Smith v. General Truck Drivers, etc., Union Local 467

• Decision Date: 12 February 1960
• Docket Number: No. 1187-59.,1187-59.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of California
• Parties: Edward Rex SMITH, Plaintiff, v. GENERAL TRUCK DRIVERS, WAREHOUSEMEN AND HELPERS UNION LOCAL 467 OF SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTIES, Affiliated With International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers, et al., Defendants.

181 F. Supp. 14

Edward Rex SMITH, Plaintiff, v. GENERAL TRUCK DRIVERS, WAREHOUSEMEN AND HELPERS UNION LOCAL 467 OF SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTIES, Affiliated With International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers, et al., Defendants.

No. 1187-59.

United States District Court S. D. California, Central Division.

February 12, 1960.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Wm. R. Walsh, Los Angeles, Cal., for plaintiff.

Lewis Garrett and Lionel Richman, by Lionel Richman, Los Angeles, Cal., for defendants.

YANKWICH, District Judge.

By the Complaint the plaintiff seeks injunction and damages under the provisions of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (Public Law 86-257, 73 Stat. 519, U.S. Code Congressional and Administrative News 1959, p. 565 et seq.) 29 U.S.C.A. § 401 et seq. and more particularly under § 101 and § 102 of the Act. The action is directed against Local 467 of San Bernardino and Riverside counties, an affiliate of the National Brotherhood of Teamsters, Truck Drivers, Warehousemen and Helpers, and members of its Executive Board, all citizens of California.

The Complaint alleges that on November 21, 1958, the Executive Board of Local 467, without a hearing and without his request, issued him an honorable withdrawal card from the Local because he was not at the time engaged in the employ, trade or occupation covered by the jurisdiction of the Local. On October 5, 1959, the plaintiff requested the Local to accept the honorable withdrawal card and reinstate his membership, which request was refused on October 8, 1959.

The Complaint alleges that he has not appealed the action of the Executive Board for the reason that any attempt at such an appeal would be futile. After the filing of the Complaint an appeal was taken. A second cause of action seeks damages in tort, and a third asks punitive damages on an allegation of malice. In effect, the Complaint alleges that the Executive Board is biased against him and that no provision is made for representation by counsel in hearings before it.

The answer to the contention lies in the statement of the fundamental principle that the right to be represented by counsel, guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, does not apply to hearings before labor unions. The reason is obvious. All that a union member is entitled to in any controversy between him and the union is a fair hearing. This means only that before any action is taken against him he must be informed of the charges and be given an opportunity to hear them and refute them. § 101(a) (5) of the Act. And see, Cason v. Glass Bottle Blowers Ass'n, 1951, 37 Cal.2d 134, 143-144, 231 P.2d 6, 21 A.L.R.2d 1387) This satisfies the constitutional concept as to all administrative proceedings. 16A C.J.S. Constitutional Law § 628(b); Corn Exchange Bank v. Coler, 1930, 280 U.S. 218, 222-223, 50 S.Ct. 94, 74 L.Ed. 378; Parker v. Lester, 9 Cir., 1955, 227 F.2d 708, 715-716; National Council of American-Soviet Friendship v. Brownell, 1957, 100 U.S. App.D.C. 116, 243 F.2d 222, 224-225.

Except in rare instances of illegality the general concept of due process applicable in criminal prosecutions is not applied to members of a union. By becoming a member of a union the worker, in effect, makes a contract to be governed by the constitution and by-laws and the rules of the organization. 31 Am.Jur., Labor, § 33; 87 C.J.S. Trade Unions § 12, pp. 774-775; DeMille v. American Federation of Radio Artists, Los Angeles Local, 1947, 31 Cal.2d 139, 146, 187 P.2d 769, 175 A.L.R. 382; De Gonia v. Building Material & Dump Truck Drivers Local Union 420, 1957, 155 Cal.App.2d 573, 581, 318 P.2d 486; Dyer v. Occidental Life Ins. Co., 9 Cir., 1950, 182 F.2d 127, 130, 17 A.L.R.2d 923.

So we come to the fundamental fact which determines the matters before us, namely that the wrong or tort, if any, committed against the plaintiff and of which he complains is the issuance, without a hearing and without his request, of the withdrawal card on November 21, 1958. As that occurred before September 14, 1959, the effective date of the Act, this Court has no jurisdiction over the action. The statute should not be given a retroactive effect. See, Claridge Apartments Co. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 1944, 323 U.S. 141, 164, 65 S.Ct. 172, 89 L.Ed. 139.

The subsequent refusal to reinstate is not by itself an actionable wrong under the Statute. § 101(a) (1), (2), (5). It refers back to the alleged unwarranted issuance of the withdrawal card. More, it is apparent that the plaintiff has not exhausted the administrative remedies authorized by the by-laws of the union,—an appeal to the Executive Board of the Union is still pending. Such intra-union procedures are sanctioned by § 101(a) (4) of the Act.

The referred clause specifically says that any member may be required to exhaust "reasonable hearing procedures" before instituting administrative or court proceedings. This clause is unconditional. So we are not bound to follow any State decisions which may hold that such exhaustion of remedy is not necessary where the action would be futile. Holderby v. International Union of Operating Engineers, Local Union No. 12, 1955, 45 Cal.2d 843, 847, 291 P.2d 463. It is to be noted that the statement of the California Court on which reliance is placed is dictum. For in the ultimate disposition of the case the Court said:

"He falls squarely within the rule that when an internal appeal is open to him he has no right to invoke the aid of the courts." (45 Cal.2d at page 849, 291 P.2d at page 467)

Later California cases indicate that "the futility" of which the courts speak exists only when the situation is such that a court can say, as a matter of law, that the procedure permitted would avail nothing because of the absence of adequate notice and the denial of an opportunity to present the member's defense or point of view. Mooney v. Bartenders Union Local No. 284, 1957, 48 Cal.2d 841, 844, 313 P.2d 857, 64 A.L.R.2d 1154. And see, Parker v. Lester, supra.

In Mooney, supra, the court held that the procedure could be dispensed with because access to the union records was denied. In another California case the court found that the member had not been given an opportunity to deny the accusations upon which reinstatement into a union was refused. Cason v. Glass Bottle Blowers Ass'n, supra 37 Cal.2d at page 146, 231 P.2d at page 13.

The allegations of the Complaint before us that the Board of Review is prejudiced against the plaintiff is not a sufficient showing of futility, even under these cases. More, as we are not bound by State law, we decline to read exceptions into the specific language of the federal statute under discussion, which makes exhaustion of the intra-union remedy provided by the union's constitution or by-laws a condition precedent to the institution of court action. To do so would do violence to the fundamental concept that where exhaustion of administrative remedies is a condition precedent to the institution of a civil action, the requirement must be complied with strictly and become final. This is not the situation here.

If one were permitted to dispense with a necessary administrative step before invoking the jurisdiction of federal courts, which are courts of limited jurisdiction, upon the mere assertion that the tribunal was biased or had ruled or would rule unfavorably and had no power to act, every such requirement could be disregarded at will. The contention is too fantastic to entertain in view of the specific language of the statute. And it has been rejected by the courts whenever made. Myers v. Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., 1938, 303 U.S. 41, 50-52, 58 S.Ct. 459, 82 L.Ed. 638; Macauley v. Waterman Steamship Corp., 1946, 327 U.S. 540, 543-545, 66 S.Ct. 712, 90 L.Ed. 839. And see, Aircraft & Diesel Equipment Corp. v. Hirsch, 1947, 331 U.S. 752, 767-781, 67 S.Ct. 1493, 91 L.Ed. 1796; United States v. Morton Salt Co., 1950, 338 U.S. 632, 652-654, 70 S.Ct. 357, 94 L.Ed. 401; United States v. Western Pacific Railroad Co., 1956, 352 U.S. 59, 63-65, 77 S.Ct. 161, 1 L.Ed.2d 126.

The requirement in the statute before us conforms to the general pattern of other statutes which require the exhaustion of certain administrative remedies before courts are resorted to. 42 Am.Jur., Public Administrative Law, § 202; Public Service Commission of Utah v. Wycoff Co., Inc., 1952, 344 U.S. 237, 245-246, 73 S.Ct. 236, 97 L.Ed. 291; Donaldson v. United States, 6 Cir., 1959, 264 F.2d 804, 807. The fact that the statute did not itself establish an intra-union procedure does not alter the situation. By allowing the unions to do so and recognizing existing union procedures to that effect, the statute merely followed two principles which the courts have adhered to in dealing with labor unions. The first of these is that courts will not interfere with the internal affairs of unions, except in rare cases of fraud or illegality. 31 Am.Jur., Labor, § 67; 87 C.J.S. Trade Unions § 48, pp. 854-856; Courant v. International Photographers of Motion Picture Industry Local 659, 9 Cir., 1949, 176 F.2d 1000, 1003-1004; Oliphant v. Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen, 6 Cir., 1959, 262 F.2d 359, 363-364; Barnes v. Atlanta Transit System, Inc., D.C.Ga.1956, 144 F.Supp. 156, 158. The other principle is that when the unions themselves, even without statutory permissive legislation, have set up tribunals for the determination of controversies between members and the locals, every procedural right before such tribunals must be exercised before the aid of the courts is invoked. 7 C.J.S. Associations § 34(b) pp. 81-82; 87 C.J.S. Trade Unions § 49, pp. 856-858; 31 Am.Jur., Labor, § 68; Sanders v. International Association of Bridge, Structural and Ornamental Iron Works, 6 Cir., 1956, 235 F.2d 271, 272. And see cases already cited.

It follows that the pendency of the...