Kayser-Roth Corp. v. Textile Workers Union of America, Civ. A. No. 5524.

• Decision Date: 27 July 1972
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 5524.
• Citation: 347 F. Supp. 801
• Parties: KAYSER-ROTH CORPORATION v. TEXTILE WORKERS UNION OF AMERICA, AFL-CIO.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Tennessee

347 F. Supp. 801

KAYSER-ROTH CORPORATION v. TEXTILE WORKERS UNION OF AMERICA, AFL-CIO.

Civ. A. No. 5524.

United States District Court, E. D. Tennessee, S. D.

July 27, 1972.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Blakeney, Alexander & Machen (J. W. Alexander, Jr.), Charlotte, N. C., O. W. McKenzie, Dayton, Tenn., for plaintiff.

Patricia Eames, Gen. Counsel, New York City, Cooper, Mitch & Crawford (William E. Mitch), Birmingham, Ala., Thrasher, Sherrill & Anderson (Wilkes T. Thrasher, Jr.), Chattanooga, Tenn., for defendant.

FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

FRANK W. WILSON, Chief Judge.

This is an action involving a claim and counterclaim for damages arising out of a strike that occurred at the Kayser-Roth Corporation hosiery plant in Dayton, Tennessee, during the year 1968. The plaintiff, Kayser-Roth Corporation, seeks to recover for alleged unlawful interference with its business activities, alleged conspiracy to interfere with its business activities, and alleged violation of secondary boycott provisions of the Taft-Hartley Act 29 U.S.C. § 158(b) by the defendant, the Textile Workers Union of America. Defendant, by counterclaim, seeks to recover of the plaintiff for an alleged conspiracy to incite litigation and induce perjury and to unlawfully prevent the defendant from carrying on its activities as a labor union. Each party seeks both compensatory and punitive damages of the other party. The case was tried before the Court sitting without a jury. The Court now enters the following findings of fact and conclusions of law upon the basis of the record established in the case.

Findings of Fact

(1) Kayser-Roth Corporation, hereinafter sometimes referred to as the "Company," is a corporation organized under the laws of New York and having its principal place of business elsewhere than in Tennessee. At all times relevant to this lawsuit it operated and maintained a plant in Dayton, Tennessee, where it manufactured various lines of men's and women's hosiery. During and prior to 1968, Kayser-Roth Corporation employed in excess of 500 employees at its Dayton, Tennessee plant and was an employer engaged in interstate commerce within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act.

(2) The defendant, Textile Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO, hereinafter sometimes referred to as the "Union," is an unincorporated labor organization having its principal offices in New York, New York. At all times relevant to the matters here in issue the defendant Union was a labor organization within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act and was the duly certified collective bargaining agent for all production employees at the plaintiff's Dayton, Tennessee plant.

(3) Beginning in 1964 the defendant Union undertook to organize the production and maintenance employees at the plaintiff's Dayton, Tennessee plant with the result that in September of 1967 the defendant was certified by the National Labor Relations Board as the bargaining agent for these employees. Bargaining between the Company and the Union was not productive of an agreement, however, with the consequences that unfair labor practice charges were brought against the Company by the Union, charging, among other matters refusal to bargain. The charges were sustained by the NLRB and the action of the NLRB was affirmed upon appeal, with the result that the Company was ordered to cease and desist from such practices and to engage in good faith bargaining. See Kayser-Roth Hosiery Co., Inc. v. NLRB, 430 F.2d 701 (6th Cir. 1970). See also Kayser-Roth Hosiery Co., Inc. v. NLRB, 447 F.2d 396 (6th Cir. 1971).

(4) By May of 1968 no agreement had been reached. At that time the Union was being represented in the conduct of its affairs at the Dayton, Tennessee plant by Adolph Benet, a Vice President of the Union, and by Ted Benton, Walter Rainey, and Robert Beame, each of whom was an authorized and full time representative of the Union. Upon Sunday, May 5, 1968, the Union called a meeting of production and maintenance employees. Of the approximately 500 employees in the bargaining unit, estimates of the number of employees in attendance at the meeting varied between 200 and 350. At this meeting the Company's proposal for settlement was submitted and was rejected. The employees in attendance then voted unanimously to strike the following day.

On the morning of May 6, 1968, a large number of employees, variously estimated to be from 150 to 400, gathered in the vicinity of the plant entrances. There was a great deal of confusion, mass picketing, and blocking of entrances upon the first day of strike, but no violence. Someone padlocked two of the gates of the plant and these locks had to be forcibly removed. The supervisory personnel, of whom there were approximately 20, and the office and clerical personnel, of whom there were approximately 30, reported for work that day, but only about 15 or 20 production or maintenance workers entered the plant to work that day. A strike headquarters was established in a trailer located a short distance from the plant entrances and the Union representatives hereinabove referred to undertook to supervise the strike from this headquarters. Three of the Union representatives, Benet, Benton and Rainey, were present at the strike scene throughout the day and undertook to organize the strikers by appointing picket captains and giving picketing instructions. These instructions included instructions by Benton that the pickets might walk in such a manner as to make entrance at the plant difficult, just so they continued walking. He also gave instructions that the Union would provide bail in the event strikers were arrested in connection with the strike. Walt Rainey told certain of the picket captains that if too many employees attempted to enter the plant to work, the pickets should stop them by any means they could, including stripping their clothes off, if necessary.

(5) Upon the second day of the strike mass picketing of the plant entrances continued with 30 or 40 pickets circulating in front of each gate. On this day some effort was made by the pickets and other strikers or strike sympathizers to prevent the entrance of vehicles carrying office personnel to work. There appears to have been no attempt by the Union representatives to limit the number of pickets in front of the plant entrances during the first two days of the strike and until an application was made for an injunction against mass picketing on the second day. The Union representatives then assured the state court to whom the application was made that a voluntary limitation of the number of pickets would be effected and that there would be no further interference with traffic coming to and going from the plant.

(6) Although by the third day of the strike there was some reduction in the number of pickets walking in front of the plant entrance, a large number of strikers continued to gather in the immediate vicinity. Supervisory and office personnel and a few production workers continued to enter the plant, but the pickets were sufficient in number and walked in such a manner as to render entrance to and exit from the plant slow and difficult. In the course of the day three company trucks were prohibited by pickets from removing goods from the plant. After some four hours they were permitted to leave the plant only after demonstrating to the pickets that their loads had been removed and that they were empty. Representatives of the Union were present at the picket line during at least a portion of the time that the pickets were thus blocking the plant gates. Whether they were themselves actually participating in the picket lines upon this occasion is disputed, but it is clear that they, as well as the local police who were also present, did nothing to require the pickets to cease blocking the plant entrances or to permit passage of the trucks.

(7) On the following day large groups of pickets continued to block or partially block the entrances to the plant whenever a vehicle attempted to enter or leave. The windows upon one or more vehicles entering the plant were broken by rocks and other missiles thrown by unidentified persons in the vicinity of the plant gates. When these matters were brought to the attention of the Chancery Court on May 9, 1968, they resulted in that Court entering an injunction prohibiting the strikers from interfering with persons going to or from the plant.

(8) Over the next several days incidents of pickets blocking the entry or departure of company vehicles continued. In fact, it appears that from May 14 through May 21 several company trucks attempted to deliver materials into the plant, but upon each occasion the pickets walked in the entranceway in such a manner that the drivers could not enter or depart from the plant without running into or over the pickets. As a result, no company trucks were able to move merchandise into or out of the plant during that period. The next occasion upon which a company truck attempted to deliver materials to the plant was upon June 25, 1968. The driver of that vehicle was prevented from entering the plant by strikers and was warned not to return. While he was stopped at the plant entrance, one of the tires upon his truck was slashed and substantial damage was later done to the vehicle when he left it to obtain assistance. Throughout this period of time, one or more union representatives continued to check with the picket lines several times daily and were present at the strike headquarters supervising the strike. They appear to have done nothing to prevent pickets from blocking the movement of company vehicles, even when they were personally present at the picket line when this occurred.

(9) The nature of the plaintiff's business was such that during its normal operations it made daily shipments of its finished products to retail stores located throughout the United States. These shipments were largely made through ...