Pignotti v. LOCAL# 3 SHEET METAL WORKERS INT. ASSOCIATION

• Decision Date: 31 May 1972
• Docket Number: Civ. No. 72-0-132.
• Citation: 343 F. Supp. 236
• Parties: Anthony G. PIGNOTTI, as an individual member of Local #3 Sheet Metal Workers International Association, Plaintiff, v. LOCAL #3 SHEET METAL WORKERS INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Nebraska

343 F. Supp. 236

Anthony G. PIGNOTTI, as an individual member of Local #3 Sheet Metal Workers International Association, Plaintiff, v. LOCAL #3 SHEET METAL WORKERS INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION et al., Defendants.

Civ. No. 72-0-132.

United States District Court, D. Nebraska.

May 31, 1972.

Edward F. Fogarty, Omaha, Neb., for plaintiff.

David D. Weinberg, Omaha, Neb., for defendants (except Contractors Assn.).

Donald W. Fisher, Toledo, Ohio, for defendants, Sheet Metal Workers International Association, Sheet Metal Workers National Pension Fund, Edward J. Carlough, David Todd.

Ronald K. Parsonage, Omaha, Neb., for defendant, Omaha-Council Bluffs Sheet Metal Contractors Association (now SMACNA-Omaha-Council Bluffs, Inc.,

MEMORANDUM DECISION

DENNEY, District Judge.

This case has been tried to the Court without a jury and the following memorandum shall constitute the Court's findings of fact and conclusions of law pursuant to Rule 52 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Since 1966, the Sheet Metal Workers International Association (hereafter the International Union) has promoted a national pension plan for all sheet metal local unions to join. That plan is called the Sheet Metal Workers National Pension Fund (hereafter National Plan).

In the month of July, 1969, Local #3 Sheet Metal Workers International Association (hereafter Local #3), and the Omaha-Council Bluffs Sheet Metal Contractors Association (hereafter Contractors Association) entered into a collective bargaining agreement to expire on May 31, 1972. In that contract, Article VIII provides that:

Section 14. Pension: The Employers agree that upon a thirty (30) day notice by the Sheet Metal Workers Local #3 to deduct specific amount on specific dates from the gross hourly wage rate as requested by the Union and pay said amount to the sheet Metal Workers Pension Fund. By the execution of this Agreement, the Employer also agrees to enter into the appropriate Trust Agreement within the time limit specified above necessary for the administration of such fund and to designate the Employer Trustees under such Agreement hereby waiving all notice thereof and ratifying all actions taken or to be taken by such Trustees within the scope of their authority. (Emphasis added)

It was explained to the members and it was the understanding of the members at the time the contract was ratified that the above provision meant that the details of the pension plan would be decided later and that any plan before selection would be put to a vote of the members. The reference to "sheet Metal Workers Pension Fund" did not refer solely to the National Plan.

At Local #3's regular meeting on September 4, 1969, it was voted that a pension committee be elected to examine the various pension plans in which Local #3 could participate. At a subsequent meeting on January 8, 1970, Jim Pignotti, Paul Wild, Bob Holtz and Jim Newburger were elected to the Pension Committee. The Pension Committee met first on February 19, 1970, and discussed various possible plans. It met again on February 24, 1970, and listened to Paul Stuckenschneider, International Organizer from the International Union, on the merits of the National Plan. At the April 16, 1970, meeting, it was resolved to allow all parties an opportunity to present their individual plans before a recommendation was made. Thus, on May 4, 1970, Ken Fridrich, of Bankers Life, presented the latter's pension plan and on May 20, 1970, John Wilson, of the Prudential Insurance Company, presented its plan.

On July 6, 1970, Edward Carlough, General President of the International Union, wrote to Lester Forman, Business Agent of Local #3, regarding recent changes in the National Plan. The changes were discussed at the Pension Committee's meeting of August 3, 1970. At the meeting of August 10, 1970, Don Schinzel, of Commercial Savings and Loan Association, presented its plan.

It was announced via the Local #3 monthly newsletter that there would be a special meeting on October 22, 1970, to vote on the "pension plan best for Local #3 and the amount of contribution to be submitted and the commencement date". On October 9, 1970, Stuckenschneider wrote to Forman that he would be at the October 22, 1970, meeting to explain the National Plan. At the meeting of October 22, 1970, the members voted not to vote on a pension plan until all members had seen all the plans available. On October 27, 1970, Stuckenschneider wrote again to Forman, this time asking for copies of any other plan presented to the members, that he could compare it with the National Plan. On December 18, 1970, the Pension Committee met again. Stuckenschneider and Dick Reznek from the International Union represented the National Plan and interrogated the Equitable representatives as to the merits of their plan. On December 30, 1970, Stuckenschneider wrote to Jim Pignotti, criticizing and evaluating the Equitable Plan. The Equitable Plan was again discussed at the regular meeting of Local #3 on January 7, 1971. Sometime in January of 1971, the various members of the Pension Committee drafted letters to the general membership regarding their individual recommendations on the pension plan question. All of the letters except that of Jim Pignotti were sent out to the membership. Jim Pignotti's letter was instead read to the membership at a subsequent regular meeting. Walter Brader's letter criticized the Equitable Plan. The letter of Bob Holtz recommended the National Plan. James Newburger's letter stated that he did not feel a local plan was advisable. Jim Pignotti recommended that no plan be adopted at that time. On January 24, 1971, Stuckenschneider wrote to Holtz regarding the earnings of the National Plan. Then, shortly thereafter, Lester Forman, the Business Agent and not a member of the Pension Committee, using apparently the same facilities Local #3 used to publish the monthly newsletter, sent a letter to the members promoting the National Plan and entreating the members not to forget the special pension meeting on March 25, 1971. The monthly newsletter of Local #3 announced the special meeting for March 25, 1971, as the "purpose of this meeting will be to vote for or against a pension plan if accepted the amount of money to be contributed and the month contributions will begin." At the March 25, 1971, meeting, Forman made a motion that the National Plan be adopted starting June 1, 1971. The membership defeated the National Plan by a vote of 93-66.

At the next regular meeting on April 1, 1971, there was again a motion to have at the next regular meeting, as a special order of business, a vote on the pension plan but, if favorable, to table the amount of money until it could be determined what an expected raise in pay for the members would total.

At this point, it should be noted that the Union's Constitution and Ritual provides in Article Ten (10), Section 6— Meetings:

Sec. 6(a). Each local union shall determine the times and places for the holding of its regular meetings, and determine how many of its members shall constitute a quorum. Special meetings shall be called by the local union president or upon the recommendation of the local Executive Board or upon the request of at least ten (10) members in good standing or ten per cent (10%) of the members in good standing, whichever is the greater. The call for such special meeting shall specify the time, place and purposes thereof, and no subjects other than those specified in the call shall be considered at such meeting.

On April 10, 1971, Brader received a petition by more than ten per cent (10%) of the members to call a special meeting to vote again on the pension plan. There appears to have been no hesitancy in Brader's willingness to honor the petition. However, since the pension plan was already scheduled to be voted upon, Brader saved the petition, instead of indicating that the vote of May 6, 1971, should satisfy the petitioners. At the May 6, 1971, meeting, it was voted 58 to 43 that Local #3 did not want a pension plan. Later in the meeting, a motion was made, according to the minutes, to "postpone indefinitely the pension plan and reference thereto. (Rule 23)" Rule 23 of the Constitution and Ritual of the Union provides that "when a question is postponed indefinitely it shall not come up again except by a two-thirds ( 2/3 ) vote." The vote was taken and by Brader's count the motion was defeated 29 to 24. Quickly, a division of the house was called which revealed that the true vote was 60 to 30 in favor of postponing the pension plan consideration indefinitely. Brader used the petition he had previously received to call another special meeting for June 2, 1971, to vote again, this time by secret ballot, whether or not to begin contributing 20 cents to the National Plan. Such contributions were to begin on July 2, 1971. In the meantime, Brader frantically sought help from Carlough and received via Lonnie Gaither, assistant to Carlough, the bald conclusion that the motion to divide the house during the May 6, 1971, meeting was out of order. Before the vote could be forced at the May 27, 1971 meeting, a point of order was made that the meeting itself was out of order, since it had been called specially to vote on the pension question and Rule 30 of the Constitution and Ritual controlled. Rule 30 provides that "when a question has been decided, it can be reconsidered only at the same meeting or on the next regular meeting night." This not being a regular meeting, the question could not be reconsidered. Brader overruled the point of order. The ruling of Brader was challenged by the membership and the challenge was sustained upon vote of the members.

Brader was undaunted by this third defeat of the pension plan within as many months and again besought Carlough to personally intervene, which Carlough did by using his power as General President to call yet another meeting, this time for June 21, 1971, to vote again on the...