Sperandeo v. Northern Colorado Building Trades Council

305 F. Supp. 1044
CourtDistrict Court, D. Colorado
DecidedOctober 23, 1969
DocketCiv. A. No. C-1788
StatusPublished

This text of 305 F. Supp. 1044 (Sperandeo v. Northern Colorado Building Trades Council) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sperandeo v. Northern Colorado Building Trades Council, 305 F. Supp. 1044 (D. Colo. 1969).

Opinion

FINDINGS OF FACT, CONCLUSIONS OR LAW, OPINION AND ORDER

CHILSON, District Judge.

This is an action filed by the National Labor Relations Board for injunctive relief against the respondents pending the final disposition by the Board of an alleged labor dispute. The action is brought pursuant to Section 10 (I) of the National Labor Relations Act. (29 U.S.C.A. § 160(1))

On October 6, 1969, this Court entered a temporary restraining order, restraining the respondents from further activity concerning the subject matter of the dispute, until the matter could be heard on its merits. On October 13, 1969, the Court held an evidentiary hearing, and the Court having considered the evidence, argument of counsel and the briefs filed by the parties, concludes that the petition for a preliminary injunction should be granted.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Petitioner is regional director of the 27th region of the National Labor Relations Board, an agency of the United States, and has filed this petition on behalf of the Board.

2. Jurisdiction is invoked pursuant to Section 10, Section 10 (i) of the National Labor Relations Act, 29 U.S.C.A. § 160(1).

3. On or about September 17, 1969, Kansas Quality Construction, Inc., (Kansas) filed charges with the Board alleging that the respondents are labor organizations which have engaged in or are engaging in unfair labor practices, within the meaning of Section 8(b) (4) (i) (ii) (B) of the Act. On September 22, 1969, the charges were amended.

4. The charges were referred to the petitioner as regional director, who determined that a complaint should issue pursuant to Section 10(b) of the Act.

5. Kansas is a contractor in the building and construction industry, and is engaged in constructing housing projects in or near Denver, Colorado, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Topeka, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri. The Colorado Springs project is known as Kingsborough Apartments, the Denver project as Briarwood North, and the Kansas City project as Knollwood Apartments.

6. Kansas’ method of operation was to subcontract all of its work. Except in its Colorado operations, Kansas had issued subcontracts only to those who employed union labor. On the Colorado projects, Kansas subcontracted without reference to whether or not the subcontractors employed union labor, some did, and some did not.

7. In June of 1969, a business representative of the Carpenters Union talked to Kansas’ project manager on the Briarwood project and complained that the subcontractor doing the “forming work” was hiring non-union labor. At the request of the union representative, the project manager arranged for a meeting between the union representative and the “forming” subcontractor. At this meeting, the union representative insisted that the subcontractor go union. Some days after this conversation and on or about July 8, the job was picketed by the District Council of Denver, and the carpenters left the job.

[1046]*10468. At a meeting between Kansas and representatives of the carpenters union on July 10, the union representatives stated that the forming contractor had to put union men on the job or the carpenters would not work, and if this demand was not complied with, the job would be picketed. The forming subcontractor (Statewide) terminated its forming contract, the picket left the job, and the forming subcontract was left to another subcontractor, A. S. Dode.

9. During the month of August, conversations were had between Kansas and representatives of the respondents in an attempt to get Kansas, in its Colorado operations, to deal only with those subcontractors who would hire union labor, and Kansas was informed by a representative of the carpenters union that he wanted the entire job at Briarwood to be union. Kansas refused to terminate its existing subcontracts and on September 15, the Briarwood project was picketed and on September 16, the Kingsborough Apartment and the Knollwood projects were picketed.

10. On September 17, 1969, a representative of the Northern Colorado Building Trades Council met in Kansas City with representatives of Kansas. The building trades representative stated that the picketing on the Knollwood project was because Kansas was operating nonunion in Denver and Colorado Springs. Kansas refused to discuss the matter while picketed. The picket was removed and a second meeting was had the next day at which the Building Trades Council representative presented an agreement that Kansas would require all subcontractors to be represented by the appropriate craft union. Kansas replied that it could not break its existing agreements with subcontractors as long as they were performing their work properly. After further discussion and for the first time since the picketing began in June, the Building Trades representative stated that if Kansas would sign the agreement tendered to it and do so immediately, the Building Trades Council would agree to exclude the Briarwood and Kingsborough projects from the coverage of the agreement. When asked about his authority to make this modification of the agreement, the representative said that he did not have the authorization, but was sure that this recommendation would be followed. Kansas stated that it would like to consider the matter and have another meeting to discuss it further, but was advised that Kansas must either execute the agreement then or picketing would be resumed on all jobs, and on all future jobs. Kansas refused to execute the agreement as tendered. The agreement as tendered did not exclude the Briar-wood and Kingsborough projects.

11. On September 19, picketing was resumed on the Knollwood project, on September 22, on two Kansas projects located in Topeka, Kansas, on September 23, on Briarwood project and continued to October 6, 1969, when the temporary restraining order was issued. As a result of the picketing, the Topeka, Kansas, projects and the Knollwood project were closed down. The picketing at the Kingsborough project was resumed on September 16 and continued for three days.

12. The respondents’ sole purpose in picketing the Colorado projects from June of 1969 to September 18, 1969, was to require Kansas to require all of its subcontractors on the Colorado projects to employ union labor and to require Kansas to terminate those subcontracts on the Colorado projects where the subcontractor refused to so agree.

13. Since September 18, 1969, the respondents have picketed for the same purpose and also to obtain an agreement with Kansas that on future projects, it would subcontract only with those subcontractors who agreed to employ union labor.

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

1. This Court has jurisdiction over the parties to and the subject matter of this proceeding, and under Section 10 (Z) of the Act is empowered to grant injunctive relief.

[1047]*10472. The respondents are labor organizations within the meaning of the Act and there is, and petitioner has, reasonable cause to believe that they have engaged in unfair labor practices within the meaning of Section 8(b) (4) (i) (ii) (B) of the Act.

3. To preserve the issues for orderly determination as provided in the Act, to protect the public welfare, and to prevent irreparable injury, it is approprial., just and proper that, pending final disposition of the matters herein which are before the Board, respondent, its cf.

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305 F. Supp. 1044, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sperandeo-v-northern-colorado-building-trades-council-cod-1969.