Self v. Taylor

235 S.W.2d 45, 217 Ark. 953, 1950 Ark. LEXIS 534, 27 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2211
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedDecember 11, 1950
Docket4-9315
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 235 S.W.2d 45 (Self v. Taylor) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Self v. Taylor, 235 S.W.2d 45, 217 Ark. 953, 1950 Ark. LEXIS 534, 27 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2211 (Ark. 1950).

Opinions

Dunaway, J.

This appeal questions the validity of an injunction against picketing in a labor dispute in Fort Smith, Arkansas. It is urged by appellants that members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local No. 700, have been denied their right of peaceful picketing as guaranteed by the federal constitution.' The Chancellor granted the injunction on the ground that the union was picketing for an unlawful objective — to obtain a closed shop in violation of Amendment 34, the Freedom to Work Amendment of the State Constitution and Act 101 of the Acts of 1947, the enabling-act for enforcement of Amendment 34.

Suit for injunction was brought by appellee, Leon E. Taylor, d/b/a Leon E. Taylor Electrical Company against T. F. Self, individually and as business agent and representative of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local No. 700.

On July 1, 1946, Taylor and Local No. 700 entered into a collective bargaining contract covering terms and conditions of emplojunent of appellee’s employees. This contract was in effect until July 1, 1949, when it was terminated upon notice given, in accordance with its provisions, by the union. The 1946 contract had contained a closed shop agreement which was not subject to Act 101, since § 5 of the Act specifically provided that the Act should not be applicable to contracts in existence at the time of its passage in 1947.

After the notice of termination was given by the union in May, 1949, the parties began negotiations for a new contract. During the course of the negotiations appellee agreed to all the demands of Local No. 700 except those providing for a closed shop and union hiring hall procedure. Appellee refused to sign a contract containing these provisions because such a contract would be in violation of the law of Arkansas and he would thereby subject himself to criminal prosecution.

Section 3 of Act 101 provides: “No person, group of persons, firm, corporation, association, or labor organization shall enter into any contract to exclude from employment, (1) persons who are members of, or affiliated with, a .labor union; (2) persons who are not members of, or who fail or refuse to join, or affiliate with, a labor union; and (3) persons who, having joined a labor union, have resigned their membership therein or have been discharged, expelled, or excluded therefrom. ’ ’

The closed shop provision of the 1946 contract reads as follows: “The employer shall employ only members in good standing of the Union on all electric work.” This identical clause was demanded in the proposed 1949 contract. It is now conceded that inclusion of such a provision would have been illegal.

Upon termination of the contract on July 1, 1949, appellee’s employees quit their work and none of them worked for him again until about thirty days later, when two men returned to their jobs. Fines were assessed by Local No. 700 against those who returned to work, and they subsequently resigned from the union.

It appears that another electrical contractor in Ft. Smith, D. C. Barnett, was engaged along with appellee in joint negotiations with Local No. 700, and that the same difficulties were being encountered by him in agreeing upon a contract. Although the record is very sketchy on the exact sequence of events after July 1, 1949, it appears that Barnett instituted a suit similar to the one at bar in the Sebastian Chancery Court sometime in early August, 1949; that as a result of a conference between the Special Chancellor (acting in the absence of Judge Wofford) and the parties to that suit, negotiations between the union representatives and Barnett and Taylor were resumed.

During these negotiations, the union offered a contract substantially the same as the earlier one sought, except that all reference to closed shop, union shop, and union hiring hall had been eliminated. Also the proposed contract contained a provision for cancellation at any time by either party upon sixty days notice. The contract previously in force had been for a period of one year, renewable automatically from year to year, unless notice, of termination was given thirty days prior to its annual expiration date.

Appellee testified that he agreed to accept all the terms of the contract offered if the union would make a contract “on a year’s basis”. He testified as follows :

"I agreed to it until they told us that they would have to get rid of the men' that were working for us. We asked about this sixty day cancellation clause and they said that I’d either have to get rid of my men or they would cancel the contract.
“Q. Did you inquire of the representative of the unions why there was a sixty day cancellation clause in this contract? A. I asked why they wanted it in there and they told me that they would cancel it out if I didn’t dispose of these men. Q. What men did they have reference to? A. Two men that went back to work for me after they refused to let them work for me.”

Barnett, who was present at the same negotiating sessions testified concerning inclusion of the sixty-day cancellation clause and his refusal to sign a contract containing it:

“Q. Why did you decline to sign it as presented? A. Because during the discussion, they would always refer to it that they would cancel it, depending on our good behavior, and finally Mr. Petty (a union representative) did say that he would cancel it unless we got rid of some of the men that was in bad with the Local.
“Q. How long have you been doing business with Local No. 700 in Port Smith? A. Oh, about 9 years. Q. During that time, have you ever been offered, or asked to enter into a contract for a period of less than one year? A. No sir.”

This testimony was not contradicted by appellants.

When the union insisted upon the sixty-day cancellation clause, and the union representatives told ap-pellee that they would exercise their right to cancel if he did not fire non-union men working for him, he refused to sign the contract and broke off negotiations, according to his testimony.

On August 25,1949, two members of the union began peacefully picketing appellee’s place of business, They carried a placard bearing these words: “This place-is unfair to Electrical Workers Local AFL 700”.

The instant suit was filed the same day and a temporary injunction was issued against picketing appellee’s place of business or any place where he was doing work. The initial petition was filed only against Self, but by amendment all the officers of Local No. 700 were made parties so there is no issue on appeal as to the parties to this suit.

After hearing the testimony, the Chancellor made permanent the temporary injunction. A written opinion was filed by the Chancellor as a part of the record, and since it clearly states the basis of his action and details testimony pertinent to a decision of this case, we quote rather extensively from this opinion:

“The first question for consideration is whether or not the inclusion of the 60 day cancellation clause had for its objective the imposition of closed shop conditions.
“During the course of the hearing, this question was asked Mr.

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Bluebook (online)
235 S.W.2d 45, 217 Ark. 953, 1950 Ark. LEXIS 534, 27 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2211, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/self-v-taylor-ark-1950.