National Ass'n of Broadcast Employees & Technicians v. Sunbeam Television Corp.

606 F. Supp. 111, 1984 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21577
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedDecember 2, 1984
DocketNo. 84-1464-CIV-NESBITT
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 606 F. Supp. 111 (National Ass'n of Broadcast Employees & Technicians v. Sunbeam Television Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
National Ass'n of Broadcast Employees & Technicians v. Sunbeam Television Corp., 606 F. Supp. 111, 1984 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21577 (S.D. Fla. 1984).

Opinion

ORDER ON SUMMARY JUDGMENT

NESBITT, District Judge.

THIS CAUSE involves a suit by Plaintiff, National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians, AFL-CIO, (the “Association”), to enforce an arbitration award entered pursuant to the collective bargaining agreement in force between the Plaintiff and the Defendant, Sunbeam Television Corporation (“Sunbeam”). The Defendant has filed a Motion to Dismiss and, in the Alternative, Motion for Summary Judgment. The Plaintiff has responded to these Motions and has also filed a Motion for Summary Judgment.

FINDINGS OF FACT

The material facts in this case are not in dispute, as there is agreement between a majority of the allegations made by Plaintiff in its Complaint, and by the Defendant in the Affidavit of its Vice-President and General Manager, Robert W. Leider, which was filed with the Court in support of [113]*113Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment.1

There is currently a collective bargaining agreement in force between the Plaintiff and Defendant, pursuant to which the parties agreed to arbitrate a dispute regarding what union personnel were required to be on board the Defendant’s helicopter when remote microwave transmissions were being made from it. The dispute arose when the Defendant made such a transmission on November 13, 1982 without any union personnel aboard. On July 11, 1983, the arbitrator, John Caraway, entered his award (the 1983 “award”) ruling that under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, the Defendant was required to have on board the helicopter both a production assistant and a technician, while making any remote microwave transmissions within a fifty (50) mile radius of the Defendant’s main studios. (See arbitration award dated July 11, 1983, attached to Plaintiff’s complaint as Exhibit B.)

It is also undisputed that on December 1, 1983, the Defendant made a remote microwave transmission from the helicopter while it was within the fifty (50) mile radius and that there was neither a production assistant nor a technician on the helicopter, as required under the 1983 Award.

The Plaintiff brought this action seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, as well as attorneys' fees and costs incurred in this action.

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

The Court has jurisdiction over the subject matter of this action pursuant to Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 185(a), and under 28 U.S.C. § 1331. The Plaintiff is a labor organization certified as a collective bargaining representative within the meaning of 29 U.S.C. §§ 152(5), 152(7), 185(a). The Defendant is an employer within the meaning of 29 U.S.C. §§ 152(2), 185(a), and maintains its principal place of business in Miami, Florida.

This case turns on the interpretation of and effect to be given the 1983 Award. After the initial transmission on November 13, 1982, the plaintiff brought to arbitration its claim that the collective bargaining agreement mandated the use of certain union personnel whenever a remote microwave broadcast was made from Defendant’s helicopter.

Upon review of the arguments made by the Union and the station as well as the language of the collective bargaining agreement, and after consideration of the nature of the remote microwave transmissions and the job functions of the various union members, the arbitrator made the following award:

The Union grievance is sustained. The Company violated the Agreement by making a microwave transmission on November 13, 1982 aboard the helicopter without there being a technician and production assistant aboard the helicopter. The Company shall cease and desist from making remote microwave transmissions originating from the station’s helicopter unless a production assistant and technician are aboard this aircraft.

(See, 1983 Award, pp. 12-13.)

Initially, the Court notes that there is no dispute as to the fact that Arbitrator Caraway was acting within the scope of his authority in issuing the 1983 Award. As well, there is no claim that the 1983 Award did not draw its essence from the terms of the collective bargaining agreement between the parties. As such, the Court has the power to enforce the 1983 Award. United Steelworkers of America v. American Manufacturing Co., 363 U.S. 564, 80 S.Ct. 1343, 4 L.Ed.2d 1403 (1960); United Steelworkers of America v. Warrior & Gulf Navigation Co., 363 U.S. 574, 80 S.Ct. 1347, 4 L.Ed.2d 1409 (1960); and United Steelworkers of America v. Enterprise Wheel & Car Corp., 363 U.S. 593, 80 S.Ct. 1358, 4 L.Ed.2d 1424 (1960).

The Defendant has argued that the 1983 Award did not cover the remote microwave broadcast which was made on December 1, [114]*1141983. The Defendant has proposed that the parties return to arbitration to determine if the December 1, 1983 broadcast was actually a violation of the collective bargaining agreement. In support of this position, the Defendant has pointed to the fact that it did not “intend” to make any remote broadcasts when the helicopter was dispatched on December 1, 1983. The Defendant also claims that there was a pressing public interest in transmitting the story, distinguishing this transmission from the one at issue in the 1983 Award. Pointing to these alleged material differences, the Defendant urges the Court to determine that the December 1, 1983 transmission was not covered by the 1983 Award.

In response to the Defendant’s arguments, it is the Plaintiff’s position that the December 1, 1983 transmission was exactly the type of conduct prohibited by the 1983 Award. Plaintiff argues that requiring further arbitration on a clear violation of the 1983 Award would gut the arbitration process, as it would strip the 1983 Award of any prospective effect.

The Court is aware that its function is not to interpret obviously ambiguous arbitration awards, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Local Lodge No. 1803 v. Walker County Medical Center, 715 F.2d 1517 (11th Cir.1983), nor is it to determine the preclusive effects of past arbitration awards, which by their terms are limited to the specific labor grievance resolved. New Orleans Steamship Association v. General Longshore Workers, 626 F.2d 455 (5th Cir.1980). However, the Court also recognizes that it does have the power and duty to enforce an arbitration award by means of injunctive or other relief where the actions being challenged are those which the earlier arbitration award specifically prohibited. United Steelworkers of America v.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
606 F. Supp. 111, 1984 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21577, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/national-assn-of-broadcast-employees-technicians-v-sunbeam-television-flsd-1984.