Railway Express Agency, Inc. v. Jamaica Lodge 2188 of Brotherhood of Railway & Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express & Station Employees

192 F. Supp. 944, 47 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2874, 1961 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3780
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedApril 4, 1961
DocketNo. 61-C-91
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 192 F. Supp. 944 (Railway Express Agency, Inc. v. Jamaica Lodge 2188 of Brotherhood of Railway & Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express & Station Employees) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Railway Express Agency, Inc. v. Jamaica Lodge 2188 of Brotherhood of Railway & Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express & Station Employees, 192 F. Supp. 944, 47 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2874, 1961 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3780 (E.D.N.Y. 1961).

Opinion

RAYFIEL, District Judge.

The plaintiff, a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Delaware, is a common carrier engaged in the business of transporting freight in interstate commerce. The defendant, Jamaica Lodge 2188 of the Brotherhood of Railway Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employees, hereinafter referred to as Lodge 2188, is an unincorporated labor association. The defendant New York District Board of Adjustment of the Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employees, hereinafter referred to as The District Board, is an unincorporated association, maintaining its office in New York City. Both Lodge 2188 and The District Board are collective bargaining agents for the plaintiff’s employees. The other defendants are officers of one or the other of said associations, and are joined as defendants both individually and in their respective officer capacities, and as representatives of the members of Lodge 2188, all of whom are citizens of the State of New York. All of the defendants are subject to the provisions of the Railway Labor Act. Title 45 U.S.C.A. § 151 et seq.

The plaintiff has moved under Rule 65 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, 28 U.S.C.A. for a preliminary injunction enjoining the defendants from authorizing, inducing, continuing or carrying on any strike or work stoppage, or from picketing or interfering with the ingress or egress to or from the plaintiff’s premises.

The defendants cross-moved to vacate the temporary restraining order signed by Judge Zavatt on February 4, 1961, and to dismiss the complaint on the ground that it fails to state facts sufficient to constitute a claim.

A hearing was held at which testimony was taken, at the conclusion of which I vacated the temporary restraining order.

A brief résumé of the facts adduced at the hearing follows:

[946]*946The plaintiff and The District Board entered into an agreement, effective September 1, 1949, later adopted by Lodge 2188 and its members, governing hours of service and working conditions. The agreement was received in evidence as plaintiff’s Exhibit No. 1. It was amended on October 1, 1954, and on October 31, 1960 a supplemental agreement was entered into, which was received in evidence as plaintiff’s Exhibit No. 2.

The plaintiff, which has offices throughout the United States, had, in addition to its Garden City Office, offices at Babylon, Patchogue, Huntington and Port Jefferson, on Long Island. Sometime in January, 1961, it decided to consolidate the latter four offices into one office, to be located at Brentwood, Long Island. On January 25, 1961 a conference was held at the office of Frank J. Fagan, the General Manager of the plaintiff’s New York City Division, attended by Mr. Fagan and Mr. L. W. Brew, for the plaintiff, and Mr. Daniel J. Sullivan and Mr. Chester Collins, for The District Board and Lodge 2188, respectively, to discuss the consolidation. Among other things discussed were the rates of pay of the employees affected. At the conclusion of the conference the parties agreed to meet again.

Another conference, attended by the same parties, was held on February 2, 1961. A request by Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Collins for an increase in the rate of pay of the employees affected by the consolidation was rejected by Mr. Fagan. Before the conference was concluded Mr. Fagan requested the officers to obtain the co-operation of the employees of the several offices to be consolidated to assist in the removal thereof over the week end of Saturday, February 4, 1961 and Sunday, February 5, 1961.

The plaintiff caused notices to be posted at the four offices in question notifying its employees of the proposed consolidation thereof at the close of business on Friday, February 3, 1961, and advised them to report for work at the consolidated office in Brentwood on Monday, February 6, 1961. The notices, one of which was received in evidence as defendants’ Exhibit B, referred to Rule 23 of the agreement of September 1, 1949, which set forth the employees’ rights to positions in the consolidated office.

In the meantime employees at the said four offices were asked by their superiors to work on Saturday and Sunday, February 4 and 5, 1961, in order to effect the consolidation. None of the employees volunteered to work on those days and the consolidation was accomplished by the use of supervisory employees and other personnel enlisted by Mr. Brew.

On Friday, February 3, 1961 Lodge 2188 caused notices (Plaintiff’s Exhibit No. 3) to be posted in various offices of the plaintiff in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, on Long Island, including the Garden City office, calling a special meeting of the members of the Lodge for Monday, February 6, 1961 at 11:00 a. m. at the Seaford American Legion Hall at Sea-ford, Long Island, to discuss a report by its officers on the “Brentwood and River-head offices.” On Saturday, February 4, 1961 the plaintiff obtained an order to show cause containing a temporary restraining order enjoining the defendants from

1. authorizing, encouraging, etc. any strike or work stoppage,

2. picketing any of the premises at which the plaintiff conducts its operations,

3. interfering with the ingress or egress of any of plaintiff’s employees, customers, etc. to and from any of its places of business,

4. inducing any employee of the plaintiff not to perform his work, or interfering in any manner with such performance,

5. and directing the defendants to take all steps to prevent the continuance of the strike.

It is the plaintiff’s contention that the refusal of its employees to work on Saturday and Sunday, February 4 and 5, 1961, and the calling of the meeting for 11:00 a. m. on Monday, February 6, 1961 was a work stoppage resulting [947]*947from a dispute, which constitutes a “grievance” within the meaning of the Railway Labor Act, Title 45 U.S.C.A. § 153, First (i), and should be processed by the grievance machinery provided for therein; and, further, that the said work stoppage or strike is violative of Rule 41 of plaintiff’s Exhibit No. 1, which provides that during the assertion and pend-ency of the grievance there shall be neither a shut down by the employer nor a suspension of work by the employees.

The defendants deny that there was a work stoppage or strike, or that a grievance exists between the parties. They contend that the employees, under the agreement of September 1, 1949, are not required to work on Saturday or Sunday, which are their days of rest. They point to subdivisions (a) and O’) of Rule 65 of said agreement as authority for this position. They deny also that the calling of the meeting for 11:00 a. m. on Monday, February 6,1961 constituted a work stoppage or strike since, as they state, it was called only for the purpose of apprising the men to be affected by the consolidation, some 25 or 30 at most, as to their rights, and informing them as to what had taken place at the meetings which their officers had had with management.

The plaintiff relies principally on two cases to support its position. Those are Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen et al. v. Chicago River & Indiana Railroad Co.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Jamaica Lodge 2188 v. Railway Express Agency, Inc.
200 F. Supp. 253 (E.D. New York, 1961)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
192 F. Supp. 944, 47 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2874, 1961 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3780, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/railway-express-agency-inc-v-jamaica-lodge-2188-of-brotherhood-of-nyed-1961.