Sams v. Brotherhood of Railway & Steamship Clerks

• Decision Date: 10 January 1956
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 5075.
• Citation: 166 F. Supp. 49
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of South Carolina
• Parties: Lawrence SAMS, Plaintiff, v. BROTHERHOOD OF RAILWAY & STEAMSHIP CLERKS, SUMTER LODGE NO. 6193, R. S. Hughes, General Chairman, B. of R. C., S. E. Futrell, Vice-Chairman, B. of R. C., R. W. McIntosh, Secretary and Treasurer of B. of R. C., and Railway Express Agency, Inc., Defendants.

166 F. Supp. 49

Lawrence SAMS, Plaintiff, v. BROTHERHOOD OF RAILWAY & STEAMSHIP CLERKS, SUMTER LODGE NO. 6193, R. S. Hughes, General Chairman, B. of R. C., S. E. Futrell, Vice-Chairman, B. of R. C., R. W. McIntosh, Secretary and Treasurer of B. of R. C., and Railway Express Agency, Inc., Defendants.

Civ. A. No. 5075.

United States District Court E. D. South Carolina, Florence Division.

January 10, 1956.

T. Kenneth Summerford, John D. Whisenhunt, Florence S. C., for plaintiff.

Willcox, Hardee, Houck & Palmer, A. L. Hardee, Florence, S. C., Alston, Sibley, Miller, Spann and Shackelford, James E. Thomas, Atlanta, Ga., of counsel, for defendant Railway Express Agency, Inc.

Mulholland, Robie & Hickey, Washington, D. C., Edward J. Hickey, Jr. and James L. Highsaw, Jr., Washington, D. C., and John W. Crews, Columbia, S. C., of counsel, for defendants Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks, Sumter Lodge No. 6193, R. S. Hughes, General Chairman, B. of R. C., S. E. Futrell, Vice-Chairman, B. of R. C., R. W. McIntosh, Secretary and Treasurer of B. of R. C.

WILLIAMS, District Judge.

This action was commenced upon a complaint filed on July 16, 1955, and summons issued on said date, and is for the recovery of $50,000 damages alleged to have been sustained by the plaintiff as the result of alleged wrongful termination of plaintiff's employment by Railway Express Agency, Inc., hereinafter referred to as Express Agency, without just cause at the instance of defendant, Brotherhood of Railway & Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express & Station Employees, hereinafter referred to as the Brotherhood. It is alleged that these defendants conspired to force the plaintiff to join the Brotherhood and further conspired to use the threat of the loss of his job to make the plaintiff continue his membership in the Brotherhood and to collect the dues of plaintiff to the Brotherhood, and caused the termination of his employment by the Express Agency after 25 years of service, with loss of retirement and seniority benefits. Certain officers of the Brotherhood and of Sumter Lodge No. 6193 of that organization are joined as parties defendant because of their alleged acts as officers and members of said Brotherhood and of the local lodge thereof with respect to the termination of plaintiff's employment.

Express agency filed a motion to strike certain allegations from the complaint as irrelevant and filed an answer challenging the right of the plaintiff to maintain this action and of the jurisdiction of the court by reason of his failure to comply with the provisions of agreements between it and the Brotherhood made pursuant to provisions of Section 2, Eleventh (45 U.S.C.A. § 152, Eleventh) of the Railway Labor Act, as amended January 10, 1951. It also filed motion for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, 28 U.S.C.A., and for an order dismissing the action on the ground that there is no issue of material fact, it appearing from the records and documents filed in support of said motion that plaintiff's employment was lawfully terminated pursuant to the contract between the Express Agency and the Brotherhood dated March 31, 1952, which required, as a condition of plaintiff's continued employment with Express Agency, that he maintain membership in the Brotherhood in good standing by payment of periodic dues. These motions were supported by affidavits and by memorandum of points and authorities.

There were also filed with the Court on behalf of certain of the individual defendants motions to quash service on them based on the ground that service was made outside of the territorial limits of the State of South Carolina, contrary to the requirements of Rule 4(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. In addition, the Brotherhood, Sumter Lodge No. 6193, and the individual defendants who are officers of the Brotherhood or the local lodge filed with the Court a motion to dismiss the complaint under Rule 12 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, or, in the alternative, to grant them summary judgment under Rule 56 (b) of said Rules. This motion was based on the grounds that (1) the complaint fails to state a claim against the defendants on which relief can be granted, and (2) the plaintiff has failed to exhaust the remedies for relief provided to him by the laws of the Brotherhood and by the agreement between the Brotherhood and the Express Agency under which plaintiff's employment with Express Agency was terminated. This motion was supported by affidavits setting forth the pertinent facts relating to the termination of plaintiff's employment, which will be hereinafter commented upon, and by memorandum of points and authorities.

The factual matters set forth in the affidavits filed on behalf of the defendants and the validity of the documents and agreements involved are not controverted by the plaintiff. Plaintiff did file an affidavit of Duncan E. McLaughlin in support of his opposition to the grant of defendants' motions, but the statements in said affidavit are clearly hearsay and, as hereinafter set forth, are immaterial.

All of the matters referred to above came on for hearing before me at Florence, South Carolina, and counsel for all parties were heard thereon and memoranda and briefs filed have been duly considered. It is unnecessary to consider any of the motions except the motions for summary judgment and for dismissal as the decision thereon will render the other motions moot.

The Brotherhood is the duly designated representative under the Railway Labor Act, as amended (45 U.S.C.A. § 152) for purposes of collective bargaining of the employees of Express Agency belonging to the craft or class of freight handlers in which group plaintiff was included. As such collective bargaining agent the Brotherhood entered into an agreement, effective September 1, 1949, with Express Agency governing hours of service and working conditions of such employees, including the plaintiff.

Effective January 10, 1951, the Railway Labor Act was amended to provide in Section 2, Eleventh thereof (45 U.S. C.A. § 152, Eleventh), in substance that railway labor organizations, such as the Brotherhood, could enter into agreements with carriers subject to the Railway Labor Act, of which Express Agency is one, requiring employees of such carriers, as a condition of their continued employment by the carrier, to become members of the labor organizations, and thereafter maintain such membership in good standing by the payment of periodic dues, initiation fees and assessments uniformly required of such members. The pertinent portions of this statutory provision read as follows:

"Eleventh. (45 U.S.C.A. § 152 as added by Act of January 10, 1951, 64 Stat. 1238) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Act, or of any other statute or law of the United States, or Territory thereof, or of any State, any carrier or carriers as defined in this Act and a labor organization or labor organizations duly designated and authorized to represent employees in accordance with the requirements of this Act shall be permitted—

"(a) to make agreements, requiring, as a condition of continued employment, that within sixty days following the beginning of such employment, or the effective date of such agreements, whichever is the later, all employees shall become members of the labor organization representing their craft or class: Provided, That no such agreement shall require such condition of employment with respect to employees to whom membership is not available upon the same terms and conditions as are generally applicable to any other member or with respect to employees to whom membership was denied or terminated for any reason other than the failure of the employee to tender the periodic dues, initiation fees, and assessments (not including fines and penalties) uniformly required as a condition of acquiring or retaining membership.

"(b) to make agreements providing for the deduction by such carrier or carriers from the wages of its or their employees in a craft or class and payment to the labor organization representing the craft or class of such employees, of any periodic dues, initiation fees, and assessments (not including fines and penalties) uniformly required as a condition of acquiring or retaining membership: Provided, That no such agreement shall be effective with respect to any individual employee until he shall have furnished the employer with a written assignment to the labor organization of such membership dues, initiation fees, and assessments, which shall be revocable in writing after the expiration of one year or upon the termination date of the applicable collective agreement, whichever occurs sooner."

Pursuant to this statutory authorization, the Brotherhood and Express Agency, on March 31, 1952, entered into and executed an agreement, effective April 1, 1952, which required the employees of the Express Agency, represented by the Brotherhood for purposes of collective bargaining, as a condition of continued employment, to become members of the organization within 60 calendar days, and thereafter maintain their membership in good standing by payment of the periodic dues uniformly required of all members. This contract is known as a union shop agreement. Pursuant to the requirements of such agreement, plaintiff on June 22, 1952, became a member of Sumter Lodge No. 6193 of the Brotherhood located in Florence, South Carolina.

Article 8, Section 1, of the statutes governing the local lodges of the Brotherhood, including Sumter Lodge No. 6193, contains the following requirements with respect to the payment of monthly dues to the organization:

"Dues are due and payable on the first day of each month. When a member is in arrears two (2) months in the payment of dues, assessments or other indebtedness, he shall be notified in writing by the Secretary. Unless the amount due is paid on or before the Secretary prepares

...