Iacomints Restaurant, Inc. v. Hotel Employees Local No. 118

54 Ohio Law. Abs. 33
CourtSummit County Court of Common Pleas
DecidedAugust 24, 1948
DocketNo. 166,688
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 54 Ohio Law. Abs. 33 (Iacomints Restaurant, Inc. v. Hotel Employees Local No. 118) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Summit County Court of Common Pleas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Iacomints Restaurant, Inc. v. Hotel Employees Local No. 118, 54 Ohio Law. Abs. 33 (Ohio Super. Ct. 1948).

Opinion

OPINION

By WATTERS, J.

Plaintiff is an Ohio corporation owned and operated by the Iacomini family, engaged in the business of operating a very fine restaurant on West Exchange Street in the City of Akron. The defendant, Hotel and Restaurant Employees and Bartenders Local No. 118, is an A. F. of L. union, and other defendants are officers and representatives of said union.

The evidence, with the exception of certain affidavits filed by each side in re certain claimed and denied misconduct of pickets before the court granted a temporary injunction allowing peaceful picketing and regulating same, was received in the nature of a stipulation by opening statements of the parties, an examination of which will show practically an agreed statement of facts, from which the court finds:

That the restaurant is a non union business. None of the employees belong to the defendant union or any union.

That there is no dispute as to wages, hours, or other such matters, between the employer and its employees.

[34]*34On or about May 10, 1948, the defendants, the Raleighs, as officers of the union, caused a letter to be sent to plaintiff enclosing a proposed agreement between the plaintiff company and the' union (Plaintiff’s Exhibit 5), which plaintiff contends provides for a closed shop.

On this matter it was further stipulated by counsel as follows: (page 19 of opening statements)

“MR. HERMAN: (for Plaintiff) I understand it is further stipulated by and between the parties that if Iacomini’s Restaurant becomes a union restaurant, so called, and would sign a contract of the type and form submitted as Plaintiff’s Exhibit 5, the picketing by the defendants would then cease, is that correct?
MR. ISHAM: (for Defendants) That is in substance true. I think for the purpose of this record I might state that if a contract, such as the copy submitted to Mrs. Iacomini, which is a comparable contract used by all union restaurants— that if a contract was negotiated satisfactory to both parties, whereby union help was employed and the conditions required of a union establishment carried out, there would be no necessity for picketing, no purpose of picketing, and certainly the pickets would be removed.”

The proposed contract covered employment, wages, hours and working conditions, dismissals, deductions, meals, uniforms and equipment, vacations, overtime and various other matters. In re employment the proposed agreement reads as follows:

“3-EMPLOYMENT
“The Employer agrees to hire and retain in his employ no other employees of the classes herein mentioned, but members in good standing in the Union. In the event the Union is unable to supply satisfactory employees, the Employer may engage non-union employees, thus engaged shall not be objectionable to the Union, and that they shall secure a short time card or working permit from the Union within forty-eight hours after entering the employ of the house; and provided further that they shall perfect their membership in the Union within seven (7) days from the date of being engaged.”

This, in the court’s opinion, coupled with the stipulations of counsel (see above from page 19 of the record) constituted a closed shop demand, along with other demands as enumerated above.

[35]*35At or about this time, May 10, 1948, the plaintiff having refused to enter into said proposed agreement (Exhibit 5) picketing started. None of the pickets are or have been employees of the plaintiff company.

After the picketing started, and before the temporary injunction was ordered by Judge Harvey, the matters covered in the plaintiff’s and defendants’ affidavits occurred.

Without going into any great detail, I find that on several occasions the pickets went beyond the rules of proper and peaceful picketing. They engaged in some very indecent language, some veiled and unveiled threats to customers, and there was some jostling and pushing of customers. There were too many pickets, and either they had not been properly instructed as to what is peaceful picketing, or they lost their heads.

However, while such conduct was absolutely wrong and inexcusable, it was not what could be called extreme violence in the sense the courts use that term, although subject to regulation and restriction. It was not such violence, etc. the threat of which would continue over under a peaceful picketing permission, under the theory of the Meadowmoor case discussed later.

Thereafter Judge Harvey entered a preliminary injunction, limiting the pickets to two, and putting other restrictions on the picketing operation. (See Journal Entry.)

Thereafter things went along without any real difficulties until the evening of the day the matter was before this court, when there was some disturbance between one of the Iacominis and a picket and a friend of a picket. No evidence was had on that matter, and the court, therefore, does not know who was at fault, but upon conference with the court, and by agreement, the number of pickets was reduced to one, and some further modifications were made as to the manner of walking up and down, and so forth.

As each side has abandoned any right to offer evidence upon that flare-up, it is not before the court, and was probably a case of nervous tension, and not too serious either way.

What both sides often forget in these disputes is that “obedience to law is liberty”, and that without such obedience and respect, we have chaos.

In 1941 in Milk Drivers Union of Chicago v. Meadowmoor Dairies, Inc., 312 U. S., 287, the court held:

Syllabus:

(1) A State is at liberty under the Fourteenth Amendment to use injunctive powers vested in its courts for the prevention of violence by labor unions in industrial disputes.

[36]*36(2) And where the controversy is attended by peaceful picketing and by acts of violence, and the violence has been such that continuation of the picketing will operate coercively by exciting fear, that violence will be resumed, an injunction by a state court forbidding the picketing as well as the violence does not infringe the Fourteenth Amendment.

The court said on page 294:

“The picketing in this case was set in a background of violence. In such a setting it could justifiably be concluded that the momentum of fear generated by past violence would survive even though future picketing might be wholly peaceful.”

Further the court held in Syllabus No. 5:

“The present decision does not bar resort to the state court for a modification of the terms of the injunction should that court find that the passage of time has deprived the picketing of its coercive influence.”

In other words, at that time peaceful picketing could again be resumed

In the same case Justice Reed, dissenting, said in part at page 320:

“This nation relies upon public discussion as one of the indispensable means to attain correct solutions of problems of social welfare. Curtailment of free speech limits this open discussion. Our whole history teaches that adjustment of social relations through reason is possible while free speech is maintained. * * * Free speech may be absolutely prohibited only under the most pressing national emergencies. * *

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Related

Bell v. Rogers
107 N.E.2d 136 (Summit County Court of Common Pleas, 1952)
Raleigh v. Yanko
106 N.E.2d 567 (Summit County Court of Common Pleas, 1952)
Nicholson v. Vending Machine Service Employees, Local Union No. 410-A
104 N.E.2d 473 (Summit County Court of Common Pleas, 1952)
Dummermuth v. Hykes
95 N.E.2d 32 (Tuscarawas County Court of Common Pleas, 1950)
Foutts v. Journeymen Barbers, Local No. 105
88 N.E.2d 317 (Summit County Court of Common Pleas, 1949)

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Bluebook (online)
54 Ohio Law. Abs. 33, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/iacomints-restaurant-inc-v-hotel-employees-local-no-118-ohctcomplsummit-1948.