Minor v. Building and Construction Trades Council

75 N.W.2d 139, 37 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2644, 1956 N.D. LEXIS 96
CourtNorth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 6, 1956
Docket7481
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 75 N.W.2d 139 (Minor v. Building and Construction Trades Council) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering North Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Minor v. Building and Construction Trades Council, 75 N.W.2d 139, 37 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2644, 1956 N.D. LEXIS 96 (N.D. 1956).

Opinions

GRIMSON, Judge.

The plaintiffs, Louis E. Minor, Jr. and Herbert S. Woods, co-partners, doing business as Oil Field Service Co., and Warren Diederich and Gene Bye, co-partners, doing business as Diederich & Bye, were contractors engaged in the construction business. They had jointly entered into a contract with the Signal Oil & Gas Company for doing the stone and concrete work on the $9,000,000 gas extraction plant which the Signal Oil & Gas Company was building near Tioga, North Dakota. The defendants are labor unions and their officers and representatives.

The plaintiffs, alleging that the defendants on plaintiff’s refusal to force their employees to unionize their plant, commenced to illegally picket and banner the plant, causing the plaintiff irreparable damage, brought this action and asked for an injunction “restraining the defendants from in any way interfering with, molesting, or damaging the business of the plaintiffs by picketing or otherwise.” A temporary restraining order was issued. The defendants then answered making a general denial, alleging that plaintiffs discriminated against the unions; that a labor dispute existed [142]*142and that this controversy is covered by the provisions of the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947, 29 U.S.C.A. § 141 et seq., so that the state court was without jurisdiction in this matter. After the hearing on the merits the district court issued its order for judgment granting a limited injunction. Defendants appeal from such judgment demanding a trial de novo.

Originally, J. F. Pritchard & Co., a nationwide construction company of Kansas City, had the contract for the entire construction project but this was later modified so that they were responsible only for the design of the plant and the supervision necessary to protect their guaranty in regard to the design. That company had a closed shop contract with labor unions and under that contract was bound to operate on the terms of the local unions who had jurisdiction over the job. Their representative at Tioga notified the local unions of the Pritchard contract. Soon thereafter, on July 13, 1953, a representative of the National Carpenters’ Union requested a meeting with Mr. Diederich and the employees. Mr. Diederich was not present at the time but later that day called a meeting of the employees. He informed them that they could “go union or not as they wished.” He explained to them the changes that would come under a union contract and asked them for a vote. Of some 35 to 40 employees, 20 to 35 voted in favor of remaining non-unionized. Some union representatives talked with the men and claimed they found some of them willing to join a union. One meeting between the two representatives of the union and Mr. Diederich and Mr. Minor of the Oil Field Service Co., occurred on July 16, 1953. At that time there was some discussion about the furnishing of iron workers by the union. Plaintiffs then suggested that the union get in touch with Mr. Miller of the Signal Oil & Gas Company and Mr. Ohley of the Pritchard Company. Several of the representatives of the defendants talked at different times with the officers of the Signal Oil & Gas Company, and the J. F. Pritchard Company, urging them to force plaintiff to enter into a union contract.

Finally a meeting between the contractors of the Tioga Gas Plant and representatives of the Building & Construction Trades Council was arranged for August 19, 1953, by the Minot Building and Construction Trade’s Council. Mr. Miller of the Signal Oil & Gas Company, and a representative of J. F. Pritchard & Company, met with thirteen union representatives at that meeting. While the plaintiffs were invited to that meeting they did not receive their notice in time to attend. Mr. Miller, in charge of the construction of the Tioga Gasoline Plant for the Signal Oil & Gas Company, testified that Mr. Olson^ President of the Minot Building and Con-' struction Trade’s Council had stated that the “purpose of the meeting was to negotiate a contract with Oil Field Service Company, and Diederich & Bye to employ union help in the performance of their job.” He testified further:

“Q. Did they ask you to intercede? A. Yes. * * * They asked me to make a union job of it.”

On cross examination by defendants’ counsel he testified as follows:

“Q. On this occasion or at any other time, Mr. Miller, did these men, representing this union, ask you to cancel your contract with Diederich & Bye and Oil Field Service? A. Yes.
“Q. On what occasion was that? A. I believe it was the occasion when Mr. Taylor attended the meeting here. When forceful expression to the effect we should go all out on 100 per cent union labor job on that plant, when I refused to take action inside the organization of those contractors. * * *
“Q. Did any representative of any union at any time tell you that the only type of contract that they were willing to negotiate with the plaintiff and Die-derich & Bye was a contract containing a clause which required all of the em[143]*143ployees on the job to be members of the union? A. Yes, sir, with one exception: I asked that question, the exception being that if they could not supply within a reasonable time, so many days, so many hours, the quantity of journeymen ordered, then men that did not belong to the union could be secured by others and would be permitted to work for a certain period of time. * * *
“Q. All right, sir, did the union at any time, any representative of the union, at any time tell you that they might be willing to give up a requirement that the contractors employ exclusively union members ? A. In some of our discussions the union members stated that if they were unable to deliver the required or requisitioned number of different artisans within a specified time, 48 hours was mentioned, that the contractors then could seek that type of artisans elsewhere and they would be given permission to be so employed for a specified period, I think possibly 30 days.”

Samples of contracts which would be asked if the shops were unionized were presented to Mr. Miller, the representative of the Signal Oil & Gas Company. With few exceptions the contracts provided for some kind of union security clause. Two of the contracts included the provision that “only members of the union or men eligible for membership may be employed.” Another contract provided that “any person newly employed shall be so employed only on a thirty (30) day trial basis at which time he shall either be dismissed without recourse or placed on a regular seniority list in which event employee shall apply for union membership.” Another contract provided: “All employees covered by this agreement shall be given a 30-day trial period in which to qualify for any classification of work covered by this agreement, after which trial period they shall, as a condition of employment become members of the union in good standing.” The contract of Pritchard & Company, with International Union of Operating Engineers provided:

“Each person (hereinafter referred to as employee) who is now or hereafter employed by the employer in unit for which the union or any local thereof is the agent, shall, as a condition of employment, become or remain a member of the union on or before the 30th. day following the commencement of such employment or following the effective date of this agreement whichever is the later.

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Minor v. Building and Construction Trades Council
75 N.W.2d 139 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 1956)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
75 N.W.2d 139, 37 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2644, 1956 N.D. LEXIS 96, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/minor-v-building-and-construction-trades-council-nd-1956.