Newspaper Guild v. Boston Herald-Traveler Corp., 5155.

• Decision Date: 30 November 1956
• Docket Number: No. 5155.,5155.
• Citation: 238 F.2d 471
• Parties: NEWSPAPER GUILD OF BOSTON, Plaintiff, Appellant, v. BOSTON HERALD-TRAVELER CORPORATION, Defendant, Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — First Circuit

238 F.2d 471 (1956)

NEWSPAPER GUILD OF BOSTON, Plaintiff, Appellant, v. BOSTON HERALD-TRAVELER CORPORATION, Defendant, Appellee.

No. 5155.

United States Court of Appeals First Circuit.

November 30, 1956.

Sidney S. Grant, Boston, Mass., Grant & Angoff, Boston, Mass., on the brief, for appellant.

Frank W. Crocker, Boston, Mass., James Vorenberg and Ropes, Gray, Best, Coolidge & Rugg, Boston, Mass., on the brief, for appellee.

Before MAGRUDER, Chief Judge, and WOODBURY and HARTIGAN, Circuit Judges.

MAGRUDER, Chief Judge.

This case was here before. Newspaper Guild of Boston v. Boston Herald-Traveler Corp., 1 Cir., 1956, 233 F.2d 102.

It started as a complaint filed in the district court by the Newspaper Guild under § 301 of the Taft-Hartley Act, 61 Stat. 156, 29 U.S.C.A. § 185, in which a court order was sought to compel Boston Herald-Traveler Corporation to submit a certain dispute as to an alleged "discharge" of a rewrite man to arbitration pursuant to paragraph 4 of art. V of the collective bargaining agreement. The district court dismissed the complaint for lack of jurisdiction. On appeal from this judgment of dismissal, we vacated the judgment and remanded the case for further proceedings, upon the authority of our decision in Local 205, United Electrical, etc., Workers v. General Electric Co., 1 Cir., 1956, 233 F.2d 85.

In paragraph 1 of "Article V — Security" the parties each agreed to meet upon the request of the other to discuss matters arising from the application of the collective bargaining agreement "or affecting the relations of the Publisher and the employees covered by this agreement." Paragraph 2 provided that: "* * * In case of all discharges, the Guild will be notified in writing at the same time as the employee is notified." Paragraph 3 provided that if within five days "after notification of any discharge is received," the Guild requested a meeting with the Publisher "to discuss the discharge, the Publisher or his representative and the Guild will make every effort to determine and understand the facts in each case, to the end that mutual agreement will result." Paragraph 4 then provided:

"In the event that the Publisher and the Guild are unable to agree upon the discharge, the matter shall upon the request of either party be submitted to arbitration for the purpose of deciding (1) whether or not the Publisher had just cause for the discharge, or (2) if the matter of severance pay is in issue, whether or not the discharge was for gross neglect of duty or gross misconduct while on duty; provided, however, that a discharge due to a reduction in size of staff shall be within the sole discretion of the Publisher and shall not be arbitrable. * * *"

The paragraph went on to authorize the arbitrator, if he should find that the employee was "discharged without just cause," to order "the reinstatement of such employee with such compensation for the time lost as the arbitrator may determine; or if the matter of severance pay is in issue and the arbitrator shall determine that the employee was discharged for just cause but not for gross neglect of duty or gross misconduct while on duty, the employee shall be awarded severance pay." A few procedural...