United Brick & Clay Workers v. International Union of District 50, Allied & Technical Workers of United States & Canada

345 F. Supp. 495, 80 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2871, 1972 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13134
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Missouri
DecidedJune 21, 1972
DocketNo. 72 C 318(A)
StatusPublished

This text of 345 F. Supp. 495 (United Brick & Clay Workers v. International Union of District 50, Allied & Technical Workers of United States & Canada) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United Brick & Clay Workers v. International Union of District 50, Allied & Technical Workers of United States & Canada, 345 F. Supp. 495, 80 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2871, 1972 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13134 (E.D. Mo. 1972).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

HARPER, District Judge.

Plaintiff, United Brick & Clay Workers of America, AFL-CIO, brought this action against defendant, International Union of District 50, Allied and Technical Workers of the United States and Canada, seeking preliminary injunction and permanent injunction specifically enforcing a “no-raid agreement” entered into between the parties. A hearing [496]*496was held before the Court and by agreement of the parties the hearing on the merits with respect to the permanent injunction was consolidated with the hearing originally scheduled on a preliminary injunction. The alleged no-raid agreement is contained in two letters plaintiff and defendant sent to each other (Exhibits 1-A, 1-B and 2). On May 26, 1971, defendant sent plaintiff a letter (Exhibit 1-A) and enclosed with that letter a copy of a communication (Exhibit 1-B) to the field staff of defendant. Plaintiff replied on June 9, 1971 (Exhibit 2). No provision was made in the letters to arbitrate disputes that might arise from the agreement. Defendant contends that the letters do not constitute a contract because both plaintiff and defendant were mistaken regarding a fact assumed by them as the basis on which they entered the agreement.

Plaintiff alleges jurisdiction under Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947, 29 U.S.C. § 185, which provides in part:

“(a) Suits for violation of contracts between an employer and a labor organization representing employees in an industry affecting commerce as defined in this chapter, or between any such labor organizations, may be brought in any district court of the United States having jurisdiction of the parties, without respect to the amount in controversy or without regard to the citizenship of the parties.”

Defendant seeks to dismiss plaintiff’s complaint for the reason that this court is without jurisdiction to grant injunctive relief under the provisions of the Norris-LaGuardia Act, 29 U.S.C. § 101 et seq. Plaintiff neither disputes the fact that a literal reading of the Norris-LaGuardia Act would bring this dispute within the terms of the Act nor contends that plaintiff has satisfied the conditions the Act imposes before an injunction can be obtained. Plaintiff, instead, contends that the Supreme Court, in cases reconciling the ostensibly inconsistent provisions of the Norris-LaGuardia Act and § 301(a), has determined that district courts have the power to grant injunctive relief in cases of this nature. Plaintiff relies on Textile Workers Union v. Lincoln Mills, 353 U. S. 448, 77 S.Ct. 912, 1 L.Ed.2d 972 (1957), and Boys Markets, Inc. v. Retail Clerk’s Union, Local 770, 398 U.S. 235, 90 S.Ct. 1583, 26 L.Ed.2d 199 (1970). Both of these dealt with collective bargaining agreements which contained mandatory grievance arbitration provisions. The Court in Lincoln Mills, supra, held that the Norris-LaGuardia Act does not withdraw jurisdiction to compel arbitration of grievance disputes. The Court in Boys Markets, supra, held that the Norris-LaGuardia Act does not preclude a federal district court from enjoining a strike in breach of a no-strike obligation when the collective-bargaining agreement contains a mandatory arbitration procedure. In both of these cases the Court determined that, even though the dispute might be within the terms of the Norris-LaGuardia Act, the Act did not bar the granting of injunctive relief. The Court based these decisions on the facts that, one, there was a congressional policy favoring the enforcement of the particular type of contract involved; and, two, the core purpose of the Norris-LaGuardia Act was not sacrificed by the limited use of equitable remedies to further this policy.

Although Boys Markets, supra, allowed an injunction to issue even when the dispute came directly under § 4 of the Norris-LaGuardia Act, the Court expressly limited its decision, stating, 1. c. 253, 90 S.Ct. 1. c. 1594:

“Our holding in the present case is a narrow one. We do not undermine the vitality of the Norris-LaGuardia Act. We deal only with the situation in which a collective-bargaining contract contains a mandatory grievance adjustment or arbitration procedure.”

Several courts have dealt with the situation in which two labor organizations had a no-raid agreement, but all of these agreements contained an arbitration clause. United Textile Workers of [497]*497America v. Textile Workers Union, 258 F.2d 743 (7th Cir. 1958), and International Brotherhood of Firemen and Oilers v. International Association of Machinists, 338 F.2d 176 (5th Cir. 1964), both held that the arbitration clause of the no-raiding contract was enforcible by injunction. Both relied on the Lincoln Mills case. Local 2608, Lumber and Sawmill Workers v. Millmen’s Local 1495, 169 F.Supp. 765 (N.D.Cal.1958) involved a raiding dispute between two members of the same brotherhood. The Court regarded a requirement of the union constitution that the president should decide “all points of law, appeals and grievances” as equivalent to the no-raiding agreement in United Textile Workers, supra. Because of the equivalence, the Court felt constrained to follow that decision and determined that it had jurisdiction.

Counsel for the opposing parties in this action have cited only one case in which a court has concluded that it had jurisdiction to issue an injunction in a labor dispute when the contract contained no arbitration provision or its equivalent. The Fourth Circuit in Parks v. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, 4 Cir., 314 F.2d 886, cert. denied 372 U.S. 976, 83 S.Ct. 1111, 10 L.Ed.2d 142 (1963), reached this conclusion although it determined that the facts of the case did not warrant the issuance of an injunction. The Fourth Circuit recognized that the Supreme Court relied on the finding of a clear congressional policy favoring the enforcement of the type of contract involved in the Lincoln Mills case. The Fourth Circuit decided, however, even though a similar policy could not be found favoring federal court enforcement of the contract at issue, that since the matter in dispute was not part and parcel of the abuses against which the Norris-LaGuardia Act was directed, as indicated by the specific matters listed in § 4, the procedural requirements of the Act were not applicable. The present action is distinguishable from the Parks case in that the action which plaintiff is seeking to enjoin is specifically protected against injunction under § 4 of the Act. § 4 of the Norris-LaGuardia Act, 29 U.S.C. § 104, states in pertinent part:

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

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
345 F. Supp. 495, 80 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2871, 1972 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13134, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-brick-clay-workers-v-international-union-of-district-50-allied-moed-1972.