McLeod v. National Maritime Union of America, AFL-CIO
| Decision Date | 12 October 1971 |
| Docket Number | 3590.,No. 71 Civ. 3494,71 Civ. 3494 |
| Citation | 334 F. Supp. 34 |
| Parties | Ivan C. McLEOD, Regional Director of the Second Region of the National Labor Relations Board, for and on Behalf of the NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD, Petitioner, v. NATIONAL MARITIME UNION OF AMERICA, AFL-CIO, and Seafarers' International Union of North America and its Affiliates, including the Sailors' Union of the Pacific, Respondents. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York |
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Bertram T. Kupsinel, N.L.R.B., Second Region, New York City, for petitioner.
Schulman, Abarbanel, Perkel & McEvoy, New York City, for Seafarers' International Union of North America and its Affiliates, including the Sailors' Union of the Pacific; Howard Schulman, New York City, of counsel.
Abraham E. Freedman, Stanley B. Gruber, New York City, of counsel, for National Maritime Union of America, AFL-CIO.
Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett, Edward L. Coffey, John W. Ohlweiler, Martin Zuckerman, New York City, of counsel, for Prudential-Grace Lines, Inc.
H. Clayton Cook, Jr., Gen. Counsel, Paul Hardy, Asst. Gen. Counsel, of counsel, U. S. Dept. of Commerce Maritime Administration, Washington, D. C., amicus curiae.
This cause came on to be heard upon the verified petitions of Ivan C. McLeod, Regional Director of the Second Region of the National Labor Relations Board (hereinafter the Board), for a temporary injunction pursuant to Section 10 (l) of the National Labor Relations Act (hereinafter the Act), as amended, pending the final disposition of this matter before the Board, and upon the issuance of an order to show cause why injunctive relief should not be granted as prayed in said petitions.
A hearing on the issues raised by the petitions was held on August 31, September 1, 2, 3, and 8, 1971. All parties were afforded full opportunity to be heard, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, to present evidence bearing on the issues, and to argue on the evidence and the law. The Court has fully considered the petitions, evidence, arguments and briefs of counsel. Upon the entire record, the Court makes the following:
I. FINDINGS OF FACT
1. Petitioner is Regional Director of the Second Region of the National Labor Relations Board, an agency of the United States, and filed the petitions for and on behalf of the Board.
2. Jurisdiction of this Court is invoked pursuant to section 10(l) of the National Labor Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. section 160(l) (1970), as amended.
3. On June 23, 1971, Prudential-Grace Lines, Inc. (herein at times called "the Company") pursuant to the provisions of the Act, filed charged with the Board, alleging that each of the labor organizations named above as respondents has engaged in, and is engaging in, unfair labor practices within the meaning of section 8(b) (4) (i) (D) or section 8(b) (4) (ii) (D) of the Act.
4. The aforesaid charges were referred to petitioner as Regional Director of the Second Region of the Board.
5. The petitioner, after investigation of the aforesaid charges, alleged that he had reasonable cause to believe that respondents Seafarers International Union of North America (hereinafter "SIU") and Sailors Union of the Pacific (hereinafter "SUP") violated section 8(b) (4) (ii) (D) of the Act.
6. The petitioner, after investigation of the aforesaid charges alleged that he had reasonable cause to believe that the respondent National Maritime Union of America, AFL-CIO (hereinafter "NMU"), violated section 8(b) (4) (i) (ii) (D) of the Act.
7. Each respondent is an unincorporated association, an organization in which employees participate and which exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of employment or conditions of work.
8. Respondent SIU is a labor organization within the meaning of the Act and maintains its principal place of business at 675 Fourth Avenue, Brooklyn, New York, and transacts business within the territorial jurisdiction of this Court.
9. The respondent SIU consists of several districts, one of which is the Pacific District which comprises the SUP, the Marine Firemen's Union and the Marine Cooks and Stewards Union.
10. Respondent SUP is a labor organization within the meaning of the Act and maintains its principal place of business at 450 Harrison Street, San Francisco, California, and transacts business within the territorial jurisdiction of this Court.
11. Respondent NMU maintains its office at 36 Seventh Avenue, New York, New York, and respondent at all times material herein has been engaged within this judicial district in transacting business and in promoting the interests of its employee members.
12. The Company, a Delaware corporation, with its principal office located at One New York Plaza, New York, New York, is engaged in the business of transporting goods in interstate and foreign commerce. During the past year, it derived in excess of $50,000,000 gross revenue from its operations.
13. From in or about 1938 until in or about December, 1969, Prudential Steamship Company, Inc., formerly known as Prudential Lines, Inc. and Prudential Steamship Corporation, was engaged as an oceangoing carrier in the shipping industry on various trade routes operated from the East Coast of the United States, and its unlicensed personnel were represented by respondent NMU.
14. Since in or about 1938, Prudential-Grace Lines, Inc., formerly known as Grace Line Inc., and since December, 1969, a subsidiary of Prudential Steamship Company, Inc., has been engaged as an oceangoing carrier in the shipping industry, in the business of transporting goods in interstate and foreign commerce, and at all times material herein the Company has had an operating subsidy contract with the government of the United States which covered two fleets; one fleet based on and operating from the East Coast, whose unlicensed personnel have been represented by respondent NMU and the other fleet based on and operating from the West Coast, whose unlicensed personnel have been represented by respondent SIU (Pacific District) unions.
15. In or about February or March, 1971, the Company decided for economic reasons to transfer two ships, the Seajet and the Oceanjet, from service based on the East Coast to the West Coast for operations on a trade route or trade routes to be serviced from the West Coast.
16. On or about April 7, 1971, the Company, by Spyros S. Skouras, Jr., its President, notified respondent NMU's President, Joseph Curran, of the contemplated transfer.
17. Since on or about April 7, 1971, respondent, NMU by its President Joseph Curran, has demanded that if the Seajet and the Oceanjet were transferred from the East Coast to the West Coast they would have to continue to be operated by employees represented by respondent NMU under respondent NMU's collective bargaining agreement with the Company.
18. Each of the two jet ships is manned by a complement of twenty-six unlicensed seamen.
19. The collective bargaining agreement referred to above in paragraph 17 between the Company and respondent NMU contains provisions, inter alia, which require that the manning of all ships operated by the Company be done through respondent NMU's hiring hall.
20. In or about the month of April, 1971, the Company informed respondent SUP that respondent NMU had demanded that once the ships were transferred to the West Coast the Company retain in employment on the Seajet and Oceanjet the employees then employed thereon and continue thereafter to apply NMU's collective bargaining contract to the ships' operations.
21. Since in or about April, 1971, respondent SUP, by Morris Weissberger, who is Secretary-Treasurer of SUP and a Vice-President of SIU, has asserted that the Seajet and the Oceanjet, upon transfer to the West Coast would have to be operated by employees represented by respondent SUP under the existing collective bargaining agreement with the Company.
22. The collective bargaining agreements referred to above in paragraph 21 between the Company and respondent SIU (Pacific District) unions contain provisions, inter alia, which require that the unlicensed Deck Department personnel of all ships operated by the Company and based on the West Coast be done through respondent SUP's hiring hall.
23. On or about April 24 and May 14, 1971, the Company has laid up the Seajet and the Oceanjet, which it had contemplated transferring to the West Coast, at a cost of $8,000 per day, because of the demand by respondent NMU described above in paragraph 17.
24. On or about June 1, 1971, respondent NMU by Mel Barisic, its Vice-President, and on or about June 16 and 18, 1971, respondent NMU by its president, Joseph Curran, stated that the Seajet and the Oceanjet would not be manned for voyages to the West Coast and could not be moved unless the Company agreed that they would thereafter be continued to be manned by employees represented by respondent NMU and that the collective bargaining agreement between the Company and respondent NMU would be applied to them.
25. An NMU member cannot reship aboard his vessel unless he registers to do so.
26. An NMU member who collects severance pay as a result of his ship having been laid up for over ninety days is not eligible to reship on the vessel once it resumes service.
27. Since in or about June, 1971, because of the conduct of respondent NMU described above the Company has been unable to effectuate the transfer of the two jet ships to the West Coast.
28. Since June, 1971 respondent NMU has refused to perform services, and has thereby restrained the Company from transferring the jet ships.
29. An object of respondent NMU's acts and conduct set forth above has been, and is, to force and require the Company to assign particular work to employees who are members of, or represented by, respondent NMU, rather than to employees who are members of or represented by respondent...
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McLeod v. National Maritime Union of America, AFL-CIO
...reasonable cause to believe that NMU was violating or had violated the Act, and, in an opinion dated October 12, 1971, reported in 334 F. Supp. 34 (SDNY 1971), enjoined that union (334 F.Supp. 47) from refusing to man the ships pending a final disposition of the pertinent proceedings before......