Trent v. Allegheny Airlines, Inc., Civ.A.No. 76-1536.

• Decision Date: 13 June 1979
• Docket Number: Civ.A.No. 76-1536.
• Citation: 471 F. Supp. 448
• Parties: Clarence TRENT, Phillip Knight, and George Miller, Plaintiffs, v. ALLEGHENY AIRLINES, INC., and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local 1976, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania

471 F. Supp. 448

Clarence TRENT, Phillip Knight, and George Miller, Plaintiffs, v. ALLEGHENY AIRLINES, INC., and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local 1976, Defendants.

Civ.A.No. 76-1536.

United States District Court, W. D. Pennsylvania.

June 13, 1979.

Clifford C. Cooper, Pittsburgh, Pa., for plaintiffs.

Susan Sauntry, Harry A. Rissetto, Washington, D. C., Bernard D. Marcus, Marcus & Titus, Pittsburgh, Pa., Rhea S. Schwartz, Esq., Legal Dept., Allegheny Airlines, Inc., National Airport, Washington, D. C., for Allegheny Airlines, Inc.

Joseph M. Maurizi, Balzarini, Walsh, Conway & Maurizi, Pittsburgh, Pa., for International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local 1976.

AMENDED FINDINGS OF FACT, AMENDED CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND ORDER

SIMMONS, District Judge.

The Court having examined the pleadings and affidavits and having read the briefs and heard the statements of counsel, and being fully advised, now enters the following Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Order.

AMENDED FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Clarence Trent filed charges of employment discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against Allegheny Airlines on March 17, 1976, alleging that he was discriminated against in 1964, and that the initial alleged discriminatory hiring decision was continuing and was perpetuated by Allegheny's Departmental Seniority System.

2. On September 9, 1976, the charges of March 17, 1976 were dismissed by the EEOC for the reason that Trent had not filed his charges of discrimination within the time limits required by the Equal Employment Opportunity Act (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 78 Stat. 253 as amended, 43 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq.). On September 13, 1961, Trent was given notice of his right to sue Allegheny in the United States District Court.

3. On December 9, 1976, Trent entered suit against Allegheny, again alleging that he was discriminated against since August 1952, and that the initial discrimination was continuing until the time of suit, and further, Trent sued the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local 1976, alleging that the Union acquiesced and participated in the alleged discriminatory seniority system, and thereby failed to protect Trent's employment interests.

4. Trent made the following admission in answering Interrogatories put to him by the Defendant Allegheny as to the date and circumstances of each alleged discriminatory act of Allegheny, by responding as follows:

"1. On February 7, 1964, Clarence Trent sought employment as a mechanic and was refused an application.

2. On June 12, 1964, Clarence Trent was hired as a cleaner, despite extensive mechanical training he possessed.

3. When promoted to mechanic in 1964, he was again demoted because of his race.

4. Kept in cleaners classification until November 11, 1968.

5. Assigned the worst duties as cleaner.

6. Loss of seniority deprives Clarence Trent of premium job shifts, days off and fringe benefits."

5. Long after Trent had filed his Answers to the above-referred to Interrogatories, Trent claimed additionally he was a victim of discrimination by virtue of one C. C. Warner being awarded the job of lead mechanic in the Machine Shop on December 30, 1975, even though Trent did not bid for said opening or otherwise apply for it, and despite the fact that Warner's mechanic's seniority date was December 5, 1960, and Trent's first employment date was June 12, 1964.

6. The following facts are admitted by all parties:

a) Clarence Trent was hired by Allegheny Airlines as a cleaner on June 12, 1964, and his seniority classification date for that position is and continues to be June 12, 1964;

b) He was promoted to the position of Mechanic on August 4, 1964, and was demoted to the cleaner's classification on or about September 2, 1964, allegedly for failing to meet Allegheny's job performance standards;

c) In 1966 and 1967, Trent entered a training program for Airframe and Power-plant Licenses and he successfully passed the tests and met all qualifications for Airplane Mechanic on March 6, 1968;

d) On February 17, 1967, Trent presented charges of discrimination to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and requested that the Commission assume jurisdiction of the same, alleging that he had been denied a position as a Mechanic with Allegheny in 1964, because he was black and that the alleged violation was continuing in nature. (Originally the Federal Commission had received a charge from Trent on August 12, 1966, but deferred it to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission which terminated its jurisdiction in the case on February 6, 1967).

e) On November 11, 1968, Allegheny promoted Trent to the position of Mechanic.

f) On December 20, 1968, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission found that there was no reason to believe that Allegheny's hiring and promotional practices as to employees were discriminatory and further, said Commission specifically found that "there is no evidence or contention that the qualifications standards themselves are racially discriminatory" g) On February 18, 1969, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission advised Trent by letter that his charges of employment discrimination against Allegheny were dismissed and Trent was advised that he could bring suit against Allegheny in the United States District Court, if he filed said suit within thirty (30) days of receipt of said letter.

h) Trent received said "right to sue letter" dated February 18, 1969, and did not file suit against Allegheny until this suit, as above captioned, was filed in this Court on December 9, 1976, over seven years later arising out of the same charges filed with EEOC on March 17, 1976. (underlining supplied)

7. This Court finds as a fact that the charges contained in the Complaint filed against Allegheny with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on February 17, 1967, are the same in every material respect as the charges filed with said Commission against Allegheny on March 17, 1976.

8. This Court finds as a fact that the alleged unlawful employment practices of Allegheny as to Trent (if the same occurred at all) happened admittedly in 1964 (see this Court's Findings of Fact No. 4 herein) more than 300 days (and of course more than 180 days) prior to the filing of the charges which are the basis of this above-captioned Civil Action.

9. The Plaintiff Trent has presented no evidence of any kind which proves or even tends to prove that Allegheny's seniority system, for some 30 years in duration, discourages transfers between job classifications since said system does not require a transferring employee to forfeit job classification seniority in order to effect a transfer to a new classification. To the extent that transfers may be discouraged, the system works the same for all employees irrespective of race and/or sex.

10. The Plaintiff Trent has presented no evidence of any kind which proves or even tends to prove that Allegheny's various seniority units are irrational and/or that they do not conform with the airline industry general practice of grouping airline employees for seniority purposes.

11. The Plaintiff Trent has presented no evidence of any kind to support a conclusion of law that Allegheny and the Union established the seniority system at issue in ...