Caribbean Atlantic Airlines, Inc. v. International Ass'n of Machinists & Aerospace Workers

283 F. Supp. 601, 68 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2960, 1968 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8621
CourtDistrict Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedApril 15, 1968
DocketCiv. A. No. 839-67
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 283 F. Supp. 601 (Caribbean Atlantic Airlines, Inc. v. International Ass'n of Machinists & Aerospace Workers) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Puerto Rico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Caribbean Atlantic Airlines, Inc. v. International Ass'n of Machinists & Aerospace Workers, 283 F. Supp. 601, 68 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2960, 1968 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8621 (prd 1968).

Opinion

ORDER AND MEMORANDUM DECISION

FERNANDEZ-BADILLO, District Judge.

This cause came to be heard upon a verified complaint requesting issuance of a temporary restraining order, thereafter a preliminary injunction, and ultimately a permanent injunction.

Plaintiff, an airline, claims that defendants, its employees in the class which includes servicemen, mechanics, carpenters, painters and related classifications, acting in concert, unlawfully threatened to engage in a strike and other disruptive activities against plaintiff if certain required maintenance, repairs and overhaul of its aircraft known as Convair 340 and 640 Darts were performed at Miami, Florida, outside the plaintiff’s facilities in Puerto Rico.

Plaintiff sought relief from this Court under Title 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1337, and it relies on the Railway Labor Act, Title 45 U.S.C. §§ 151 through 188. No temporary restraining order having been issued, an order to show cause why a preliminary injunction should not issue was entered on December 18, 1967 and the same was heard on December 21st and 22nd, 1967.

At the hearing defendants denied the existence of any threat of strike and raised the following two points:

1. The case involved a labor dispute between plaintiff and defendants, and since the Norris-La Guardia Act, Title 29 U.S.C. § 101 et seq., forbids any Federal Court to grant an injunction when there is a matter of labor dispute involved, the Court was without jurisdiction to grant the remedy of injunction sought for by the petitioners.

2. The matter is not mature, because the contract signed between the parties provides a grievance procedure to settle the matter, and plaintiffs have not exhausted the remedies provided in the contract. (Record, p. 4)

Testimony and documentary evidence was produced for both sides, and the Court, being duly advised, makes the following:

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Plaintiff, the Caribbean Atlantic Airlines, Inc., which will hereafter be referred to as CARIBAIR, is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico with principal office at International Airport, Isla Verde, Puerto Rico and is a common carrier by air engaged in interstate commerce.

2. Defendant, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, AFL-CIO, which will hereafter be referred to as I.A.M., is a labor union with its principal office and headquarters located in Washington, D. C.

3. Defendant, Local 2201, is a local union of defendant I.A.M. and has at all material times been the duly designated [603]*603representative of plaintiff’s employees in certain crafts or classes, including servicemen, mechanics, carpenters, painters and others.

4. Defendant Juan Maldonado is an international officer representing I.A.M. in Puerto Rico.

5. José Cay, Miguel Ortiz, Pedro J. del Manzano, José A. Dones, Miguel Morales, José A. Vélez, Rafael Cantri and Phil Matos are officers and/or representatives of defendant Local 2201 and are truly representatives of the membership of said defendant local.

6. There is now in effect a collective bargaining agreement, entered into in accordance with the provisions of the Railway Labor Act, between plaintiff and defendant union as the exclusive bargaining agent of certain, but not all, of plaintiff’s employees, which agreement governs rates of pay, rules and working conditions, and provides a method of handling disputes growing out of grievances or out of the interpretation or application of any of the provisions of said agreement.

7. Under section 24 of said agreement (Exhibit 1, for plaintiff, p. 33) a grievance procedure has been established whereby disputes and grievances are first presented to the employees’ immediate supervisor, then to the higher ranking supervisor and then to the chief operating officer.

8. The collective bargaining agreement establishes a System Board of Adjustment mentioned in said section 24. The Board, established in compliance with Section 204, Title II of the Railway Labor Act, is implemented by a written agreement between the parties entered into on October 2nd, 1951 (Exhibit 2, for plaintiff, p. 32) and amended on November 13, 1966 (Exhibit 3, for plaintiff, p. 25). The Board has jurisdiction to decide all disputes growing out of grievances or out of the interpretation or application of the collective bargaining agreement between plaintiff and I.A.M. which have not been settled in the steps or levels up to and including the chief operating officer. Section 24 provides waiving by agreement of intermediate steps, and grievances processed to the next higher step.

9. The decisions of the Board in all cases properly referable to it are final and binding upon the parties.

10. By reason of the rules and regulations of the Federal Aviation Administration, plaintiff is required to carry out certain maintenance, repairs and overhaul of its aircraft. In order to comply with the above mentioned regulations the first airplane was scheduled to be overhauled in the facilities of Eastern Airlines, Inc. at Miami, Florida on January 1, 1968.

11. The grievance in this case involves the overhaul of aircraft to be performed outside the company’s facilities in Puerto Rico. The company contends that because of the facilities, equipment and personnel required it is impeded from carrying out said overhaul in its facilities in Puerto Rico. The union’s position is that the existing agreement does not cover overhaul work done outside Puerto Rico.

12. Section 9, the scope clause of the collective bargaining agreement, provides as follows:

“The Company agrees all work generally recognized as mechanical inspection work, mechanic’s work, conversion of aircrafts, plant maintenance work and equipment iservice work performed in and about Company shops, maintenance bases, overhaul bases, line service stations and other Company facilities, including but not limited to mechanical work involved in dismantling, overhauling, repairing, fabricating, assembling, welding and erecting all parts of airplanes, aircraft engines, electrical systems, heating systems, link and/or flight simulator, ground radio equipment, (except that currently performed by ARINC) and machine tool work in connection therewith and including the dismantling, repairing, assembling and erecting of all machinery and mechanical devices [604]*604and automotive and building maintenance and repair work is recognized as coming within the jurisdiction of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and is covered by this Agreement.” (Exhibit 1, for plaintiff, p. 17.)

13. It is an undisputed fact that both parties are willing to submit the grievance in this case to arbitration.

14.

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283 F. Supp. 601, 68 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2960, 1968 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8621, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/caribbean-atlantic-airlines-inc-v-international-assn-of-machinists-prd-1968.