joined Local I–34 of the IAFF in 1998. Mr. Moon was also a founding member of EMSW; he served as a steward of EMSW and admitted that its purpose was to form its own representation for employees of MAST. As of November 2009, when his deposition was taken, Mr. Moon was still a member of Local 42 of the IAFF.

Mr. Robinette became a member of IAFF in July 1987. Mr. Robinette stated that the merger “was not a voluntary action.” He explained, “No one voted it in from our Union.” Consequently, he felt he was forced to be a member. He testified that he understood he could also have been a “non-core member” and agreed he was subject to the IAFF Constitution and bylaws. On October 17, 2006, Mr. Robinette became a service fee payer instead of a full union member. ¹

As a result of EMSW's activities, the President of Local 42 filed internal charges against eleven MAST employees, including Mr. Moon, Mr. Jones, and Mr. Robinette. The charges alleged that, inter alia, from June 26, 2006, up to and through September

[364 S.W.3d 651]

22, 2006, Mr. Jones, Mr. Moon, and Mr. Robinette violated the IAFF Constitution “by advocating and encouraging members of IAFF Local 42 to decertify IAFF Local 42 in favor of [EMSW]” as a rival union and “by purporting to be supporters, members and/or leaders of [EMSW].” The charges further stated that they undertook a campaign and that IAFF's defense against the campaign “resulted in the expenditure of financial and other resources on the part of the IAFF and Local 42, which could have been conserved and/or better spent in representation of the interest of the members of Local 42.”

An internal hearing was held through a Union Trial Board in April 2007. Mr. Moon initially moved to dismiss the charges, alleging that he was not a member of the union during the alleged dates; the Trial Board rejected his claim.² Mr. Moon, Mr. Jones, and Mr. Robinette attended and testified at the hearing.

The Trial Board issued a decision finding the MAST Employees guilty of the charges. It concluded that Local 42 had incurred $97,025.33 in expenses in defending against the EMSW “Events” and ordered each of the eleven charged members to pay $8,820.48.³

The MAST Employees filed appeals to the IAFF President in May and June of 2007. The President determined that since the IAFF Constitution only permitted appeals by members in good standing, Mr. Jones and Mr. Robinette could not appeal from the Trial Board's decision. He further denied Mr. Moon's appeal as having a “lack of evidentiary basis” for his argument of “irreparable harm.”

In February 2009, Local 42 filed a petition in circuit court against the MAST Employees “in [the] nature of breach of contract” seeking judicial enforcement of the levied fines. In April 2010, Local 42 moved for summary judgment. It contended that each of the MAST Employees was a member of IAFF and Local 42 “at all times material” to its action, that the relationship between the union and its members was a contract, and that by virtue of the contract, the MAST Employees were bound by the provisions of the IAFF Constitution. The MAST Employees argued in reply, inter alia, that membership in Local 42 was a compulsory condition of employment, that the IAFF Constitution violates Missouri and federal law, and that union membership could not compel them to waive their statutory and constitutional rights to organize.

In judgments entered September 22, 2010, and March 15, 2011, the trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Local 42. It found that the MAST Employees' actions were not constitutionally protected because the right to freedom of speech only protects against state action and Local 42's discipline was not state action. The trial court also characterized the MAST Employees conduct as dual unionism and found it not protected by Missouri or federal law. ⁴ The MAST Employees appeal.

Standard of Review

Our review of the trial court's grant of summary judgment is essentially de novo.

[364 S.W.3d 652]

Int'l Bhd. of Elec. Workers, Local Union No. 53 v. City Power & Light Dep't, City of Independence, Mo., 129 S.W.3d 384, 386 (Mo.App. W.D.2003). We review the record in the light most favorable to the non-moving party and draw all reasonable inferences in its favor. Id. Summary judgment is proper “only if ‘the motion, the response, [and] the reply ... show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.’ ” Id. (quoting Rule 74.04(c)(6)).

Legal Analysis

In their sole point on appeal, the MAST Employees contend the trial court erred in granting summary judgment to Local 42 because: (1) their right to organize a labor union was guaranteed by Missouri and U.S. constitutional law; (2) Local 42's petition was deficient; and (3) they were denied their rights to judicial review of the fines.⁵

The Mast Employees' Right to Organize a Rival Union: Missouri Law

The MAST Employees argue that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment to Local 42 on its petition to enforce the levied fines because their right as public employees to organize a labor organization is guaranteed by the Missouri Constitution, Article I, section 29, and the Revised Statutes of Missouri, section 105.510.⁶

The IAFF Constitution provides that it governs the “officers, subordinate bodies and members” of the IAFF. Article XV, Section 1, “Misconduct and Penalties” of the IAFF Constitution states:

[A]ny officer or member of the Association, or of any local union ... after charges, trial, and conviction ... may be reprimanded, fined, removed from office, suspended, or expelled as the evidence and circumstances may warrant in the judgment of the officer or officers or legally constituted tribunal by whom he/she is tried as hereafter provided....

The section defines “misconduct” to include “[a]dvocating or encouraging any labor or any other rival organization, or acquiring or maintaining membership in any such organization.” Thus, it was through the authority of these constitutional provisions that Local 42 levied the fines against the MAST employees.

We do not find trial court error. The relationship between a union and its members is contractual. Farrar v. Messmer, 368 S.W.2d 933, 936 (Mo.App.1963). “The constitution, rules, and by-laws of the association ... constitute the contract.” Robinson v. Nick, 235 Mo.App. 461, 136 S.W.2d 374, 387 (1940). The right to discipline arises from the membership agreement between the union and its members. Atkins v. McPhetridge, 213 S.W.3d 116, 121–122 (Mo.App. S.D.2006). Because the relationship is contractual, “[u]nions may resort to courts for enforcement of disciplinary provisions.” Id.

Here, the MAST Employees were not required to be members of the union and thus chose to be bound by the IAFF Constitution and bylaws. Although their briefing contends that membership in Local 42 was not voluntary because it was a condition of their employment, the agreement between Local 42 and MAST clearly provides for employees to opt out of core

[364 S.W.3d 653]

membership. In fact, subsequent to the events at issue, both Mr. Robinette and Mr. Jones chose to withdraw from the union. Article 5 Union Security, Paragraph 5.1 Union Security, of the agreement provides:

All employees covered by this Agreement shall, as a condition of continued employment by the Employer, become members of the Union on or before the 30th day following the beginning of employment, or the effective date of this Article whichever is later, and shall continue their membership in the Union during the term of this Agreement ...