United Electric Coal Companies v. Rice

• Decision Date: 10 December 1935
• Docket Number: No. 5479.,5479.
• Citation: 80 F.2d 1
• Parties: UNITED ELECTRIC COAL COMPANIES v. RICE et al.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

80 F.2d 1 (1935)

UNITED ELECTRIC COAL COMPANIES v. RICE et al.^*

No. 5479.

Circuit Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.

October 26, 1935.

Rehearing Denied December 10, 1935.

William M. Acton, of Danville, Ill., and Ralph F. Lesemann, of East St. Louis, Ill., for appellant.

A. M. Fitzgerald, of Springfield, Ill., George W. Dowell, of Duquoin, Ill., Nobel Y. Dowell, of East Peoria, Ill., and C. C. Dreman, of Belleville, Ill., for appellees.

G. L. Grant, of Springfield, Ill., Thurlow G. Lewis, of Benton, Ill., and Henry Warrum, of Indianapolis, Ind., for United Mine Workers of America as amicus curiaelig;.

Before EVANS, SPARKS, and ALSCHULER, Circuit Judges.

Suit to restrain wilful and malicious damage to appellant's property and to prevent interference with appellant's operation of its coal mine. Relief denied because of application of sections 101 et seq., 29 USCA, commonly known as the Norris-La Guardia Act, which limits the power of a Federal court of equity to grant injunctions in labor cases.

EVANS, Circuit Judge.

Appellant, a Delaware corporation, owns and operates several coal mines in Illinois. Among them is a strip mine, near Freeburg in the County of St. Clair. Appellees are for the most part miners, former employees of appellant in the Freeburg mine. They are residents of Illinois. Appellee, First District of the Progressive Miners of America, is a voluntary, unincorporated association, composed entirely of individuals who are residents of Illinois and primarily engaged in mining coal. The other local unions, also made parties to this suit, are divisions of the Progressive Miners of America, which operate in various southern Illinois counties.

The District Court denied appellant the injunctive relief which it sought against appellees, who were charged with having wilfully and forcibly prevented the operation of the mine at Freeburg and with having damaged appellant's property and interfered with the conduct of its business.

The court found the material allegations of the complaint in appellant's favor, but denied relief because of section 8 and the public policy sections 1, 2, and 3 of the Norris-La Guardia Act (29 USCA §§ 108, 101-103). The findings cover twenty-one pages of the transcript and are too long to be here set forth in their entirety.

The real controversy is one between two unions, — The United Mine Workers of America, hereinafter called the United; and the Progressive Miners of America, hereinafter called the Progressive. It is a bitter contest. For over two years it has been fought by the officers of these two unions. Neither group has been willing to compromise. Appellant is the innocent bystander, a victim of this unabated conflict. Appellant has no dispute with its employees. The wage scales in force apparently were satisfactory to employer and employee alike. The working conditions brought no discontent. The employees were desirous of working for appellant. With them appellant wished to operate its mine. This has been prevented by the struggle between the two unions over who should represent the employees.

The focus of the conflict, the Freeburg mine, is one of several owned and operated by appellant. Over a period of many years, appellant was under contract with United to employ only United men in its several mines unless such union employees were not available. In March, 1928, such a contract (which ran four years) was again entered into. There was then no coal miners' union other than the United. The Progressive, however, came into existence shortly after this contract expired. It sought to oust the United. It demanded recognition as the representative of the local union with which appellant must contract. United disputed Progressive's right to so speak. To secure recognition, Progressive called its members from appellant's employment. When appellant sought, on several occasions, to open its mine with men who refused to strike, the Progressive picketed the property and resorted to violence. Appellant was thereby forced to suspend operations.

We take the following fact statement from the findings of the District Court. The Freeburg property consisted of about 700 acres (owned or controlled) and it annually produced over 300,000 tons of coal. It was forced to shut down by appellees. Since March 31, 1933, the mine has operated only one day. Its damages were fixed at $350,000 up to the time of trial.

Wages and employment conditions are the subject of contract between operators and miners. The operators have their association and the miners, their union. Representatives of these two organizations meet, and the contract they enter into is binding upon them throughout the State of Illinois after the miners have approved of it. Such a contract was made March 31, 1928, and expired March 31, 1932. During this period there was but one union, and the operators spoke through their representative. When the contract was about to expire, negotiations were conducted by the officers of the two organizations, and on April 1, 1932, an agreement was reached whereby the 1928 contract was continued in force until same was terminated upon thirty days' notice or until a state-wide agreement was ratified. Shortly thereafter a state-wide agreement was executed and became effective August 10, 1932, and continued until March 31, 1933. It was over the ratification of this agreement that differences arose among the miners. Ballots were stolen and counts thwarted. The officers then declared or attempted to declare the contract in force. This contract was quite similar to the preceding one and contained the same provisions respecting the employment of members of the United. It was about this time that a large number of Illinois members of the United became dissatisfied and terminated their membership in United, and organized the Progressive. This union divided the state into locals, and the mine in question was in the jurisdiction of local No. 47. Operation of the Progressive in this district was under control of one Jones. The contest for membership and control of more laborers by the two unions was extremely bitter from the start. The character of the warfare is described in the opinion written in People v. Beacham, 358 Ill. 373, 193 N. E. 205.

In September, 1932, the majority of the local union at Freeburg voted to join the Progressive. They did not, however, surrender their charter granted by the United. The same officers continued. Thereafter the war became more bitter. A demand was made upon appellant to sign a working contract with the Progressive. Pickets closed the mine. On the evening of October 18, appellant and officers of the local Progressive made arrangements whereby the men returned to work and the pay-off check was made payable to the officers of the union without designating the name of the union. The mine continued to operate under such arrangement without interruption until April, 1933, when the Progressives demanded that the appellant abrogate its contract with the United and enter into a similar one with the Progressive. This demand was refused, and, on March 31, 1933, the president of the Progressive local informed the superintendent that all operations would cease at midnight, since which time the mine has been closed, save for one day. Disorder and destruction of property have followed, and when attempts were made to open the mine, the opposition evidenced by 2500 men, more or less effectively armed, threatened the miners who resumed employment with violence and even with death.

A few employees who had rejoined the United and who sought to go to work, but were not permitted to do so, filed a complaint before the Bituminous Coal Labor Board. Appellant and Progressive were both made parties. A hearing was had with all parties represented by counsel. The Board held: "That the contract between United Electric Coal Company and the United Mine Workers of America is in force for the purpose of collective bargaining in this mine." It further directed that its decision should be in force for the period of six months.

The Progressive refused to accept or adopt this decision and refused to allow the mine to open. The sheriff and other local officers declined to act or to protect appellant's property. The District Court stated:

"* * * It is further obvious that the sheriff of St. Clair County and his deputies were both unwilling and unable to furnish adequate protection to plaintiff's property, and, although a new sheriff took office during the trial of this case, he and his deputies are and will be unable to afford such protection." 9 F. Supp. 635, 636.

Violence at the mine by members of the Progressive and their sympathizers grew. A majority of the miners working in the mine signed a petition asking appellant to resume operation. In securing the signatures representatives of appellant accompanied the employees and stated that it was the only way that the employees could hope to resume work.

The District Court stated that the men to whom the petition (which asked appellant to reopen the mine) was presented, "were subjected to coercion and duress by being informed, in effect, that the only way they could hope to resume their former jobs in the mine was for them to become members of United Mine Workers of America; that this statement was confirmed whenever necessary by the mine manager; * * * it does not appear how many of those who signed said petition actually joined said local * * *."

In disposing of the case the court also said:

"* * * The evidence compels two further findings:

"First. That the policy followed by plaintiff in dealing with its employees at the Freeburg mine which gave rise to the particular labor dispute here involved has been and is in conflict with the public policy declared in the said Norris Act in that it has in effect denied to its striking employees at said mine, including many of the defendants in this case, freedom of association,...