Danielson v. International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots

521 F.2d 747, 89 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2564
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit
DecidedMay 30, 1975
DocketNo. 842, Docket 75-7062
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 521 F.2d 747 (Danielson v. International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Danielson v. International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots, 521 F.2d 747, 89 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2564 (2d Cir. 1975).

Opinion

MANSFIELD, Circuit Judge:

The International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots (“MM&P” or “the Union”) appeals from a preliminary injunction restraining it from seeking to arbitrate or otherwise enforce a provision in its collective bargaining agreement with Seatrain Lines, Inc. (“Sea-train”), obligating Seatrain, as condition precedent to sale or transfer of a vessel, to insure that the transferee will bind itself to MM&P’s collective bargaining agreement. The injunction granted below was sought, pursuant to § 10(7) of the National Labor Relations Act (“the Act”), 29 U.S.C. § 160(7),1 by plaintiff Danielson, Regional Director of the National Labor Relations Board (“the Board”) and was based on a charge filed [750]*750with the Board by Seatrain on October 1, 1974, alleging that MM&P’s attempt to enforce this provision constituted an unfair labor practice in violation of § 8(e) of the Act, 29 U.S.C. § 158(e),2 the so-called “hot cargo” provision. The Board, after investigation, concluded that there was reasonable cause to believe that MM&P was engaging in the unfair labor practice charged and accordingly sought relief under § 10(7) pending final disposition of the charge by the Board. After a hearing on December 6 and 9, 1974, Judge Motley of the Southern District of New York found that the Regional Director had shown reasonable grounds to believe that the Union was engaged in the charged unfair labor practice and granted the injunctive relief. We affirm.

Seatrain, a Delaware corporation based in New York, is engaged through subsidiaries in operating, owning and constructing seagoing vessels. One of the wholly-owned subsidiaries is Seatrain Shipbuilding Corp. (“Shipbuilding”), a corporation engaged in the business of building and selling ships. Shipbuilding began operations in 1969 and has engaged in the construction of four vessels, at least one of which has been completed.

Shipbuilding’s first vessel, the T/T Brooklyn, was constructed pursuant to a construction contract by Langfitt Shipping Corp., another Seatrain subsidiary. On December 31, 1973, the Brooklyn was sold to Wilmington Trust Company as agent for General Electric Credit Corporation (“GECC”). Wilmington concurrently bareboat-chartered (i.e., chartered without crew) the Brooklyn to East River Steamship Corp., which entered into a management agreement with Anndep Shipping Corp. Finally, Anndep entered into an agreement with Westchester Marine Shipping Co. (“Westchester”), a labor contractor, which undertook to supply the crew for the Brooklyn.

Shipbuilding’s second vessel, the T/T Williamsburg, was constructed under a construction contract held by another Seatrain subsidiary, Tyler Tanker Corp. Seatrain has obtained from GECC a commitment letter to purchase this vessel and GECC intends to bareboat-char-ter the vessel to Kingsway Tankers, Inc. Kingsway also has a management agreement with Anndep Corp., and thus West-chester will also supply the crew of the Williamsburg.

This case arises because Westchester entered into a collective bargaining agreement with MM&P’s rival union, Marine Engineers Beneficial Association, District 2, and through that organization it has hired some 28 licensed deck officers for the Brooklyn and has begun hiring to the Williamsburg. The MM&P had a collective bargaining agreement with Seatrain and its affiliates and subsidiaries, in effect from June 16, 1972 to June 15, 1975, which covered the licensed deck officers of all U.S.-flag vessels owned, operated, or bareboat chartered by Seatrain and contained the following provisions:

“Section V. VESSELS BOUND BY THE AGREEMENT
“2. Sales and Transfers
“a. With regard to any sale, charter (but not including a vessel which the Company may be operating under a bareboat charter and the charter is terminated) or any manner of transfer (except sales to foreign flag) of the Company’s vessel:
“i. At least seventy-two (72) hours prior to the date of the effective [751]*751transfer of the vessel, written notice must be given to the Organization by the Company.
“ii. The execution by the purchaser, charterer or transferee of the Organization’s collective bargaining agreement shall be a condition precedent to any sale, charter or transfer.
“iii. If the Company violates subsection 2(a)(ii) above, the Arbitrator may include as part of his award, loss of wages and contributions to the various Organization Plans.
“iv. A violation of subsection 2(a)(ii) above shall also permit the Organization to cancel the no-strike provisions of this Agreement.”

When it agreed to sell the Brooklyn and the Williamsburg, Seatrain did not require the transferees to execute MM&P’s collective bargaining agreement as required by § 2(a)(ii).

On April 17, 1974, MM&P notified Sea-train that it was placing on the agenda for arbitration3 a grievance arising from “the failure to man the SS. BROOKLYN with IOMM&P licensed deck officers employed under [the] agreement.” On September 18, 1974, MM&P advised that it was placing on the arbitration agenda a grievance arising from the “failure to secure the manning of the T/T Williams-burg with IOMM&P Licensed Deck Officers” and specifically informed Seatrain that it was seeking relief consisting of: “1. The manning of the T/T Williams-burg by IOMM&P Licensed Deck Officers” and “2. The lost wages, including overtime, and the contributions to the various Organization Plans for the period of time that the T/T Williamsburg was, is and remains manned by licensed officers other than IOMM&P Licensed Deck Officers. . . . ” On April 22, 1974, Seatrain brought an action in the Supreme Court of New York seeking to enjoin MM&P from pressing its arbitration claims. The action was removed to the Southern District where MM&P cross-applied for an order compelling arbitration. Both the motion to compel and the motion to stay arbitration were denied as moot after the district court granted the § 10(7) injunction sought by the Board in the present proceeding.

In the court below, and again on appeal, the Union argues that subdivision 2 of Section V of the agreement does not violate § 8(e) of the Act because it is merely a “work preservation” provision, and that in any event the Union had an absolute right to seek arbitration of its grievances. Thus appellants urge that there was no reasonable cause to believe that an unfair labor practice charge will ultimately be sustained, and thus the § 10(7) injunction should not have issued.

DISCUSSION

In determining whether an injunction under §10(7) should issue, it is well settled that the district court need not decide that an unfair labor practice has actually occurred but merely must decide whether the Board has reasonable cause to believe there has been a violation of the Act. Douds v. Milk Drivers & Dairy Employees Union, 248 F.2d 534, 537-38 (2d Cir. 1957). The district court should defer to the statutory construction urged by the Board. See McLeod v. National Maritime Union, 457 F.2d 490, 494 (2d Cir. 1972).

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Bluebook (online)
521 F.2d 747, 89 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2564, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/danielson-v-international-organization-of-masters-mates-pilots-ca2-1975.