Nielsen v. International Ass'n of Machinists & Aerospace Workers, Local Lodge 2569

895 F. Supp. 1093, 150 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2852, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11855, 1995 WL 494006
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Indiana
DecidedJune 21, 1995
DocketNo. 1:94-cv-337
StatusPublished

This text of 895 F. Supp. 1093 (Nielsen v. International Ass'n of Machinists & Aerospace Workers, Local Lodge 2569) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Nielsen v. International Ass'n of Machinists & Aerospace Workers, Local Lodge 2569, 895 F. Supp. 1093, 150 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2852, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11855, 1995 WL 494006 (N.D. Ind. 1995).

Opinion

ORDER

WILLIAM C. LEE, District Judge.

This matter is before the court on Mercy Ambulance of Fort Wayne, Inc.’s January 17, 1995, Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs Complaint Pursuant to Rules 12(b)(1) and (6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. On February 6,1995, Plaintiff Nielsen filed his Brief in Opposition to the Motion to Dismiss, and on February 14, 1995, Mercy Ambulance filed its Reply. For the following reasons, Mercy’s Motion to Dismiss the Complaint is granted.

[1095]*1095 FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Jeffrey Nielsen is employed by Mercy Ambulance of Fort Wayne, Inc. Local Lodge 2569 is the exclusive representative of a bargaining unit of Mercy Ambulance employees, including Nielsen. Mercy Ambulance and Local Lodge 2569 are parties to a current collective bargaining agreement. The agreement contains a provision which provides in pertinent part as follows: Section 1. Agency Shop:

As a condition of continued employment, all employees included within the unit described in Article II [sic] of this Agreement shall either become a member of the Union and pay dues thereto, or in lieu thereof, shall pay an amount equal to the Union’s initiation fee and shall thereafter pay to the Union each month, either directly or through payroll deduction, an amount equal to the regular monthly dues and fees in effect for other employees in the bargaining unit who are members of the Union. This obligation shall begin on the first day of the month following completion of six (6) months’ employment.
Each member of the bargaining unit covered by this Agreement who has not become a member of the Union, or in lieu thereof, has not tendered the equivalent of Union dues as provided above, within seven (7) days of the first day of any month following the effective date of this Agreement or completion of his/her sixth month of employment, shall be notified by the Union by certified mail, with a copy to the Company’s Director of Operations, that failure to pay either dues or agency shop fees within ten (10) days following receipt of such notice shall result in termination of employment. Should the employee fail to make such payment with [sic] the ten-day period, the Company shall, within three (3) working days after receipt of notice by certified mail from the Union, discharge such employee.

(Complaint ¶ 11.)

Shortly after being hired by Mercy Ambulance, Plaintiff Nielsen joined the IAM International and its Local 2569 as a member in good standing. On or about July 5, 1994, Plaintiff Nielsen sent a letter to Local 2569 resigning from membership in the unions and invoking his right to be allowed to pay “reduced dues” pursuant to Communications Workers of America v. Beck, 487 U.S. 735, 108 S.Ct. 2641, 101 L.Ed.2d 634 (1988). On or about July 22, 1994, Local 2569, by and through its president, Rebecca Smith, sent Plaintiff Nielsen a response indicating that while his resignation from union membership was “accepted,” Local 2569 was “in no position to act upon your request to become a fee objector.” (Complaint ¶ 14.) The letter also stated: “If you wish to pursue this matter further, I suggest you take the matter up with the General Secretary-Treasurer directly,” referring to IAM International’s General Secretary-Treasurer. (Complaint ¶ 14.)

On or about August 16,1994, Plaintiff Nielsen sent a letter to Donald E. Wharton, General Secretary-Treasurer of the IAM International, stating in part:

I hereby notify you that I wish to be a “financial core objector” only, in accordance with the Supreme Court’s decision in CWA v. Beck, [487 U.S. 735], 108 S.Ct. 2641 [101 L.Ed.2d 634] (1988).
I object to the collection, as well as the use, of any of my money for any purposes other than paying my pro rata share of your direct expenses for fulfilling your limited statutory duty under § 9(a) of the NLRA to engage in collective bargaining, contract administration and grievance processing for the unit of employees at in [sic] which I am employed.

(Complaint ¶ 16; Exhibit 4 to the Complaint.)

On or about August 24, 1994, Defendant IAM International, by and through its General Secretary-Treasurer, Donald E. Wharton, responded to Nielsen that his objection to the amount of dues and fees that he was required to pay was “not properly perfected under the guidelines set forth in the Official Notice in the December, 1993 issue of The Machinist. ” Specifically, the Wharton correspondence stated that Nielsen’s request “was not postmarked or received during the appropriate 30 day period.” (Complaint ¶ 17; Exhibit 5 to the Complaint.) Since July 5, 1994, Mercy Ambulance has continued to deduct from Plaintiff Nielsen’s salary an [1096]*1096amount of money equal to the full union dues that voluntary members of the unions pay. IAM International uses some of the money collected from Plaintiff Nielsen for non-representational activities.

The first claim for relief in Nielsen’s Complaint is made jointly against both Local 2569 and Mercy Ambulance. Plaintiff Nielsen claims that,

Defendant Local Lodge 2569, in concert with Mercy Ambulance, has violated the

National Labor Relations Act and the fiduciary duty of fair representation that it owes to plaintiff Nielsen ... by negotiating and maintaining [the] union security clause.... That clause is facially invalid because it purports to require the Plaintiff, as a condition of his employment, to pay more than “that portion of union dues and fees attributable to the union’s representational activities.”

(Complaint ¶ 20.) The plaintiff further claims that the union security clause is facially invalid because it misrepresents the extent and actual limits of the obligation which may be imposed upon them, and by negotiating and maintaining this clause subsequent to Beck, Local 2569 has not acted toward Plaintiff and other employees with complete honesty and good faith, but has acted arbitrarily and dishonestly by overstating the limits of their obligation to the union. (Complaint ¶ 21.) Finally, in the first claim for relief, Plaintiff alleges that “Mercy Ambulance, in concert with Defendant Local Lodge 2569, has violated the National Labor Relations Act, as construed by Beck, by negotiating and maintaining a union security clause which requires Plaintiff Nielsen, as a condition of his employment, to pay more than ‘that portion of union dues and fees attributable to the union’s representational activities.’” (Complaint ¶ 22.)

The Plaintiffs second claim for relief alleges that the Union Defendants have enforced the union security provision by requiring the Plaintiff to continue, as a condition of his employment, to pay amounts equal to the dues paid by voluntary union members. (Complaint ¶ 23.) The Plaintiff claims that enforcement of the union security clause violates the duty of fair representation because it forces Nielsen to pay in excess of his pro rata share of the unions’ cost of representation, and thereby imposes an obligation which may not be forced upon Nielsen.

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895 F. Supp. 1093, 150 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2852, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11855, 1995 WL 494006, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/nielsen-v-international-assn-of-machinists-aerospace-workers-local-innd-1995.