National Labor Relations Board v. Local 776, Iatse (Film Editors), Local 776 (Film Editors) v. National Labor Relations Board

303 F.2d 513, 50 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2220, 1962 U.S. App. LEXIS 5151
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedMay 10, 1962
Docket16907_1
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 303 F.2d 513 (National Labor Relations Board v. Local 776, Iatse (Film Editors), Local 776 (Film Editors) v. National Labor Relations Board) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
National Labor Relations Board v. Local 776, Iatse (Film Editors), Local 776 (Film Editors) v. National Labor Relations Board, 303 F.2d 513, 50 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2220, 1962 U.S. App. LEXIS 5151 (9th Cir. 1962).

Opinion

KOELSCH, Circuit Judge.

The National Labor Relations Board found that Local 776, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Moving Picture Machine Operators of the United States and Canada (hereinafter “Respondent”), violated section 8(b) (2) and 8(b) (1) (A) of the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947, 29 U.S.C.A. § 158(b) (1) (A), (2), by causing Cascade Pictures Co. of California, Inc. to discharge an employee, Henry A. Carlson, for lack of union membership. 1 The matter is now before the court on the Board’s petition for enforcement of its ensuing order and Respondent’s cross-petition to review that order.

Respondent objects to the granting of the relief sought by the Board and attacks the validity of the order on three grounds: (1) insufficiency of the evidence to support the critical finding; (2) error in the admission of evidence, prejudicial to the Union; and (3) the order is excessive in scope.

It should be noted with reference to the first of these three grounds that the questioned finding is predicated upon the commission of an unfair labor practice by Carlsons employer. If Cascade’s act did not constitute a violation of section 8(a) (3) or if, although it was a violation, the dismissal of Carlson was not caused by respondent, then respondent was not guilty of an unfair labor practice under sections 8(b) (I) (A) and (2). 2

The trial examiner acknowledged in his Intermediate Report that there was no direct proof of respondent’s complicity in the dismissal; however, he was of the opinion that the record manifested an “implicit” demand by respondent upon Cascade to discharge Carlson. Respondent readily recognizes the power of the Board to draw reasonable inferences and make other pertinent deductions from the evidence (Radio Officers’ Union of, etc., v. N.L.R.B., 347 U.S. 17, 48-52, 74 S.Ct. 323 (1954)), but argues with much vigor that here this founda *517 tion is completely absent so that the finding is not “supported by substantial evidence on the record considered as a whole * * * ” within the meaning of sections 10(e) and (f) of the Act. 3

We have carefully considered the contention, keeping in mind that “[t]he substantiality of evidence must take into account whatever in the record fairly detracts from its weight” (Universal Camera Corp. v. N.L.R.B., 340 U.S. 474 at 488, 71 S.Ct. 456, at 464, 95 L.Ed. 456 (1951)), but nevertheless conclude that the Board’s factual conclusion is neither unreasonable nor too tenuous to stand.

Cascade, Carlson’s employer, was engaged in the branch of the motion picture industry that produces and distributes “television commercials”; it was party to a collective bargaining agreement covering employees who were engaged in “crafts and classifications of work over which * * * [a number of designated unions including the respondent] had jurisdiction.” Carlson worked in the shipping department under the immediate supervision of one Selson; his particular job was “to break the film down, put it on reels, label it and see that the paper work, bills of ladings [sic] and anything concerning its movement was correct and that it was carried out.” He had been so employed for several weeks before Cascade learned that he was not a member of any union. But although Cascade considered his job “unorthodox” as compared with the type of work performed by any of its union-affiliated employees, it nevertheless inquired of respondent whether the job was governed by the existing collective bargaining agreement. Todd, respondent’s assistant business agent, thereupon visited Cascade’s plant where he discussed the matter with Bernard Loftus, Cascade’s supervising editor who was in charge of employment. A few days later he notified Loftus that the job came under respondent’s jurisdiction. Carlson testified that thereupon “Mr. Loftus said he was very sorry, that he had the Union on his back and he was forced to let me go by the end of the week.” 4 Carlson’s replacement, who was referred to Cascade by the respondent, was one of its members.

We are inclined to agree with respondent that if the matter had progressed no further and the record revealed no more than the conference between Loftus and respondent’s agent, together with Carlson’s discharge and Loftus’ statement, hearsay as to respondent, then N.L.R.B. v. Amalgamated, etc., 202 F.2d 671 (9th Cir. 1953), which respondent urges upon us as “directly in point”, would dictate a denial of the Board’s petition. But such is not the situation. Respondent twice more appeared in the picture. Thus shortly after Carlson was given notice, Todd, at Selson’s request, again came to the plant, where Selson explained that he particularly wanted to keep Carlson and asked whether that might be arranged. Carlson testified that during the meeting Todd observed that Cascade had itself to blame for any inconvenience due to the dismissal because “they should never had hired me in the first place because at the time I was hired the Union had members out of work.” Todd further stated that the matter was one that would have to be considered by his superiors, and left. During the week Carlson visited Todd at the latter’s offices. On that occasion, according to the witness, Todd advised him that Cascade had violated its contracts with respondent and was subject to a fine “but that the cause of [because of?] the unusual *518 conditions as he called it, but [sic] they would not do that. He said for those reasons it would be necessary or better to discontinue my employment at Cascade. After that, he brought up that while the Union had no legal obligation to do anything for me he felt it was sort of a moral obligation to do something to make up for the job I had lost. And he was going to see that I would get a summer job * * * ”

As might be expected, there were numerous conflicts in the evidence, and Carlson’s testimony was sometimes at variance with, and even at other times flatly contradicted by, the testimony of other witnesses, especially Todd. But the trial examiner resolved the conflicts in favor of the version given by Carlson, whom he fully credited, in preference to the facts asserted by the other witnesses; and the Board accepted and adopted his findings. There the matter must rest for it is not for us to judge the credibility of witnesses; that is the function of the trier of fact. Universal Camera Corp. v. N.L.R.B., supra.

That respondent was guilty of an unfair labor practice under section 8 (a) (3) of the Act appears beyond peradventure; Loftus flatly testified that “the sole reason” for Carlson’s dismissal was the latter’s nonunion status and his earlier statement to Carlson assigning union pressure as the basis for this action was to the same effect even though he named no particular union.

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303 F.2d 513, 50 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2220, 1962 U.S. App. LEXIS 5151, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/national-labor-relations-board-v-local-776-iatse-film-editors-local-ca9-1962.