Null v. Carpenters District Council of Houston
Decision Date | 20 March 1965 |
Docket Number | Civ. A. No. 63-H-461. |
Parties | William M. NULL, Plaintiff, v. CARPENTERS DISTRICT COUNCIL OF HOUSTON et al., Defendants. |
Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of Texas |
C. Anthony Friloux, Jr., of Friloux & Eddington, Houston, Tex., for plaintiff.
Glynn W. McDonald, of Combs & Mitchell, Houston, Tex., for defendants.
The plaintiff, a member of a union, was in union proceedings convicted of charges that he violated certain provisions of the by-laws of the union. He seeks, in this action, to set aside that conviction under the provisions of Section 411, Title 29, U.S.C.A. The pertinent portion of Section 411 provides as follows:
Section 411 is a part of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act. Sec. 401 et seq., 29 U.S.C.A.
On April 19, 1962, and for a number of years prior thereto, the plaintiff Null was an active member in good standing of Local Union 213 of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. The defendant Carpenters District Council of Houston is a council of nine unions in the Houston area belonging to and a part of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. It has a membership of forty. It has an Executive Committee. The District Council has its business office in Harris County, Texas. During the period of time here involved, Fred Lucas was the Secretary-Treasurer of the District Council; Roy Bruce was the Business Agent of Local No. 213 and President of the District Council; and D. O. Goforth was the Business Representative of Local No. 213. They were made defendants to the action.
In February, 1962, the plaintiff was acting in the capacity of job steward for the members of Local 213 working on the construction of the Continental Houston Motel in downtown Houston, Texas. It was the duty of the job steward, under the By-Laws and Trade Rules of the District Council, to examine the credentials of each member of the union under his jurisdiction once each week and to have each member sign a steward's report. Local 213 has no central control over the payment of dues by its members and one of the purposes of having the job steward perform the above-described duties is to insure prompt payment of dues by the members of Local 213. On February 19, 1962, it was brought to the attention of the District Council that the plaintiff may have been derelict in the performance of those duties.
The Constitution, By-Laws and Rules of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America contain numerous sections. Section 55(B) provides as follows:
Section 56 provides, in part, as follows:
Section 57(A) provides, in part, as follows:
"A A member who has been expelled, suspended or fined in an amount in excess of Fifty Dollars ($50.00) may appeal to the General President, subject to a further appeal to the General Executive Board and a final appeal to the General Convention. * * *"
When it came to the attention of the District Council on February 19, 1962, that the plaintiff may have been derelict in the performance of the duties referred to, the Council ordered D. O. Goforth to conduct an investigation into the matter and to file charges if the situation so merited. On February 20, 1962, Goforth visited the job site at which the plaintiff was job steward and informed him of the investigation and that charges might be brought against him. During the course of the conversation, Goforth questioned the plaintiff about one Max Osborne, an apprentice member of Local 213, and the failure of the plaintiff to inspect Osborne's credentials and have him sign the steward's report.
The charges were thereafter filed by Goforth. The charges were first read to the District Council at its next regular meeting on March 19, 1962. The plaintiff was informed by letter from Fred Lucas, President of Local 213, bearing the date March 26, 1962, that charges had been filed against him. The letter was delivered to the plaintiff in due course of the mails. Attached to the letter was a written specification of the charges filed, bearing the date February 20, 1965. The March 26, 1962, letter informed the plaintiff to be present at a meeting of the District Council on April 2, 1962, at which a Trial Committee would be selected. The meeting of April 2, 1962, was held and a Trial Committee was selected, as provided by Section 56(F), from among the members of the District Council. On April 16, 1962, a trial was had on the charges against the plaintiff.
The specification of charges, bearing the date February 20, 1962, charged the plaintiff as follows:
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