Brisbin v. E. L. Oliver Lodge No. 335

279 N.W. 277, 134 Neb. 517, 1938 Neb. LEXIS 85, 2 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 812
CourtNebraska Supreme Court
DecidedApril 15, 1938
DocketNo. 30115
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 279 N.W. 277 (Brisbin v. E. L. Oliver Lodge No. 335) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nebraska Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brisbin v. E. L. Oliver Lodge No. 335, 279 N.W. 277, 134 Neb. 517, 1938 Neb. LEXIS 85, 2 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 812 (Neb. 1938).

Opinion

Messmore, J.

This is an appeal from the district court for Douglas county, wherein the court granted a temporary restraining order against the defendant brotherhood and its' officers, restraining them from interfering with the employment of the plaintiff, who was working as a stenographer in the office of the auditor of miscellaneous accounts of the Union Pacific Railroad Company. The trial court dissolved the temporary restraining order and denied a temporary injunction. Plaintiff elected to stand upon the showing made, and an order was made denying a permanent injunction, from which order the plaintiff brings this appeal. The pleadings properly present the issues necessary for a determination of this case.

[520]*520The evidence discloses that plaintiff, an unmarried woman, entered the employ of the Union Pacific Railroad Company at its headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska, July 5, 1923. She voluntarily became a member of the Clerical Employees’ Association, a company union, in November, 1931. The union, acting as agent for the plaintiff and other member employees; entered into an agreement with the Union Pacific Railroad Company that no married woman thereafter would be- employed, and that all married women then in the employ of the railroad company would be discharged. The plaintiff was secretly married at Papillion, Nebraska, on September 23, 1933. The union to which plaintiff belonged practically ceased to function, and on December 6, 1933, an election was held under the railway labor act, passed by the United States congress, to decide who should represent the clerical employees. The Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employees, a voluntary association of individuals, received the highest number of votes and became, by virtue thereof, the representatives of the clerical employees. The agreement relative to married women was still in full force and effect, and from the time of the selection of said brotherhood all agreements with the Clerical Employees’ Association were terminated, and all employees were notified that a new agreement would be negotiated with the brotherhood. The plaintiff claims that she was not, and never had been, a member of the brotherhood and did not receive a notice of any kind that the agreement concerning the employment of married women was to be made a part of the new agreement. In this connection it might be well to state that the officers of the brotherhood, in cooperation with the railroad company, at all times previously and at this time, by oral agreement and by action of such officers, maintained and kept in force the so-called married women’s agreement. This occurred just subsequent to the election at which the brotherhood was chosen to represent the clerical employees. There appear [521]*521to have been in the neighborhood of 150 agreements of different kinds, some of which were lost, made by the Clerical Employees’ Association during its existence, but the one of interest in the case at bar is the married women’s agreement.

The record discloses that there were 1,954 votes cast on the question of who should represent the Clerical Employees’ Association, of which the brotherhood received 1,001. As to this election in December, 1933, and the plaintiff’s participation therein, we find the following testimony by plaintiff: “Q. Now, you knew that there was an election in December, 1933, did you not, as between the clerical union and the new union called the brotherhood, the election among employees as to which union they wanted to represent them? A. Yes, sir. Q. You voted in that election, did you not? A. Yes, sir. Q. As a matter of fact you knew all about the brotherhood and you made application for membership in the brotherhood? A. Yes; I did.” Exhibit 4,. offered and received in evidence, is an application for membership in the brotherhood signed by the plaintiff.

Plaintiff remained in her employment, using her maiden name and concealing her marriage, until October, 1936, when it was discovered that she was a married woman. The representatives of the union, upon such discovery, notified the immediate superior of plaintiff. The letters requesting that she be taken out of the employment of the railroad company are in evidence. Plaintiff was given 30 days’ notice, at the end of which time her employment would be terminated. She applied for a restraining order which was granted. When such order was dissolved the railroad company discharged plaintiff.

Several women employees of the railroad company, upon marrying, had voluntarily terminated their employment with the company, except in one instance when a leave of absence was granted, and subsequently such employment was terminated. The result was to advance the plaintiff in her seniority rights. In this connection the [522]*522seniority rights of employees of the railroad company had been in effect for some period of time. Plaintiff contends that it was a rule of the company and not of the unions. However, the unions participated in the rights relative to seniority, and on July 1, 1934, a set of rules became effective governing the working conditions of clerks and other office, station and store employees, represented by the brotherhood, which appears as exhibit 2 in the record. These rules do not 'contain the married women’s agreement. Exhibit 5 is a seniority roster of employees in the office of the auditor of miscellaneous accounts, to be issued as of January 1, 1935, containing the seniority numbers of some 79 employees, their positions, seniority dates and the individual’s approval of the seniority dates shown. The plaintiff approved her seniority date, signing her maiden name thereto.

After the termination of her employment, plaintiff and her husband talked to certain officers of the brotherhood, requesting that an exception be made in her case, but did not appear before the lodge itself. The brotherhood refused this request. There is some evidence in the record, given by the plaintiff, to the effect that she was told by officers of the brotherhood that if she was not a member of the brotherhood it would be difficult to make such exception, for the reason that they had refused to make such an exception in favor of members of the brotherhood. This statement is denied. The trial judge had the benefit of testing the credibility of the witnesses in this conflict of evidence. The record further discloses the enforcement of the married women’s rule, and that no discrimination was shown by the union or brotherhood in enforcing this rule as a representative of the Clerical Employees’ Association, as among any of the employees of said association or brotherhood. The “open shop” was maintained by the Union Pacific Railroad Company and the defendant, E. L. Oliver Lodge No. 335, which is a voluntary association of individuals created for the purpose of furthering the interests of its members as em[523]*523ployees of the railroad company in the city of Omaha, and affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.

Exhibit 7 is the original memorandum and agreement between the Union Pacific Railroad Company, the St. Joseph and Grand Island Railway Company and the Clerical Employees’ Association, and is the agreement which gives rise to this controversy. It is as follows:

“In accordance with request of the General Committee of the Clerical Employees’ Association — UPRR and StJ& GIRy., in connection with the unemployment situation, it is agreed that the following will govern with respect to the employment status of married women, effective November 23, 1931.

“1.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
279 N.W. 277, 134 Neb. 517, 1938 Neb. LEXIS 85, 2 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 812, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brisbin-v-e-l-oliver-lodge-no-335-neb-1938.