United States v. LOCAL NO. 8, INT. ASS'N OF BRIDGE, S., O. & RI, Civ. A. No. 8618.

• Citation: 315 F. Supp. 1202
• Decision Date: 16 June 1970
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 8618.
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. LOCAL NO. 86, INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BRIDGE, STRUCTURAL, ORNAMENTAL AND REINFORCING IRONWORKERS, et al., Defendants.
• Court: United States District Courts. 9th Circuit. United States District Court (Western District of Washington)

315 F. Supp. 1202

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. LOCAL NO. 86, INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BRIDGE, STRUCTURAL, ORNAMENTAL AND REINFORCING IRONWORKERS, et al., Defendants.

Civ. A. No. 8618.

United States District Court, W. D. Washington, N. D.

June 5, 1970.

Supplemental Orders June 16, 1970.

Stan Pitkin, U. S. Atty., Patrick J. King, Robert T. Moore, Andrew J. Barrick, Gerald F. George, Frank Petramalo, Jr. and Joel L. Selig, Attys., Civil Rights Division, Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., for plaintiff.

Hugh Hafer, and John E. Rinehart, Seattle, Wash., for all defendants except Ironworkers Joint Apprenticeship Committee, Local 86.

Alec Brindle, Seattle, Wash., for Ironworkers Joint Apprenticeship Committee, Local 86.

FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

LINDBERG, Chief Judge.

This cause having regularly come on for trial commencing on February 17, 1970, upon plaintiff's claim against defendant Ironworkers Local 86, Ironworkers Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee, Sheet Metal Workers Local 99, Sheet Metal Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee, Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 32, Plumbers and Pipefitters Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee, and Electricians Local 46, and counsel for the plaintiff and each of these defendants having appeared and the Court having heard the evidence, the argument of counsel, examined the exhibits, read the transcript of proceedings, and considered the briefs submitted by counsel, now makes the following:

I

FINDINGS OF FACT APPLICABLE TO LOCAL 86, INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BRIDGE, STRUCTURAL, ORNAMENTAL, AND REINFORCING IRON WORKERS

1. Local Union No. 86 of the International Association of Bridge, Structural, and Ornamental Ironworkers (hereinafter Local 86) is a labor organization representing workmen in the ironwork trade. Its geographical jurisdiction includes King, Kittitas, Jefferson, Kitsap, and Yakima Counties; the south half of Clallam, Snohomish, Chelan and Island Counties and all projects spanning the Columbia River from Okanogan County to Benton County, all in the State of Washington. Its principal place of business is at 2800 First Avenue, Seattle. (Admitted Facts, par. 1)

2. Local 86 is party to a collective bargaining agreement with ironwork contractors represented by the Seattle Northwest, Tacoma, and Mountain Pacific Chapters of the Associated General Contractors of America, Inc. The agreement is in effect through July 20, 1971. (Admitted Facts, par. 5)

3. Local 86 has an exclusive hiring hall for contractors with whom it has collective bargaining agreements. The employer must call the union in order to obtain men; he can obtain men from other sources only if the union is unable to fill his request for men within 48 hours. (Pl. Ex. 39, pp. 5-6)

4. Through its hiring hall Local 86 controls at least 90 percent of the employment opportunities in the building construction classifications of the ironwork trade in the Seattle and Western Washington area within its geographical jurisdiction. (Admitted Facts, par. 7)

5. In January 1970 Local 86 had approximately 920 members. (Pl. Ex. 1; Pl. Ex. 246, p. 60; Pl. Ex. 245, p. 46) Local 86 has only one black journeyman member, Howard Lewis, who was admitted on September 12, 1969, pursuant to an order of the Washington State Board Against Discrimination. (Admitted Facts, par. 3, 4; Facts Not To Be Contested) Local 86 also has two black apprentices; John Ingram, who was admitted on October 10, 1969, and Early Johnson, who was first dispatched on October 3, 1969. (Admitted Facts, par. 3, 4)

6. In the operation of its hiring hall Local 86 maintains an out of work list for workmen seeking referral. (Pl. Ex. 246, p. 11) Local 86 uses the following standards and procedures in the operation of the hiring hall:

a. Workmen who register for referral to jobs in the trade are given priority in the following order (Admitted Facts, par. 10):

A List: Members of Local 86 who have worked at least three years in the ironwork trade within the geographical jurisdiction of Local 86 (blue cards);

B List: Members of Local 86 or any other "outside" Ironworkers Local who have worked more than nine months in the ironwork trade within the geographical jurisdiction of Local 86 (green cards). An "outside" Ironworkers Local is a local union of the ironworkers which represents workmen in the building construction classification of the ironwork trade;

C List: Members of Local 86 or any other "outside" ironworkers local who have worked less than nine months in the ironwork trade within the geographical jurisdiction of Local 86 (white cards);

D List: Workmen not members of Local 86 or any other "outside" ironworkers local union (pink cards).

b. The hiring hall operates from 7:00 to 10:00 a. m. (Admitted Facts, par. 10)

c. When employers request workmen from Local 86, hiring hall union personnel offer the jobs to those workmen present in the hiring hall, first, by calling out the name of the contractor and the job location, and, second, by calling the names of the workmen who have registered for referral, in priority order. When the name of a workman who is present in the hall is called, he may claim the job or decline it. (Admitted Facts, par. 10) There are two general exceptions to the foregoing procedures:

(1) When an employer requests a particular workman by name, the hiring hall will fill the request if the man has worked for that employer for six months out of the previous twelve months. (Admitted Facts, par. 10)

(2) When an employer requests a particular workman by name to act as a supervisor the hiring hall will fill the request regardless of the man's priority standing at the time. (Admitted Facts, par. 10)

In addition to the two general exceptions above, union officials will also occasionally refer men to jobs without going through the normal referral procedure. (Tr. 125)

7. There are three principal classifications of ironworkers: structural ironworkers; rodmen; and welders. Structural men erect and assemble steel beams and like components used in the construction of buildings and bridges. Rodmen (also known as rodbusters) work in the area of reinforcing concrete with steel bars and mats. Welders are responsible for welding various types of heavy gauge metals. (Tr. 24, 25, 112, 1215) Apprentices, irrespective of union membership, are dispatched on a ratio basis in accordance with the number of journeymen required on a given job. Their dispatch system is separate and independent from that of the other men on the out of work list. (Admitted Facts, par. 11)

8. The applicable standards for membership set out in Local 86's constitution are anyone "versed in the duties of some branch of the trade * * *, of good moral character and competent to demand standard wages." (Pl. Ex. 37, p. 5)

9. An individual may become a member of Local 86 in one of three ways: (a) direct admission to membership; (b) by transferring from a sister ironworkers local; and (c) by completion of the Local's apprenticeship program. (Tr. 1478; Pl. Ex. 37, pp. 70, 84)

10. Persons seeking membership in Local 86 must have two sponsors who are members of Local 86 and who have been in good standing in Local 86 for two years. (Admitted Facts, par. 17)

11. Howard Lewis and Jettie Murray were and are experienced black welders of journeyman capability who sought referral by and membership in Local 86. On the basis of the following facts, the Court finds that both men were denied referral and membership by Local 86 on account of their race:

a. In 1962 Lewis obtained an application for membership in Local 86 but did not submit it as he was unable to find any union members who would vouch for him by signing his application. (Tr. 30-31)

b. In 1966 Lewis made three attempts to join Local 86. On the first occasion he was given a June 1966 date for his examination. Lewis took time off from work and traveled approximately 175 miles to come to Seattle for the examination. However, he was not examined because he did not bring a withdrawal card to show that he no longer belonged to another union. Lewis appeared again in July of 1966. He gave the Board his City of Seattle Welder's Certificate and other welder's certificate papers, his withdrawal card from another union and a letter of recommendation from his superintendent. He was then asked how well he could tie knots. Lewis replied that he was not very good at tying knots. He was then informed that he could not become a member of the Union unless he knew how to tie knots. Thereafter, Lewis learned how to tie knots and in September 1966 returned a third time to Seattle from his job site some 175 miles outside of the city. At that time he was given a knot tying test. He was able to tie the first seven knots. He was then asked to tie a knot that he had never heard of before and when he told the Examining Committee that he did not know how to tie the knot, he was informed that he had failed the examination and could not become a member. The knot tying test was used as a device to exclude Lewis. Lewis decided against trying a fourth time. Shortly after his third attempt, Lewis was laid off from his ironworkers job. Upon numerous occasions after that, the Union refused to refer Lewis to employment on the ground that he was not unemployed. In March 1967, Lewis filed a complaint with the State Board Against Discrimination charging Local 86 with racial discrimination. Subsequently, Lewis was referred to jobs by Local 86 but the jobs were always of short duration. As a result of this treatment, Lewis stopped seeking referrals for employment by Local 86. On March 12, 1969, the Washington State Board Against Discrimination found that Local 86 had discriminated against Lewis on account of his race. The Board ordered Local 86 to accept Lewis as a member. Pursuant to the State Board's court order, Local 86 took Lewis into membership in September of 1969. (Tr. 22-50; Pl. Ex. 40; Facts Not To Be...