Railway Labor Executives Ass'n v. Chesapeake Western Ry., s. 90-2677
| Decision Date | 20 December 1990 |
| Docket Number | Nos. 90-2677,90-2697,s. 90-2677 |
| Citation | 915 F.2d 116 |
| Parties | 135 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2439, 116 Lab.Cas. P 10,301 RAILWAY LABOR EXECUTIVES ASSOCIATION; American Railway & Airway Supervisors Association; American Train Dispatchers Association; Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers; Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees; Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen; Brotherhood of Railway Carmen; International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers; International Brotherhood of Boilermakers and Blacksmiths; International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers; International Brotherhood of Firemen and Oilers; Sheet Metal Workers International Association; Transportation Communications International Union; Railroad Yardmasters of America; United Transportation Union, Plaintiffs-Appellants, and Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union; International Longshoremen's Association; National Marine Engineer's Association; Seafarers International Union of North America; Transport Workers Union of America, Plaintiffs, v. CHESAPEAKE WESTERN RAILWAY; Southern Railway Company; Norfolk & Western Railway Company; Norfolk Southern Corporation, Defendants-Appellees, and Carolina Coastal Railway, Incorporated, Defendant. RAILWAY LABOR EXECUTIVES ASSOCIATION; American Railway & Airway Supervisors Association; American Train Dispatchers Association; Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers; Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees; Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen; Brotherhood of Railway Carmen; International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers; International Brotherhood of Boilermakers and Blacksmiths; International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers; International Brotherhood of Firemen and Oilers; Sheet Metal Workers International Association; Transportation Communications International Union; Railroad Yardmasters of America; United Transportation Union, Plaintiffs-Appellants, and Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union; International Longshoremen's Association; National Marine Engineer's Association; Seafar |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit |
John O'Brien Clarke, Jr., argued (David J. Strom, on brief), Highsaw, Mahoney & Clarke, P.C., Washington, D.C., for plaintiffs-appellants.
Jeffrey Stephen Berlin, Richardson, Berlin & Morvillo, Washington, D.C., argued (Mark E. Martin, Richardson, Berlin & Morvillo, Washington, D.C., William P. Stallsmith, Jr., Norfolk, on brief), for defendants-appellees.
Before RUSSELL, WIDENER, and HALL, Circuit Judges.
The Railway Labor Executives' Association and several other railroad labor unions ("Unions") appeal an order of the district court granting summary judgment dismissing the Unions' action against Norfolk Southern Railway Co. and some of its subsidiaries ("NS") seeking declaratory and injunctive relief under the Railway Labor Act ("RLA"), 45 U.S.C. Secs. 151, et seq. We dismiss the appeal in part as moot, and affirm in all other respects.
This case arises from the displacement of railroad workers by the sale and lease of certain railroad lines by NS.
In October 1987, NS identified 2,700 miles of its system that were unprofitable. 1,500 miles had no potential for profitability and were slated for abandonment; the remaining 1,200 marginally-profitable lines were to be sold or leased to "short line" operators--small railroads that could operate the lines more economically than NS. As of late May 1990, approximately 810 miles had been transferred under this program. In each instance, the transferee short-line railroad operates the line with its own employees.
All of the transfers are subject to the jurisdiction of the Interstate Commerce Commission ("ICC"). Where the transfer is to an operating ICC-regulated "carrier," the ICC authorization is issued under 49 U.S.C. Sec. 11343. In these transactions, the ICC must impose certain "employee protective conditions." 49 U.S.C. Sec. 11347. 1 On the other hand, transfers to entities that have not before been "carriers" under the ICC are governed by 49 U.S.C. Sec. 10901; no employee protective measures are generally imposed. A key transaction at issue in this case is of this latter type--550 miles of lines sold by NS to Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway Co. (W & LE), a newly-formed corporation.
The Unions filed this action on August 4, 1989, and amended their complaint December 12, 1989. The complaint challenged NS' authority to transfer lines without bargaining under the RLA. The Unions sought declaratory relief that bargaining was required and injunctive relief prohibiting further transfers until bargaining was complete. On December 19, NS answered the complaint and counterclaimed for a declaratory judgment that the dispute is "minor" under the RLA and for an injunction prohibiting the Unions from striking over the dispute.
The parties filed cross-motions to dismiss and/or for summary judgment. On February 16, 1990, after hearing argument, the district court entered an order granting NS summary judgment on its declaratory judgment claim and dismissing the Unions' complaint, and noted that an opinion would be forthcoming.
The February 16 order did not dispose of NS' request for a strike injunction, and on March 12, the Unions filed a competing motion to enjoin the then-pending sale of 550 miles of track to W & LE. This motion sought to preserve the status quo until the completion of arbitration of the Unions' claims (the mandatory remedy for "minor" disputes under the RLA). On May 15, the district court denied the Unions' motion. It further denied NS a strike injunction because a strike was not then threatened, but without prejudice to a renewal of the motion should circumstances change. On May 17, the Unions filed their notice of appeal, and the district court denied their motion to enjoin consummation of the W & LE transaction pending appeal. Undaunted, the Unions made an "emergency motion" for injunction pending appeal to this court on May 18. The emergency motion was denied, but consideration of this appeal was expedited. The W & LE transaction had actually already been completed on May 17.
NS has moved to dismiss the appeal. In part, NS argues that the Unions' claim for injunctive relief against the W & LE transaction was mooted by its occurrence. 2
The Unions' complaint is a broad attack on NS' entire policy of transferring lines without bargaining, and requests injunctive relief against any such transfers. In its motion to dismiss the appeal, however, NS argues that, as regards any transaction (such as the sale to W & LE) that has been completed, the Unions' request for injunctive relief is moot. We agree. An appeal of the denial of an injunction to prohibit an act is rendered moot by the happening of the act. Seafarers Int'l Union v. National Marine Services, Inc., 820 F.2d 148 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 953, 108 S.Ct. 346, 98 L.Ed.2d 372 (1987); IBTCWHA v. Western Air Lines, Inc., 854 F.2d 1178 (9th Cir.1988). Therefore, to the extent the Unions seek to enjoin the occurrence of past events, their appeal is dismissed as moot.
The heart of this case is whether the district court had jurisdiction over the dispute between the parties. Under the RLA, disputes that arise between a railroad and its employees are divided into two categories. Disputes arising from grievances or under the collective bargaining agreement are subject to compulsory arbitration. RLA Sec. 3, 45 U.S.C. Sec. 153. The courts have rather inappropriately labeled these disputes "minor." During arbitration of a "minor" dispute, the employer may make changes in working conditions in accordance with his interpretation of the collective bargaining agreement.
A "major" dispute, governed by RLA Sec. 6, 45 U.S.C. Sec. 156, involves the creation or change of a collective bargaining agreement. These disputes are resolved through a lengthy process of negotiation, compulsory mediation, voluntary arbitration, and, if all else fails, strikes and lockouts. During this process, the employer may not impose a unilateral change in the working condition being negotiated.
Distinguishing a major from a minor dispute can be difficult, but the test is deliberately tilted toward finding a dispute minor:
Where an employer asserts a contractual right to take the contested action, the ensuing dispute is minor if the action is arguably justified by the terms of the parties' collective bargaining agreement. Where, in contrast, the employers' claims are frivolous or obviously insubstantial, the dispute is major.
NS asserts just such a contractual right to transfer lines. NS argues that the furlough and reduction in force provisions of its collective bargaining agreement inescapably imply that it has unimpeded power to sell lines and lay off workers. In addition, NS presented evidence of a past practice of acquiescence by the unions in this interpretation.
We agree with the district court's conclusion that NS' position is "arguably justified" by the agreement. A railroad has a "light burden" to establish arbitrability under the RLA. Consolidated Rail, 109 S.Ct. at 2482. A district court need not, indeed should not, assess the relative merits of the parties' competing interpretations of the contract in order to find the dispute "minor." If the railroad's assertion that the collective bargaining agreement controls the dispute rises above the "frivolous or obviously insubstantial," then the court must dismiss the action for lack of subject...
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