WL Mead, Inc. v. INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD, ETC., Civ. A. No. 54-797-A.

• Decision Date: 02 December 1954
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 54-797-A.
• Citation: 126 F. Supp. 466
• Parties: W. L. MEAD, Inc. v. INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS, etc. LOCAL UNION NO. 25, A.F.L.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Massachusetts

126 F. Supp. 466

W. L. MEAD, Inc. v. INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS, etc. LOCAL UNION NO. 25, A.F.L.

Civ. A. No. 54-797-A.

United States District Court D. Massachusetts.

December 2, 1954.

Bernard B. Gould, Boston, Mass, for plaintiff.

Stephen J. D'Arcy, Jr., Boston, Mass., for defendant.

ALDRICH, District Judge.

This is an action brought by the plaintiff, an Ohio corporation, hereinafter called the employer, against the defendant labor organization, hereinafter called the Union, under § 301(a) of the Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C.A. § 185(a), seeking damages caused by a strike. The plaintiff also asked for a preliminary injunction, which I denied, D.C., 125 F.Supp. 331, affirmed 1 Cir., 217 F.2d 6.

The employer is engaged in the transportation of freight by motor carrier in interstate commerce. As of April, 1953 it entered into a two year contract with the Union on behalf of its employees physically handling the freight by truck or otherwise. On September 8, 1954 the employer "grounded" an employee named Smith, who was a member of the Union, and had been absent from work during August, transferring him from a truck to the loading platform. On the morning of September 10th Smith appeared at the employer's place of business accompanied by representatives of the Union and protested this action. An argument developed, at the conclusion of which the Union called all of the employees whom it represented off the job and declared a strike. In spite of numerous efforts to resolve it, this strike is still in progress. Except for the gradual delivery of freight then in its possession, the employer's Boston business has been at a complete standstill since September 10th. The strike spread during the month, so that all business ceased September 30th.

The first question is whether the Union violated the contract by declaring a strike and by picketing the employer's place of business. The agreement provides as follows:

"Should any dispute, grievance or complaint arise during the life of this agreement which the Business Representative fails to adjust, the dispute, grievance or complaint shall be referred to the Arbitration Panel which Panel shall be the exclusive means of adjudicating all matters."

The Union points out that the contract does not contain any specific "no strike" provision. The employer contends that the arbitration clause is to be given that effect.

Manifestly an arbitration clause is not the same thing as a "no strike" clause, and cannot be taken to have such broad consequences. However, it seems to me that it must have some effect of such character. As indicated by Judge Wyzanski in Textile Workers Union v. American Thread Co., D.C.Mass., 113 F.Supp. 137, an arbitration provision would have little meaning if the parties were at liberty to disregard it.

The question whether a certain employee named Smith should be put to work at 9 o'clock on a truck, or at 11 o'clock at a lower rate of pay on the loading platform constituted a labor dispute. The Union successfully so maintained at the prior hearing and before the Court of Appeals. At the present hearing before me it stipulated that there was a dispute and that the relative merits of the two opposing contentions were not material to the issue here before us.

The Union's refusal to arbitrate this dispute constituted a breach of the agreement. So did the strike. While it is true that declaring a strike never "adjudicates" anything, still the purpose of the strike was to effect a determination of the question without an adjudication. The strike, in other words, was intended to be a substitute for the arbitration procedure. In its argument before me on its motion to dismiss the Union, in discussing the word "adjudicate," stated that an adjudication pre-supposes an "argument." I find that the calling of the strike by the Union was in fact meant to be an argument of a weighty character, intended to take the place of the argument before the joint committee provided for in the agreement.

The arbitration clause was something less than a no strike provision. I believe that there could be strikes, of which a wildcat strike is an example, which would not constitute a violation of this agreement, but I find and rule that this strike was a violation. This included the picketing, which was part and parcel of the strike.

The parties are in disagreement as to what took place the morning of September tenth. Since both acknowledge that considerable heat was engendered I think this disagreement is due in part to faulty recollection. There is no doubt, however, that a dispute arose over Smith's hours, work and pay; that the employer suggested the matter be referred to the joint committee; that this suggestion was not acceptable to the Union, and that the Union pulled the men off the job, and immediately thereafter started picketing.

The Union says that it stated that morning that there was no joint committee to refer to. The employer says that the Union said "To hell with the joint committee." I am aided in resolving this conflict by a consideration of what took place the afternoon before.

The Arbitration Panel provided by the agreement is a standing panel of seven men, three named by the Union, three named by a large group of employers, of which the plaintiff here is one, who have contracts similar to the one at bar, and a seventh, or impartial arbitrator, agreed on by both sides. The impartial arbitrator is one Judge Coddaire. The other arbitrators may vary from time to time, at the will of the parties whom they represent.

On Thursday, September 9th, the joint committee met to hear a complaint involving the B. & M. Transportation Co. When this case was called the Union arbitrators took the position that the employer arbitrators should be the men who negotiated the contract, and not the arbitrators whom the employers had designated and sent that day. The Union arbitrators asked that the case be postponed for another week so that this request could be complied with. The employer arbitrators did not agree. After considerable discussion the next case was called, at which point the employer arbitrators took the position that if the B. & M. case was not going to be heard they would not hear any other cases that day. The employer arbitrators departed. There is insufficient...