Turley v. Hall's Motor Transit Company

• Decision Date: 27 February 1969
• Docket Number: Civ. No. 68-397.
• Citation: Turley v. Hall's Motor Transit Company, 296 F. Supp. 1183 (M.D. Pa. 1969)
• Parties: Sidney R. TURLEY et al., Plaintiffs, v. HALL'S MOTOR TRANSIT COMPANY, Accelerated Transport-Pony Express, Inc., Teamsters, Chauffeurs and Helpers Local Union No. 776, an unincorporated association affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, and Teamsters, Chauffeurs and Helpers Local Union No. 992, an unincorporated association affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Pennsylvania

296 F. Supp. 1183

Sidney R. TURLEY et al., Plaintiffs, v. HALL'S MOTOR TRANSIT COMPANY, Accelerated Transport-Pony Express, Inc., Teamsters, Chauffeurs and Helpers Local Union No. 776, an unincorporated association affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, and Teamsters, Chauffeurs and Helpers Local Union No. 992, an unincorporated association affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, Defendants.

Civ. No. 68-397.

United States District Court M. D. Pennsylvania.

February 27, 1969.

Shumaker, Williams & Placey, Harrisburg, Pa., for plaintiffs.

James A. Matthews, Jr., Samuel C. Harry, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, Philadelphia, Pa., Fred Speaker, Jr., Harrisburg, Pa., for Hall's Motor Transit Co. and Accelerated Transport-Pony Express, Inc.

Handler, Gerber & Widmer, Harrisburg, Pa., for Local 776.

SHERIDAN, Chief Judge.

This is a ruling on motion by defendant, Teamsters, Chauffeurs and Helpers Local Union No. 776, to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.

Plaintiffs, all of whom were formerly employed by defendant, Accelerated Transport-Pony Express, Inc., are presently employed by Hall's Motor Transit Company. While employed by Pony at Hagerstown, Maryland, they were members of and represented by Teamsters, Chauffeurs and Helpers Local Union No. 992. Since their employment by Hall's, they are apparently now represented by 776. Jurisdiction is based on Section 301 of the Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947, as amended, 29 U.S.C.A. § 185.

In 1965, Hall's and Pony entered into an agreement under which Hall's acquired all the stock of Pony. In November 1965, the Interstate Commerce Commission granted Hall's temporary authority to operate Pony, which at that time had a freight operation in Hagerstown, Maryland. The Hagerstown terminal was operated pursuant to terms of the National Motor Freight Agreement and the exclusive representative of all Hagerstown employees was 992. 776 was also a party to this agreement as the representative of Hall's employees at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Shortly after acquiring temporary authority to operate Pony, Hall's filed a request for a change of operation and for a determination of seniority with the Eastern Conference Joint Area Committee as required by the contract. Section 2 of the request sought permission to transfer 76 men employed by Pony at Hagerstown to Harrisburg "to run the Pony system as Pony employees on a separate seniority board until such time as Accelerated-Pony loses its corporate identity. * * * When Accelerated-Pony loses its corporate identity, the redomiciled Accelerated-Pony drivers will become employees of Hall's Motor and offered seniority with Hall's as determined by the Change of Operations Committee." The request went before the Conference in the form of a dispute and the parties agreed that the decision of the Conference was to be final, conclusive and binding with no appeal. Hall's, 776 and 992 were all parties to the dispute which was decided by the Conference on written submission. On January 24, 1966, the Conference rendered a decision approving the transfer of the 76 men,¹ and provided that they "shall be maintained on a separate seniority board with company seniority until such time as the two operations are combined, at which time the 76 road men will be given terminal seniority as of February 20, 1966 for work purposes, and will be given company seniority for layoff purposes and fringe benefits". The effect of this ruling was that Hagerstown employees' seniority for work opportunity was as of the date of the transfer, but they retained all seniority for benefit purposes. Plaintiffs contended that under the collective bargaining agreement seniority should have been "dovetailed" for all purposes, including work opportunity.

Plaintiffs continued in the employ of Pony until November 12, 1967, when they went on Hall's payroll.² On November 13, 1967, through 776 plaintiffs filed a grievance with the Joint Local City Grievance Committee. This Committee deadlocked on the issue, and it was submitted through various stages to the Conference which had initially decided the matter. The Conference, in a letter dated April 25, 1968, to the president of 776, stated:

"The Eastern Conference Joint Area Committee, in executive session, on April 22, 1968, reviewed this matter. Upon motion duly made, seconded and carried, the Committee ruled that the decision of the Eastern Conference Joint Area Committee, in the above case, was proper and is final and binding with no further appeal."

As a result of this decision, the instant suit was begun.

The complaint alleges in pertinent part that: all defendants are parties to the contract; the contract provided that when one company absorbs another and both are solvent, a new seniority list must be drawn which dovetails seniority from each company;³ both Hall's and Pony were solvent; the decision not to dovetail seniority for work purposes was contrary to the agreement; from an unspecified date⁴ until they went on Hall's payroll in November 1967, they were "fraudulently" deceived by 776 in that they were told they had no standing to submit a grievance because they were subject to retransfer to Hagerstown; all defendants breached the dovetail provisions of the contract; 992, "as the exclusive bargaining agent for the plaintiffs," breached its duty of fair representation by "failing to insist upon dovetailing" as required by the agreement; Hall's and Pony breached the agreement by "conspiring with officials of" 776 and 992 in private and secret conference without the presence or knowledge of plaintiffs in order to obtain a decision, based on facts not of record, adverse to plaintiffs; 992 breached its duty of representation in various ways including acquiescence in a "fraudulent and discriminatory decision"; and 776 breached a duty of fair representation by "refusing to recognize the existence of a grievance," "fraudulently" representing to plaintiffs their lack of standing to file a grievance, by failing to support plaintiffs after the grievance was filed, and by perpetuating the conspiracy of all defendants to permit the Conference to render a decision "without hearing or knowledge of the plaintiffs herein so as to allow them to obtain a fair decision." The relief sought is an order requiring the dovetailing, and damages in an amount equal to wages and benefits lost by the refusal of defendants to dovetail the seniority lists.

776 argues that prior to the Conference decision of January 24, 1966, it had no duty to represent plaintiffs and therefore could not breach a non-existent duty. There is support for this argument. Vaca v. Sipes, 1967, 386 U.S. 171, 87 S.Ct. 903, 17 L.Ed.2d 842. Plaintiffs have not pointed to any facts or authority for the proposition that 776 owed them any duty in connection with the Conference decision. On the contrary, plaintiffs allege that 992 was their exclusive bargaining representative. Plaintiffs argue, however, that it has charged that all defendants repudiated the agreement, that they did so pursuant to a conspiracy, and that all members of a conspiracy are parties to any wrongful act done by any member of the conspiracy. Whatever validity there may be to...