Ochoa v. Texas Metal Trades Council

989 F. Supp. 828, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21069, 1997 WL 810456
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Texas
DecidedDecember 23, 1997
DocketNo. Civ.A. G-96-628
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 989 F. Supp. 828 (Ochoa v. Texas Metal Trades Council) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ochoa v. Texas Metal Trades Council, 989 F. Supp. 828, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21069, 1997 WL 810456 (S.D. Tex. 1997).

Opinion

ORDER

KENT, District Judge.

Plaintiff Frankie L. Ochoa brings this action against Defendants alleging unlawful discrimination and retaliation based on his national origin, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., breach of the duty of fair representation, and refusal of Union membership in violation of section 301 of the Labor' Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 185. Ochoa also brings state law actions for defamation, interference with business contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress, assault, and invasion of privacy against the various Defendants. Now before the Court are the Motions for Summary Judgment of Defendant Union Carbide Corporation and of Defendants Texas City Metal Trades Council, Ronald P. Weaver, and Weldon Hall, both filed September 5, 1997. For the reasons stated below, Union Carbide’s Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part, and the Motion for Summary Judgment of Defendant Texas City Metal Trades Council and the individual Defendants Weaver and Hall is GRANTED.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs Complaints

Plaintiff Ochoa began work as a garage mechanic in the Maintenance Department at the Union Carbide manufacturing plant in Texas City, Texas on August 15, 1994. In September of 1995, Ochoa complained to the Leadman1 in the garage that he and another employee had been deprived of an overtime opportunity by Defendant Weaver while Weaver had been serving as temporary Leadman. When the Maintenance Supervisor, Bob Janik, called Ochoa in to speak with him about the overtime complaint, Ochoa made several other complaints. First, Ochoa complained that he had been harassed by two other employees about his failure to join the Union. Apparently, Ochoa was the only employee in the garage who was not a member of the Machinists Union which represented the garage employees at Union Carbide. According to Ochoa, Defendants Weaver and Weldon Hall threatened to put up signs in the garage stating “no free riders.” In May of 1995, Ochoa asked for an application to the Union, but’ later asked that it be placed on hold after receiving more harassment from Hall.

Ochoa also reported to Janik incidents involving Defendants Hall and Weaver which he had not previously reported. Ochoa told Janik that he had observed Weaver stealing automotive supplies, and that he witnessed a fight between Hall and another employee in which Hall pulled out a knife, threatening the other employee. -Ochoa also reported that he had heard another garage mechanic, Larry Armstrong, use a racial epithet in describing black people.

[830]*830More germane to the case at hand are reports by Ochoa that, shortly after he began work in the garage, he began to find newspaper articles left by an unknown person on his workbench. The articles involved topics such as Colombian drug lords, Fidel Castro, pollution in Mexico City, and recipes for preparing Mexican food. Ochoa also found an article about the shooting death of his cousin, Bruce Ochoa, on his workbench. On other occasions, an unknown person would change the radio station in the garage or in the maintenance shop truck to a Spanish music station.

Finally, Ochoa has alleged that Hall drew a cartoon of two Mexican characters and called them “Hose A” and “Hose B.” Ochoa also alleges that Hall told him that the only reason Ochoa had gotten the job was because he is a minority.

Although Ochoa claims in his Response to the Motion for Summary Judgment that he “complained for over a year, without any action being taken by Union Carbide,” it appears from the evidence that Ochoa did not bring any of his complaints to the attention of Union Carbide management until September of 1995, almost a year after they allegedly began to occur.

Union Carbide’s Reaction

After Janik learned of the complaints by Ochoa, Ochoa met with Janik, Kevin Bau-man, Maintenance Department Head, and Kim Holthusen, Human Resources Administrator. Ochoa was interviewed by Union Carbide management three times about his complaints. Union Carbide management allegedly interviewed every employee in the maintenance garage with regard to Ochoa’s complaints on September 26, 1995. They suspended Hall, with pay, on September 29, 1995, pending the investigation of the alleged knife fight in January of 1995. On October 3, 1995 management allegedly met with the garage employees to review the plant’s harassment policies. Union Carbide also has granted Ochoa three leaves of absence, and offered to give him the position of apprentice chemical operator on April 12, 1996. Ochoa turned the position down because it required shift work and more education, and awarded less compensation.

Finally, on August 12,1996, Union Carbide informed Ochoa that he would have to return to work in the garage, and that his failure to return would be considered a voluntary quit. Ochoa returned to the garage in late October of 1996, but is currently on an 18-month leave of absence, without pay, which began on November 21,1996.

II. ANALYSIS

A Summary Judgment Standard

Summary judgment is appropriate if there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). The Court must accept the evidence of the non-moving party and draw all justifiable inferences in favor of that party. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 585-87, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1355-56, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). Determining credibility, weighing evidence, and drawing reasonable inferences are left to the trier of fact. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2513, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

The party moving for summary judgment bears the initial burden of “informing the district court of the basis for its motion, and identifying those portions of [the record] which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2553, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The mov-ant may meet this burden by pointing out to the Court that there is an absence of proof on any essential element of the nonmovant’s case. Id., 477 U.S. at 325, 106 S.Ct. at 2554. Once this burden is met, the burden then shifts to the nonmoving party to establish the existence of a genuine issue for trial. Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 585-87, 106 S.Ct. at 1355-56; Wise v. E.I. DuPont De Nemours and Co., 58 F.3d 193, 195 (5th Cir.1995). The nonmovant “must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts,” but instead must come forward with specific facts to show that there is a genuine issue for trial. Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 586-87, 106 S.Ct. at 1355-56 (citing Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e)).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
989 F. Supp. 828, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21069, 1997 WL 810456, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ochoa-v-texas-metal-trades-council-txsd-1997.