Williams v. Owens-Illinois, Inc.

469 F. Supp. 70
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedMay 17, 1979
DocketC-75-1197 RHS
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 469 F. Supp. 70 (Williams v. Owens-Illinois, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Williams v. Owens-Illinois, Inc., 469 F. Supp. 70 (N.D. Cal. 1979).

Opinion

FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

SCHNACKE, District Judge.

The Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law herein are based upon the findings of the Court and, in those cases of unanimous agreement by the Jury, upon the Jury’s verdict. As to matters not unanimously agreed to by the Jury, the Court has found the facts to be in accordance with the view of a majority of the jurors.

On or before January 19,1979, the parties shall submit proposed forms of judgment, suggestions of the relief appropriate to the findings of fact relating to the class of female employees, memoranda relating to the back pay due plaintiff Alice Brice, and *72 any other matters properly to be brought to the attention of the Court. All of such matters will be heard at 9:30 a. m., on Friday, February 2, 1979.

THE CLASS OF BLACK EMPLOYEES

1. Defendant’s Oakland Plant is located in Oakland, California, on the border of Alameda, California. It is within commuting distance of the California cities of Oakland, Hayward, Alameda, San Leandro, Fremont, Richmond, San Lorenzo, Union City and Berkeley. During the period January, 1971 through July 31,1978 the following percentage of its employees were hired from those cities: Oakland — 46.1%; Hayward — 12.4%; Alameda — 9.7%; San Leandro — 8.6%; Fremont — 4.0%; Richmond— 3.13%; San Lorenzo — 3.1%; Union City— 2.4%; Berkeley — 1.8%; other cities — 8.6%.

2. Of the persons hired in the period from March 7, 1971, through July 31, 1978, and still employed on July 31, 1978, 35% were Black, 41% were White, and 23% were non-Black minority; information on the remaining 1% was not available.

3. The work force statistics by race of all employees at the Oakland Plant for the following years was as follows:

1971: Minority — 30.5%

Black — 14.8%

Caucasian — 69.5%

March 31,1973: Minority — 31%

Black — 20%

Caucasian — 69%

August 31,1974: Minority — 38.5%

Black — 19%

Caucasian — 61.5%

March 31,1975: Minority — 39%

Caucasian — 61%

March 31,1976: Minority — 40%

Caucasian — 60%

March 31,1978: Minority — 45%

Black — 23%

Caucasian — 55%

4. In the initial assignment of new hires, Owens-Illinois did not discriminate against Black employees. The evidence established that assignment of new employees was based upon job openings and qualifications of the employee without regard to the race of the employee.

5. With respect to all employees who were paid an hourly rate, which employees composed 90% of the work force of the Oakland plant, Black and non-Black employees were paid the amounts required to be paid to them pursuant to the collective bargaining agreements applicable to those jobs, and no Black employee was paid either less than the amount required to be paid pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement or less than a non-Black employee in a similar job.

6. With respect to salaried employees, Black employees were paid an amount equal to non-Black employees for similar work, and no Black employee was paid less than the amount established by a bona fide job evaluation system for the job performed.

7. The percentage of Black employees hired by the Oakland plant commencing March 7, 1971 when compared with the percentage of Black persons in the civilian work force for the cities from which it would be anticipated that employees for the Oakland plant would be hired, demonstrates that the Black percentage of persons hired was equal to or greater than the number of Black persons in the applicable civilian work force, so that no finding can be made that Owens-Illinois discriminated against Black persons in hiring from a comparison of the civilian work force statistics with the Oakland plant statistics.

8. Black employees were not placed in jobs within departments, or in special departments, because of their race. The placing of employees was based upon job vacancies in the departments and the qualifications of the employees seeking those vacancies, without regard to race.

9. When an employee was employed in a job covered by a collective bargaining *73 agreement, the promotion of that employee in hourly jobs was controlled by the system provided in the employee’s collective bargaining agreement, and Owens-Illinois followed the procedure for promotion established by the collective bargaining agreements.

10. Promotion of employees, from hourly jobs to salaried jobs, and promotion of employees in the salaried jobs, was not made with regard to the employee’s race, nor were Black employees as a class denied promotions because of their race.

11. The variance and regression analyses introduced into evidence by plaintiffs did not establish, or support a claim that Owens-Illinois discriminated against its employees in their pay on the basis of the race of the employee, or the sex of the employee.

12. Plaintiffs failed to prove that Owens-Illinois engaged in any policy, pattern, or practice of terminating Black employees because of their race.

13. Job vacancies in the hourly jobs at the Oakland plant have been filled without regard to the employee’s race. Where a job vacancy was a promotion pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement, the job was filled pursuant to the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, without regard to the race of the applicant. Where the job was not a promotion within a department, but was an entry into the department, it was filled without regard to the race of the applicant.

14. Vacancies in salaried jobs at the Oakland plant were filled without regard to the race of the applicant.

15. Job vacancies in the Teamster, Warehouse, Corrugated and Mold Repair departments required that the vacancies be filled through hiring halls pursuant to collective bargaining agreements between Owens-Illinois and the unions which represented the employees within the departments. Entry into the Maintenance, Central Mold Shop, Machine Repair and Forming departments were through apprenticeship programs administered by the union which represented the employees in the department and Owens-Illinois. The use of the union hiring halls and the use of the apprenticeship programs did not discriminate against any Black employees because of their race.

16. There is no evidence that Black employees as a class were denied jobs for which there were vacancies since March 7, 1971.

17. Since March 7, 1971, the procedure for promotion of hourly employees and the pay of those employees has been covered by collective bargaining agreements between Owens-Illinois and the union representing the employees of the department.

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469 F. Supp. 70, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/williams-v-owens-illinois-inc-cand-1979.