Byrne v. Long Island State Park Commission

66 Misc. 2d 1070, 323 N.Y.S.2d 442, 78 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2956, 1971 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1436
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 22, 1971
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 66 Misc. 2d 1070 (Byrne v. Long Island State Park Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Byrne v. Long Island State Park Commission, 66 Misc. 2d 1070, 323 N.Y.S.2d 442, 78 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2956, 1971 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1436 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1971).

Opinion

Bertram Harnett, J.

Is Jones Beach by nature entirely immune from labor picketing? The answer must be “no”; that, under appropriate circumstances, people concerned with work at the beach facility can engage there in peaceful pursuits to bring their work grievances to public attention.

This principle governs the lifeguard work dispute at Jones Beach now before this court. While the principle is easily stated, its application to the facts and circumstances of the case [1072]*1072is not so easy. The matter abounds in what lawyers and Judges delight in characterizing, often to the clients ’ intense discomfort, as ‘ ‘ interesting ” or “ nice ’ ’ points of law. But, more than that, the law here becomes a necessary catalyst in a solution of competing social principles: — the need for peace and privacy in natural setting versus the rights of citizens and workers to be heard in connection with work grievances at the very place the peace and privacy is meant to exist.

I. PARK, PEOPLE AÍTO PARTIES

Jones Beach is a nationally famous beach occupying its own island off the south shore of Long Island. It is connected to the mainland by at least three causeway bridges and arterial highways. The beach preserve itself is actually a gigantic park operated by the Long Island State Park Commission, and is the principal facility maintained by it. It features miles of ocean bathing beaches with a typically vigorous surf, bay bathing beaches, bathhouses, swimming pools, diverse recreational activities, restaurants, an outdoor theater, a boardwalk, natural plantings and wildlife, and a substantial network of access highways, connecting roads and walkways. In all, it is a large carefully controlled complex devoted to the leisure time activity of great masses of people, particularly during the summertime.

Technically, the beaches involved in the dispute are four controlled by the Long Island State Park Commission, namely Jones Beach, Robert Moses State Park on Fire Island, Heckscher State Park, and Sunken Meadow State Park. The latter two have no ocean surf. However, the principal thrust of the action is the dominant Jones Beach complex, which for equivalency and adjacency could also include the Moses Park. Accordingly, for ease of expression, this opinion will be couched in the realistic terms of “ Jones Beach ”, but applies to all four.

Among the numerous people employed at Jones Beach are lifeguards. These lifeguards work not only at the swimming pools and bay beaches, which are relatively tranquil, but also on the vast ocean beaches which require trained and conditioned lifeguards knowledgeable in ocean rescue work.

The lifeguards do not work at the beach throughout the year. They work only during the bathing season without any continuing year-to-year contract. Lifeguards who are employed during one season begin their employment at the beginning of the season and end it with the conclusion of that bathing season. In the following year, the previous lifeguards have, by custom, a prior call on renewed employment, but they have no guaranteed [1073]*1073re-employment rights, nor do they themselves agree to come back.

Apparently, the overwhelming proportion of men who were lifeguards during the 1970 season are members of Local 381, Building Service Employees International Union, AFL-CIO (called “ Union ”) of which Lawrence J. Byrne is President.

Throughout this opinion, for convenience, the parties opposed to the Union and its members shall be called in aggregate the “ State ”, and they include New York State, the Long Island State Park Commission and its Police Chief. Since 1963 the State has dealt with the Union as the lifeguards ’ representative. While there has been no Public Employment Relations Board certification of the Union, the State has in each of these years not only negotiated with the Union, but has also conducted a checkoff1 of dues of the lifeguards on behalf of the Union. No other union represents lifeguards at Jones Beach. This Union also currently represents other types of employees now working at Jones Beach.

Prior to the 1971 bathing season, the State indicated that it would rehire former lifeguards, but at lesser rates of pay than during 1970. The Union and individual former lifeguards took exception to the State position and a controversy ensued, which is still going on. The past lifeguards, through their Union representation, have refused to apply for renewed employment this year unless the offered wages were brought to a satisfactory level. The State, in turn, has refused to meet the wage demand and instead has hired a certain number of new non-Union lifeguards for pool and bay area supervision. The State was not able to procure ocean beach lifeguards at the time this matter was argued in court. So far in the 1971 season, the ocean beaches' are open, but only for limited bathing activity. Some ocean beach patrol is carried on by the regular police at the park.

The Union and the lifeguards have determined to picket at Jones Beach. They wish to have lifeguards walk up and down at key places, to carry placards, distribute leaflets, and to disseminate information, all in a peaceful manner. Presently, a number of lifeguards are at the beach scene in a non-working capacity, expressing their dissatisfaction, and incidents of friction have occurred.

Citing park regulations which prohibit advertising and demonstrations without a permit, the State, via the Park Commission, has refused to permit the picketing activity. The Union then commenced suit against the Long Island State Park Commission and its police commission seeking a permanent injunction against interfering with their peaceful picketing. Their [1074]*1074motion before this court now, which the State opposes, is for a preliminary injunction prohibiting the State from interfering with peaceful picketing pending determination of the permanent injunction action.

On the other hand, New York State has in turn sued for a permanent injunction restraining the officers and members of the Union from interfering with other employees at Jones Beach, from taking action which would cause other employees to decline or discontinue work, from intimidating people making deliveries at the beach, from interfering with patrons of the State facilities, and from picketing or congregating at any point on or in proximity to the beach, and for an order directing the Union to instruct its members not to engage in any strike, work stoppage or slowdown. Pending determination of the permanent injunction action, New York State has moved here for a preliminary injunction prohibiting the Union and its members from engaging in any of the conduct sought to be permanently enjoined.

The two motions for preliminary injunction were heard and will be considered here together. To insure compliance with section 807 of the Labor Law, to the extent applicable, the court conducted a hearing, at which testimony was taken.

II. THRUST OF THE LABOR LAWS

A. Is the Trouble Labor?

An intriguing aspect of these motions is in the earnest desire of both parties in their oral arguments to avoid characterizing their controversy as any kind of labor dispute.

• On the one hand, the Union would have the court simply treat the former lifeguards as a group of ordinary citizens exercising their rights of free speech at Jones Beach.

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Bluebook (online)
66 Misc. 2d 1070, 323 N.Y.S.2d 442, 78 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2956, 1971 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1436, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/byrne-v-long-island-state-park-commission-nysupct-1971.