Missouri Mirror, Inc. v. Glaziers, Architectural Metal & Glassworkers Local No. 513

806 S.W.2d 469, 1991 Mo. App. LEXIS 228, 1991 WL 15423
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedFebruary 13, 1991
DocketNo. 58394
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 806 S.W.2d 469 (Missouri Mirror, Inc. v. Glaziers, Architectural Metal & Glassworkers Local No. 513) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Missouri Mirror, Inc. v. Glaziers, Architectural Metal & Glassworkers Local No. 513, 806 S.W.2d 469, 1991 Mo. App. LEXIS 228, 1991 WL 15423 (Mo. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinion

GARY M. GAERTNER, Presiding Judge.

Appellant, Glaziers, Architectural Metal and Glassworkers Local No. 513, appeals from a jury verdict entered against it in the amount of $100,000.00. This dispute involves some twenty-five incidents which span an approximate three year time period. We will not endeavor to reiterate each of the twenty-five incidents in this opinion, but we do find it necessary to summarize the pertinent facts before we address the merits of this appeal.

Respondent, Missouri Mirror, Inc., is engaged in residential and commercial glass replacement in the St. Louis area. Mr. Ron Abling is the proprietor of the corporation and, from the record, appears to run the business without direction from or control by others. Abling1 has operated the establishment under a variety of other names besides Missouri Mirror, including Missouri Glass and Crystal — Vue Glass and Mirror Corporation. Regardless of the name, Abling’s business has primarily consisted of residential and commercial glass replacement.

Abling maintains two employees on a full-time basis. These employees are not affiliated with any union and are paid between six and ten dollars per hour. Abling also utilized the services of members of the Iron Workers Union for some of his contracts. These workers are paid $25.00 per hour.

Appellant is a local labor organization whose members include those who install glass. Glaziers’ union workers earned approximately twenty-four to twenty-eight dollars per hour during the time of this dispute. Appellant, some time prior to April of 1986, took notice of respondent’s failure to pay his two full-time employees the prevailing area union wage rate and in April of 1986, began to picket respondent’s job sites. Appellant contended throughout the proceedings that the purpose of the pickets was to inform the public that respondent did not pay his employees the wages established by the Glaziers’ union.

Respondent testified at trial to twenty-five incidents involving alleged interference with respondent’s work. This testimony included eight separate incidents of violence: six incidents of broken windows on a job site; one incident where appellant’s business agent scraped Abling’s car with a sharp instrument; and one incident in which appellant’s agent spat upon Abling during an argument.

In addition to the above incidents, there was testimony that numerous, heated exchanges occurred between Abling and appellant’s business agents on respondent’s job sites. Abling testified that the picketers would often follow his work trucks to various job sites in order to set up their pickets and would often attempt to run respondent’s vehicles off of the road or abruptly cut in front of them.

[471]*471Respondent’s evidence also indicated that their work was often interrupted or stopped because of arguments between respondent’s employees and appellant’s agents or because appellant would inform the construction supervisor that respondent did not hire union Glaziers or pay Glaziers’ wages. This work stoppage would either result in respondent having to finish the job at night or during the weekends (at higher wage rates) or, sometimes, respondent was instructed to cease work and not return.

Respondent’s jobs were picketed a total of fourteen times. Either appellant’s own members would man the picket line or appellant would hire picketers at $40.00 per day. Three of these incidents involved merely picketing without violence, threats of violence or forced work stoppages. One incident involved appellant’s picketing of a different glass company and two incidents in evidence concerned minor work disruption which did not involve any picketing.

There was also evidence that, prior to the picketing by appellant, respondent had been able to perform custom mirror services because one of its non-union employees was well trained in that type of work. However, this employee testified that he quit respondent’s employ because of the harassment he endured from appellant’s activities. In addition to this loss of business, respondent offered expert testimony that respondent also suffered a loss in the value of his business in the amount of $383,000.00. The expert attributed this loss to an “outside or external force” since the management of the company had not changed.

On June 5, 1989, respondent filed his petition for damages against appellant. In this petition, respondent alleged that the appellant’s acts were in furtherance of its conspiracy to impede respondent's business, to intimidate and coerce respondent into hiring only employees who belonged to appellant’s union, and to compel and force others not to utilize respondent’s services. Appellant requested $1,000,000.00 as damages to his business.

The trial of the matter commenced on January 22, 1990, and culminated on January 25, 1990, when the jury returned its verdict in favor of respondent and awarded respondent $100,000.00 in damages. This appeal followed.

Appellant raises seven points of error for our review. However, we believe that these points actually concern four issues: Whether Federal preemption applies; the propriety of the verdict directing instruction; whether respondent made a submissi-ble case of civil conspiracy; and whether respondent failed to plead special damages. We find it necessary to address only the first two of these issues.

Appellant, throughout the proceeding below and now on appeal, asserts that this dispute does not lie within the jurisdiction of the State court. Appellant claims that, since its picketing activity is either arguably protected under the Federal Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S. C.A. § 141, et seq. or is arguably prohibited under this same act, the underlying action is preempted. We cannot agree.

Appellant correctly points out that, as a general rule, area standard picketing is an activity which a union organization can legally utilize against an employer. The relevant section of the Labor Management Relations Act reads as follows:

Nothing in this subparagraph ... shall be construed to prohibit any picketing or other publicity for the purpose of truthfully advising the public (including consumers) that an employer does not employ members of, or have a contract with, a labor organization, unless an effect of such picketing is to induce any individual employed by any other person in the course of his employment, not to pick up, deliver or transport any goods or not to perform any services. 29 U.S.C.A. § 158(b)(7)(C).

The Labor Management Relations Act in 29 U.S.C.A. § 158(b)(4)(D), also provides that it shall be an unfair labor practice for a labor organization or its agents “to threaten, coerce, or restrain any person engaged [472]*472in commerce ... where ... an object thereof is—

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“forcing or requiring any employer to assign particular work to employees in a particular labor organization or in a particular trade.”

Thus, if the purpose of the pickets in our case was to inform the public about respondent’s practice of paying his employees less than the standard area wages, appellant’s acts were protected. If, however, appellant’s purpose in picketing respondent’s job sites was to coerce its employees (businesses and other contractors) into hiring only appellant’s members, then the conduct would be arguably prohibited under the above section.

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State v. Thornton
930 S.W.2d 54 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1996)

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Bluebook (online)
806 S.W.2d 469, 1991 Mo. App. LEXIS 228, 1991 WL 15423, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/missouri-mirror-inc-v-glaziers-architectural-metal-glassworkers-local-moctapp-1991.