In the Matter of Arbitration Between Los Angeles Newspaper Guild, Local 69, American Newspaper Guild, Afl-Cio, Clc v. The Hearst Corporation, a Corporation, Los Angeles Newspaper Guild, Local 69, American Newspaper Guild, Afl-Cio, Clc v. The Hearst Corporation, a Corporation

504 F.2d 636
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedOctober 4, 1974
Docket73-1742
StatusPublished

This text of 504 F.2d 636 (In the Matter of Arbitration Between Los Angeles Newspaper Guild, Local 69, American Newspaper Guild, Afl-Cio, Clc v. The Hearst Corporation, a Corporation, Los Angeles Newspaper Guild, Local 69, American Newspaper Guild, Afl-Cio, Clc v. The Hearst Corporation, a Corporation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In the Matter of Arbitration Between Los Angeles Newspaper Guild, Local 69, American Newspaper Guild, Afl-Cio, Clc v. The Hearst Corporation, a Corporation, Los Angeles Newspaper Guild, Local 69, American Newspaper Guild, Afl-Cio, Clc v. The Hearst Corporation, a Corporation, 504 F.2d 636 (9th Cir. 1974).

Opinion

504 F.2d 636

87 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2597, 75 Lab.Cas. P 10,382

In the Matter of Arbitration Between LOS ANGELES NEWSPAPER
GUILD, LOCAL 69, AMERICAN NEWSPAPER GUILD,
AFL-CIO, CLC, Petitioner-Appellee,
v.
The HEARST CORPORATION, a corporation, et al.,
Respondents-Appellants.
LOS ANGELES NEWSPAPER GUILD, LOCAL 69, AMERICAN NEWSPAPER
GUILD, AFL-CIO, CLC, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants,
v.
The HEARST CORPORATION, a corporation, Defendant-Appellee.

Nos. 73-1742 and 73-1838.

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.

Oct. 4, 1974.

Charles G. Bakaly, Jr. (argued), O'Melveny & Myers, Los Angeles, Cal., for respondents-appellants in 73-1742.

Daniel Fogel (argued), Reinhardt & Rothschild, Los Angeles, Cal., for petitioner-appellee in 73-1742 and plaintiffs-appellants in 73-1838.

Michael K. Inglis (argued), Flint & Mackay, Los Angeles, Cal., for defendant-appellee in 73-1838.

Before MOORE,* WRIGHT and GOODWIN, Circuit Judges.

MOORE, Circuit Judge:

Two appeals are presently before us. They involve the same subject matter, they arise out of the same facts and the opinions were written and judgments were directed to be entered by the same district judge (Hon. Robert J. Kelleher). The appeals will be considered and decided together.

The parties in 'IN THE MATTER OF ARBITRATION BETWEEN LOS ANGELES NEWSPAPER GUILD, LOCAL 69, AMERICAN NEWSPAPER GUILD, AFL-CIO, CLC, Petitioner-Appellee v. THE HEARST CORPORATION, a corporation, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, a Division of The Hearst Corporation, and Hillbro Newspaper Printing Company, a Division of The Hearst Corporation, Respondents-Appellants' (No. 73-1742) are a group of employees of The Hearst Corporation or their beneficiaries represented collectively by Petitioner-Appellee, which will hereinafter be referred to as the 'Guild.' The Hearst Corporation, Respondents-Appellants, and its Divisions, publish, print and circulate a daily and Sunday newspaper, THE HERALD-EXAMINER, and will be referred to hereinafter as 'Hearst.'

The parties in 'LOS ANGELES NEWSPAPER GUILD, LOCAL 69, AMERICAN NEWSPAPER GUILD, AFL-CIO, CLC, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants v. THE HEARST CORPORATION, a corporation, Defendant-Appellee' (No. 73-1838) are likewise the Guild and Hearst.

The controversies stem from the rights, if any, of Hearst and the Hearst employees under two collective bargaining agreements, which had been entered into on or about January 28, 1966, by the Guild on behalf of the Hearst employees and Hearst. The agreements provided for wages, hours, working conditions, etc., covering the employees' employment. These agreements were but a continuation of similar employment agreements, containing comparable benefits, under which many of the employees had worked for a substantial number of years.

Two provisions of the agreement relating to compensation are critical to any decision adjudicating the employees' rights thereunder. Article XI, entitled 'Alternate Benefits' declared that an employee, upon reaching the age of sixty-five (65), or upon the completion of twenty-five (25) years of service, would become entitled to receive from Hearst a cash lump sum payment based upon the number of years of his service to Hearst in accordance with a certain schedule set forth therein. To receive these payments, the employees, so desiring them, had to tender their resignations and request payment. Article IV, entitled 'Dismissal Pay' (somewhat of a misnomer) provided for a cash lump sum payment to the beneficiary of any employee who died after more than six (6) months of service, the amount to be dependent on the period of service as set forth in a schedule in said Article.

No ambiguity is to be found in the terms of these Articles or in the prerequisites necessary to obtain the agreedupon payments. To Hearst and the employees they were as much a part of wages as the weekly or monthly stipend. The following facts had to be shown for entitlement under Article XI, (1) age sixty-five years (65) or over or twenty-five years (25) years or more of service, (2) resignation tender, and (3) request for payment; under Article IV, two facts (1) death and (2) six (6) months or more of service. Just as there is no ambiguity in terms, there should be no ambiguity as to performance. However, commencing in the Fall of 1967, a series of events caused this otherwise stable situation to suddenly be turned into a controversy which in bitterness and duration bids fair to rivalling the War of the Roses. For some seven years the war has raged but thus far only in a series of legal skirmishes, none of which has attacked the main issue, i.e., the rights, if any, of the employees and Hearst under the agreements. It may seem quite incongruous after seven years for the courts now to say that it is high time to resolve this issue expeditiously and with finality but since courts have been created for this purpose they should so act when the issue is presented in proper form.

A few background facts will suffice. In September 1967 the Guild notified Hearst and state and federal mediation services that it intended to terminate or modify the existing agreements which expired on December 15, 1967. In October 1967 negotiations for a new agreement1 commenced. As of yet, however no settlement has been reached. No agreement having been reached by December 15, 1967, the Guild called a strike against Hearst, which has continued to date. However, the last seven years have not been uneventful for Hearst and the Guild.

Subsequent to December 15, 1967, employees who had reached the age of sixty-five (65) or had completed twenty-five (25) years of service, tendered their resignations and requested the payments specivied in the agreements, the beneficiaries of deceased employees also requested the provided for payments. To these requests Hearst replied that the agreements were no longer effect and accordingly rejected them, and refused to make the specified payments. Then followed a protracted series of meetings between Hearst and the Guild to discuss the matter with Hearst remaining adamant in its position that the agreements no longer applied.

At this stage must be discussed Article VII of the agreements which provides for amicable settlement (a hopedfor desideratum) of 'all grievances arising under this Agreement' (Article VII, SECTION 1). For this purpose, Grievance Committees were to be established by both the Guild and Hearst, certain formalities for the submission of grievances were set forth and in the event that arbitration was requested 'the parties shall meet to select an arbitrator to whom the grievance of the complaining party shall be submitted for final decision.' (Article VII, Section 3A).

Of particular significance to the litigations before us is the folllowing paragraph:

B.

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