International Broth. of Firemen and Oilers, Local 320 v. Board of Ed. of Jefferson County
| Decision Date | 04 June 1965 |
| Citation | 393 S.W.2d 793 |
| Parties | INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF FIREMEN AND OILERS, LOCAL 320 et al., Appellants, v. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, Kentucky, Appellee. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court — District of Kentucky |
Louis Lusky, New York City, Grover G. Sales, S. Arnold Lynch, Sales & Lynch. Louisville, for appellants.
Lucian L. Johnson, Louisville, for appellee.
Appellee Board of Education of Jefferson County, Kentucky, was granted a temporary injunction in the Jefferson Circuit Court against appellants, certain maintenance employees of the School Board, and their Union, the International Brotherhood of Firemen and Oilers, Local 320. The temporary injunction was later dissolved by this Court. However, by the time that was done, most of the employees who had been on strike had returned to work. As a consequence, any question involving the strike became moot. But, in the meantime, appellants filed a counterclaim and a cross-claim by which they sought to enjoin the appellee from refusing to hear grievances in the presence of the representatives of their choice, and to recover damages resulting because of the injunction. This appeal is prosecuted from the judgment of the Jefferson Circuit Court dismissing appellants' claims.
Briefly, the facts leading up to this appeal are as follows: The School Board paint crew was ordered to perform certain work assignments which were objectionable to them. The leader of the crew expressed their complaint to their immediate superior and requested an interview with him and the superintendent of maintenance. The latter two men decided the work assignments were reasonable and so advised the Superintendent of the Board of Education, Mr. Richard Van Hoose. Mr. Van Hoose advised them to dissolve the paint crew unless they obeyed the instructions. The crew refused and they were discharged.
The next day the painters, along with two representatives of International Brotherhood of Firemen and Oilers, Local 320, went to Mr. Van Hoose's office seeking a conference. Mr. Van Hoose was at lunch. His assistant advised the men that he and Mr. Van Hoose would confer with the painters, but not in the presence of the two Union representatives. The painters were unwilling to discuss the matter without the Union men and left the office. They voted to strike the same day.
We do not have before us the basic question of the ultimate power of the School Board over its non-instructional employees. Nor does the principal point involve the broad question of whether a School Board must recognize a Union for collective bargaining purposes. The questin has been narrowed down to a determination of whether the refusal of the School Board to hear grievances of its employees with third party representation is an arbitrary exercise of its power to run and manage the school system.
A school board is granted broad powers in the administration of the school system. KRS 160.290 provides in part:
'(1) * * * Each board shall exercise generally all powers in the administration of its public school system, appoint such officers, agents and employes as it deems necessary and proper, prescribe their duties, and fix their compensation and terms of office.
Appellants argue that Kentucky Constitution, section 183, which provides 'The General Assembly shall, by appropriate legislation, provide for an efficient system of common schools throughout the State,' is a self-executing prohibition against arbitrary action by a school board.
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