Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. v. Amalgamated Meat Cutters & Butchers Workmen of North America

44 F.R.D. 362, 67 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 3047, 1968 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12638
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Missouri
DecidedMarch 14, 1968
DocketNo. 68 C 159(3)
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 44 F.R.D. 362 (Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. v. Amalgamated Meat Cutters & Butchers Workmen of North America) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. v. Amalgamated Meat Cutters & Butchers Workmen of North America, 44 F.R.D. 362, 67 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 3047, 1968 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12638 (E.D. Mo. 1968).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

REGAN, District Judge.

Plaintiffs, each the operator of a chain of retail food stores or supermarkets in the St. Louis trade area, are parties to separate collective bargaining agreements with Local Union No. 88 (Local Union) an affiliate of defendant Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America (AFL-CIO), (International Union), each such contract containing, among other provisions, Article 5(b), the requirements of which have given rise to this litigation.

Each contract is for a two year term, expiring midnight of January 28, 1967, but to continue from year to year from the expiration date unless either party serves notice in writing sixty days before said date for termination of or for changes in the agreement. The parties have not advised us if any such notice has been served in this case (the action having been brought prior to the expiration date). Previous contracts between the parties, dating back to 1950, also contained a provision identical to Article 5(b) which reads as follows:

“All fresh or frozen meat, sausage, fish, seafood, poultry, smoked meat and rabbits shall be handled by the Meat Department employees. All fresh or frozen fish and poultry and all fresh or frozen meat, namely pork, beef, veal, lamb, mutton and also all sausages, smoked meat and rabbits and ground meat, must be cut, weighed, sliced and wrapped on the premises; except however, the employees covered by this Agreement will handle those items that were prepared and packed off the premises prior to October 2, 1950. It is expressly understood that to do otherwise will be a violation of this Agreement.”

The Amended Complaint alleges that in the course of negotiating each of the contracts (beginning with the 1950 agreement) either Local Union or In[364]*364ternational Union, or both, have informed plaintfifs that Local 88 would refuse to enter into an agreement which did not contain Article 5(b) and would cause a strike if plaintiffs refused to include such provision in the contract, and further alleges that each plaintiff acquiesced therein only because of such economic pressure and coercion.

The Amended Complaint is in two counts. The first seeks a declaratory judgment that Article 5(b) of the contracts is in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act, Section 1, 15 U.S.C. Count II, brought as an alternative to Count I, alleges that by “coercing” plaintiffs to include Article 5(b) in the collective bargaining agreement, defendants have violated Section 303 of the Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. Section 187, to plaintiffs’ damage. Both defendants have moved to dismiss the Amended Complaint on the basic contention that neither count states a claim upon which relief can be granted.

For the purpose of the motions to dismiss, the facts well pleaded in the Amended Complaint have been taken as true. For reasons stated infra, we hold that the motions to dismiss are well taken as to both counts.

We first consider the sufficiency of the Amended Complaint as it relates solely to the International Union. Significantly, there is no allegation that International Union was a party to or signatory of the contract. The sole basis for the joinder of International Union are the following facts. In May, 1963 (prior to the effective date of the contracts under which plaintiffs are presently operating and while prior contracts were effective), International Union removed the officers of Local Union and from then until the latter part of 1964 operated Local Union under trusteeship. During the period of trusteeship, International Union had full control of the operation of Local Union in “dealings with plaintiffs” under the earlier collective bargaining agreements. After the trusteeship was terminated, International Union “continued to take an active part in contract negotiations between plaintiffs and Local 88,” participated in negotiations resulting in the present labor agreements between plaintiffs and Local Union, and exerted economic pressure on plaintiffs for inclusion of Article 5(b) in the agreements, by informing plaintiffs that Local Union would refuse to execute an agreement without such provision and would cause its employees to go on strike if plaintiffs should refuse to include the provision in the contracts being negotiated.

We hold that the foregoing allegations, in the context of the Amended Complaint considered as a whole, are insufficient to afford a basis for a claim against International Union. On the facts well pleaded, we fail to see any legal interest on the part of International Union in the validity vel non of Article 5(b). The declaratory judgment sought by plaintiffs in Count I does not directly affect International Union because it is not a party to the contract, and in fact has never sought (at least successfully) to obtain its inclusion in contracts between employers and others of International’s affiliated unions elsewhere in the United States. Only Local Union has a direct legal interest in the declaration sought and it alone is the contracting party.

The circumstances under which International Union may impose a trusteeship upon Local Union, as well as the precise relationship between International and Local, are nowhere set forth in the Amended Complaint. It is obvious that during the period of trusteeship, International Union would necessarily have had control of the operation of Local Union and that in so doing it would “deal” with plaintiffs under the collective bargaining agreements then in existence. There is no allegation that any specific conduct on the part of International Union during the trusteeship, even in relation to Article 5(b), was legally [365]*365detrimental to plaintiffs. In fact, there is no allegation concerning any specific manner in which Article 5(b) was enforced during the period of trusteeship. ■So, too, International Union’s alleged participation in negotiations resulting in the current agreements states no facts which would indicate any impropriety on International Union’s part. It is clearly to be inferred that after termination of the trusteeship, International Union no longer had any control over Local Union, or had any power whatsoever to cause a .strike by members of Local Union. Hence, absent a showing that International Union was in effective control of .Local Union at the time of the “negotiations”, any threat on its part to cause the ■members of Local Union to strike could not constitute any economic pressure or •coercion. For these reasons, additional to those also applicable to Local Union, -we are of the opinion that plaintiffs have ■failed to state a claim against International Union.

We next turn to the claims asserted .against Local Union. First as to Count I, ■which seeks a declaratory judgment that Article 5(b) is violative of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. Plaintiffs allege that they “fear” that the effect of the inclusion of Article 5(b) in the collective bargaining agreement is a restraint of interstate trade and commerce, in . that thereby plaintiffs (as well as other store and supermarket operators who have •entered into similar contracts), are allegedly prohibited and prevented from •offering for sale to the general public ■numerous prepackaged meats and meat ■products, including many advertised '“brand name” products. It is further .alleged that there are meat departments -of retail food stores in supermarkets immediately outside the St.

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44 F.R.D. 362, 67 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 3047, 1968 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12638, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/great-atlantic-pacific-tea-co-v-amalgamated-meat-cutters-butchers-moed-1968.