Montgomery Building & Construction Trades Council v. Ledbetter Erection Co.

57 So. 2d 112, 256 Ala. 678, 1951 Ala. LEXIS 191, 29 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2415
CourtSupreme Court of Alabama
DecidedJune 28, 1951
Docket3 Div. 600
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 57 So. 2d 112 (Montgomery Building & Construction Trades Council v. Ledbetter Erection Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Montgomery Building & Construction Trades Council v. Ledbetter Erection Co., 57 So. 2d 112, 256 Ala. 678, 1951 Ala. LEXIS 191, 29 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2415 (Ala. 1951).

Opinions

[681]*681FOSTER, Justice.

The bill of complaint in this case was filed by appellee against appellants, labor organizations which are unincorporated associations, having their places of business in the city and county of Montgomery. The bill alleges in substance, and so far as here material, that Bear Brothers are general contractors and had entered into a contract with Montgomery Towers, Inc., for the construction of a large apartment house in the city of Montgomery in accordance with the plans and specifications. That the complainant entered into a contract with Bear Brothers whereby it agreed to erect and rivet all the structural steel necessary for the erection of said apartment house. The bill alleges that the employees of Bear Brothers are not organized as union labor, and there was not a labor dispute existing between the complainant and any of its employees; that the respondents were not representatives of employees of Bear Brothers, and did not seek to represent the employees of complainant. The bill then alleges that respondents were seeking to force Bear Brothers to recognize or bargain with a labor organization, and to that end respondents placed a picket line across the entrance to the property where the building was being constructed. That the union employees of complainant were not willing to cross that picket line to perform work on said building for the complainant, causing irreparable damage to complainant, and that respondents had declined to remove said picket line so that complainant’s employees could continue to work on the job. It is also alleged in the bill:

“(12) That since the establishment of said picket line by the respondents none of the employees of the complainant Ledbetter Erection Company, Inc., will cross said picket line and the erection of said structural steel has been stopped; that if said picket line is maintained complainant will suffer irreparable damage for which it will have no adequate remedy at law; that the remedy of an action and damages provided by section 303 of the Taft-Hartley Act (29 U.S.C.A., section 187) is inadequate; that the complainant’s valuable heavy machinery is being kept idle at complete loss to the complainant and complainant has been notified by its employees that if they are prevented from working on this job by reason of said picket line they will be forced to seek employment elsewhere; that in order to keep complainant’s experienced crew of workmen together it would be necessary for the complainant to pay said employees even though they remained idle for an indeterminate time at a resulting loss to the complainant for which no adequate damages could be assessed or collected; that complainant’s employees have notified complainant that unless said picket line is removed on November 20, they will seek employment elsewhere; that in addition thereto it might become necessary for complainant to default in its contract with Bear Brothers, Inc., as a result of which complainant would be subjected to suits for damages for such breach.
“(13) That said apartment building is being erected under the terms of section 608 of the National Housing Act [12 U.S: C.A. § 1743] under a commitment issued by the Federal Housing Authority certifying that such housing was essential and that there existed in Montgomery a shortage of adequate housing units for-rental purposes; that since the erection of said building was begun defense activities at Gunter Field and Maxwell Field have substantially increased; that complainant is informed and believes and on such informa^ tion and'belief avers that the commanding officer at Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Alabama, has stated publicly that [682]*682after January 1, 195)1, that defense activities at Maxwell Air Force Base will be stepped up to such an extent that said Air Force Base will have a larger personnel than ever before in its history; and before such defense activities were initiated the Chamber of Commerce was asked to ascertain whether the City of Montgomery could absorb 500 additional families and in making said survey the Chamber of Commerce took into consideration the availability of this apartment house under erection which would supply 124 additional rental units; that if the erection of said apartment house is delayed such rental units will not be available for the use of the members of the armed 'forces or other defense activities in and around Montgomery and the public interest will be inimically affected.
"(14) That complainant and its employees are entirely innocent parties and are in no way engaged in any labor dispute among themselves or with anyone else. That complainant’s employees are unwilling to cross said picket line for the reason that if they cross said picket line they might be blackballed anil prevented from working on further jobs; that the effect of the continued maintenance of such picket line is therefore to prevent complainant from engaging in business and performing its said contract and also prevents the complainant’s employees- from engaging in gainful employment in'Montgomery to the irreparable injury to both the complainant and its employees.'

The case comes here from a decree overruling a motion to dissolve an injunction which was theretofore issued. Upon the hearing of the motion the respondents withdrew an answer to' the bill which had been filed and the first twenty-six grounds of the motion, leaving the twenty-seventh ground which is in substance that the complaint complains of a violation of section 8(b) of the National Labor Relations Act, 29 U.S. C.A. § 158(b), and that complainant has an adequate remedy as provided in section 10 of that Act, 29 U.S.C.A. § 160. Respondents further- amended their motion to dissolve the injunction by adding grounds twenty-eight to thirty-nine, inclusive. The substance of those grounds of the motion is that the sole and exclusive remedy provided for the acts complained of is section 10 of the National Labor Relations Act as amended, and that the state court is without jurisdiction by reason of the provisions of said section 10.

Appellee, who is the complainant, insists on this appeal that under that status of the pleading the only question presented is the equity of the bill, since there is no answer denying its allegations; and then insists the bill does not show that the questions involved affected the rights of the employees and employers in their 'relations affecting commerce, and that so far as the allegations of the bill are concerned it relates purely to a local transaction. But the allegations of the bill itself Show that reliance is had upon the National Labor Relations Act as amended, 29 U.S.C.A. § 151 et seq., for the purpose of determining whether or not the complainant is entitled to an injunction.

The bill specifically refers to the fact that the alleged picketing is secondary, as defined in section 8(b) (4) of said Act, and that the remedy provided in section 303 of. it for damages-is inadequate, and that there is no adequate remedy at law.

We will refer to the Act in question as the Lalbor Management Relations Act of 1947 (or Labor Management Act) for that is the name given to it by section 1 of the Act. It is sometimes called the Taft-Hartley Act, but it is all one and' the same Act and serves to amend the National Labor Relations Act of 1935. As amended it is codified in Title 29 U.S.C.A., beginning with section 141. Section 8(b) (4) will be found in Title 29, section 158, U.S.C.A.

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Bluebook (online)
57 So. 2d 112, 256 Ala. 678, 1951 Ala. LEXIS 191, 29 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2415, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/montgomery-building-construction-trades-council-v-ledbetter-erection-co-ala-1951.