Dole v. Local 427, International Union of Electrical Workers

760 F. Supp. 423, 1990 WL 279514
CourtDistrict Court, D. New Jersey
DecidedApril 2, 1991
DocketCiv. A. 87-3575
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 760 F. Supp. 423 (Dole v. Local 427, International Union of Electrical Workers) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. New Jersey primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dole v. Local 427, International Union of Electrical Workers, 760 F. Supp. 423, 1990 WL 279514 (D.N.J. 1991).

Opinion

OPINION

WOLIN, District Judge.

The Secretary of Labor (the “Secretary”) and Local 427, International Union of Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers, AFL-CIO (“Local 427”) have filed cross-motions for summary judgment. Because there is no genuine issue of material fact, and because the Court agrees with the Secretary’s interpretation of the governing statute, the Court will enter summary judgment on behalf of the Secretary.

I. BACKGROUND

In 1987, the Secretary filed a complaint alleging that Hortensia Colmenares, a member of Local 427, had requested a copy of the collective bargaining agreement between Local 427 and her employer. Complaint ¶ VII. Ms. Colmenares also asked to inspect the collective bargaining agreements between Local 427 and other employers. Id. Local 427 granted her request for a copy of the agreement between it and her employer but refused to allow her to inspect the other agreements. Id. The Secretary requested a judgment “directing the defendant to comply with Hortensia Colmi-nares’ [sic] request to inspect all collective bargaining agreements made by it.” Id. at 3.The Court held, on summary judgment, that the applicable statute of limitations barred the action. Brock v. Local 427, 682 F.Supp. 1315 (1988). The Third Circuit Court of Appeals reversed on the statute of limitations issue and remanded for consideration on the merits. Dole v. Local 427, 894 F.2d 607 (3d Cir.1990). Following the reversal, the Secretary amended her complaint to request that the Court “enjoin[] the defendant from denying to any member in good standing of defendant the right to inspect all collective bargaining agreements to which defendant is a party.” Amended Complaint at 3.

*425 II. DISCUSSION

This case presents two issues, one substantive, the other remedial. First, the Court must decide whether § 104 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (“LMRDA”), 29 U.S.C. § 414, requires a union local to allow a member to inspect collective bargaining agreements between the local and employers other than the member’s employer. Second, because the Court holds that the union local is required to allow inspection of such agreements, the Court will consider whether to enjoin the local from refusing to allow any of its members to inspect any such agreement.

A. Interpreting § 104 of the LMRDA

The Court faces these issues on cross-motions for summary judgment. A district court shall enter summary judgment “if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). Neither party argues that any factual dispute exists to bar summary judgment for either party as to liability.

Section 104 of the LMRDA circumscribes Local 427’s obligation to permit inspection of collective bargaining agreements:

[1] It shall be the duty of the secretary or corresponding principal officer of each labor organization, in the case of a local labor organization, to forward a copy of each collective bargaining agreement made by such labor organization with any employer to any employee who requests such a copy and whose rights as such employee are directly affected by such agreement ...; [2] and such officer shall maintain at the principal office of the labor organization of which he is an officer copies of any such agreement made or received by such labor organization, which copies shall be available for inspection by any member or by any employee whose rights are affected by such agreement. The provisions of section 440 of this title shall be applicable in the enforcement of this section.

29 U.S.C.A. § 414 (1985) (emphasis added). The parties agree that the first part of this provision 1 entitles each employee, whether or not a union member, to receive a copy of the collective bargaining agreement between his or her employer and the local. Plaintiffs Brief at 5; Defendant’s Brief at 7. The parties disagree, however, as to whether the underscored passage in § 104 entitles local members to review all collective bargaining agreements into which the local has entered.

The parties have presented one case which is directly on point, Colpo v. General Teamsters Local Union 326, 512 F.Supp. 1093 (D.Del.1981). In Colpo, Judge Staple-ton, then a district court judge, held that § 104 requires locals to provide access to their members to all of the local’s collective bargaining agreements. 512 F.Supp. at 1096. In interpreting the phrase “available for inspection by any member or by any employee whose rights are affected by such agreement,” Judge Stapleton held, and this Court agrees, that the restrictive clause “whose rights are affected by such agreement” modifies only “any employee” and not “any member.” Id. at 1095. The repetition of the words “by any” before “employee” indicates that inspection may be made “by any member” or “by any employee whose rights are affected by the agreement.” Id. (sentence ends with two independent clauses). The alternative interpretation, which Judge Stapleton and this Court reject, is that inspection may be made “by any member [whose rights are affected by the agreement]” or “by any employee whose rights are affected by the agreement.” Under that reading, however, the repetition of “by any” would serve no purpose. See id. The phrase could have been written “by any member or employee *426 whose rights are affected by the agreement”; it was not, and the Court will not interpret the statute in such a way as render words redundant. See Reiter v. Sonotone Corp., 442 U.S. 330, 339, 99 S.Ct. 2326, 2331, 60 L.Ed.2d 931 (1979) (duty of court to give effect to every clause and word of statute, if possible); Bell v. United States, 754 F.2d 490, 498-99 (3d Cir.1985) (same).

The Court respectfully disagrees with a consideration Judge Stapleton found more important than the above analysis. He reasoned that all “members” are “employees.” Colpo, 512 F.Supp. at 1095. Thus the reference to members would be redundant if the classes of employees and members with a right to inspect were both limited in the same way (i.e., by the requirement that their rights be affected). Id. However, the definitions of “member” 2 and “employee” 3 in the LMRDA do not bear out the conclusion that a member is simply an employee who belongs to a union.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
760 F. Supp. 423, 1990 WL 279514, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dole-v-local-427-international-union-of-electrical-workers-njd-1991.