Long Island R. Co. v. IAM

• Decision Date: 14 March 1989
• Docket Number: 89 Civ. 1535 (RPP),89 Civ. 1516 (RPP) and 89 Civ. 1504 (RPP).,No. 89 Civ. 1536 (RPP),89 Civ. 1536 (RPP)
• Citation: 709 F. Supp. 376
• Parties: The LONG ISLAND RAIL ROAD CO., Plaintiff, v. INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS & AEROSPACE WORKERS, et al., Defendants. METRO-NORTH COMMUTER RAILROAD CO., Plaintiff, v. INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS & AEROSPACE WORKERS, et al., Defendants. NJ TRANSIT RAIL OPERATIONS, INC., Plaintiff, v. The BROTHERHOOD OF RAILROAD SIGNALMEN, et al., Defendants. NATIONAL RAILROAD PASSENGER CORP., Plaintiff, v. AMERICAN RAILWAY AND AIRWAY SUPERVISORS ASSOCIATION, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

709 F. Supp. 376

The LONG ISLAND RAIL ROAD CO., Plaintiff, v. INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS & AEROSPACE WORKERS, et al., Defendants.

METRO-NORTH COMMUTER RAILROAD CO., Plaintiff, v. INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS & AEROSPACE WORKERS, et al., Defendants.

NJ TRANSIT RAIL OPERATIONS, INC., Plaintiff, v. The BROTHERHOOD OF RAILROAD SIGNALMEN, et al., Defendants.

NATIONAL RAILROAD PASSENGER CORP., Plaintiff, v. AMERICAN RAILWAY AND AIRWAY SUPERVISORS ASSOCIATION, et al., Defendants.

Nos. 89 Civ. 1536 (RPP), 89 Civ. 1535 (RPP), 89 Civ. 1516 (RPP) and 89 Civ. 1504 (RPP).

United States District Court, S.D. New York.

March 14, 1989.

Proskauer Rose Goetz & Mendelsohn, New York City (Bernard M. Plum, of counsel), for Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road.

Guerrieri, Edmond & James, P.C., Washington, D.C. (John Edmond, Richard Ruda, of counsel), Vladeck, Waldman, Elias & Engelhard, P.C., New York City (Sheldon Engelhard, of counsel), Reitman, Parsonnet, Maisel & Duggan, Newark, N.J. (Bennet D. Zurofsky, of counsel), for union defendants.

Shapiro, Shiff, Beilly, Rosenberg & Fox, New York City (Sidney Fox, of counsel), for United Transportation Union.

Baptiste & Wilder, P.C., Washington, D.C. (Roland P. Wilder, Jr., of counsel), for Local 808, Intern. Broth. of Teamsters.

Siff, Rosen & Parker, P.C., New York City, Sally D. Garr, Washington, D.C. (Mark S. Landman, William G. Ballaine, New York City, of counsel), for Amtrak.

Robert H. Stoloff, Rebecca Fields, Deputy Attys. Gen., Trenton, N.J., for NJ Transit.

OPINION AND ORDER

PATTERSON, District Judge.

These motions for preliminary injunctions were brought on by (a) orders to show cause signed by the Court on March 5, 1989 after a six-hour hearing on March 4, 1989 at which counsel for plaintiffs Metro-North Commuter Railroad Co. (Metro-North), the Long Island Rail Road Co. (LIRR) and NJ Transit Rail Operations, Inc. (NJT) and counsel for defendants presented arguments to the Court, and (b) an order to show cause signed by the Court on March 6, 1989, after hearings on March 5, 1989 and March 6, 1989 at which counsel for plaintiff National Railroad Passenger Association (Amtrak) and counsel for defendants presented arguments to the Court. Each order to show cause contained a temporary restraining order against defendants ordering them not to engage in a sympathy strike or other concerted labor activity against the plaintiff in connection with the threatened picketing of plaintiffs' premises by members of defendants International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), which has been engaged in a bitter strike against Eastern Air Lines and which also represents employees of each the plaintiffs.

Each order to show cause was made returnable on March 8, 1989 at 2:00 p.m. On March 7, 1989, the Court, sua sponte, extended the temporary restraining orders until midnight on March 10, 1989. Evidentiary hearings, including arguments on the law, on the motions for preliminary injunctions, were held on March 8 and 9, 1989 in a consolidated hearing for all four cases. On March 10, 1989 the temporary restraining orders were extended until the issuance of this opinion and order. All the plaintiffs are carriers by rail and bring these motions for a preliminary injunction, pursuant to complaints that seek that relief under the Railway Labor Act (RLA), 45 U.S.C. § 151 et seq.¹

This opinion shall constitute findings of fact and conclusions of law pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 52(a).

Jurisdiction and Venue

Jurisdiction of these actions is founded on 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1337. Venue lies in the Southern District of New York, as plaintiffs have each presented evidence establishing that they have substantial operations in this district and that the threatened acts of defendants will occur in this district. 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b).

The Parties

A. Metro-North

Metro-North operates commuter rail service on behalf of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Connecticut Department of Transportation. Its operations include rail lines, known as the Hudson, Harlem and New Haven Lines. It operates some 525 trains daily into and out of Grand Central Terminal that carry approximately 85,000 daily commuters.

Metro-North had collective bargaining agreements negotiated under the RLA with all of the union defendants named in its complaint. With the exception of the agreement with Local 808, International Brotherhood of Teamsters (Local 808), all of the collective bargaining agreements became effective on January 1, 1986 and became amendable on January 1, 1989. Local 808 has not entered into a new collective bargaining agreement since its service of a notice pursuant to § 6 of the RLA, prior to the expiration of its prior agreement on December 31, 1985, but has not been released from mediation before the National Mediation Board. All of the other defendant unions sued by Metro-North in this action have served notices pursuant to § 6 of the RLA indicating their intention to make changes in rates of pay, rules and working conditions. The service of the § 6 notices has the effect of making Metro-North and all of the defendant unions subject to the status quo requirements of the RLA, preventing the unilateral change of rates of pay, rules or working conditions.

B. LIRR

The LIRR operates commuter rail service on behalf of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. It operates some 727 trains daily into and out of Pennsylvania Station that carry approximately 272,000 daily commuters. The LIRR also carries freight in interstate commerce and is an integral part of the national railway system.

The LIRR has collective bargaining agreements negotiated under the RLA with all the defendant unions named in its complaint which continue in effect until June 30, 1989. Pursuant to the moratorium provisions in these agreements, § 6 notices indicating the intention to make changes in rates of pay, rules and working conditions, were served in January 1989, but are not effective until June 30, 1989.

C. NJT

NJT, an instrumentality of the State of New Jersey, operates 565 daily trains on ten rail lines which account for approximately 186,000 one-way daily passenger trips (approximately 93,000 round-trip passengers). The destination of most NJT passengers is New York City, with Northeast Corridor trains (NJT's most heavily travelled line) and North Jersey Coast Line Trains terminating in Penn Station, Manhattan. Other service has terminals in Newark and Hoboken, New Jersey from which passengers may transfer to PATH lines to New York City. In addition to the terminals at Newark and Hoboken, New Jersey, other New Jersey locations and Penn Station, New York, NJT operates service that originates in Port Jervis, Suffern and Spring Valley, New York and provides service to other Rockland County, New York communities. NJT has 4,000 employees, 3,500 of whom are represented by unions.

NJT has collective bargaining agreements negotiated under the RLA in full force and effect with each of the defendant unions named in its complaint.

D. Amtrak

Amtrak is engaged in the rail transportation of passengers, mail and express packages in intrastate and interstate commerce throughout the continental United States. It operates 100 passenger trains per day in the Northeast corridor, including approximately 70 trains per day between Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia; 84 trains (including the 70 trains above) per day between Philadelphia and New York, and 20 trains between New York and Boston. In addition, Amtrak operates key components of rail lines which the other railroad plaintiffs in the Northeast corridor operate.

Amtrak has collective bargaining agreements, in full force and effect, negotiated under the RLA with each of the defendant unions named in its complaint.

E. Defendants

Defendants in the Metro-North complaint are International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAM), American Railway and Airway Supervisors Associations (ARASA), American Train Dispatchers Association (ATDA), Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS), Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (BLE), International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Local 495, Hotel & Restaurant Employees Bartenders International Union (Local 495), International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers & Helpers (IBB), International Brotherhood of Firemen & Oilers (IBF & O), Local 808, International Brotherhood of Teamsters (Local 808), Sheetmetal Workers International Association (SWIA), Transport Workers Union of America (TWU), Local 1460, Transport Workers Union (Local 1460), Transportation Communication International Union (TCIU), TCIU-TC Division and the United Transportation Union (UTU) (collectively, the "Metro-North unions"). Collective bargaining agreements set forth the terms and conditions of employment of the Metro-North employees represented by those unions. (Ex. 69-89; Tr. 14)

The LIRR has collective bargaining agreements with defendants IAM, ARSA, BRS, BLE, IBEW, IBF & O, SWIA, UTU, TCU and the National Transportation Supervisors Association (NTSA) (collectively, the "LIRR unions"), which set forth the terms and conditions of employment of the LIRR employees represented by those unions. (Ex. 30-40, 93-95; Tr. 14)

NJT has collective bargaining agreements with defendants IAM, ARASA, ATDA, BRS, IBEW, IBB, IBF & O, SWIA, TWU, TCIU, BLE, three divisions of the UTU; UTU-Yardmasters (UTU-Y), UTU-Trainmen (UTU-T), Brotherhood of Railway Carmen, a Division of TCU (BRC) and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees (BMWE) (collectively, the "NJT unions") (NJT-15), which set forth the terms and conditions of employment of the NJT employees represented by those unions.

Amtrak has collective bargaining agreements with defendants ARASA, Amtrak Service Workers Council, ATDA, BLE, IBB, IBEW, IBF & O, Railroad Yardmasters of America (RYA), SWIA, TCU and UTU (collectively, the "Amtrak unions")...