Chapman v. Local 104 of International Ass'n of Machinists

199 F. Supp. 186, 5 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 6, 49 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2075, 1961 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3610
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. West Virginia
DecidedNovember 6, 1961
DocketCiv. A. No. 997-H
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 199 F. Supp. 186 (Chapman v. Local 104 of International Ass'n of Machinists) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. West Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chapman v. Local 104 of International Ass'n of Machinists, 199 F. Supp. 186, 5 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 6, 49 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2075, 1961 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3610 (S.D.W. Va. 1961).

Opinion

HARRY E. WATKINS, District Judge.

This is an action for declaratory judgment, an injunction and damages, brought by ten white machinist helpers in their individual capacities, against Local 104 of the International Association of Machinists, of which each is a member, and against the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Company, by whom each has been employed. The ultimate and important question for decision is whether this court has original jurisdiction to hear a railway labor dispute, based upon alleged racial discrimination, where plaintiffs (white) do not claim that there has been any racial discrimination against them because of their race, but claim that there has-been racial discrimination against others (Negro machinist helpers, who are not parties to this action) by which they have been damaged. Both defendants have moved to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a cause of action in (1) failure to allege a contractual right to employment, and (2) failure to allege a case of racial discrimination, such as to give this court jurisdiction under the authority of Spires v. Southern Ry. Co., 4 Cir., 204 F.2d 453 (1953), and Alabaugh v. Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, 4 Cir., 222 F.2d 861 (1955), certiorari denied 350 U.S. 839, 76 S.Ct. 77, 100 L.Ed. 748. Both defendants claim that the Railroad Adjustment Board has exclusive jurisdiction of this dispute. The defendant union has also moved to quash the return of service of process as to it on the ground that it has not been properly served with process.

A pretrial conference was called by the court in order to settle the issues relating to jurisdiction, and to agree upon the facts, so far as possible. The conference resulted in an agreed order reading as follows:

“(1) Does this court have jurisdiction in an action against a union and a railroad charging discrimination other than racial discrimination?
“If the answer is yes, then we do not get into the question of racial discrimination. If the answer is no, then the court must decide whether the evidence to be offered by plaintiffs would constitute the type of racial discrimination for which this court had jurisdiction and could grant the relief asked.
“At the pretrial conference the plaintiffs agreed that their evidence relating to racial discrimination would be as follows: (1) Plaintiffs are all white machinist helpers. Machinists are white and the laborers are white and colored.
“(2) The defendants had given certain work (which was formerly done by machinist helpers) to machinists and laborers in order to [188]*188discriminate against Negro machinist helpers (not parties to this action), and, therefore, the work available to all machinist helpers has been reduced, and the Negro machinist helpers (having greater seniority) have taken what work was available, to the detriment of the plaintiffs, who are all white machinist helpers.
“(3) Plaintiffs do not claim that there has been racial discrimination against them because of their race, but claim that there has been racial discrimination against others (Negro machinist helpers who are not parties to this action) by which they have been damaged.”

The first question must be answered in the negative. The Railway Labor Act, 45 U.S.C.A. § 153 First (i) provides:

“The disputes between an employee or group of employees and a carrier or carriers growing out of grievances or out of the interpretation or application of agreements concerning rates of pay, rules, or working conditions * * * shall be handled in the usual manner up to and including the chief operating officer of the carrier designated to handle such disputes; but, failing to reach an adjustment in this manner, the disputes may be referred by petition of the parties or by either party to the appropriate division of the Adjustment Board with a full statement of the facts and all supporting data bearing upon the disputes.”

Defendants characterize plaintiffs’ grievance essentially as an insistence that they have a right to do work which is being assigned ¿to machinists and laborers, and say that this is precisely the type of dispute which the NRAB regularly hears pursuant to a clear Congressional intention to confer jurisdiction of such disputes upon the experts in the field because it involves a study of collective bargaining contract work rules and industry practices.

The above statutory provision was'discussed in Order of Ry. Conductors of America v. Pitney, 326 U.S. 561, 66 S.Ct. 322, 90 L.Ed. 318 (1946), and Slocum v. Delaware L. & W. R. Co., 339 U.S. 239, 70 S.Ct. 577, 94 L.Ed. 795 (1950). These cases emphasized the desirability of having a peculiarly competent, nationwide quasi-judicial agency to decide railway grievances which require interpretation of the collective bargaining agreements of the industry, as well as to interpret rules and make findings concerning practices and work conditions in the industry. It suffices to say that these cases in their general policy statements left no doubt that the jurisdiction of the NRAB to adjust grievances under the statute is exclusive, and that neither federal nor state courts have jurisdiction to hear such disputes absent some other; factor. The Fourth Circuit has honored the spirit of the policy enunciated by the Supreme Court in these cases. Spires v. Southern Ry. Co., supra.

Plaintiffs rely upon the following cases: Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957); Brotherhood of R. R. Trainmen v. Howard, 343 U.S. 768, 72 S.Ct. 1022, 96 L.Ed. 1283 (1952); Steele v. L. & N. R. Co., 323 U.S. 192, 65 S.Ct. 226, 89 L.Ed. 173 (1944); Tunstall v. Brotherhood, etc., 323 U.S. 210, 65 S.Ct. 235, 89 L.Ed. 187 (1944); Richardson v. Texas and New Orleans Railroad Co., 5 Cir., 242 F.2d 230 (1957); Mount v. Grand International Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, 6 Cir., 226 F.2d 604 (1955), cert, denied 350 U.S 967, 76 S.Ct. 436, 100 L.Ed. 839 (1956); Dillard v. Chesapeake & O. Ry. Co., 4 Cir., 199 F.2d 948 (1952); and Rolax v. Atlantic Coast Line R. Co., 4 Cir., 186 F.2d 473 (1951). An inspection of the above cases reveals, however, that, with the exception of the Mount case, each involves racial discrimination and. that each (including the Mount case) had as plaintiffs those persons against whom the discrimination was directly practiced. An unsuccessful attempt was made, in Alabaugh v. Baltimore & O. R.

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199 F. Supp. 186, 5 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 6, 49 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2075, 1961 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3610, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chapman-v-local-104-of-international-assn-of-machinists-wvsd-1961.