United States v. International Longshoremen's Ass'n

116 F. Supp. 262, 33 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2018, 1953 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2207
District Court, S.D. New York·Decided October 23, 1953·Published·Cited by 5 cases

Opinion

WEINFELD, District Judge.

This is a motion by the plaintiff United States of America to join as a party defendant the American Federation of Labor-International Longshoremen’s Association (hereinafter also referred to as the “New Union”), pursuant to Rule 21 of the Federál Rules of Civil Procedure, 28 U.S.C.A.1 The action was originally instituted against another union, the International Longshoremen’s Association (hereinafter also referred to as the “Old Union”) and seven employer groups under the National Emergencies provisions of the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947, the Taft-Hartley Act.2

On October 5, 1958, on the Government’s application, an ex parte temporary restraining order was signed enjoining the Old Union from engaging in or continuing a strike which had been in effect since October 1, 1953, following the expiration of collective bargaining agreements with the employer-defendants. The temporary order extended to and included the defendant-employer groups, and in substance enjoined both strikes [264] and lockouts in the Maritime Industry of the North and Central Eastern United States.

The strike during the five days of its continuance tied up the entire Maritime Industry along the North Atlantic seaboard from Hampton Roads, Virginia, to Portland, Maine.

On October 20, 1953, an injunction against strikes or lockouts was issued against the Old Union and the employer associations to remain effective until vacated following the so-called eighty day “cooling off” period in accordance with the Act.3 Familiarity is assumed with the Court’s Opinion, Findings of Fact, and Conclusions of Law upon which that injunction was based. 116 F.Supp. 255. It is sufficient to say for the purposes of the present motion that vital defense and security programs and the various foreign aid programs, all intended in the national interest, were profoundly affected by the strike even during its short duration and the strike’s continuance would have had disastrous effects on the nation’s security efforts and economy.

One of the central issues in the dispute leading to the strike was that of union representation of the men — an issue characterized by the President’s Board of Inquiry in its report to him on October 5, 1953, as both “major” and “most sensitive.” The Old Union had been expelled by its parent organization, the American Federation of Labor, on or about September 23, 1953, and a new union chartered, the one now sought to be brought in as a party defendant. The expulsion took place while the Old Union and the employer groups were engaged in negotiations for the renewal of the existing contracts. The New Union, even prior to October 1st, the expiration date of the existing contracts, to which it was not a party, served upon the employers notice of intention to file a representation petition with the National Labor Relations Board for the purpose of being designated as bargaining agent for certain of the employees in the industry. Thereafter, on or about October 9th, after the Old Union and the employers had been enjoined from continuing in a strike or lockout, the New Union filed a formal representation petition with the National Labor Relations Board for its certification as the exclusive bargaining agent for all employees engaged in longshore operations. The Government then filed an amended complaint, and in addition to incorporating the allegations of the original complaint with all attachments and exhibits, it alleged in substance that by the New Union’s claim and assertion of rights and standing as a bargaining agent for the employees involved in the strike the New Union becomes a necessary party defendant in these proceedings; that by the assertion of its claim that it represented a majority of the employees, the New Union has created and there now exists an unresolved labor dispute in which the parties are on one hand the employers and their associations, and on the other hand, the New and the Old Unions; that any proceeding or order which does not operate equally upon the contending associations which claim to represent the same employees is inadequate to implement the relief contemplated by the National Emergencies provisions of the Labor Management Relations Act.

Pending the hearing and determination of the Rule 21 motion, a temporary restraining order was granted against the New Union. The Government now seeks to continue the injunction against the New Union for the full period allowable under the National Emergencies provisions of the Taft-Hartley Act.

The New Union opposes its joinder as a party defendant. It contends that since the amended complaint alleges no activities on its part in support or furtherance of the strike, no cause of action has been asserted against it and it has no adjudicable interest in the subject matter of this cause. Its claim in [265] substance is that it neither called nor participated in the strike that led to the invoking of the procedures authorized by the Taft-Hartley Act and, therefore, it should not be enjoined. The question presented is not without difficulties. But I am persuaded that the Court’s jurisdiction under the National Emergencies provisions of the Act to grant injunctions against the interested parties to a dispute which gave rise to a strike, does not depend upon the existence of a justiciable controversy with respect to the parties sought to be enjoined. Rather, it is- the fact that a strike or lockout exists or is threatened which imperils the nation’s health and safety which empowers the Court to issue its decree to all involved in the dispute.

The broad objectives of the Act and its underlying policy is to provide a means for the protection of the national health and safety whenever it is imperiled by a strike or lockout in an entire industry or a substantial part thereof engaged in interstate or foreign commerce.5 To achieve that objective, Congress authorized the issuance of injunctions against such strikes or lockouts for a limited period, the eighty day “cooling off” period, when “the parties to the labor dispute giving rise to such order” 6 are placed under a duty to make every effort to adjust and settle their differences with the assistance of administrative governmental agencies.7

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United States v. International Longshoremen's Ass'n, 116 F. Supp. 262, 33 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2018, 1953 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2207 (S.D.N.Y. 1953).

116 F. Supp. 262 (United States v. International Longshoremen's Ass'n) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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