LOCAL 207, ETC. v. Landers, Frary & Clark

• Decision Date: 04 February 1954
• Docket Number: Civ. No. 4702.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Connecticut
• Parties: LOCAL 207, UNITED ELECTRICAL RADIO & MACHINE WORKERS OF AMERICA v. LANDERS, FRARY & CLARK.

119 F. Supp. 877

LOCAL 207, UNITED ELECTRICAL RADIO & MACHINE WORKERS OF AMERICA v. LANDERS, FRARY & CLARK.

Civ. No. 4702.

United States District Court, D. Connecticut.

February 4, 1954.

Gruber & Turkel, Stamford, Conn., for plaintiff.

John N. Cole, Stamford, Conn., for defendant.

SMITH, District Judge.

Defendant employer moves to dismiss an action by the plaintiff union seeking an order compelling reinstatement of an employee to the same position in the same department, rather than at another job than that from which he was, as found by an arbitrator, wrongfully fired, or an order compelling arbitration of the right to such reinstatement under the collective bargaining agreement.

Defendant claims that the Court is not empowered by 301(a) of the Labor Management Relations Act, Taft-Hartley, 29 U.S.C.A. § 185(a) or by the Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C.A. § 1 et seq. to grant injunctive relief in a labor dispute, particularly in view of the limitations on the powers of the courts to grant such relief imposed by the Norris-LaGuardia Act, 29 U.S.C.A. § 101 et seq.

There have been various holdings by courts as to the existence of the power to compel arbitration or enforce awards in labor cases. Cf. Textile Workers Union of America (C. I. O.) v. American Thread Co., D.C.Mass.1953, 113 F.Supp. 137, and Milk and Ice Cream Drivers and Dairy Employees Union, Local No. 98 v. Gillespie Milk Products Corp., 6 Cir., 1953, 203 F.2d 650, with International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union, Local 142 v. Libby McNeill & Libby, D.C.Haw. 1953, 114 F. Supp. 249 and Associated Tel. Co. v. Communications Workers, D.C.S.D.Cal. 1953, 114 F.Supp. 334, and see notes 67 H.L.R. 181, 53 Col.L.R. 1019, 57 Y.L.J. 638 n. 28.

A review of the decisions in this district shows that the writer has not been entirely consistent on the subject. Local 937 of International Union United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement Workers v. Royal Typewriter Co., Inc., D.C.D.Conn.1949, 88 F.Supp. 669; Amalgamated Local 877 v. United Aircraft Corp., D.C.D.Conn., 120 F.Supp. 186; Local 379 C.I.O. v. Jacobs Mfg. Co., D.C.D.Conn.1953, 120 F.Supp. 228.

Conflicting considerations of public policy apply in these cases, such as those relating to the encouragement of arbitration of disputes, which led to the Arbitration Act, the desirability of the settlement of labor disputes by agreement rather than economic warfare, which led to the Wagner Act, the need for the limitation of use of the injunctive power of the courts to coerce compliance by employees with rulings on labor questions, which led to the Norris-LaGuardia Act, the need for the provision of sanctions to enforce the responsibility of labor organizations as such for carrying out of their collective bargaining agreements, which led to the Taft-Hartley Act.

This Court, in Local 937 of International Union United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement Workers v. Royal Typewriter Co., 88 F.Supp. 669, expressed agreement with Judge Rifkind's view in the Alcoa case (Alcoa S. S. Co. v. McMahon, D.C.S.D.N.Y.1948, 81 F.Supp. 541) that the Norris-LaGuardia Act prevented the use of injunction in such a labor case.

The Royal case differed from Alcoa, however, in that the employer sought the relief in Alcoa, the union in the Royal case, although the Court did not discuss the possible distinction. Since no irreparable injury was found, moreover, the holding was not strictly necessary to the result.

In Amalgamated Local 877 v. United Aircraft Corp., 120 F.Supp. 187 the issue first was discussed, and some doubt of the soundness of the Court's dictum in the Royal case expressed; in the following language:

"Defendant, in its motion for summary judgment, seeks also dismissal of the claims for injunctive relief, relying on our decision in Local 937, etc., v. Royal Typewriter Co., supra, that the Norris-LaGuardia Act, 29 U.S.C.A. § 101 et seq., barred injunctive relief on behalf of employee as well as employer.

"Plaintiff questions the soundness of that decision and argues that the jurisdictional question should not in any case be disposed of summarily without evidence on the question of irreparable damage and adequacy of remedy-at-law.

"In the Royal case, no analysis was made of the Norris-LaGuardia Act to determine whether its conditions for the granting of injunctions had been met, in view of the failure to establish irreparable injury.

"Whether the limitations of that Act apply to injunctions at the suit of employees at all, and, if so, whether its conditions have been met, may well await proof on irreparable damage and adequacy of remedy-at-law.

"The motion for summary judgment is denied."

In a later case, Local 379 v. Jacobs, the Court without discussing the issue of the possible effect on jurisdiction of either the Arbitration Act or the Norris-LaGuardia Act held that it had jurisdiction to compel arbitration under Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act.

The...