Faribault Daily News, Inc. v. International Typographical Union

53 N.W.2d 36, 236 Minn. 303, 1952 Minn. LEXIS 655, 29 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2637
CourtSupreme Court of Minnesota
DecidedApril 5, 1952
Docket35,744
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 53 N.W.2d 36 (Faribault Daily News, Inc. v. International Typographical Union) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Faribault Daily News, Inc. v. International Typographical Union, 53 N.W.2d 36, 236 Minn. 303, 1952 Minn. LEXIS 655, 29 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2637 (Mich. 1952).

Opinion

Magney, Justice.

Petition by relators for a writ of prohibition to restrain the district court for Rice county, fifth judicial district, from enforcing a temporary restraining order, from holding a hearing on an order to show cause why a temporary injunction should not issue, and from holding any further proceedings in the matter. Relators are the International Typographical Union, Joe Rhoden, representative thereof, Faribault Typographical Union, Local 739, and its members. Relators will be referred to as defendants and respondent as plaintiff.

Defendant Faribault Typographical Union, Local 739, is a member of the International Typographical Union (hereinafter referred to as the Local and International respectively). Plaintiff, Faribault Daily News, Inc., publishes a daily newspaper in the city of Faribault. The Local was recently organized by the 13 employes of plaintiff. The Local had never been certified as a collective bargaining agent either by the National Labor Relations Board (hereinafter referred to as the Board) or by the state authorities. *305 After organization, the Local made a demand upon plaintiff to negotiate a contract and presented to it a copy of a proposed contract. Plaintiff thereupon presented a petition to the Board asking that an appropriate bargaining unit be established at its plant. In response, the Board notified plaintiff that International was not a certified union, since it had failed to file certain required noncommunist affidavits and therefore was not entitled to relief under the program of the Board. On November 20, 1951, the Local notified plaintiff that if plaintiff did not recognize the union the members would walk out. Plaintiff said it could not recognize the Local until it had been certified by the Board. The union employes immediately walked out. The plant was picketed. The first day the pickets carried banners bearing the words “On Strike.” The next day the banners were worded: “Faribault Daily News REFUSES TO NEGOTIATE with Local Union 739, A. F. of L.” Later the banners read: “Faribault Daily News UNFAIR to Typographical Union Local 739 A. F. L.” The strike was peaceful.

Plaintiff thereupon instituted an action asking that the union and its members be enjoined and restrained from picketing plaintiff’s place of business unless and until an organization was duly authorized as a collective bargaining agent and until appropriate notice of intention to strike was filed with the state labor conciliator, and that all picketing and banners carried be peaceful and truthful. After an ex parte hearing, the court issued a temporary restraining order in form and terms as prayed for. The required bond was furnished. The court further ordered that defendants at a specified time and place show cause why a temporary injunction of like purport and effect should not be granted to continue in full force and effect until final judgment should be entered. Before hearing was had on the order to show cause, the writ of prohibition, petitioned for by defendants, was issued by this court restraining the district court from enforcing the temporary restraining order it had issued, from holding a hearing on the order to show cause, and from holding any further proceeding in the matter.

*306 The main question involved is: In a labor dispute affecting interstate commerce, does the state court have jurisdiction to restrain peaceful picketing in furtherance of a strike for a lawful purpose for failure to comply with a state statute (M. S. A. 179.06) requiring the service of a ten-day notice of intention to strike? In answering this question, careful consideration must be given .to the federal and state statutes involved and the federal court decisions. Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, 29 USCA, § 157 (the so-called Taft-Hartley Act), reads as follows:

“Rights of Employees. Sec. 7. Employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection, * * *.”

Minnesota has a similar statute, § 179.10, subd. 1, which reads:

“Employees shall have the right of self-organization and the right to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in lawful, concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection; * * *.” (Italics supplied.)

It is apparent that the two statutes are identical in meaning and almost identical in wording, except for the italicized word “lawful,” which is found in the state statute and not found in the federal statute. The words “concerted activities” used in both statutes include strike action. When the state statute used the words “lawful,. concerted activities” it must refer to lawful concerted action under Minnesota statutes.

The particular Minnesota statute which the legislature must have had in mind when it incorporated therein the word “lawful” is § 179.06, which provides first of all the procedure for the employer and the representative of employe or labor organizations to endeavor in good faith to reach an agreement respecting demands from either side. If no agreement is reached, the statute provides *307 that a notice of intention to strike or lockout may be given, “but it shall be unlawful for any labor organisation or representative to institute or aid in the conduct of a strike or for an employer to institute a lockout, unless notice of intention to strike or lockout has been served by the party intending to institute a strike or lockout upon the labor conciliator and the other parties to the labor dispute at least ten days before the strike or lockout is to become effective.” (Italics supplied.) Failure to serve the ten-day notice of intention to strike is made an unfair labor practice under § 179.11(2), which reads:

“It shall be an unfair labor practice:

“(2) For any employee or labor organization to institute a strike if the calling of such strike is in violation of sections 179.06 or 179.07;”

Thus, under the Minnesota statute, calling a strike without the service of the ten-day notice of intention to strike is an unfair labor practice and unlawful.

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Bluebook (online)
53 N.W.2d 36, 236 Minn. 303, 1952 Minn. LEXIS 655, 29 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2637, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/faribault-daily-news-inc-v-international-typographical-union-minn-1952.