International Ass'n of Machinists Lodge 1488 v. Downtown Employees Ass'n

204 S.W.2d 685, 21 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2002, 1947 Tex. App. LEXIS 748
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 31, 1947
DocketNo. 11911
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 204 S.W.2d 685 (International Ass'n of Machinists Lodge 1488 v. Downtown Employees Ass'n) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
International Ass'n of Machinists Lodge 1488 v. Downtown Employees Ass'n, 204 S.W.2d 685, 21 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2002, 1947 Tex. App. LEXIS 748 (Tex. Ct. App. 1947).

Opinion

CODY, Justice.

This is an appeal from the action of the trial court in granting a temporary injunction restraining appellant International Association of Machinists Lodge 1488, and its officials, from picketing the premises of Downtown Chevrolet Company in Houston, Texas; and as such was advanced for hearing on the docket of this Court. The ap-pellees are the Downtown Employees Association, who instituted the suit, and the Downtown Chevrolet Company which intervened. For convenience, the appellee Downtown Employees Association will be referred to as the Association, the Downtown Chevrolet Company as the Company, and the appellant as the Union.

On April 30, 1947, after a hearing lasting four days, the trial court temporarily, and pending final hearing, enjoined the Union from:

(a) Interfering with the Association or its members, or with the Company or any of its employees or customers by picketing the premises of the Company at or adjacent to its place of business at the corner of Austin and McKinney Streets in Houston.

(b) Preventing by picketing, violence, threats, intimidation, coercion, or persuasion, any person from entering or leaving the Company’s place of business, or from becoming a customer of the Company.

(c) Picketing, assembling, congregating, gathering about or loitering near the premises of the Company.

Tt is undisputed that the picketing, which was so restrained by the temporary injunction, was conducted in a peaceful manner. The Union requested that the court file conclusions of fact and law, which request was not complied with — presumably because the appeal was from an order granting a temporary injunction.

The Union predicates its appeal upon four points, as follows:

1. The trial court committed an abuse of discretion in granting the injunction because the lawful union activities engaged in by appellants were in the exercise of their rights of free speech and assembly under the Constitutions of the State of Texas and of the United States.

2. The trial court erred in granting the temporary injunction because the undisputed evidence shows that the peaceful picketing engaged in by appellant Union resulted from and was occasioned by the existence of a bona fide labor dispute between the appellant-Union and appellee-employer.

3. The trial court committed an abuse of discretion in granting the injunction restraining picketing in the complete absence of any unlawful or illegal activities engaged in by appellant-Union, or anyone acting on its behalf or in concert with it, in connection with such picketing.

4. The trial court committed an abuse of discretion in granting the injunction in favor of the appellees in the absence of any damage or injury.

It is well settled that the granting or refusing of a temporary injunction is within the sound discretion of the trial court and is 'not reviewable upon appeal unless it clearly appears from the record that there has been an abuse of such discretion. Harris County v. Bassett, Tex.Civ.App., 139 S.W.2d 180, 183, writ refused; International Ass’n, etc., v. Federated Ass’n, etc., Tex.Civ.App., 109 S.W.2d 301, 305, writ dismissed. In reviewing the evidence upon which the trial court acted in granting an injunction to plaintiffs the court stated, in Hotel & Restaurant, etc., v. Longley, Tex.Civ.App., 160 S.W.2d 124, 126: “Regarding the evidence we are required, of course, to give effect to such as was undisputed and not subject to any qualification or variance as the possible result of the judge’s exercise of his power to determine its weight or to determine the credibility of the witnesses. Of all disputed evidence we are required to consider only that most favorable to the plaintiffs. Further, of all reasonable inferences which may be drawn from such evidence. We are required to adopt only those, if any, favorable to plaintiffs.” In other words, on ap[687]*687peal the evidence must be construed as sustaining the action of the trial court in granting or refusing a temporary injunction unless such evidence was of the character to compel a contrary conclusion from that on which the trial court presumably acted.

Applying the test to the evidence just stated, there was evidence before the court from which it could have been concluded: That the Union undertook to organize the Company’s employees, and to obtain from the Company a contract which required that all employees belong to or join the Union. That during the month of November, 1946, which was some months after the Union had begun its organization work, an employee by the name of Olin Rutherford, who had formerly belonged to the Union, considered that an independent or company union was more desirable. By the nineteenth of November he had secured 17 out of the 25 employees of appellee Company, and so informed the management, but was by the management informed that his Association would not be dealt with until it had been determined by an election that such Association represented a majority of its employees. That thereupon Rutherford called a meeting and invited all the employees to attend, and all of said employees except three did attend, and a majority of those attending voted in favor of the Association and against the Union to be their bargaining representative with the management. That thereafter, on the afternoon of November 27, Snelling, acting for the Company, offered a contract to the entire group of employees. That 13 or 14 of the employees signed the contract on that day, and before the contract was returned to Snell-ing on November 29th it had been adopted by 23 of the employees; when it was returned to Snelling on November 29th he then formally signed the contract.

The Union’s version of the matter was quite different. The trial court did not accept its version and no purpose would be served in detailing what their version -was except insofar as is necessary to explain their contention on appeal. On November 22, 1946, Lewett Gregg, who had been an employee of the Company for years, was discharged. He had been the most active of the employees on behalf of the Union. The evidence of appellee was to the effect that he was not discharged because of his activity on behalf of the Union. The evidence was sufficient to have supported the inference that he was discharged because of such activity, but, as indicated, the ap-pellees’ evidence to the contrary was substantial. The evidence further showed that the Union, on the night of November 27, authorized a strike against the Company unless Lewett Gregg was re-instated with back pay and unless the Company signed the contract under which all employees must belong to the Union. In this connection it was undisputed that the compensation paid to all employees by the Company was 50% of the labor charge on the work performed. On November 28, which was Thanksgiving Day, Snelling was informed that a strike would be instituted on the following day unless Gregg was so re-instated and the contract with the Union signed, and Snelling made it clear that he was through with the Union. According to the Union’s version, the management of the Company shilly-shallyed with the Union until November 27th when Snelling presented the contract to the Association.

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Bluebook (online)
204 S.W.2d 685, 21 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2002, 1947 Tex. App. LEXIS 748, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/international-assn-of-machinists-lodge-1488-v-downtown-employees-assn-texapp-1947.