Hall v. Pacific Maritime Association

281 F. Supp. 54
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedMarch 8, 1968
Docket42810
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 281 F. Supp. 54 (Hall v. Pacific Maritime Association) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hall v. Pacific Maritime Association, 281 F. Supp. 54 (N.D. Cal. 1968).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER RE MOTION TO DISMISS AND FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

OLIVER J. CARTER, District Judge.

Before this Court are numerous and varied motions directed to Plaintiffs’ Third Amended Complaint. Plaintiffs and defendants have filed affidavits and certain documents in support of their positions. For the purpose of defendants’ motions the following facts must be assumed to be true either because they are contained in plaintiffs’ allegations or affidavits, or they appear in the documents or affidavits of the defendants and are not denied by the plaintiffs.

Prior to the incidents complained of in this action, plaintiffs were members of Local 10 of the International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union, hereinafter I.L.W.U., and were registered as Class A men under the collective bargaining agreement between the I.L.W.U. and the Pacific Maritime Association, hereinafter P.M.A., known as the Pacific Coast Longshore Agreement, 1961-1966.

On July 26, 1963 plaintiffs were working in the hold of a ship. A dispute arose over work procedure between the two plaintiffs and defendant Carl Langben, but the dispute was prevented from gaining momentum by the intercession of some fellow workers. When work was over for that day the parties were *57 on their way to the parking lot, and the dispute erupted again this time between plaintiffs on one side and defendants Frank Brown and Carl Langben on the other. The location of the dispute (whether on the dock or in the parking lot), and who started the dispute, and what physical blows were attempted and successful are the substance of the disagreement between the parties.

Following the incident described above, a complaint was filed before the Joint Port Labor Relations Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Joint Port Committee) charging plaintiffs with assault and battery with a deadly weapon. The Joint Port Committee is a body set up to investigate and adjudicate all grievances and disputes according to certain procedures under the Pacific Coast Long-shore Agreement. Plaintiffs were notified of this complaint on July 31, 1963, and they were ordered to appear before the Joint Port Committee on August 6, 1963. In the meantime plaintiffs were suspended from further assignment of work on the water front.

On August 6, the Joint Port Committee met and heard evidence with regard to the complaint. Plaintiffs allege that numerous procedural improprieties attended this hearing, and these allegations will be enumerated below.

On August 13, the Joint Port Committee met and voted to deregister plaintiffs and notified plaintiffs of this action on August 16, 1963.

The act of deregistering plaintiffs precludes them from working on the water front on the west coast, resulting in great damage to plaintiffs.

Plaintiffs allege that the action taken by the Joint Port Committee was the result of a conspiracy among the union and management members of the Joint Port Committee at the meetings where action was taken on the complaint against plaintiffs. Also alleged to be in the conspiracy were Frank Brown and other union leaders. This conspiracy was designed arbitrarily to punish plaintiffs for offending the pride and dignity of Frank Brown. Frank Brown is alleged to have the power to organize such a conspiracy because he is the brother of Archie Brown who has been a high I.L.W.U. leader.

Plaintiffs seek injunctive relief, declaratory relief, and damages.

Defendants have moved for summary judgment as to the entire action, for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.

Plaintiffs argue that they have a cause of action under both § 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act (L.M.R.A.), 29 U.S.C. § 185, and § 101 and § 102 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (L.M.R.D.A.), 29 U.S.C. § 411 and § 412.

With regard to the claim under L.M. R.D.A. plaintiffs argue that the action taken against them by the union violates their rights under the so-called Bill of Rights section of L.M.R.D.A., 29 U.S.C. § 411(a) (5). That section provides as follows:

“No member of any labor organization may be fined, suspended, expelled, or otherwise disciplined except for nonpayment of dues by such organization or by any officer thereof unless such member has been (A) served with written specific charges; (B) given a reasonable time to prepare his defense; (C) afforded a full and fair hearing.” 29 U.S.C. § 411(a) (5).

Plaintiffs argue that they have been “effectively expelled” from their union. What is meant by the term “effectively expelled” is not explained. Apparently if plaintiffs are not working, certain benefits which normally accrue from union membership (medical benefits) are not available. However, this Court finds it impossible to avoid the fact that what plaintiffs are complaining about is the loss of their jobs and not the loss of any union status. Indeed, any change in union status resulted from and followed after plaintiffs’ deregistration. This Court holds that plaintiffs’ damages, if any, have resulted from the loss of their jobs, and that renaming the action taken “effective expulsion” simply does not change the substance of their claim.

*58 Another argument available, is that the action taken should be covered by the “ * * * otherwise disciplined * * ” clause of § 411(a) (5), in that what the union did was to enter into a conspiracy to deregister plaintiffs for their improvident conduct toward an elite union member, and thereby in effect disciplined them. Supporting this view of the action taken is the fact that apparently someone from the union initiated the complaint against plaintiffs, and union representatives participated in the decision by the Joint Port Committee.

The issue raised is whether § 411(a) (5) should be deemed applicable to a committee set up under a collective bargaining agreement in which a union has the duty and power to share in the enforcing of the on the job rules and discipline as it does in the present case. If an employer makes a decision to discharge an employee (or otherwise discipline him), and this decision has not in any way been influenced by the union, clearly the employer is not required to follow the procedure described in § 411(a) (5). It is union action, not management action, which is proscribed by the section.

In the present case the power of the union derives from what is a common form of grievance machinery, a committee with representatives of both management and labor sitting on it, each side having equal vote. The less usual aspect of the Joint Port Committee is the fact that it has original jurisdiction over registration and deregistration; e. g. the employer can take no action against an employee without going through the machinery of the Joint Port Committee. Additionally, if both management and union agree, the Joint Port Committee has final jurisdiction over these matters.

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Bluebook (online)
281 F. Supp. 54, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hall-v-pacific-maritime-association-cand-1968.