School Dist. No. 351 Oneida County v. Oneida Ed. Ass'n, s. 12154

• Decision Date: 22 July 1977
• Docket Number: 12213,Nos. 12154,s. 12154
• Citation: 98 Idaho 486,567 P.2d 830
• Parties: , 95 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 3244 SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 351 ONEIDA COUNTY, Idaho, a Municipal Corporation, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. ONEIDA EDUCATION ASSOCIATION, and its President, Carol Dawn Willie, Defendants-Appellants.
• Court: Idaho Supreme Court

Page 830

567 P.2d 830

98 Idaho 486, 95 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 3244

SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 351 ONEIDA COUNTY, Idaho, a Municipal Corporation, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. ONEIDA EDUCATION ASSOCIATION, and its President, Carol Dawn Willie, Defendants-Appellants.

Nos. 12154, 12213.

Supreme Court of Idaho.

July 22, 1977.

Robert C. Huntley, Jr., of Racine, Huntley & Olson, Pocatello, Byron J. Johnson, of Webb, Johnson, Redford & Greener, Boise, for defendants-appellants.

Wesley F. Merrill, of Merrill & Merrill, Pocatello, for plaintiff-respondent.

Robert A. Bushnell, Jr., Green & Cantrell, Boise, for amicus curiae.

SHEPARD, Justice.

This case is a consolidated appeal of two orders of the lower court each involving the same parties, the same factual circumstances and essentially the same issues of law. One appeal is from the issuance of a preliminary injunction enjoining defendants-appellants Oneida Education Association and its president Carol Dawn Willie from striking or picketing any of the schools of plaintiff-respondent School District No. 351, Oneida County, Idaho. The second appeal is from the order of the lower court making that preliminary injunction permanent. The questions presented are whether there is a right in public employees and particularly teachers to strike against a governmental employer; whether such a strike for any purpose is illegal; whether or not the provisions of Idaho statutes prohibiting the issuance of injunctions in labor disputes are applicable to situations involving teacher-public employees; whether or not the issuance of the preliminary injunction constituted an abuse of discretion in that the traditional statutory and common law standards were not complied with prior to the issuance of the injunction; and whether the permanent injunction was likewise an abuse of discretion and whether it was overly broad.

The Oneida Education Association is a "local education association" with the meaning of Idaho's Professional Negotiations Act, I.C. §§ 33-1271-76 and was the representative of the teacher employees of School District No. 351. On February 6, 1975, representatives of the Association met with the Board of the School District to initiate negotiations, but the Board stated that it would not negotiate until after the then sitting legislature had recessed. Although thereafter the legislature recessed, no further negotiations took place and the Association during May 1975 served formal notice on the school district of its desire to enter negotiations for the school year 1975-76 and pursuant to the provisions of the Professional Negotiations Act.

The Association and the district negotiated the terms of the procedural agreement which was ratified by both parties on October 1, 1975. That procedural agreement only set forth agreement on procedures to be utilized in seeking to reach later agreement on substantive issues such as wages and conditions of employment. The parties then attempted but failed to reach any agreement on the substantive issues. The Association then notified the school district that members of the Association would be going on strike and refusing to report for work on or about October 15, 1975.

Thereupon the school district filed its complaint alleging that the threatened action of the Association would be a breach of the procedural agreement and the contracts of the individual members of the Association theretofore entered into with the district and that the threatened strike would cause irreparable harm and damage. The district prayed for injunctive relief to prevent the striking and picketing of the school district's system and schools. The Association answered and on October 24, 1975, a hearing was held to consider issuance of the injunction sought by the school district.

At that hearing, no testimony was required or permitted either in support of or opposition to the issuance of the injunction and the court ruled as a matter of law that the injunction should issue. The Association then made an offer of proof of the testimony and evidence that it would offer in resistance to the issuance of the injunction. That offer was made a portion of the record and is before us. The court issued the preliminary injunction and following an additional non-evidentiary hearing on January 7, 1976, the court "permanently enjoined" the Association, its members and president from striking against or picketing the operation of the school district. Appeal is taken both from the issuance of the temporary injunction and the issuance of the permanent injunction.

At the outset the respondent school district asserts that this appeal should be dismissed inasmuch as the controversy has become moot. It argues that the school year in which the strike occurred has ended and the members of the appellant Association have executed and worked under a new contract for the subsequent school year. We disagree. While in a sense the major controversy has been resolved by the passage of time, the permanent injunction remains in effect and forbids members of the Association to strike and the terms of that injunction are not restricted as to time. We note further that the legal questions presented are of first impression in this state, are of substantial public interest and there are almost yearly disputes between some of the 115 school districts in the state of Idaho and organizations similar to appellant's. Also we note that appellant has alleged the failure of the respondent to comply with Idaho's Professional Negotiations Act (I.C. § 33-1271 et seq.) and the effect of said refusal by the respondent on the jurisdiction of the trial court to issue injunctive relief. That question also is of substantial public moment and interest. For all of the above reasons we reject the invitation of respondent school district to dismiss for mootness. Nelson v. Marshall, 94 Idaho 726, 497 P.2d 47 (1972); Robinson v. Bodily, 97 Idaho 199, 541 P.2d 623 (1975). See also, School Committee v. Westerly Teachers Assoc., 111 R.I. 96, 299 A.2d 441 (1973); Nat'l Electric Contractors Assoc. v. Seattle School Dist. No. 1, 66 Wash.2d 14, 400 P.2d 778 (1965).

I.

Appellants argue first that as public employees they have a right to strike which is guaranteed by the Constitution and cannot be abridged. They also argue that any attempt to deny them the right to strike as contrasted with the right to strike by employees in the private sector would be a deprivation of equal protection. We disagree. School Dist. of Town of Westerly v. Westerly Teachers Assoc., 111 R.I. 96, 299 A.2d 441 (1973). See also, cases collected in Annot., 37 A.L.R.3d 1147 (1971). For a contra view, see Anderson Fed. of Teachers v. Anderson, 252 Ind. 558, 251 N.E.2d 15 (1969) (dissent by DeBruler).

II.

Appellants next argue that the Idaho Professional Negotiations Act, I.C. § 33-1271 et. seq., inferentially grants public school teachers in the state of Idaho the right to strike since the right to strike is not expressly prohibited in that Act. We disagree. As previously noted, we find no constitutionally guaranteed right to strike in public employees and no such right existed at common law. The common law is in effect in Idaho unless otherwise expressly abrogated by statute. I.C. § 73-116; Industrial Indem. Co. v. Columbia Basin Steel & Iron, Inc., 93 Idaho 719, 471 P.2d 574 (1970); Kelly v. Easton, 35 Idaho 340, 207 P.2d 129 (1922).

Appellants assert that the legislature has expressly prohibited strikes by firefighters, I.C. § 44-1811 and argue therefrom that the legislature must have intended to permit strikes by teacher-public employees, otherwise it would have prohibited those strikes as it prohibited strikes by firefighters. We do not agree. School Comm. v. Westerly Teachers Assoc., supra. The legislature may well have believed that the substantial difference between the duties performed by firefighters vis a vis teachers required the express legislative prohibition against strikes by firefighters and that the common law remedies available against strikes by teachers were adequate and that strikes by teachers could be prohibited but only following adequate hearings.

III.

Appellants next assert that the trial court erred in not giving effect to Idaho statutes governing the issuance of injunctive relief in labor disputes, I.C. § 44-701-712 and conforming its actions to the legislative restraints set forth by those statutes together with decisions of this Court, such as Twin Falls Constr. Co. v. Operating Engineers Local 370, 95 Idaho 370, 509 P.2d 788 (1973). This Court has held that general statutes dealing with labor controversies and the duties of public officials thereunder are " insufficient to indicate a legislative intent that the government should fall within the statutory coverage. Legislative acts are normally directed to activities in the private sector of society and effect a modification, limitation, or extension of the private individual's rights and duties." Local Union 283 Intn'l Brotherhood of Elec. Workers v. Robison, 91 Idaho 445, 423 P.2d 999 (1967). See also, School Committee v. Westerly Teachers Assoc., supra; Board of Education v. Redding, 32 Ill.2d 567, 207 N.E.2d 427 (1965); City of Minot v. General Drivers, 142 N.W.2d 612 (N.D.1966); Anderson Fed. of Teachers v. Anderson, supra; United States v. United Mine Workers of America, 330 U.S. 258, 67 S.Ct. 677, 91 L.Ed. 884 (1947).

IV.

We come then to the essence of the case as stated by appellants, "assuming arguendo, that teacher strikes are illegal and further, that the anti-injunction act does not apply to such strikes, an injunction still should not issue unless the traditional prerequisites for the granting of such equitable relief exists."

In 1971 the Idaho legislature enacted the Professional Negotiations Act authorizing negotiation agreements between school boards and their professional employees, I.C. § 33-1271, and providing for mediation and fact finding procedures for...