Feather v. United Mine Workers, District No. 2

470 F. Supp. 606, 101 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2505, 1979 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12571
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedMay 7, 1979
DocketCiv. A. No. 76-955 B
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 470 F. Supp. 606 (Feather v. United Mine Workers, District No. 2) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Feather v. United Mine Workers, District No. 2, 470 F. Supp. 606, 101 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2505, 1979 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12571 (W.D. Pa. 1979).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

WILLIAM W. KNOX, District Judge.

This suit was filed by eleven Western Pennsylvania coal haulers1 seeking damages on two grounds. First, plaintiffs contend, in Count I of their amended complaint, that defendants engaged in an illegal strike an object of which was to force plaintiffs to sign a collective bargaining agreement containing a hot cargo clause in violation of § 8(e) of the National Labor Relations Act (hereinafter “NLRA”), 29 U.S.C. § 158(e). Second, Counts II and III of plaintiffs’ amended complaint allege that defendants conspired to restrain trade and create a coal hauling monopoly in violation of §§ 1 and 2 of fhe Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1, 2, by engaging in the strike. On December 4, 1978, plaintiffs filed a motion for summary judgment covering all three counts contained in their amended complaint. On February 5, 1979, defendants filed a motion for summary judgment on Counts II and III. After careful consideration of the issues, the court has determined that both of the motions must be denied.

We begin with the rule that summary judgment can be granted only where there is no issue as to any material fact. Further, all inferences and doubts must be resolved against the moving party. Ely v. Hall’s Motor Transit Co., 590 F.2d 62 (3rd Cir. 1978). Summary judgment is rarely appropriate in an antitrust action. See Poller v. Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc., 368 U.S. 464, 82 S.Ct. 486, 7 L.Ed.2d 458 (1962); Mid-West Paper Products Co. v. Continental Group, Inc., 596 F.2d 573 (3rd Cir. 1979).

(1) Count I

On December 6, 1974, following three months of negotiations and a month long strike, the National Bituminous Coal Wage Agreement of 1974 (hereinafter “NBCWA”) became effective and UMWA members returned to work. UMWA member truck drivers who hauled coal, however, sought to negotiate a separate collective bargaining agreement which would address their particular problems. Although these coal haulers returned to work after ratification of the NBCWA, their return was contingent upon the continuation of discussions concerning modifications of the Agreement. When this arrangement was disrupted, the UMWA struck those coal hauling employers employing UMWA members who had not signed an agreement. At that time, there were approximately 14 members in the coal haulers association, but a number of those haulers were independent owner-operators who had no UMWA employees. Thus, the number of employers who were struck is small in comparison to the number of plaintiffs in this action. (See Affidavit of Arnold R. Miller). This strike gave rise to the instant action.

[608]*608The provisions of the NBCWA in dispute are contained in Article 11(g)(1) and (2) of the Agreement. These clauses provide:

Article II: Scope and Coverage.
Section (g) — Contracting and Subcontracting.
(1) Transportation of Coal — The transportation of coal as defined in paragraph (a) may be contracted out only to a contractor employing members of the UMWA under this Agreement and only where contracting out such work is consistent with the prior practice and custom of the employer.
(2) Repair and Maintenance Work — Repair and maintenance work customarily performed by classified employees at the mine or central shop shall not be contracted out except (a) where the work is being performed by a manufacturer or supplier under warranty, or (b) where the employer does not have the available equipment or regular employees with necessary skills available to perform the work at the mine or central shop, provided, however, that the work at the mine or central shop shall be performed by UMWA members to the extent and in the manner permitted by law.

Section 8(e) of the NLRA provides that it is an unfair labor practice

for any labor organization and any employer to enter into any contract or agreement, express or implied, whereby such employer . . . agrees to . cease doing business with any other person .

Section 8(b)(4)(B) of the Act provides that it is an unfair labor practice for a labor organization

to engage in . . .a strike . where ... an object thereof is (B) forcing or requiring any person to cease . . . doing business with any other person .

A strike to force an employer to sign an agreement which contains a hot cargo clause in violation of § 8(e) is unlawful under § 8(b)(4)(B). Carpenters Local No. 1976 v. N. L. R. B., 357 U.S. 93, 78 S.Ct. 1011, 2 L.Ed.2d 1186 (1958).

Plaintiffs contend that the provisions contained in Article 11(g)(1) and (2) are, on their face, illegal hot cargo clauses which violate § 8(e). Defendants, on the other hand, argue that the parties to the NBCWA intended these provisions to operate as lawful work preservation or union standards clauses and that, therefore, since this intent can be demonstrated only by the oral testimony of the negotiators, summary judgment is inappropriate. Plaintiffs, however, assert that any such testimony is inadmissible because it violates the parol evidence rule.

Although some cases (see Local 783, Allied Industrial Wkrs. v. General Electric Co., 471 F.2d 751 (6th Cir. 1973) and Bakery & Confectionary Wkrs. v. Great A. & P. Tea Co., 357 F.Supp. 1322 (W.D.Pa.1973)) have held that evidence of the surrounding circumstances, the bargaining history, and the intent of the parties at the time the collective bargaining agreement was executed is inadmissible to aid the court in interpreting a labor contract in a § 301 breach of contract case unless the contract is ambiguous, the Supreme Court in National Woodwork Manufacturers Ass’n v. N. L. R. B., 386 U.S. 612, 87 S.Ct. 1250, 18 L.Ed.2d 357 (1967), considered the legislative history of §§ 8(e) and 8(b)(4) and stated that a determination whether a particular clause and its enforcement violates these NLRA provisions “cannot be made without an inquiry into whether, under all the surrounding circumstances, the Union’s objective was preservation of work . ., or whether the agreements and boycott were tactically calculated to satisfy union objectives elsewhere.” 386 U.S. at 644, 87 S.Ct. at 1268. As “surrounding circumstances,” the Court identified “the remoteness of the threat of displacement by the banned product or services, the history of labor relations between the union and the employers who would be boycotted, and the economic personality of the industry.” Id. at 644 n.38, 87 S.Ct. at 1268 n.38. Our Circuit, in a case decided shortly after National Woodwork, cautioned that “ . . .

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Related

Feather v. United Mine Workers of America
494 F. Supp. 701 (W.D. Pennsylvania, 1980)

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Bluebook (online)
470 F. Supp. 606, 101 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2505, 1979 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12571, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/feather-v-united-mine-workers-district-no-2-pawd-1979.