Alamo Motor Lines, Inc. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local Union No. 657

229 S.W.2d 112, 1950 Tex. LEXIS 506
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 15, 1950
Docket12102
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 229 S.W.2d 112 (Alamo Motor Lines, Inc. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local Union No. 657) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Alamo Motor Lines, Inc. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local Union No. 657, 229 S.W.2d 112, 1950 Tex. LEXIS 506 (Tex. Ct. App. 1950).

Opinions

NORVELL, Justice.

Alamo Motor Lines, Inc., the plaintiff below, has appealed from an order denying' its application for a temporary injunction. The appellees are referred to in the briefs as the “union defendants” and the “carrier defendants”, and such designations will he used in this opinion. The union defendants are four local unions affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, A. F. L., and W. M. Miller, a representative of the International Brotherhood. Certain local unions affiliated with the Longshoremen’ International Association were also named as defendants below, but it seems that no relief is sought against them upon this appeal and they will not be further noticed.

The carrier defendants are the Sunset Motor Lines, Inc., and twenty-one other motor transportation companies. In response to an order to show cause why a temporary injunction should not issue, Locals Nos. 657, 968, 583 and 941 of the Teamsters Union and W. M. Miller filed an answer contesting plaintiff’s application. However, none of the carrier defendants answered.

Plaintiff operates a common carrier truck line between Houston and El Paso, Texas, and serves many intermediate points, including San Antonio, Texas. It sought to restrain the union defendants from maintaining a picket line around its terminals in San Antonio, Houston, San Angelo, Odessa, Alpine and El Paso, Texas. Plaintiff also sought to restrain the carrier defendants from refusing to accept freight from said plaintiff and from refusing to deliver freight to it.

The case came on for hearing before the court without a jury and the plaintiff agreed with the union defendants that the court’s ruling on the application for temporary injunction should determine the final judgment to be rendered as between plaintiff and the answering union defendants. After a full hearing of the evidence the trial court rendered judgment refusing the injunctive relief prayed for.

Plaintiffs submits its appeal upon three points raising two contentions, which for convenience we shall discuss in the inverse order of presentation in plaintiff’s brief: First, that the maintenance of picket lines near and about plaintiff’s terminals by the union defendants was unlawful (Points Two and Three), and second, that plaintiff was entitled to a temporary injunction against the carrier defendants by reason of their failure to answer plaintiff’s petition after having been served with a “show cause” order (Point No. One).

Upon request the trial judge filed findings of fact and conclusions of law, and plaintiff submits no points directly t challenging said findings and conclusions or asserting that the evidence does not support the findings. Consequently, our statement of the case is taken largely from the findings of the trial judge.

It appears that the disagreement between the plaintiff and the union defendants grew out of the demand made by said defendants that plaintiff .adopt the “Southwestern Area Over-the-Road Agreement”, which was a form of contract agreed upon by a negotiation committee of the Southwest Operators Association and a similar committee representing the Southern Conference of Teamsters. This form of contract regulates in detail the working conditions, wages and other employee benefits to be established, maintained or paid by motor carriers for and on behalf of their over-the-road truck drivers. The agreement was designed for application to all motor carriers operating in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana. The plaintiff was not a member of the Southwest Operators Association and its adoption of the “Over-the-Road Agreement” mentioned, would have necessitated its .paying increased wages and affording increased • insurance benefits to its employees as compared with the then existing contract between plaintiff and its over-the-road drivers. ,According to the trial judge’s findings, the four Locals who are defendants here were the recognized bargaining agents for plaintiff’s truck drivers [114]*114and had negotiated a contract with plaintiff relating to wages, hours and working conditions of such employees. During the fall of 1949, the local unions gave timely notice of their intention to re-negotiate certain provisions of said contract, principally those relating to wages and insurance benefits. In November, 1949, Clyde Gherman, as agent for the local unions, met with T. W. Wheeler, president and majority stockholder of plaintiff company, and sought to induce him to accede to the unions’ demands. In mid-December, a committee of agents of the union defendants also met with Wheeler, but the plaintiff refused to raise wages or provide additional insurance benefits although certain companies competing with plaintiff had done so. Thereafter a number of telephone conversations and meetings took place between the agents of the union defendants and plaintiff’s president with reference to the matter, and the agents of union defendants advised plaintiff, through Wheeler, that unless plaintiff agreed to comply with their demands the union defendants would picket plaintiff’s places of business in protest against plaintiff’s refusal to grant wage increases and insurance 'benefits. Some of plaintiff’s employees were satisfied with the then prevailing wages and conditions and did not desire to - strike or picket, though none of them withdrew from the union defendants their authorizations to act as th'eir collective bargaining agents. Others of plaintiff’s drivers actually struck and picketed' plaintiff’s places of business for the sole purpose of advertising plaintiff’s' refusal to increase wages and provide instiraficé benefits. Pursuant to established union procedure, a strike was authorized by union membership- vote against any employer who refused' to meet the unions’ demands with reference to wages and insurance benefits. No separate vote was taken limited' only to the employees ■ of plaintiff. Plowever, prior to the strike and picketing, separate meetings of plaintiff’s drivers were held at which plaintiff’s drivers were advised of the strike plans, and at no meeting did any of said drivers voice objection thereto. On January 19, 1950, less than a'majority of plaintiff’s drivers struck and picketed in protest of plaintiff’s refusal to grant the union demands. Such picketing was peaceful and unattended by threats or violence of any kind. Some persons observed the picket line and refused to do business with plaintiff, and others crossed the picket line without molestation or reprisal. (Certain other findings were made which relate primarily to the carrier defendants and will be adverted to in the latter part of this opinion.)

Based upon the findings above summarized, the trial judge made the following conclusions of law:

“1. A bona fide labor dispute exists, between plaintiff and some of its employees and a bona fide labor dispute exists between plaintiff and,labor defendants.
“2. In connection with such labor disputes labor defendants have exercised their constitutional rights of free speech and assembly by -peaceful picketing in the public street, advising th.e public of the existence of such labor dispute.
“3. Defendants have not engaged in any secondary picketing or secondary boycotting or in any conspiracy in restraint of trade or any violation of the anti-trust laws or any other statutes of the State of Texas.
“4. Defendants’ actions have been in all things lawful.”

We first consider plaintiff’s contention that the picketing of plaintiff’s terminals was illegal.

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Bluebook (online)
229 S.W.2d 112, 1950 Tex. LEXIS 506, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/alamo-motor-lines-inc-v-international-brotherhood-of-teamsters-local-texapp-1950.