Vogt, Inc. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 695

74 N.W.2d 749, 270 Wis. 315, 1956 Wisc. LEXIS 454, 36 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2326
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 7, 1956
StatusPublished
Cited by50 cases

This text of 74 N.W.2d 749 (Vogt, Inc. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 695) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wisconsin Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Vogt, Inc. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 695, 74 N.W.2d 749, 270 Wis. 315, 1956 Wisc. LEXIS 454, 36 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2326 (Wis. 1956).

Opinions

Gehl, J.

In a memorandum opinion filed by the trial judge he stated his conclusion that the picketing had not been conducted for an unlawful purpose, but that it constituted a violation of sec. 103.535, Stats., which provides as follows:

“Unlawful conduct in labor controversies. It shall be unlawful for anyone to picket, or induce others to picket, the establishment, employees, supply or delivery vehicles, or customers of anyone engaged in business, or to interfere with his business, or interfere with any person or persons desiring to transact or transacting business with him, when no labor dispute, as defined in subsection (3) of section 103.62, exists between such employer and his employees or their representatives.”

Sec. 103.62 (3), Stats., provides:

“ (3 ) The term ‘labor dispute’ means any controversy between an employer and the majority of his employees in a collective-bargaining • unit concerning the right or process or details of collective bargaining or the designation of representatives. Any organization with which either the employer or such majority is affiliated may be considered a party to the [319]*319labor dispute. The provisions of this subsection shall supersede any provision of the statutes in conflict therewith.”

The question whether picketing as it is described in these statutes, but otherwise lawful, may be enjoined, has not been squarely presented to this court. Counsel for defendants contend that if sec. 103.535, Stats., is to be construed as authorizing such action it is invalid as depriving defendants of the right of free speech in violation of the federal and the state constitutions. We have held that if the picketing is conducted in violation of secs. 111.06 (2) (a) or 111.06 (2) (b), it is done for an unlawful purpose and may be enjoined. Retail Clerks’ Union v. Wisconsin E. R. Board, 242 Wis. 21, 6 N. W. (2d) 698; Christoffel v. Wisconsin E. R. Board, 243 Wis. 332, 10 N. W. (2d) 197; Wisconsin E. R. Board v. Retail Clerks Int. Union, 264 Wis. 189, 58 N. W. (2d) 655. The United States supreme court has also recognized that picketing, if conducted for an unlawful purpose, may be prohibited by state statute. Building Service Union v. Gazzam, 339 U. S. 532, 70 Sup. Ct. 784, 94 L. Ed. 1045.

Sec. 111.06 (2), Stats., provides that it shall be an unfair labor practice for an employee individually or in concert with others:

“(a) To coerce or intimidate an employee in the enjoyment of his legal rights, including those guaranteed in section 111.04, or to intimidate his family, picket his domicile, or injure the person or property of such employee or his family.
“(b) To coerce, intimidate, or induce any employer to interfere with any of his employees in the enjoyment of their legal rights, including those guaranteed in section 111.04, or to engage in any practice with regard to his employees which would constitute an unfair labor practice if undertaken by him on his own initiative.”

Counsel for. plaintiff contend that the picketing was conducted in violation of these provisions and therefore for an unlawful purpose. The trial judge did not find facts which [320]*320would have supported a conclusion that either subdivision had been violated; he went no further than to find “that the purpose of the picketing was to induce the plaintiff’s employees to organize and affiliate with defendant’s [sic]” and rejected a finding requested by the plaintiff as follows:

“4. That the picketing of plaintiff’s premises has been engaged in for the purpose of coercing, intimidating, and inducing the employer to force, compel, or induce its employees to become members of defendant labor organizations, and for the purpose of injuring the plaintiff in its business because of its refusal to in any way interfere with the rights of its employees to join or not to join a labor organization.”

The testimony would not have supported a finding of the facts constituting a violation of either of the subsections. No threats were made against the plaintiff; no demands were made upon it. It does not appear that any of the defendants’ representatives had even spoken to plaintiff’s officers about their desire to organize its employees. There was no violence, no force, and no threat of force, no disorder or physical obstruction to plaintiff’s property. There was no evidence that defendants’ representatives had coerced or intimidated any of plaintiff’s employees in their right to join or refuse to join either of defendant unions. There was only peaceful persuasion exercised by the carrying of a banner bearing a truthful legend.

Having concluded that the picketing was not conducted for an unlawful purpose we reach the question as it was stated in American Federation of Labor v. Swing, 312 U. S. 321, 323, 61 Sup. Ct. 568, 85 L. Ed. 855:

“. . . is the constitutional guaranty of freedom of discussion infringed by the common-law policy of a state forbidding resort to peaceful persuasion through picketing merely because there is no immediate employer-employee dispute?”

The question was answered by the court in the affirmative. In that case the union had unsuccessfully tried to unionize Swing’s beauty parlor. Picketing followed. Suit was brought [321]*321by Swing and his employees to enjoin the interference with the former’s business. The United States supreme court considered that a permanent injunction granted by the state court rested on the latter’s conclusion that there had been no more than “peaceful persuasion.” The court said (p. 325) :

“We are asked to sustain a decree which for purposes of this case asserts as the common law of a state that there can be no ‘peaceful picketing or peaceful persuasion’ in relation to any dispute between an employer and a trade union unless the employer’s own employees are in controversy with him.
“Such a ban of free communication is inconsistent with the guaranty of freedom of speech. That a state has ample power to regulate the local problems thrown up by modern industry and to preserve the peace is axiomatic. But not even these essential powers are unfettered by the requirements of the Bill of Rights. The scope of the Fourteenth amendment is not confined by the notion of a particular state regarding the wise limits of an injunction in an industrial dispute, whether those limits be defined by statute or by the judicial organ of the state. A state cannot exclude workingmen from peacefully exercising the right of free communication by drawing the circle of economic competition between em-plovers and workers so small as to contain only an employer and those directly employed by him. The interdependence of economic interest of all engaged in the same industry has become a commonplace. American Steel Foundries v. Tri-City Council, 257 U. S. 184, 209 [66 L. Ed. 189, 199, 42 Sup. Ct. 72, 27 A. L. R. 360]. The right of free communication cannot therefore be mutilated by denying it to workers, in a dispute with an employer, even though they are not in his employ.”

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

Related

State v. Navdeep S. Brar
2017 WI 73 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2017)
Phelps v. Physicians Insurance
2009 WI 74 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2009)
State v. Rivest
316 N.W.2d 395 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1982)
Compton v. Shopko Stores, Inc.
287 N.W.2d 720 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1980)
519 CORP. v. Department of Transportation
284 N.W.2d 643 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1979)
Mansfield v. Smith
277 N.W.2d 740 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1979)
Goebel v. National Exchangors, Inc.
277 N.W.2d 755 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1979)
Joint School District No. 1 v. Wisconsin Rapids Education Ass'n
234 N.W.2d 289 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1975)
Dietz Construction Co. v. Local 2351, Carpenters Union
168 N.W.2d 289 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1969)
District 2, Marine Engineers Beneficial Ass'n (AFL-CIO) v. New York Shipping Ass'n
29 A.D.2d 139 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1968)
H. & M. HEATING CO. v. Andrae
150 N.W.2d 379 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1967)
Boutelle v. Chrislaw
150 N.W.2d 486 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1967)
Pederson v. First National Bank of Superior
143 N.W.2d 425 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1966)
Hanna Mining Co. v. District 2, Marine Engineers Beneficial Ass'n
127 N.W.2d 393 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1964)
City Line Open Hearth, Inc. v. Hotel, Motel & Club Employees' Union
413 Pa. 420 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1964)
McCauley v. Tropic of Cancer
121 N.W.2d 545 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1963)
Upper Lakes Shipping, Ltd. v. Seafarers' International Union
18 Wis. 2d 646 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1963)
Interlake Steamship Co. v. Marine Engineers Beneficial Ass'n
108 N.W.2d 627 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 1961)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
74 N.W.2d 749, 270 Wis. 315, 1956 Wisc. LEXIS 454, 36 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2326, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vogt-inc-v-international-brotherhood-of-teamsters-local-695-wis-1956.