Walling v. Sternberg Dredging Co.

64 F. Supp. 758, 1946 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2832
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Missouri
DecidedFebruary 19, 1946
DocketNo. 3002
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 64 F. Supp. 758 (Walling v. Sternberg Dredging Co.) 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
Walling v. Sternberg Dredging Co., 64 F. Supp. 758, 1946 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2832 (E.D. Mo. 1946).

Opinion

DUNCAN, District Judge.

This matter coming on to be heard upon the complaint and answer herein, and after trial and argument of counsel and the court being fully advised in the premises, hereby makes its findings of fact, conclusions of law and judgment herein.

Findings of Fact

I. The court finds that the defendant corporation is and at all times hereinafter mentioned was, a corporation organized under and existing by virtue of the laws of the State of Delaware, having its principal office and place of business in the Arcade Building, in the City of St. Louis, State of Missouri, within the jurisdiction of this court and that the defendant employed and is employing a large number of employees in and about its place of business in St. Louis, Mo., and elsewhere, in the conduct of its business.

II. The parties hereto have heretofore entered into a stipulation covering the facts of this case and the) court finds that the facts of this case are in accordance with and as set out in said stipulation of facts and that this stipulation of facts shall be deemed to be a part of the findings of fact herein.

III. Among other things it is stipulated that the defendant has been engaged at various places in the United States and in foreign territories in the deepening, widening, improving and cleaning of navigable interstate waterways and other navigable waters and in the construction, repair, alteration and reconstruction of levees, dikes, canals, launching slips, naval air channels, and landing areas along said waterways and in the operation of a repair plant for the repair of its equipment at Morgan City, La. In its operations defendant owns and operates three hydraulic dredges, four clam shell dredges and various tugs, motor boats, launches, barges and machines and at least one of its dredges is self pro[760]*760pelled, so that it may proceed, under its own power from one job site to another job site. Its other dredges are not self propelled and are towed from place to place or from job to job. Defendant’s dredges carry extensive supplies pf machinery and parts, equipment and stores, and are used in digging material in the course of dredging operations on harbors, canals and waterways as above described. The self propelled dredge, in a dredging operation, functions substantially in the same manner as does defendant’s clam shells or hydraulic dredges which are not self propelled. The only difference between a self propelled and a non-self propelled dredge is that the self propelled dredge may proceed under its own power from the scene of one operation to the scene of another operation. These dredges are used for the purpose of digging dredged material in under water operations and depositing such dredged material on shore or in some other designated place. The material, thus dug, may be transported by means of a suction pump and pipeline in hydraulic dredge operations to designated places of deposit either on the water or ashore, or, in clam shell dredge operations, is deposited on barges and transported away or the full bucket swung away from the digging and then emptied.

IV. Defendant’s dredges are operated by a crew ordinarily consisting of a master or captain in charge of the dredge and of the dredging operations, and such foremen as may be necessary to assist the master of the dredge, an engineer and an assistant engineer, a lever man or operator who operates the dredging machinery by manual operations, oilers, welders, electricians, cooks, waiters and such other common laborers as the operations may require.

None of defendant’s dredging employees are required by defendant as a condition of employment to be certificated as seamen by the United States Government or have any United States Government license, or to sign seaman’s articles, or to be examined or required to pass any tests for their knowledge of the laws of navigation before hiring.

Each dredge has an auxiliary fleet of tug boats, motor boats, fuel barges, equipment barges, and other specialized type of barges, which fleet is used for transporting fuel, equipment, the officers and crew in various operations between the shore and the dredge, or in transporting the dredge* its officers, crew and equipment from one job site to another. These crew members, during the dredging operations, are engaged in performing various and sundry tasks connected with such dredging operations or, as in the case of cooks and waiters, in performing operations necessary for the crew of such dredges. The respectivq duties of each of these employees are set out in considerable detail in the stipulation of facts hereinabove referred to.

V. In hydraulic dredging operations none of defendant’s employees engaged in handling the shore pipeline are-considered by it to be seamen and defendant has paid such shore pipeline employees in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C.A. § 201 et seq., since the passage of said Act and are carried by defendant on separate payrolls, and all of defendant’s employees in its clam shell dredging operations who are employed on land have been paid in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act since the time of its passage, the same as defendant has paid its shore pipeline crew. None of the members of the dredging crews engaged in work aboard defendant’s dredges and the appurtenant craft, has been paid in accordance with the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act except for a period from about February 1, 1944, to about October 15, 1944, during which period one of defendant’s dredges was employed on a Government contract which provided for the payment of wages at the rate of one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for all hours in excess of 40 hours a week, which contract provisions defendant complied with.

In addition to its marine operations, defendant constructs and maintains levees and dikes. All of defendant’s employees who are employed on land in the construction of such levees and dikes have been paid in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act since the time of its passage, the same as defendant’s shore pipeline crew.

VI. The tug boat captains, tug boat mates and the personnel on defendant’s tug boats and motor boats when engaged exclusively in the workweek in navigating defendant’s tug boats and motor boats in transportation, are considered by plaintiff to be seamen.

VII. The parties have stipulated that for the purpose of this case the issue of whether defendant’s dredge employees engaged in the construction, deepening and widening of canals for certain oil coin-[761]*761panics in the marshes of Louisiana are engaged in commerce or the production of goods for commerce, is withdrawn by both parties without prejudice.

VIII. Defendant’s dredge crews, with the exception of the captain and chief engineer, are paid on an hourly rate basis at straight time rates per hour with no additional payment for any overtime after 40 hours in a week and the pay period is semimonthly with a deduction of $1 a day for each crew member for meals and most of said employees for the greater part of their workweeks, have worked longer than 40 hours in the workweek and have not been paid overtime in accordance with the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act for such hours of work in excess of 40 in the workweek.

IX.

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Bluebook (online)
64 F. Supp. 758, 1946 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2832, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/walling-v-sternberg-dredging-co-moed-1946.