Keeffe Bros. v. Teamsters Local Union No. 592

• Decision Date: 12 September 1977
• Docket Number: Nos. 76-1531 and 76-1532,s. 76-1531 and 76-1532
• Parties: 96 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2267, 82 Lab.Cas. P 10,142 KEEFFE BROTHERS, Appellants, John H. Johnson, Appellee, v. TEAMSTERS LOCAL UNION NO. 592, Appellee. John H. JOHNSON, Appellee, v. TEAMSTERS LOCAL UNION NO. 592, Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit

Page 298

562 F.2d 298

96 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2267, 82 Lab.Cas. P 10,142

KEEFFE BROTHERS, Appellants, John H. Johnson, Appellee, v. TEAMSTERS LOCAL UNION NO. 592, Appellee.

John H. JOHNSON, Appellee, v. TEAMSTERS LOCAL UNION NO. 592, Appellant.

Nos. 76-1531 and 76-1532.

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.

Argued Dec. 7, 1976.

Decided Sept. 12, 1977.

Gregory M. Murad, Washington, D. C. (Stephen Daniel Keeffe, Keeffe Brothers, Washington, D. C., on brief), for appellant in 76-1531.

Jay J. Levit, Richmond, Va. (Stallard & Levit, Richmond, Va., on brief), for appellee in 76-1531 and for appellant in 76-1532.

George Wm. Warren, IV, Richmond, Va. (Hall, Hall & Warren, Richmond, Va., on brief), for appellee in 76-1531 and 76-1532.

Before WINTER and RUSSELL, Circuit Judges, and FIELD, Senior Circuit Judge.

DONALD RUSSELL, Circuit Judge:

This appeal arises out of an action filed by the plaintiff John H. Johnson, a union member, to recover of the defendant Local Union, both damages and injunctive relief for an alleged violation of rights guaranteed under the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act. ¹ From a judgment in favor of the plaintiff, the defendant has appealed. In connection with the entry of that judgment, attorney's fees as a part of the judgment against the appellant Local Union were allowed one of plaintiff's counsel but denied another. The latter has appealed that denial. We affirm the judgment against the Local Union in favor of the plaintiff but reverse the denial of attorney's fees and remand to the District Court for reconsideration of a reasonable attorney's fee allowable in favor of the appealing attorneys, to be included in the judgment awarded against the defendant Local Union.

The plaintiff in this action became a member of the Local Union in 1968, though he had earlier been affiliated with another Local of the same International from 1954 to 1961. While a member of the defendant Local, he was active in union affairs. In 1972 in particular, his positions on Local Union policy differed markedly from those of the then president of the Local Union and its Executive Board and he actively campaigned for an opponent of the president in his bid for re-election. He articulated his differences with the then officers of the Local both in and without union meetings. In order to silence the plaintiff at union meetings and to stifle any motions by him, the president of the Local, according to the plaintiff, denied him, while he was still an active member of the Local, the right either to speak or to make motions at the union meetings. Feeling frustrated by the repeated denials of his right to speak at or take any part in the Local's meetings, he said he applied in November, 1972, for and was issued by the Local Union an honorary withdrawal card.

Authorization for the issuance to members of the Local of "honorary withdrawal cards" is provided under Section 5, Article XVIII of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America Constitution and Bylaws. Under the Constitution all holders of such withdrawal cards are required to pay a maximum charge when the card is issued, and may under conditions continue to receive Local Union benefits. They, however, cannot vote at union meetings or hold union office but have such other rights to participate in union business as the Local's Executive Board shall permit. But and this is the crucial provision in the National and Local Bylaws they are entitled to "readmission to the Local Union from which this card was issued at any time, subject, however, to the provisions of subsection (e) of this Section" of the National Bylaws. Subsection 5(e) sets forth but three grounds on which readmission may be denied. They are:

(1) If the member has committed any offense injurious to union principles;

(2) If the member is liable to become a charge against the Local or International Union;

(3) If adverse employment conditions exist.

In early 1973, the plaintiff applied repeatedly for readmission and reinstatement as an active member of the Local Union under the terms of the Union's Constitution and Bylaws. He was advised following the filing of application for readmission in April, 1973, that he would have to make a "written request to appear before the Executive Board" before his request could be honored. One of plaintiff's witnesses testified that he was told by the Local's Secretary-Treasurer that if plaintiff would do this, there would be no difficulty about the latter's readmission. There was no denial by the Local's Secretary-Treasurer of this testimony. Assuming that the Secretary-Treasurer's statement was correct, the plaintiff followed the instructions given him by the Local Union, submitted a written application for readmission and appeared in support of his application before the Executive Board on May 13, 1973. The record of the meeting of the Executive Board does not indicate that at any time during the hearing was it stated that being presently "engaged in the craft" was a requirement for readmission as an active member of the Local on the part of the plaintiff. The hearing before the Executive Board seemed to deal with the question whether the plaintiff's withdrawal was "in good faith" and to what extent his difficulty in securing employment was due to his "not being an (active) member." At the conclusion of the meeting, he was told he would be later advised of the action taken by the Executive Board.

On May 15, 1973, a letter was written to the plaintiff, advising him that his request for readmission was denied and, in addition, "that his honorable withdrawal card has been revoked." (Italics added) In denying the plaintiff readmission and in revoking his honorary withdrawal card, the Executive Board gave no reason for its action either in its minutes or in the letter written to the plaintiff, advising him of its action. The president of the Local did, however, give an explanation in his testimony of the reasons prompting and justifying the drastic action. He said:

"Well, he had he (meaning the plaintiff) had been such a pain over the months because we wouldn't strike his employer and because he couldn't get his way at each meeting, that I guess my executive board, along with a lot of other rank and file members, felt that we had been better off without him."

Later, the president added to this explanation, saying:

" * * * he came before the Board. He wanted to turn in his withdrawal card and become a dues-paying member again. He was very belligerent. He abused some officers on the Board pretty badly and they, I guess, threw a temper tantrum and said, 'we'll not only not grant you that privilege but we'll just take your withdrawal card away from you too.' "

At another point in his testimony, the president, relying on § 5(e), offered an additional justification for the refusal to readmit the plaintiff. According to the president, the plaintiff had violated his "obligation to keep the affairs of the Local Union strictly private" by "in a public place of business (has) accuse(d) an officer of that Local Union of embezzling money."

It is obvious from these explanations that the action of the Local in refusing readmission and revoking his withdrawal card, was to penalize plaintiff for his exercise of the right to speak and take part in union meetings as well as to exercise his right of free speech about union affairs in public. There was in these explanations no reference to any of the reasons for denying readmission enumerated in subsection 5(e) or to any finding that the plaintiff was not at the moment "engaged in the craft." These explanations indicated that the Executive Board of the Local simply wanted to rid themselves of a member, who, at union meetings and in public, took positions contrary to, and expressed himself in criticism of, the officers of the Local. That, according to the Local's president, prompted the action of the Board. The plaintiff, too, testified that an election of officers of the Local was imminent at the time and that he was vigorously supporting an opponent of the incumbent president. He contends that his denial of readmission was likewise for the purpose of preventing him from voting or participating in this approaching Local election.

On May 25, 1973, the plaintiff formally appealed in writing the denial of readmission and the revocation of his honorary withdrawal card to the Joint Council, with which the Local was affiliated. ² In his letter appealing, the plaintiff requested that a hearing on the appeal be held in Richmond, Virginia "because I have not worked for over a year * * * and I don't have the money for a trip outside the city of Richmond, Virginia." Following the receipt of this written appeal, the Secretary of the Joint Council of the Union to which the plaintiff's appeal was directed, wrote on June 6, 1973 to the Local, instructing it to "forward to this office at your earliest convenience detailed Minutes of this hearing (on plaintiff's readmission application) and any other facts you feel are pertinent."

During this time when the appeal of the plaintiff was pending and the Joint Council had for review the Minutes of the Executive Board's action, the president of the Local testified that he questioned the validity of the unanimous action of the Executive Board; in fact, he said he regarded from the outset the action of the Executive Board as invalid. He seems to suggest that his feeling of invalidity related only to the revocation of the plaintiff's withdrawal status but this does not seem to accord with his statement of the matters about which he was uncertain and about which he sought advice from the International officers of the Union. He had doubt about the construction to be given the language of Article II, § 2(a) of the International Constitution declaring "(a)ny person shall be eligible to membership in this organization * * * ," though he had read it...