United States Steel Corp. v. UNITED MINE WKRS. OF AM., Civ. A. No. 73-G-1075-S.
| Decision Date | 17 June 1974 |
| Docket Number | Civ. A. No. 73-G-1075-S. |
| Citation | 383 F. Supp. 1082 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES STEEL CORPORATION, a corp., Plaintiff, v. UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Alabama |
M. L. Taliaferro, Thomas, Taliaferro, Forman, Burr & Murray, Birmingham, Ala., for plaintiff.
Jack Drake, Drake, Knowles & Still, University, Ala., William E. Mitch, Cooper, Mitch & Crawford, Birmingham, Ala., Harrison Combs and Joseph A. Yablonski, Jr., Washington, D. C., for defendants.
FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
This cause came on to be heard upon the motion of the plaintiff for an adjudication that defendants District 20, United Mine Workers of America; United Mine Workers of America, Local No. 8982 are in civil contempt of this court by reason of their having violated and disobeyed, and continuing to violate and disobey the Preliminary Injunction issued by this court as amended on May 30, 1974* after a hearing held on May 17, 1974; and the court having on June 17, 1974 issued an order requiring defendants to show cause why they should not be adjudged in civil contempt of this court as prayed in said motion; a hearing on said order to show cause was duly held on June 17, 1974. All parties were offered full opportunity to be heard, to present evidence on the issues, to argue on the evidence and the law. The plaintiff appeared by its attorneys M. L. Taliaferro and Mark Taliaferro, Jr. and the defendants District 20, United Mine Workers of America; United Mine Workers of America, Local No. 8982 appeared by their attorney John Falkenberry. This court having duly considered the pleadings, evidence, briefs and arguments of counsel and the entire record in this case makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. On May 30, 1974 this court issued a Preliminary Injunction as amended enjoining the defendants and each of them, their officers, agents and members and all persons acting in combination or concert with any of them, or aiding and abetting them until midnight, November 11, 1974, or until further Order of this Court from engaging in any strike or work stoppage at plaintiff's Concord Mine, or enlarging or extending any strike or work stoppage at Concord Mine to Oak Grove Mine over any disagreement about the interpretation or application of the collective bargaining agreement between the parties or any disagreement over any matter not mentioned in said agreement, or over local trouble of any kind, and from inducing or encouraging any of plaintiff's employees to engage in such a strike or work stoppage by word of mouth, sign, signal, vote, advice or device of any kind, or in any other manner interfering with the business of plaintiff as a means of settling any such disagreement in a manner other than set out in the collective bargaining agreement, provided that as a condition to the issuance of this Preliminary Injunction plaintiff is enjoined when requested by the defendants to handle any such dispute or disagreement under the grievance and arbitration provisions of the collective bargaining agreement.
2. The defendants have been served with said Preliminary Injunction and on the 4th day of June, 1974 have filed an appeal from said Preliminary Injunction without superceding it.
3. After the issuance of the Preliminary Injunction and while said Injunction was in full force and effect a work stoppage occurred at the plaintiff's Oak Grove Mine on Saturday, June 15, 1974 beginning at 12:01 A.M. and ending with the next shift. Plaintiff's Oak Grove Mine again struck at 12:01 A.M. and plaintiff's Concord Mine also struck at 12:01 A.M. on Monday, June 17, 1974 and said strike was continuing at both mines at the time of the hearing on said order to show cause.
4. The Court finds that a claimed memorial period had been called by the defendants and would last for 24 hours or until 12:01 A.M. on Tuesday, June 18, 1974. The Court finds that a dispute governed by the collective bargaining agreement between the parties exists concerning the right of the defendants to strike protesting the importation of South African coal by The Southern Company.
5. The Court finds that substantially all of plaintiff's employees on the first two shifts for June 17, 1974 had failed to report to work and that said work stoppage by the defendants causes a loss to the plaintiff which exceeds Four Thousand Dollars per shift.
6. Although the defendants contend that the motive of this strike is not covered by the collective bargaining agreement between the parties the Court finds that the defendants are attempting to circumvent its Order and are striking in violation of the collective bargaining agreement and have failed to take such action as is reasonable and appropriate to bring about compliance with this Court's Preliminary Injunction.
1. The Preliminary Injunction was duly issued by the Court which had jurisdiction over the parties and the subject matter under 29 U.S.C.A. § 185 and notice thereof was duly communicated to the defendants on or before June 4, 1974, the date their appeal was filed. The strike which began at 12:01 A.M. on June 17 and has continued through the time of the hearing in this cause is a violation of the Preliminary Injunction.
2. Defendants are responsible for said strike in violation of the Preliminary Injunction because of the authorization of the work stoppage over a dispute concerning the defendants' right to strike, protesting the importation of South African coal by The Southern Company and because of the actual participation therein by their officers and members who are agents acting within the line and scope of their authority.
3. Issuance of an adjudication and order in civil contempt against the defendants is appropriate because of the defendants' acts herein which have been found to constitute civil contempt of this court's Preliminary Injunction.
United States Steel Corporation, plaintiff in the above cause, having duly petitioned this Court for an order adjudicating defendants, District 20, United Mine Workers of America and United Mine Workers of America, Local 8982, in civil contempt of this Court by reason of disobedience of and failure and refusal to comply with the Preliminary Injunction entered by this Court on the 30th day of May, 1974; and this Court having, on June 17, 1974, ordered the said defendants to appear before this Court and show cause why they should not be adjudged in civil contempt in this Court, and the matter having come on for hearing before the Court on June 17, 1974, and defendants having appeared by counsel and having been afforded the full opportunity to offer evidence and to argue on the law and the facts; and it having been determined that this Court shall make findings of fact and conclusions of law and enter such order as is warranted by the evidence before the Court; now, therefore, upon all the pleadings and proceedings heretofore had herein, it is hereby:
Ordered, adjudged and decreed that defendants, District 20, United Mine Workers of America and United Mine Workers of America, Local No. 8982, are and have been and are hereby adjudged to be, in civil contempt of this Court by reason of their disobedience of and their failure and refusal to comply with, the Preliminary Injunction issued by this Court on May 30, 1974, and it is further
Ordered, adjudged and decreed that said defendants, District 20, United Mine Workers of America and United Mine Workers of America, Local No. 8982, shall purge themselves of their said civil contempt of this Court by fully complying with all of the provisions of this Court's Preliminary Injunction issued on May 30, 1974, and it is further
Ordered, adjudged and decreed that in the event of the failure or refusal of the defendants, District 20, United Mine Workers of America and United Mine Workers of America, Local No. 8982, to comply with the purgation provisions in this order, defendants shall pay to the plaintiff a civil fine of Twelve Thousand Dollars ($12,000) if seventy-five percent (75%) of the members of defendant United Mine Workers of America, Local No. 8982 employed by the plaintiff at its Concord and Oak Grove Mines who are scheduled to work at 4:00 P.M. on June 17, 1974, fail to report to work; and beginning with the shift scheduled for work at 12:00 A.M. June 18, 1974, and each shift thereafter, defendants, District 20, United Mine Workers of America and United Mine Workers of America, Local No. 8982, shall pay a civil fine of Four Thousand Dollars ($4,000) per shift to the plaintiff if seventy-five percent (75%) of the members of defendant United Mine Workers of America, Local No. 8982 employed by the plaintiff at its Concord and Oak Grove Mines fail and refuse to work, and if said civil contempt continues, the Court will deal further with the imposition of such civil fines by such further means and orders as the Court shall then determine.
APPENDIX
AMENDED PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION
This cause duly came on to be heard at 1:00 P.M. on May 17, 1974 before the undersigned on the plaintiff's verified application for preliminary injunction contained in its original complaint; and upon the verified motion for further preliminary injunctive relief contained in plaintiff's motion filed on May 9, 1974, which motion the court treats as an amendment to the complaint. The plaintiff appeared by its attorneys M. L. Taliaferro and C. V. Stelzenmuller; and defendants by their attorneys Jack Drake and William E. Mitch. The Court having considered the verified complaint and the verified motion, the answer and oral testimony offered at the hearing, documentary evidence and argument of counsel, is of the opinion that the plaintiff is entitled to the preliminary injunctive relief herein granted and makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. Plaintiff, United States Steel Corporation, is a corporation organized and...
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