Greene v. Bangor Bldg. Trades Council, AFL-CIO

165 F. Supp. 902
CourtDistrict Court, D. Maine
DecidedAugust 20, 1958
DocketCiv. 1105
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 165 F. Supp. 902 (Greene v. Bangor Bldg. Trades Council, AFL-CIO) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Greene v. Bangor Bldg. Trades Council, AFL-CIO, 165 F. Supp. 902 (D. Me. 1958).

Opinion

GIGNOUX, District Judge.

In view of the urgency of this proceeding and the mandate of the statute, the Court will announce its ruling at this time and indicate very briefly its reasons therefor. The Court also wishes to state that in a matter of this importance it would not feel that it should thus rule from the bench had it not had occasion very recently to review the problems presented to the Court upon a petition for an injunction under Section 10 (Z) of the National Labor Relations Act, 29 U.S.C.A. § 160(Z) where a violation of Section 8(b) (4) (A) of the Act, 29 U.S.C.A. § 158(b) (4) (A), is charged and also had the Court not had an opportunity over the weekend to review and consider both the evidence and the authorities which have been called to the Court’s attention by counsel.

The Court will note then that this is a petition by the Regional Director of the National Labor Relations Board for a temporary injunction under Section 10 (Z) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, to restrain a violation of Section 8(b) (4) (A) of the Act. In Alpert v. Truck Drivers, Warehousemen and Helpers Local 340, D.C.Me.1958, 161 F.Supp. 86, 89, this Court issued an opinion and order under date of April 1, 1958, in which it reviewed its conception of the responsibility of the District Court in Section 10 (Z) proceedings. In the course of that opinion, this Court stated that, “ * * * the role of a district court ruling on a petition under § 10 (Z) of the Act must be distinguished from that of the National Labor Relations Board ruling on a complaint under § 10(a)-(d) and from that of a circuit court acting on a petition to review or enforce a Board order under either § 10(e) or (f). * * *” The Court went on to say that “* * * by the terms of § 10 (Z) a district court’s function is limited to ascertaining whether the Regional Director has ‘reasonable cause to believe’ that the charges filed are true, and to granting such injunctive relief ‘as it deems just and proper.’ ” The Court further stated that “The requirement of § 10 (Z) that the Regional Director must have ‘reasonable cause to believe’ that a charge is true is met by a showing of a reasonable probability that the petitioner is entitled to final relief * * * ”; that “ * * * credible evidence, establishing a prima facie case, is sufficient * * * ”; and that “ * * * it is quite clear from the language of § 10(Z) and from the numerous cases that have interpreted this section that it is not necessary to the granting of the temporary injunction sought by the petitioner that this Court find that the charges filed are true, or that, in fact, a violation of the Act has occurred. The final determination of such matters is for the National Labor Relations Board, subject to review by the Courts of Appeal if and when enforcement or review is sought.”

The principles thus stated by this Court so recently are those which have guided it in approaching the merits of the_ present controversy. Turning to those merits then, the first question which is presented is whether upon the record before it, the Regional Director has “reasonable cause to believe” that a violation of Section 8(b) (4) (A) of the Act exists.

The pertinent language of Section 8 (b) (4) (A) is as follows: “It shall be an unfair labor practice for a labor organization * * * to engage in * * a strike * * * where an object thereof is * * * forcing or requiring any employer * * * or other person, *904 * * * to cease doing business with any other person * * Applied to the present situation, the issue then becomes as to whether the record in this case shows that the Regional Director has reasonable cause to believe that an object of this strike was to force or require Davison to cease doing business with Cianchette. The respondents’ contention is that such was not the object of this strike; that the object of the strike was to compel Davison Construction Company to comply with the provisions of Paragraph 26 of his Agreement 1 with the respondent Local 4, by insuring that union conditions are met throughout the entire project for which Davison holds the prime contract. The testimony of respondents’ witnesses most certainly tends to bear out respondents’ contention in this respect. The testimony of petitioner’s witnesses, on the other hand, is directly in conflict with that of respondents’ witnesses and tends to establish that, if not the sole object, at least an object of this strike was to compel Davison to cease doing business with its nonunion sub-contractor, J. R. Cianchette.

This Court, being presented with a conflict between the testimony of the two sets of witnesses, does not feel that it can properly resolve the questions of credibility in any ultimate manner in this proceeding. As previously indicated, this Court’s responsibility is limited to a determination as to whether, upon the entire record, the Regional Director has reasonable cause to believe that an object of the strike was to compel Davison to cease doing business with Cianchette. On the factual issue thus presented, the Court has concluded that the Regional Director has reasonable cause to believe'that such was an object of the strike. On the authority of National Labor Relations Board v. Denver Building and Construction Trades Council, 1951, 341 U.S. 675, 71 S.Ct. 943, 95 L. Ed. 1284, such an object would cause the strike activity to constitute a violation of Section 8(b) (4) (A) of the Act.

The Court has been concerned as to the effect of Paragraph 26 of the Agreement, which the Court can only construe as an undertaking by the employers signatory to the Agreement that they will require sub-contractors to conform to union terms and conditions. In view of the recent decision of the United States Supreme Court in the so-called “hot cargo” cases, Local 1976, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, AFL-CIO v. National Labor Relations Board, 1958, 357 U.S. 93, 78 S.Ct. 1011, 2 L.Ed.2d 1186, this Court has concluded that even as so construed, Paragraph 26 of the Agreement cannot operate as a defense to a charged violation of Section 8(b) (4) (A) resulting from conduct which, but for the existence of the contract provision, would be violative of the Act.

The second question presented to the Court in a Section 10 (l) proceeding is as to whether the granting of the injunctive relief requested is “just and proper.” Having concluded that the Regional Director has reasonable cause to believe that a Section 8(b) (4) (A) violation exists upon a national defense project of the nature here concerned, the Court feels that it would be remiss in the discharge of its responsibilities were it not to grant such relief as is necessary to insure that the charged violations will not continue.

The Court wishes to supplement its ruling in this limited respect. The Court omitted to refer to respondent’s contention that the petitioner has failed in this case to sustain the allegations of Paragraph 6 of the petition that the charges were referred to the petitioner for investigation and were investigated by him and under his supervision. The Court’s conclusion with respect to this contention is that the Court’s determination as to whether such an investigation has been completed must necessarily be based *905

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

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
165 F. Supp. 902, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/greene-v-bangor-bldg-trades-council-afl-cio-med-1958.