Petition for Writ of Certiorari — International Ass'n of Machinists v. Brady
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Fage
Appenpix A—Statutes Involved ................ la-5a
AppENpDIx B—Opinion of the United States Court
of Appeals for the Third Circuit,
August 13, 1968 .............000. 6a-39a
Appenpix C—Judgments of Court of Appeals,
BE Oe We vc eeeaeeeesokes 40a-42e
1. Judgment Case No. 16,266 ...... 40a
2. Judgment Case No. 16,267 ...... 4la
3. Judgment Case No. 16,268 ...... 42a
AppENpIx )—Opinions of United States District
Court for the District of Delaware.. 43a-115a
1. Opinion of October 5, 1957 (156 F.
WE SE etuiidvistacasier 43a-57a
2. Opinion of October 28, 1958 (167
Bs WH I bo ee dcee ve eiaees 57a-66a
3. Opinion of June 10, 1959 (174 F.
a ee ee ee 67a-80a
4. Opinion of July 11, 1961 (196 F.
WS WED x obdsciseesicvesencs 81a-86a
5. Opinion of May 3, 1962
(Unreported) ................. 87a
6. Opinion of November 4, 1963 (223
Ws WY WEE A kd écrecsueveass 88a-105a
7. Opinion of September 3, 1965 (244
F. WN ME evdvcveacnsbiness 106a-109a
8. Memorahdum Opinion of Septem-
ber 6, 1966 (Unreported) ...... 111a-113a
9. Order of September 6, 1966
(Unreported) .........scevcess 114a-11l5a
IN THE
Supreme Court of the Wuited States
Octoser TERM, 1968
No.
Tue INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF Macutnists, Petitioner,
v.
Vincent P. Brapy, Respondent.
No.
Trans Wort Arauinss, Inc., Petitioner,
V.
Vincent P. Brapy, Respondent.
On Petition For A Writ of Certiorari To The United States
Court Of Appeals For The Third Circuit
' APPENDICES TO PETITIONS
Statutory Provisions and Opinions of District Court
and Court of Appeals
reine tei
REIL I LEP ING SOLE SIRI ONT MS AO ETO LE EM AEST IN I CORI
ere ide ede
PALLY ETT ERO ED BN
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APPENDIX A
Statutes Involved
Sec. 2, First. [45 U.S.C.A., Section 152] It shall be the
duty of all carriers, their officers, agents, and employees to
exert every reasonable effort to make and maintain agree-
ments concerning rates of pay, rules, and working condi-
tions, and to settle all disputes, whether arising out of the
application of such agreements or otherwise, in order to
avoid any interruption to commerce or to the operation of
any carrier growing out of any dispute between the carrier
and the employees thereof.
Fourth. Employees shall have the right to organize
and bargain collectively through representatives of their
own choosing. The majority of any craft or class of em-
ployees shall have the right to determine who shall be the
representative of the craft or class for the purposes of this
Act. No carrier, its officers or agents, shall deny or in any
way question the right of its employees to join, organize, or
assist in organizing the labor organization of their choice,
and it shall be unlawful for any carrier to interfere in any
way with the organization of its employees, or to use the
funds of the carrier in maintaining or assisting or co.-
tributing to any labor organization, labor representative,
or other agency of collective bargaining, or in performing
any work therefor, or to influence or coerce employees in
an effort to induce them to join or remain or not to join or
remain members of any labor organization or to deduct
from the wages of employees any dues, fees, assessments,
or other contributions payable to labor organizations, or to
collect or to assist in the collection of any such dues, fees,
assessments, or other contributions: Provided, That nothing
in this Act shall be construed to prohibit a carrier from
permitting an employee, individually, or local representa-
tives of employees from conferring with management dur-
ing working hours without loss of time, or to prohibit a
Drea
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2a
carrier from furnishing free transportation to its employees
while engaged in the business of a labor organization.
Fifth. No carrier, its officers, or agents shall require
any person seeking employment to sign any contract or
agreement promising to join or not to join a labor organ-
ization; and ii any such contract has been enforced prior
to the effective date of this Act, then such carrier shall
notify the emple, ves by an appropriate order that such
contract has been discarded and is no longer binding on
them in any way.
Seventh. No carrier, its officers, or agents shall change
the rates of pay, rules, or working conditions of its em-
ployees, as a class as embodied in agreements except in the
manner prescribed in such agreements or in Section 6 of
the Act.
Eleventh. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this
Act, or of any other statute or law of the United States,
or Territory thereof, or of any State, any carrier or car-
riers as defined in this Act and a labor organization or labor
organizations duly designated and authorized to represent
employees in accordance with the requirements of this Act
shall be permitted—
(a) To make agreements, requiring, as a condition of
continued employment, that within sixty days following the
beginning of such employment, or the effective date of such
agreements, whichever is the later, all employees shall be-
come members of the labor organization representing their
craft or class: Provided, That no such agreement shall
require such condition of employment with respect to em-
ployees to whom membership is not available upon the same
terms and conditions as are generally applicable to any
other member or with respect to employees to whom mem-
bership was denied or terminated for any reason other than
the failure of the employee to tender the periodic dues, ini-
tiation fees, and assessments (not including fines and pen-
3a
alties) uniformly required as a condition of acquiring or
retaining membership.
(b) To make agreements providing for the deduction by
such carrier or carriers from the wages of its or their
employees in a craft or class and payment to the labor
organization representing the craft or class of such em-
ployees, of any periodic dues, initiation fees, and assess-
ments (not including fines and penalties) uniformly re-
quired as a condition of acquiring or retaining membership:
Provided, That no such agreement shall be effective with
respect to any individual employee until he shall have fur-
nished the employer with e written assignment to the labor
organization of such membership dues, initiation fees, and
assessments, which shall be revocable in writing after the
expiration of one year or upon the termination date of the
applicable co'lective agreement, whichever occurs sooner.
(c) The requirement of membership in a labor organ-
ization in an agreement made pursuant to subparagraph (a)
shall be satisfied, as to both a present or future employee
in engine, train, yard, or hostling service, that is, an em-
ployee engaged in any of the services or capacities covered
in Section 3, First (h) of this Act defining the jurisdictional
scope of the First Division of the National Railroad Adjust-
ment Board, if said employee shall hold or acquire member-
ship in any one of the labor organizations, national in scope,
organized in accordance with this Act and admitting to
membership employees of a craft or class in any of said
services ; and no agreement made pursuant to subparagraph
(b) shall provide for deduction from his wages for periodic
dues, initiation fees, or assessments payable to any labor
organization other than that in which he holds membership:
Provided, however, That as’to an employee in any of said
services on a particular carrier at the effective date of any
such agreement on a carrier who is not a member ot any
one of the labor organizations, national in scope, organized
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in accordance with this Act and admitting to membership
employees of a craft or class in any of said services such
employee, as a condition of continuing his employment, may
be required to become a member of the organization repre-
senting the craft in which he is employed on the effective
date of the first agreement applicable to him: Provided,
further, That nothing herein or in any such agreement or
agreements shall prevent an employee from changing meimn-
bership from one organization to another organization ad-
mitting to membership employees of a craft or class in any
of said services.
(d) Any provision in paragraphs Fourth and Fifth of
Section 2 of this Act in conflict herewith are to the extent
of such conflict amended.
Section 204. [45 U.S.C.A., Section 184] The disputes
between an employe or group of empioyees and a carrier
or carriers by air growing out of grievances, or out of the
interpretation or application of agreements concerning
rates of pay, rules, or working conditions, including cases
pending and unadjusted on the date of approval of this Act
before the National Labor Relations Board, shall be handled
in the usual manner up to and including the chief operating
officer of the carrier designated to handle such disputes;
but, failing to reach an adjustment in this manner, the dis-
putes may be referred by petition of the parties or by either
party to an appropriate adjustment board, as hereinafter
provided, with a full statement of the facts and supporting
data bearing up the disputes.
It shall be the duty of every carrier and of its em-
ployees, acting through their representatives, selected in
accordance with the provisions of this title, to establish a
board of adjustment of jurisdiction not exceeding the juris-
diction which may be lawfully exercised by system, group,
or regional boards of adjustment, under the authority of
Section 3, Title I, of this Act.
eth ein t's) Be
anit! ewan’ BME alll Woaretns a8d (ABs Sik ar ” pede dak DB
5a
Such boards of adjustment may be established by agree-
ment between employees and carriers either on any indi-
vidual carrier, or system, or group of carriers by air and
any class or classes of its or their employees; or pending
the establishment of a permanent National Board of Adjust-
ment as hereinafter provided. Nothing in this Act shall
prevent said carriers by air, or any class or classes of their
employees, both acting through their repzesentatives se-
lected in accordance with provisicns of this title, from mu-
tually agreeing to the establishment of a National Board of
Adjustment of temporary duration and of similarly lim-
ited jurisdiction.
6a
APPENDIX B
Opinion of the United States Court of Appeals for the
Third Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
Nos. 16266, 16267 and 16268
Vincent P. Brapy
Vv.
Trans Wortp Areuines, Inc., and THE INTERNATIONAL
AssociaTION OF MACHINISTS
Vincent P. Brapy, Appellant in No. 16266
Trans Wortp Arauings, Inc., Appellant in No. 16267
THe INTERNATICNAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS,
Appellant in No. 16268
AppEAL F'Rom THE Unitep States District Court For THE
District or DELAWARE
Argued September 26, 1967
Before McLaucuHuin, Hastm and Forman, Circuit Judges.
Opinion of the Court
(Filed August 13, 1968)
By Forman, Circuit Judge.
This litigation, protracted over more than eleven years,
| concerns the suit brought by Vincent P. Brady against his
) union, The International Association of Machinists (IAM),'
: 1 The present name of this organization is International Associa-
tion of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
7a
for breach vi its duty of fair representation, and his em-
ployer, Trans World Airlines, Inc. (TWA), for wrongful
discharge violative of the Railway Labor Act.? In an order
filed November 4, 1963, the United States District Court of
the District of Delaware found against TWA and IAM on
the issue of liability. By its order filed September 6, 1966,
Mr. Brady was awarded damages by way of back pay and
reinstatement in both his former employment and in his
union membership. From these and previous orders TWA*
and IAM” appealed. Mr. Brady has cross-appealed main-
taining that the District Court erred, among other things,
in so far as it limited the recoverable damages.”°
245 U.S.C. § 151 et seq.
2a TWA noticed its appeal from the ‘‘final judgment entered . ..
on September 6, 1966. . . except so much as provides ‘that plain-
tiff’s application to join as a party-plaintiff plaintiff’s wife be and
the same is denied’ and from each and every other order entered
herein which entered intc the making of said final judgment.”’
2> TAM noticed its appeal from the following:
‘©(1) The portion of the order of November 12, 16 59, deny-
ing defendants’ motions to dismiss the second amended com-
plaint and to strike certain portions thereof ;
‘“©(2) The portion of the order of Avgust 4, 1961, denying
defendants’ motions for summary judgment;
‘©(3) The order of November 4, 1963, holding defendants
to be liable to the plaintiff ;
‘¢(4) Paragraphs one through six of the order of September
6, 1966, awarding damages to the plaintiff.’’
2¢ In his notice of appeal, vs amended, Mr. Brady particularized
the denial by the District Court of
(1) His demand for a jury trial
(2) His applications for
(a) punitive damages
(b) attorneys’ fees and costs
(c) the value of free passes available to employees of
TWA and
(d) leave to join his wife as a party plaintiff.
4
8a
The complicated factual background of this case has
been amply set forth in the several opinions of the District
Court.? Therefore the particular facts will be adverted to
herein only as they are necessary for a general understand-
ing of the several issues raised in these appeals.
In 1951, Mr. Brady, who was previously employed by
TWA, was rehired as a line mechanic and worked at the
Philadelphia International Airport until May 15, 1956, the
date of the alleged wrongful discharge. During this period
he was a member of Local Lodge 1776 of IAM. In October
1955, a campaign was begun to raise the membership dues
of Local 1776. At the November 1955 meeting the lodge
members voted to raise the dues for persons in Mr. Brady’s
classification from $3.00 to $3.25 per month. Many members
of the lodge who like Mr. Brady, had not been present, com-
plained to him, as a shop steward, about the dues increase
because they had not received sufficient notice of the time
and place of the November meeting. At the December meet-
ing, the members adopted Mr. Brady’s motion that the prior
dues increase be rescinded; that the issue be brought before
the next general membership meeting after the posting of
due notices. Nevertheless, notices were not posted and the
general membership meeting was not held in January.* In
$156 F. Supp. 82 (D. Del. 1957) ; 167 F. Supp. 469 (1958) ; 174
F. Supp. 360 (1959) ; 196 F. Supp. 504 (1961) ; 223 F. Supp. 361
(1963) ; 244 F. Supp. 820 (1965); Civil No. 1884 (D. Del., filed
September 6, 1966). The first of these citations reports the opinion
of the late Chief Judge Paul Leahy who retired after its filing. The
other citations refer to opinions by Chief Judge Caleb M. Wright.
* A special meeting was held in January 1956, but no mention
was made of the dues question. When the dues matter was again
handled at the February meeting in a manner unsatisfactory to
him, Mr. Brady wrote a letter to A. J. Hayes, International Presi-
dent of the IAM, and Eric Peterson, Financial Secretary of the
Grand Lodge, describing and protesting as illegal the manner in
which the dues for Local Lodge 1776 had been increased. In his
letter Mr. Brady enclosed his dues book and a check for three
a ktainadea tem Alor 5 saphena a Senate S Hail acess
9a
protest to what he considered to be an illegal dues increase,
Mr. Brady refused to pay his monthly dues at the new rate.
Frequently thereafter he tendered his dues at the old rate
and since these tenders were always rejected the record
sndicates that his last dues payment was for November 1955.
In January 1956, Gerald C. Coleman became the finan-
cial secretary of Local Lodge 1776. Shortly after assuming
his office, Mr. Coleman began a program to collect all back
dues from members of the lodge. On February 15, 1956, he
posted a list of the nine members who on that date still
owed dues for two or more months. Mr. Brady was then
listed as owing dues for December and January. This
posted notice threatened the nine members with action from
the district office unless the dues were paid withn ten days.
At the end of this ten day period, of those listed, only Mr.
Brady, who continued to tender dues at the $3.00 rate, re-
mained delinquent.
On March 3, 1956, Mr. Coleman cited Mr. Brady to
Clifford Miller, General Chairman of District 142, which
had jurisdiction over Local Lodge 1776, for his dues delin-
quency and sought discharge action. Mr. Brady received a
letter dated March 13, 1956, from Mr. Miller advising him
that he had not complied with the union security provisions
of the TWA-IAM collective bargaining agreement and that
unless he paid outstanding dues for four months including
those of March, by March 28, he would be discharged from
his employment by TWA. In response to this letter, on
March 27, 1956, Mr. Brady tendered his dues book and a
check for $10.50 to Mr. Coleman® On instructions from
months dues at the old rate and stated that he would reimburse
the lodge if future actions showed that his tender was insufficient.
On February 17, 1956, Mr. Brady received a letter from Mr. Hayes
which stated that the dues increase ‘‘was handled properly.”’
5 Mr. Brady believed the dues increase for persons of his classi-
fication was fifty cents rather than twenty-five cents, so his check
was intended to cover three months dues at the increased rate.
\eliphhibes DRIES Ne SI AOS MRE, 1
10a
Mr. Miller, Mr. Coleman wrote Mr. Brady on March 28 re-
jecting his tender as insufficient. For the first time, he
demanded payment by April 4 of a $25.00 reinstatement fee,
allegediy due pursuant to the IAM Constitution, and $9.75
for three months dues.
Mr. Brady feared that if he paid a reinstatement fee he
would lose the five years seniority that he had accumulated
with TWA. On April 3, 1956, Mr. Brady filed his first
appeal with the TWA-IAM System Board of Adjustment
(Board). On April 7, 1956, Mr. Coleman wrote to Mr.
Miller advising him of Mr. Brady’s failure to make pay-
ment as demanded. Mr. Miller, on April 9, 1956 certified
to TWA that Mr. Brady should be discharged for violating
the union security provision of the collective bargaining
agreement. On April 10, TWA notified Mr. Brady of this
certification.
At this point, Mr. Miller realized that Mr. Coleman had
misunderstood the instruction given him and had mis-
takeniy demanded in the letter of March 28, 1956, both a
reinstatement fee and outstanding dues. Mr. Miller imme-
diately cancelled Mr. Brady’s discharge certification and
on April 11, wrote to Mr. Brady expiaining Mr. Coleman’s
error and demanding only payment of the $25.00 reinstate-
ment fee by April 26. Mr. Brady answered Mr. Miller’s
letter by offering to pay all dues outstanding but requesting
that he should be permitted to forego the reinstatement
fee. Mr. Miller rejected this offer and again demanded the
reinstatement fee. On April 24, Mr. Brady filed his second
appeal to the Board arguing that he had not violated the
union security provisions of the collective bargaining agree-
ment. This appeal was dismissed at a hearing on May 4 as
premature since it had been filed prior to May 1, 1956, the
date of a second certification for discharge which Mr. Miller
had sent to TWA. On May 5, 1956, Mr. Brady made a thi’ 4
appeal to the Board protesting the May 1 certification. A
Bh ccscaresnniieriorsiocs 15 ha ee AD a eR AIL tt SE ATi NA i AP ae
lla
hearing was held on May 14,° and the Board ruled that the
discharge was proper under the union security provisions
of the collective bargaining agreement. Accordingly, Mr.
Brady was discharged from his employment by TWA effec-
tive May 15, 1956.
After unsuccessfully seeking a rehearing by the Board,
on the charge that Mr. Miller had misrepresented facts at
the hearings of May 4 and May 14, Mr. Brady, on April 22,
1957, filed a complaint in the District Court charging [AM
with hostile discrimination in breach of its duty of fair
representation and TWA with wrongful discharge in vio-
lation of the Railway Labor Act. Mr. Brady sought relief
against IAM and TWA by way of reinstatement in the
union and in his employment together with compensatory
and punitive damages.
—_ sn
At the outset, both IAM and TWA challenge the sub-
ject matter jurisdiction of the District Court. They submit
that pursuant to section 204 of the Railway Labor Act,’
Article XII of the TWA-IAM collective bargaining agree-
ment established a System Board of Adjustment to adjust
and decide disputes or grievances arising out of the inter-
pretation and application of the agreement. Paragraph (k)
of Article XII provides that decisions of the Board in cases
properly before it shall be final and binding on the parties.
Article XXVI(f), one of the union security provisions, gives
an employee the right to appeal his discharge to the Board.
Several cases are cited which uphold the finality of adjust-
6 Mr. Brady did not attend the hearings of May 4 and May 14,
held in Kansas City, Missouri, because, as he said in his letter
to the Board, he believed the Board had before it all the necessary
factual documents to substantiate his position.
745 U.S.C. § 184. The Railway Labor Act was made applicable
to ‘‘earriers by air’’ in 1936. 45 U.S.C. § 181 et seq.
5 Bess ll file BES LOL NDE ALITA SE ial GALILEO SE AAA RTT
on Ras SRT an eae |
3 BReEe. ap SON ere we Seas
12a
ment board decisions and circumscribe their reviewability
by the courts.’
Focusing on these contractual provisions, it is argued
that Mr. Brady elected to appeal to the Board, that hearings
were held by that body on May 4 and May 14, 1956, and
that Mr. Brady’s discharge was determined to be proper
under the collective bargaining agreement. Having elected
to take this appeal to the Board, the assertion is made that
its adverse decision is final and binding on Mr. Brady and
that the courts may not review the merits of that decision.
This argument, wh’ h seeks to sustain the Board’s ruling,
and to foreclose judicial review of the dispute, was properly
rejected by the District Court.
The complaint in this case, as amended, charges IAM,
which throughout the period in question was the plaintiff’s
exclusive bargaining agent, with hostile discrimination in
refusing to accept tender of Mr. Brady’s dues because of
claimed delinquency, terminating his union membership and
wrongfully citing him for discharge from his employment
with TWA, actions which, it is alleged, IAM did not take
against other members of Local Lodge 1776 who were said
to be delinquent in the payment of their dues. Furthermore,
IAM is charged with hostile discrimination in misrepresent-
ing the facts pertaining to Mr. Brady’s alleged dues delin-
quency at the hearings before the Board. These allegations
make it clear, as the District Court noted, that plaintiff’s
controversy is primarily with his bargaining agent rather
than his employer.
The propriety of disregarding the ruling of the Board
is justified by an examination of the Board’s statutory jur-
8 See, e.g., Gunther v. San Diego A.E. Ry., 382 U.S. 257 (1965) ;
International Ass’n of Machinists v. Central Airlines, 372 U.S.
682 (1963); Bower v. Eastern Airlines, 214 F. 2d 623 (3 Cir.),
cert, denied, 348 U.S. 871 (1954).
13a
isdiction. Section 204 of the Railway Labor Act ° authorizes
the establishment of air carrier adjustment boards and sets
forth their jurisdiction as follows:
‘‘The disputes between an employee or group of
employees and a carrier or carriers by air growing out
of grievances, or out of the interpretation or applica-
tion of agreements concerning rates of pay, rules, or
working conditions, . . . may be referred by petition
of the parties or by either party to an appropriate ad- -
justment board, .. .”’
Subsequent language of this section limits the jurisdiction
of air carrier adjustment boards to that granted to railway
carrier adjustment boards as provided in section 3 of the
Railway Labor Act.’° The jurisdiction of railway carrier
adjustment boards has been consirued as encompassing dis-
putes between employees and their employers, but not dis-
putes between employees and their bargaining representa-
tives. In Conley v. Gibson,“ union members brought a suit
against their bargaining agent for breach of its duty of fair
representation. Their complaint was dismissed on the
ground that the adjustment board had exclusive jurisdic-
tion over the controversy. The Supreme Court, reversed,
stating:
‘‘But § 3 First (i) by its own terms applies only to ‘dis-
putes between an employee or group of employees and
a carrier or carriers.’ This case involves no dispute
between employee and employer but to the contrary is a
suit by employees against the bargaining agent to en-
force their statutory right not to be unfairly discrim-
inated against by it in’ bargaining. The Adjustment
945 U.S.C. § 184.
10 45 U.S.C. § 153.
11 355 U.S. 41 (1957).
A LEONARD AALS BE tat ae oe wh tetra Rt ee _
iin ORE Bate
pias Aosta las PRN:
l4a
Board has no power under §3 First (i) or any other
provision of the Act to protect them from such dis-
crimination.’ *
The District Court, relying on Conley, correctly ruled
that since the Board was without jurisdiction to hear Mr.
Brady’s claim, which essentially charges IAM with hostile
discrimination, the Board’s decision could not bar judicial
review of the merits of that controversy. That the em-
ployer was joined to afford complete relief and that the dis-
pute may incidentally involve construction or interpreta-
tion of the collective bargaining agreement does not change
the basic fact that the Railway Labor Act does not author-
ize adjustment boards to hear an employee’s dispute against
his union.
There is good reason for denying the jurisdictional
authority of adjustment boards in so far as controversies
between employees and their bargainivg representatives
are concerned. Tie membership of such boards is designed
ot give representation to management and to the union.”
Normally the board’s composition would present no prob-
lem since its express statutory authority is to hear griev-
ances between employees and their employers arising out of
the collective bargaining agreement. In such a dispute
the employee would expect his union, acting under its duty
to prosecute fairly the grievances of its members, to repre-
12 Td. at; 44-45. See Rumbaugh v. Winifrede R.R., 331 F. 2d 530
(4 Cir.), cert. denied, 379 U.S. 929 (1964) ; Cunningham v. Erie
R.R., 266 F. 2d 411 (2 Cir. 1959) ; Wade v. Southern Pacific Co.,
243 F. Supp. 307 (S.D. Texas 1965) ; Nobile v. Woodward, 200 F.
Supp. 785 (E.D. Pa. 1962).
18 Article XII(b) of the TWA-IAM collective bargaining agree-
ment provides:
‘‘The System Board of Adjustment shall consist of four (4)
members, two (2) selected by the Company and two (2)
selected by the Union.”’
15a
sent him before the board. This scheme, however, over-
looks the possibility that the union’s interest might con-
flict with the employee’s and this is especially so in cases
where the employee is charging the union with hostile
discrimination. In such circumstances, the union can hardly
be expected to press the employee’s claim vigorously and
forthrightly. The District Court’s statement on this point
bears reiteration:
‘‘Tt is simply repugnant to our standards of funda-
mental fairness and totally unrealistic to require an
employee to submit a dispute he has with his bargaining
agent for final determination to persons selected by and
representing the bargaining representative.’’ **
The decision of this court in Bower v. Eastern Air-
lines™® is relied on by IAM and TWA as requiring a recog-
nition of the Board’s ruling as final and binding upon the
parties. In that case, Bower, having been discharged from
his employment, appealed to the board charging his em-
ployer with wrongful discharge. The board sustained the
discharge and Bower then reasserted the same claim in the
District Court. This court held that the employee, having
elected the administrative remedy in seeking settlement of
a dispute concerning his employment could not obtain a
judicial reexamination of the merits of the dispute. But
the court went on to say: ‘‘This does not foreclose the con-
sideration of questions of jurisdiction or of the essential
fairness of the administrative proceedings, even when these
issues are raised collaterally.’’’* The situation presented
by the present case seems to come squarely within the
caveat of Bower. Moreover, it is significant that in Bower,
14 167 F. Supp. at 472.
15 214 F, 2d 623 (3 Cir.), cert. denied, 348 U.S. 871 (1954).
16 Td. at 626.
te ultdidh op Deg Pe A aA Col a ed
| > ates
and like cases advanced with it, employees sought relief
against their employers and not their unions.”
The conclusion that because the Board lacked jurisdic-
tion to hear the dispute its decision does not preclude an
independent judicial review of the controversy, of course,
does not itself establish the District Court’s jurisdiction.
Here, the District Court, however, properly found that Mr.
Brady had pleaded causes of action invoking federal juris-
diction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1337.
It is now well established that an exclusive bargaining
agent has a fiduciary obligation imposed by federal law to
fairly represent all those employees in the bargaining unit
in the negotiation, administration, and enforcement of col-
lective bargaining agreements.’* The federal courts have
subject matter jurisdiction to enforce this statutory duty of
fair representation which imposes on the union an obliga-
tion to serve the interests of all members without hostility
or discrimination toward any, to exercise its discretion with
complete good faith and hgnesty, and to evoid arbitrary
conduct.” Although this duty imposed ou the bargaining
agent was originally restricted to the prevention of hostile
17 Gunther v. San Diego & A.E. Ry., 382 U.S. 257 (1965) ; Inter-
nationul Association of Machinists v. Central Airlines, Inc., 372
U.S. 682 (1963) ; Elgin J.&E. Ry. v. Burley, 325 U.S. 711 (1945)
{involved authority of union to exclusively represent employees
before the National Railroad Adjustment Board and to settle their
contract claims against employer); Finlin v. Pennsylvania R.R.,
288 F. 2d 826 (3 Cir. 1961) ; Woolley v. Eastern Air Lines, 250 F.
2d 86 (5 Cir. 1957), cert. denied, 356 U.S. 931 (1958) ; Sigfred v.
Pan American World Airways, 230 F. 2d 13 (5 Cir.), cert. denied,
351 U.S. 925 (1956).
18 Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41 (1957) ; Ford Motor Co. v. Huff-
man, 345 US. 330 (1953); Elgin, J.ZGE. Ry. v. Burley, 325 U.S.
711 (1945); Tunstall v. Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen, 323
U.S. 210 (1944); Steele v. Louisville & Nashville R.R., 323 U.S.
192 (1944).
19 Vaca v. Sipes, 386 U.S. 171 (1967) ; Humphrey v. Moore, 375
U.S. 335 (1964) : Ford Motor Co. v. Huffman, 345 U.S. 330 (1953).
enteeiwisituitee act pie eto. (teste Sites hl i 2 clit - -
17a
discrimination based on racial prejudice,™ it is now recog-
nized that the statuiory power conferred on unions imposes
on them a corresponding duty which encompasses the pro-
hibition of all forms of hostile discrimination.”
Mr. Brady sets forth in his complaint, as amended,
allegations of ‘‘wilfull and deliberate”’ discrimination by
the IAM, such as the arbitrary invocation of union security
provisions which caused him to be discharged from his em-
ployment by TWA. These allegations clearly constituted a
claim against IAM cognizable in the District Court. The
assertion of TWA that the court lacks jurisdiction over the
employer in such a suit has been clearly answered by the
Court of Appeals for the Second Cireuit in Cunningham v.
Erie R.R.* In that case, which is strikingly similar to the
instant case, the court stated:
“If the District Court has jurisdiction to proceed
against the union it is clear, we think, that it has also
power to adjudicate the claim against the railroad. It
would be absurd to require this closely integrated dis-
pute to be cut up into segments.’ *
20 Steele v. Louisville & Nashville R.R., 323 U.S. 192 (1944) ;
Tunstall v. Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen, 323 U.S. 210
(1944) ; Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen v. Howard, 343 U.S.
768 (1952).
21 Vaca v. Sipes, 386 U.S. 171 (1967) ; Humphrey v. Moore, 375
U.S. 335 (1964) ; Ford Motor Co. v. Huffman, 345 U.S. 380 (1953) ;
Rumbaugh v. Winifrede R.R., 331 F. 2d 530 (4 Cir.), cert. demed,
379 U.S. 929 (1964); Thompson v. Brotherhood of Sleeping Car
Porters, 316 F. 2d 191 (4 Cir. 1963) ; Cunningham v. Erie B.R.,
266 F. 2d 411 (2 Cir. 1959); Nobile v. Woodward, 200 F. Supp.
785 (E.D. Pa. 1962).
22 266 F’. 2d 411 (2 Cir. 1959).
23 Td. at 416. The policy of preventing the fragmentation of the
controversy and adjudicating the entire matter in a single forum
to assure complete relief was followed in Rumbaugh v. Winifrede
R.R., 331 F. 2d 530 (4 Cir. 1964) ; Wade v. Southern Pacific Co.,
243 F. Supp. 307 (S.D. Texas 1965) ; Nobile v. Woodward, 200 F.
S-np. 785 (E.D. Pa. 1962).
ee ee ww, 25 Pe - ‘ PORES Ee awe Ot eer ey er ee TT ae ee -’ * whee Se ides Seaelie tye 6 ee Mah
18a
Apart from the foregoing, Mr. Brady has stated other
grounds which validly invoke the jurisdiction of the District
Court against both IAM and TWA. He charges both de-
fendants with causing his discharge in violation of section
_ 2 (Eleventh) of the Railway Labor Act * which, in part,
provides:
‘*Hleventh. Notwithstanding any other provisions
of chis chapter, ... any carrier or carriers... anda
labor organization or labor organizations duly desig-
nated and authorized to represent employees in accord-
ance with the requirements of this chapter shall be
permitted—
‘*(a) to make agreements, requiring, as a condition
of continued employment, that within sixty days follow-
ing the beginning of such employment, or the effective
date of such agreements, whichever is the later, all
employees shall become members of the labor organiza-
tion representing their craft or class: Provided, That
no such agreement shall require such condition of em-
ployment with respect to employees to whom member-
ship is not available upon the same terms and conditions
as are generally applicable to any other member or with
respect to employees to whom membership was denied
or terminated for any reason other than the failure of
the employee to tender the periodic dues, initiation fees,
and assessments (not including fines and penalties) nni-
formly required as a condition of acquiring or retaining
membership. ’’
There is no need to repeat the District Court’s lengthy and
careful analysis of this provision, its intended purposes and
its effect on the court’s jurisdiction of the present case. In
% 45 U.S.C. §152 (Eleventh). Hereafter paragraphs of 45
U.S.C. § 152 will be designated simply by their place in section 2
of the Railway Labor Act.
wean rte
Por snr vrei e TCs 0 cl eal teen a ametentatal
19a
sum, the District Court reasoned that section 2 (Eleventh),
which permits union shop agreements within prescribed
limits, was intended as a proviso to section 2 (Fourth)
(Fifth), which prohibited all employer conduct designed to
influence or coerce employees to join or maintain member-
ship in a labor organization.” In so analyzing the Railway
Labor Act the District Court considered Mr. Brady’s com-
plaint as alleging that his discharge was not protected by
the exception to prohibited employer conduct (section 2
(Eleventh)) and because his discharge was designed ‘‘to
influence or coerce employees in an effort to induce them to
join or remain . . . members of [a] labor organization’’,”®
it violated the anti-discrimination provisions of section 2
(Fourth). The District Court further reasoned that since
the court’s jurisdiction over complaints alleging violations
of section 2 (Fourth) was clearly established, that jurisdic-
tion should encompass suits involving section 2 (Eleventh),
the proviso to section 2 (Fourth).”
It is the contention of TWA and IAM that this case
involves the interpretation and application of the union
security provisions of the collective bargaining agreement
and, therefore, the adjustment board has exclusive juris-
diction. This argument, which assumes that public statu-
tory rights, when incorporated in a collective bargaining
agreement, becomes exclusively private contract rights, is a
reiteration of the same argument that was rejected by the
District Court. Under the view expressed by TWA and
IAM, an employee who seeks to regain his job after being
25 223 F. Supp. at 364-365.
26 45 U.S.C. § 152 (Fourth).
27 993 F. Supp. at 365. The District Court recognized an excep-
tion to this rule (196 F. Supp. at 507 n. 11). Suits involving sec-
tion 2 (Eleventh) (c) were specifically left o a special board rather
than the courts. See 45 U.S.C. §153(f); Pennsylvania R.R. v.
Rychlik, 352 U.S. 480 (1957).
Pe eee re ye
MOP Pains! MIB 82 we ON ete MET Be
discharged for alleged nonpayment of dues is required to
appeal to the adjustment board, which consists of an equal
number of representatives of the employer and the union.”
By permitting a limited form of union shop in section 2
(Eleventh), Congress intended to relax the anti-discrimina-
tion provisions of section 2 (Fourth) (Fifth).” In so re-
laxing them, it did not intend an appeal to the adjustment
board as the sole recourse for an employee seeking rein-
statement in his employment after being discharged for
alleged nonpayment of his union dues. Otherwise, in such
a dispute, which pits an employee against his union and his
employer, the very parties whose power he challenged,
would have the additional power of deciding whether they
had exercised it in a proper manner. The District Court
properly concluded that ‘‘if application and interpretation
of 2 (Eleventh) is the sole province of Adjustment Boards,
then Congress did not ‘relax’ the prohibitions of 2 (Fourth)
(Fifth) by enacting 2 (Eleventh) ; it repealed them.’’
The jurisdiction of the District Court over the subject
matter of this suit was well founded in view of the allega-
tions in the complaint as amended of hostile discrimination
and of violations of Mr. Brady’s rights under section 2
(Fourth) (Eleventh) of the Railway Labor Act.**
28 See note 13, supra.
29S. Rep. No. 2262, 81st Cong. 2d Sess. 1950; U.S. Code Con-
gressional & Administrative News, Vol. II, p. 4320.
80 223 F. Supp. at 366.
81 Tn the opinion reported at 174 F. Supp. 360, 365, the District
Court raises sua sponte a third source of federal court jurisdiction,
namely, the validity of the union security provisions of the col-
lective bargaining agreement in light of 45 U.S.C. §152
(Eleventh) (a). In view of the disposition of this case, it is
not necessary to consider this further jurisdictional basis.
se Sonic loan he
21a
a, nee
The suit was heard by the District Judge without a
jury * first on the issue of liability ** and later on the ques-
tion of damages.** He construed the complaint as raising
alternative grounds for relief—a claim for hostile discrim-
ination in breach of the bargaining agent’s duty of air rep-
resentation, and a claim for wrongful discharge in violation
of section 2 (Fourth) (Eleventh) of the Railway Labor Act.
After the hearing on liability, the District Court ruled that
because Mr. Brady had proven facts sufficient to support
recovery on the second claim, it would not make findings on
the hostile discrimination claim.
The District Court found that under the union security
provisions of the TWA-IAM collective bargaining agree-
ment, an employee, in order to continue his employment,
was required to maintain membership in good standing in
the union by paying his monthly dues not later than the last
day of the following calendar month.® Under this stand-
82 In an earlier opinion, reported at 196 F. Supp. 504, the District
Court ruled that Mr. Brady was not entitled to have the action
tried by a jury because the main relief he sought, reinstatement,
was equitable, the other requests for monetary compensation such
as back pay being accidental. Secondarily, it was held that the
statutes relied upon do not embrace actions at common law and
are thus outside the scope of the Seventh Amendment.
383 993 F. Supp. 361.
84944 F. Supp. 820.
85 Article XXVI of the TWA-IAM collective bargaining agree-
ment provides in pertinent part:
‘‘(a) Each employee now or hereafter employed in any
work covered by this Agreement shall, as a condition of con-
tinued employment in such work, within sixty (60) days
following the beginning of such employment or the effective
date of this Article, whichever is later, become a member of,
and thereafter maintain membership in good standing (as
herein defined), in the Union, except as provided otherwise
Ape Rbk geSind e RE, BOLO 9
22a
ard, the December dues were payable by the end of Janu-
ary, those for January by the end of February and those
for February by March 31. The District Court ruled that
IAM’s March 13 demand for fou: months dues by March 28
was clearly excessive since Mr. Brady was then only in
arrears for two months, or $6.50. Thus, when Mr. Brady
responded to the letter of March 13 by sending his dues book
herein. Such condition shall not apply . . . with respect to
any employee to whom membership is denied or terminated
for any reason other than the failure of the employee to tender
the dues uniformly required of other members of his classifica-
tion (and at his point on the Company’s system) as a condi-
tion of acquiring or retaining membership.
‘For the purpose of this Article, ‘membership in good
standing in the Union’ shall consist of the payment by the
employee of dues for each calendar month, not later than the
last day of the following calendar month, which are uniformly
required of members of his classification (and at his point on
the Company’s system) as a condition of acquiring or retain-
ing membership. ’’
* * cf
**(e) When an employee becomes delinquent by not meeting
the requirements of (a) above for ‘membership in good stand-
ing in the Union’, the following procedure shall be observed:
‘*(1) The General Chairman of the Union shaii notify the
employee by registered letter, return receipt requested, copy
to the Company’s Vice President of Industrial Relations,
that the employee is delinquent in the payment of dues as
specified herein and accordingly is subject to discharge as
an employee of the Company. Such letter shall also notify
the employee that he must make the required payment to
the Financial Secretary of the Union’s local lodge with
jurisdiction at the location where he works within fifteen
(15) calendar days of the date of mailing of the notice or
be subject to discharge under the terms of the Agreement.’’
# @ *
‘*(n) Whenever the term dues is referred to in this Article,
such use of the word ‘dues’ shall include initiation or rein-
statement fees, periodic dues, and assessments (not including
fines and penalties),....’’
23a
with $10.50 to the financial secretary of the local lodge, his
tender was more than sufficient to pay his two months’
arrearage,** and being valid, it precluded his discharge.
Nor was any change wrought in the situation when LAM, by
‘ts letter of March 28 to Mr. Brady, rejected his tender as
insufficient to cover three months dues of $9.75 and a rein-
statement fee of $25 for which payment was not required by
April 4. The rejection on the ground that the tender did
not include the reinstatement fee was gratuitous for no such
demand was made in the letter of March 13.
Under the IAM constitution a three months dues de-
linquency results in the automatic cancellation of member-
ship *? and to regain union membership a reinstatement fee
must be paid. Although the collective bargaining agree-
ment mentions reinstatement fees in its definition of dues,
it does not specify when they are to be imposed. The Dis-
trict Court assumed that the [AM constitutional provision
for a reinstatement fee was validly incorporated into the
collective bargaining agreement by the ‘‘oblique reference’’
to such fees, and reasoned that this constitutional provision
must be read in conjunction with the collective bargaining
agreement which is the governing document under section 2
(Eleventh). On this approach the District Court found
36 Mr. Brady’s tender of $10.50 was intended to cover three
months dues, as explained in footnote 5, supra.
87 Article E of the IAM constitution reads in pertinent part:
‘‘See, 14. Delinquency for 3 months in the payment of dues
or assessments shall automatically cancel membership and all
rights, privileges and benefits incident thereto. The period
of good standing membership of members whose membership
has been cancelled for delinquency, or other cause shall date
from their last reinstatement, as shown by the G.L. records,
and their rights, privileges and benefits under the provisions
of this Constitution shall attach and date their last reinstate-
ment, as though they had never before held membership in
the 1.4.M.”’
24a
that the collective agreement postpones a delinquency until
the end of the following calendar month. It therefore con-
cluded that the three months delinquency did not occur until
after March 31 and IAM could not properly impose a rein-
statement fee, as it did, in its letter of March 28.
The basis for the District Court’s reconciliation of the
two documents was its view that the policy underlying sec-
tion 2 (Eleventh), which validates a union security pro-
vision when incorporated into an ‘‘agreement’’, is to insure
that employees will have adequate notice of their union
security obligations and may rely on the provisions of the
agreement rather than resort to ad hoc correspondence
from union officials to determine their rights and duties.
In this regard the District Court commented:
‘*In the present case, however, the LAM’s defense has
been based almost exclusively upon letters sent to
Brady which neither complied with the agreement nor
were consistent with each other. There is no reason
whatsoever why TWA and the [AM cannot incorporate
clear union security provisions into their agreement
which give adequate notice to the affected employees of
the obligations imposed. Nor is there any reason why,
having written such provisions into the agreements,
they cannot apply them uniformly and comply with the
requirements themselves. There is every reason why,
however, they should not be allowed to discharge em-
ployees when they have failed to do these things. In
the present case, the agreement is relatively clear, but
IAM’s rejection of Brady’s March 27th tender did not
comply with it and was utterly inconsistent with any
obligations of which Brady had pro;:2r notice.’’ 8
Having concluded that Mr. Brady’s tender of $10.50 on
March 27 was ‘‘sufficient to cover ‘the periodic dues * * *
88 223 F. Supp. at 369.
“ibe ac RAR SINE A rman sos ai i SIE AN AI
25a
uniformly required * * *,’ ’? and that no reinstatement fee
could then have been imposed, the District Court held
that the ‘‘discharge is not protected by 2 (Eleventh). It
is, therefore, violative of 2 (Fourth).’’*® Liability was
found to run against both IAM and TWA.
The foregoing views of the District Court are chal-
lenged by IAM and TWA principally on the ground that
IAM’s standard for ‘‘deliquency’’ was confused with the
collective agreement’s definition of ‘‘membership in good
standing.’’ Delinquency, they say, occurs when a member
has not paid his dues for a calendar month by the last
day of the following calendar month. Applying these
standards to the present case, they conclude that because
Mr. Brady had not paid his December, January and Feb-
ruary dues he was delinquent for those three months on
March 1. Accordingly his union membership, under the
IAM constitution, was automatically cancelled. To regain
his union membership he was required to pay a reinstate-
ment fee. Failing to do so he was subject to discharge by
TWA. Also, it is asserted that because Mr. Brady had
not paid his December dues by January 31, he was no
longer a member in good standing in [AM and was dis-
chargeable under the terms of the collective bargaining
agreement. In either case, they insist, LAM was justified
in certifying Mr. Brady for discharge, and TWA was
justified in discharging him.
We agree with the District Court’s view that section
2, (Eleventh) makes the coilective agreement the governing
document and with the District Court’s reconciliation of
IAM’s constitution with the agreement. The argument ad-
vanced by IAM and TWA is not persuasive and there are
good reasons for rejecting it.
Even if the definition of ‘‘delinquency’’ which they
propose is adopted, IAM was still unjustified in demand-
89 Ibid.
ie ih et Sn ARN 8 Ne ee beth detent Shan
26a
ing the payment of four months dues by March 28. Mr.
Brady would not have become delinquent for March dues
until after March 31. Thus, when he tendered $10.50 on
March 27, it was more than sufficient to cover the dues
delinquencies for the three months for which he was then
in arrears. IAM admits that its letter of March 13 was
erroneous in demanding the payment of four months dues
by March 28 and that its letter of March 28 was again
erroneous in demanding the payment of four months dues
together with a reinstatement fee by April 4. It insists,
however, that it ‘‘wiped the slate clean’’ on April 11
when it demanded only a reinstatement fee. This argu-
ment fails because while it attempts to explain away IAM’s
ineptness, it attempts also to ‘‘wipe the slate clean’”’ of
Mr. Brady’s valid tender of dues sufficient to cover all
past dues delinquencies. Mr. Brady’s valid tender of
dues made before [AM’s certification for discharge under
the union security clause precluded further discharge ac-
tion against him.“
We are cognizant of the wholesome precepts which hold
that healthy industrial relations cannot be preserved if
unions are prevented from effective action to secure the
prompt payment of dues where dues are required under a
valid union security agreement and that a necessary con-
comitant of such effective action by a union is the respon-
sibility of the employee that his dues are paid promptly
40 Compare International Union of Electrical Wkrs. v. NLRB,
307 F.2d 679 (D.C. Cir.), cert. denied, 371 U.S. 936 (1962) and
NLRBB v. Aluminum Wkrs. Int’1 Union, 230 F.2d 515 (7 Cir. 1956),
where a valid tender made before the union’s certification was a
bartier to the employee’s discharge, with Producers ‘I'ransport, Inc.
v. NLRB, 284 F.2d 438 (7 Cir. 1960) ; NLRB v. Technicolor Motion
Pictures Corp., 248 F.2d 348 (9 Cir. 1957) and International
Ase’n of Mach. v. NLRB, 247 F.2d 414 (2 Cir. 1957), where the
union’s right to demand an employee’s discharge was not barred
by a belated tender of dues, made after the union’s demand for
discharge.
Ree ae eR Tor a le
27a
when due.*t We do not intend to undercut these well
stated pronouncements. But a delicate balance must be
maintained between the union’s right to preserve its own
institutional existence and its sensitive obligations for
fair dealing to its members under circumstances as are
presented in this case. Mr. Brady cannot be characterized
as the ordinary ‘‘free rider’? absorbing union benefits
without bearing a share in their costs. Rather he was
a shop steward and had paid his dues until he challenged
the manner in which they had beer increased. While re-
calcitrant in accepting the new scale he ultimately relented
and made a tender of all the past delinquencies prior to any
demand by IAM upon TWA to discharge him.
However irritating IAM may have considered Mr.
Brady’s resistance to the relatively insignificant increase
in the monthly dues, it still was his representative, clothed
with the great power of separating him from his livelli-
hood but also owing him the maximum of good faith and
fair dealing. This imposed on it the obligation to inform
him of his rights and duties so that he could take all
necessary steps to protect his job.“ If IAM seriously re-
garded Mr. Brady’s membership as exposed to cancellation
with consequent discharge on March 1, its fiduciary re-
lationship with him compelled no less than an intimation
to this effect instead of the erroneous demand of March 13
for four months dues by March 28. His response thereto
on March 27 in tke form of payment in excess of three
months dues was sufficient to restore him to good standing.
That offer preceded the next erroneous demand of IAM
41 See Producers Transport, Inc. v. NLRB, 284 F.2d 438 ‘(7 Cir.
1960); NLRB v. Technicolos Motion Pictures Corp., 248 F.2d
348 (9 Cir. 1957).
42 NLRB v. Hotel Employees Union, 320 F.2d 254 (3 Cir. 1963) ;
International Union of Electrical Wkrs. v. NLRB, 307 F.2d 679,
683 (D.C. Cir. 1962).
sa nen pmetltoh, IC Ce Nein Nie peal alia 9
ay Dhaene d or eo
28a
for three months dues plus the first requiremeat to pay
a reinstatement fee clearly indicating that IAM had in-
deed declared his membership axtomatically cancelled.
The attempt to strike down the validity of his tender
was totally inconsistent with the duty which IAM owed
to Mr. Brady. When it chose not to accept the tender
but elected to stand upon a previse enforcement of the
automatic membership cancellation provisien ii erred, for
the tender was timely to prevent rigid and severe enforce-
ment of thai provision.
The argument that after January 31, Mr. Brady was
no longer a member in good standing of LAM and thus
was dischargeable is also untenable. The collective bar-
gaining agreemeut specifically sets forth procedural re-
quirements which shall be observed when discharge is
sought under the union security provisions.“ IAM’s failure
to comply with them until after Mr. Bredy had tendered
dues sufficient to make him current also bars application
of these provisions te him.
In the light of the feregoing we conclude, as did the
District Court, that Mr. Bradz’’s dues tender of March 27
was valid. Conseauentiv [AM’s certification to TWA was
improper and his discharge by TWA violated section 2
(Fourii) (Eleventh) of the Railway Labor Act.
= =
A. TWA. challenges the District Court’s conclusion that
it is liable to Mr. Brady. Section 2 (Fourth) states, in
part: ‘‘it shall be unlawful for any carrier... to influ. e
or coerce employees in an effort to induce them to join
or remain or not to join or remain members of any labor
organization. .. .’’** TWA insists that tv constitute a
48 See note 33, supra.
#445 U.S.C. § 152 (Fourth).
ee ETE cme Oe ee a NN te a Al aR I
violation of this section it must be established, as it must
be under section 8(a)(3) of the National Labor Relations
Act, as amended, that the employer has ‘‘reasonable
grounds for believing’’ ” that union membership was de-
nied or terminated for reasons other than the failure of
the employee to tender periodic dues uniformly re-
quired. The argument continues with the assertiun that
the District Court held the discharge of Mr. Brady not
protected by section 2 (Eleventh) and therefore violative
of section 2 (Fourth) on one basis—that IAM rejected
Mr. Brady’s dues tender aithough it was timely and
sufficient to cover periodic dues uniformly required. TWA
asserts that the District Court made no findings that it
was guilty of wrongdoing, and without such findings, TWA
cannot be held liable for discharging Mr. Brady after
IAM certified that he had not complied with the union
security provisions of the collective bargaining agreement.
To adopt TWA’s view, would require the court to read
the intent standard of section 8(a)(3) of the National
Labor Relations Act into section 2 (Fourth) (Eleventh)
where no such standard was supplied by Congress. The
District Court properly declined to do so. It concluded
that after the employee established that his rights under
the statute had been violated, the employer would be held
liable. The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in
Cunningham v. Erie R.R.*° adopted and approvingly cited
the District Court’s opinion and stated:
‘‘Once it is established, as here, that the expulsion
of the worker from membership in the Union was
. . . ‘fer any reason other than the failure of the
employee to tender the periodic dues * * uniformly
required as a condition’of acquiring or retaining mem-
45 29 U.S.C. § 188(a) (3).
#6 358 F.2d 640, 645 (2 Cir. 1966). See generally Note, 76 Yale
L.J. 210 (1966).
tid Lolibail/r% 3 rome witty OS MeV OIUA SS Ser nb eee ee ae ate wn 6 -
ie a et ek aS
30a
bership,’ ... (emphasis added), the Railroad, having
discharged the employee on the representation of
the Union that he had failed to tender such periodic
dues, uniformly required, is automatically liable for
wrongful discharge. See Brady v. Trans World Air-
lines, D.C. Del., 1963, 223 F. Supp. 361. This is
because the limited protection afforded by the Rail-
way Labor Act is no longer available as a defense.’’
The Second Circuit explained that it is probably because
of this automatic liability that collective bargaining agree-
ments in the industry provide for indemnification of the
employer by the union for all liability arising from an
unlawful union security discharge. Like the District Court
and the Second Circuit, this court concludes that the
employer’s liability is automatic, once it is established
that the discharged employee’s section 2 (Fourth) (Elev-
enth) statutory rights have been violated.
Aside from this conclusion regarding the employer’s
liability under the Railway Labor Act, there is evidence in
the record warranting TWA/’s liability under the more de-
manding standard which it advances. In Radio Officers’
Union v. NLRB, the Supreme Court examined section 8
(a)(3) of the National Labor Relations Act and discussed
the proof of motive required to establish a violation of
that section. It stated:
‘‘But it is also clear that specific evidence of intent
to encourage or discourage [union membership] is
47 Article XXVI(p) of the TWA-IAM collective bargaining
agreement provides:
‘‘The Union shall indemnify and save tue Company harmless
against all forms of liability that shall arise out of or by reason
of action taken by the Company, which action was requested
by the Union under the provisions of this Article (Union Se-
curity).’’ (Parenthesis supplied.)
48347 U.S. 17 (1954).
pill erento nce =
3la
not an indispensable element of proof of violation of
§8(a)(3). . . . This recognition that specific proof
of intent is unnecessary where employer conduct in-
herently encourages or discourages union membership
is but an application of the common-law rule that a
man is held to intend the foreseeable consequences of
his conduct. ... Thus an employer’s protestation that
he did not intend to encourage or discourage must
be unavailing where a natural consequence of his
action was such encouragement or discouragement.
Concluding that encouragement or discouragement will
result, it is presumed that he intended such conse-
quence. In such circumstances intent to encourage
is sufficiently established.’’
While the Radio Officers’ case did not deal with a dis-
charge resulting from a union’s certification that the em-
ployee failed to comply with its dues requirements, the
facts of that case and the context from which the above
language was taken, make the rule set forth therein ap-
plicable here. A discharge under a union security clause
for failure to comply with the union’s dues demands in-
herently encourages other employees to promptly comply
with union ‘‘membership’’ requirements. In such circum-
stances, if the discharge is improper the employer will
necessarily have discriminated against the employee and
it will be presumed that the employer intended he fore-
seeable consequence of hs act, that is, the encou.agement
of union membership.
In the instant case there is no finding that TWA re-
butted the above stated presumption, nor does an examina-
tion of the record lead to that conclusion. On the contrary,
the record discloses that immediately after he learned that
his dues tender of March 27 would be rejected, Mr. Brady
49 Td. at 44-45. (Emphasis added.)
eo bi Re ne RRS
Fhe aaa NPS ES ee RS ah
32a
explained his dues dispute to the TWA General Foreman.
Mr. Brady was simply advised to pay what the union
demanded; later he was advised that the matter was
merely one between him and IAM and that TWA was not
involved. The record also indicates that TWA had copies
of IAM’s various letters to Mr. Brady which revealed
the inconsistent positions taken by IAM. On these facts,
it would be difficult to conclude that TWA overcame the
presumption that it intended the foreseeable consequences
of its act. Thus, the District Court’s conclusion that TWA
is liable to Mr. Brady for its violation of section 2 (Fourth)
(Eleventh) is further fortified.
B. Having concluded that Mr. Brady’s rights under
the Railway Labor Act had been violated, a further ques-
tion which then faced the District Court was whether the
LAM should be held jointly liable with TWA for causing
the wrongful discharge. Section 2 (Fourth) was designed
to prevent employers from coercing employees with regard
to their relationships with the unions. That section does
not expressly refer to labor organizations, but section 2
(Eleventh) speaks in terms of the ‘‘agreement’’ which the
employer and the labor organization may formulate. The
District Court justifiably reasoned that since both the em-
ployer and the union were treated alike in section 2 (Elev-
enth), and that section is an exception to the anticoercion
provisions of section 2 (Fourth), Congress contemplated
that unions would also be held liable for causing a dis-
charge in violation of section 2 (Fourth) (Eleventh).
That Congress intended labor organizations should be
held accountable for violations of section 2 (Fourth) (Elev-
enth) is no more than rational. Generally, in dues dis-
putes, it is the union which instigates the discharge, and
an illegal application of the union security provisions can
scarcely be originated by any other source than the union.
Just as in hostile discrimination actions against the union
where the employer has been declared a proper party de-
33a
fendant,” in suits involving section 2 (Fourth) (Eleventh)
unions should be held liable for their actions in procuring
a discharge which violates the employees’ statutory rights.™
Still with regard to the liability of IAM, brief mention
should be made of its argument that the District Court
erred in not granting judgment to it because of Mr. Brady’s
failure to exhaust his internal union remedies. The Dis-
trict Covi correctly reasoned that this section 2 (Fourth)
(Eleventh) phase of the case involves tbe legality of Mr.
Brady’s discharge from his employment and not the legality —
of IAM’s dues increase. The doctrine, relied on by LAM,
applies to situations unlike the present one, which concern
wholly internal union matters. The present dispute focuses
on the employment relationship rather than the union re-
lationship. Furthermore, Mr. Brady is seeking reinstate-
ment in his employment, a remedy that is unavailable to
him within the internal union procedures. These reasons
justified the District Court in determining that Mr. Brady
was not required to exhaust his internal union remedies
before bringing suit against [AM for violation of section 2
(Fourth) (Eleventh).
C. After holding that Mr. Brady’s statutory rights had
been violated and that as a result liability runs against
both TWA and LAM, the District Court considered the
remedies available to Mr. Brady. It concluded that ap-
propriate for such a violation were reinstatement in his
employment with back pay ‘and reinstatement as a member
in good standing in [AM.™
50 See note 23, supra, and accompanying text.
51 That IAM should be held liable for its actions in causing a vio-
lation of section 2 (Fourth) (Eleventh) is all the more justified in
the instant case since IAM is required to indemnify TWA for any
liability imposed on it as a result of IAM’s improper application
of the union security provisions. See note 47, supra.
52 The District Court discussed remedies at 244 F. Supp. 820 and
in its unreported opinion at Civi No. 1884 (D.Del., filed Sep-
tember 6, 1966).
{
.
Oe ee a ed
Gee RGRALO DAS Ra a acai abi a PA bE MBN EEE AEN
34a
It is argued that the District Court was without authority
to order Mr. Brady reinstated in his employment, and that
in so doing the District Court departed from the rules
established in several Supreme Court cases. These cases
are relied on for the proposition that an employee ag-
grieved by his discharge has alternative remedies: (1) if
he wishes to retain his employment, he must pursue his
remedy under the administrative procedures established by
the applicable collective bargaining agreement subject to
the Railway Labor Act and his right of review before the
System Board of Adjustment; (2) if he accepts his dis-
charge as final he may bring an appropriate action at law
seeking money damages. In none of these cases was an
employee discharged under a union security provision,
and in each of these cases it was assumed that the ad-
justment board would have jurisdiction to hear the cause
if the employee sought reinstatement before it. In part I
above, it was held that the Board was without jurisdiction
to entertain Mr. Brady’s complaint which was directed
against both TWA. and IAM. Under these circumstances,
when procedures for reinstatement are otherwise unavail-
able to him, the purposes of the Railway Labor Act would
best be served if an employee seeking to regain his job
may invoke the equitable powers of the court. We agree
with the District Court that reinstatement, in the present
case, was an appropriate remedy and that it had authority
to so order.
The District Court implemented the reinstatement by
requiring TWA to secure, without cost to Mr. Brady, such
additional training and schooling as would be necessary for
his reemployment in a position substantially equivalent to
that which he would have attained had he not been dis-
58 Walker v. Southern Ry., 385 U.S. 196 (1966) ; Transcontinental
& Western Air, Inc. v. Koppal, 345 U.S. 653 (1953); Slocum v.
Deiaware, L. & W. R.R., 339 U.S. 239 (1950); Moore v. Illinois
Central R.R., 312 U.S. 630 (1941).
charged. TWA vehemently objected because of the ex-
cessive cost of such a training program for Mr. Brady
in light of the vast changes occurring in the airline in-
dustry during the interruption in his service. However,
the District Court considered all the factors involved and
properly concluded that although some hardship would be
imposed on TWA, it should not bar Mr. Brady’s restoration
as an adequate aircraft mechanic. In requiring Mr. Brady’s
reinstatement, the District Court also correctly ruled that
he was entitled to the fringe benefits he would have had if
he had not been discharged.™
The back pay award of $10,617.80 was computed by sub-
tracting from the amount Mr. Brady would have earned
from TWA if he had not been illegally discharged, the
amount he actually earned following his discharge. The
arguments advanced against this award and the manner
in which it was computed are without merit.
=
The District Court took the position that whether Mr.
Brady established his claim for hostile discrimination or
his claim for violation of his express statutory rights under
section 2 (Fourth) (Eleventh) his remedy would be the
same. On this premise it declined to rule on the hostile
discrimination claim once it was satisfied that a violation
of section 2 (Fourth) (Eleventh) had been proved. We
54 Specifically the District Court ordered TWA to secure, with-
out cost to Mr. Brady, his membership in the following Group
Plans: Life Insurance, Hospital, and Health and Accident or the
equivalents thereof. Membership in the Retirement Fund was
also ordered with all payments due thereunder to be made by TWA,
to be paid by it, and all payments due by Mr. Brady, to be
paid by him. The District Court properly declined to award
Mr. Brady any damages for the loss of the value of airline passes
to which he would have been entitled had he continued to work
for TWA on the ground that he had not introduced sufficient evi-
dence on which such an award could be based.
peeked s eet i Ys A het Ina ett ne Ea Co rade ttede his A ene ie
Sale Lc ART aA ORE cri i dE MARIN
36a
agree that Mr. Brady was not entitled to reccvery on
his hostile discrimination claim, but we arrive at this
result for reasons which differ from those of the District
Court.
The complaint and its amendments are artlessly drawn
and the prayers for relief are, to say the least, confusing.
However, the District Court, with commendable liberality,
interpreted them as raising two separate claims. The first,
alleging violation of section 2 (Fourth) (Eleventh), which
has been discussed at length, was directed at both TWA
and IAM. This claim involved the legality of Mr. Brady’s
discharge from his employment. The second, alleging hos-
tile discrimination in violation of its duty of fair repre-
sentation, was directed at IAM. In so far as the first
claim is concerned, we have agreed with the District Court
that because it involved the propriety of the discharge, and
thus the employment relationship, Mr. Brady was not
required to exhaust his internal union remedies. With
regard to the claim for hostile discrimination, the opposite
conclusion is dictated.
In a suit alleging hostile discrimination violative of the
bargaining representative’s duty of fair representation, it
must be proved not only that the union’s actions were
improper, but that they were undertaken with malice and
bad faith. Mr. Brady alleges that he was accorded
different treatment from other members of. his lodge who
were similarly delinquent in their dues payments and also
that at the hearing befor: the Board, Mr. Miller, an IAM
official, misrepresented pertinent facts. In making these
allegations, Mr. Brady is not challenging his discharge
from his employment, but rather the fairness and propriety
of the manner in which he was treated by IAM. Such a
55 Vaca v. Sipes, 386 U.S. 171, 190 (1967) ; Humphrey v. Moore,
375 U.S. 335 (1964); Ford Motor Co. v. Huffman, 345 U.S. 330
(1953) ; Cunningham v. Erie R.R., 266 F.2d 411, 417 (2 Cir. 1959).
37a
claim involves the union-member relationship and not the
employer-employee relationship.
It has been the general rule, and the rule of this circuit,
that before a suit against a union for breach of its duty
of fair representation may be brought in the courts, the
member must first exhaust the available internal union
remedies, or show an adequate reason for failing to do
so.°° There is good reason for this rule which forestalls
judicial interference with the internal affairs of a labor
organization until it has had at least some opportunity to
resolve disputes concerning its own legitimate affairs. Mr.
Brady was a shop steward and that he was knowledgeable
of appellate union procedures may be inferred from his
letter in February 1956 to the International President of
IAM and others in which he protested the manner in which
the dues of his local lodge were increased. Nevertheless,
there is no allegation or evidence that ke invoked any ap-
pellate union procedures to redress the asserted unfair
and arbitrary action against him by the local and district
officers. Nor does he advance an adequate reason for
his failure to do so. Mr. Brady’s argument that it would
have been futile to ask IAM to review its own dealings
with him is not tenable for [AM’s internal procedure pro-
56 Gainey v. Brotherhood of Railway & Steamship Clerks, 275
F.2d 342, 345 (3 Cir.), cert. denied, 363 U.S. 811 (1960), and 313
F.2d 318 (3 Cir. 1963); see, e.g., Foy v. Norfolk & W. Ry., 377
F.2d 243, 246 (4 Cir. 1967) ; Neal v. System Board of Adjustment,
348 F.2d 722 (8 Cir. 1965) ; Detroy v. American Guild of Variety
Artists, 286 -F.2d 75 (2 Cir.), cert. denied, 366 U.S. 929 (1961).
See the following proviso contained in the Bill of Rights of the
Members of Labor Organizations, 29 U.S.C. § 411(a) (4) :
“‘Provided, That any such member may be required to exhaust
reasonable hearing procedures (but not to exceed a four-month
lapse of time) within such organization, before instituting
legal or administrative proceedings against such organizations
or any officer thereof.’’
i is . : ee en ee eT we
i Pa Ee a ee a eee re >
Pee Se ge ae eee
2
38a
vided reasonably prompt review of his contentions on union
levels higher than those responsible for the decisions against
him.
It is conceivable that an award of damages by a court
against a union for hostile discrimination could supplement
the relief available for a violation of section 2 (Fourth)
(Eleventh). However, in this case, Mr. Brady’s claim for
such damages may not be sustained because of his failure
to exhaust internal union remedies or to adequately ex-
plain that failure. Having reached this conclusion, it is
obviously unnecessary to consider Mr. Prady’s demand for
a jury trial on his claim for hostile discrimination and the
propriety of the particular damages sought thereunder.®®
Mr. Brady’s successive attorneys before the District
Court declined to press for the allowance of fees to them
and his appeal from the denial thereof is baseless. His
request for similar fees on this appeal is also without
merit.
For the foregoing reasons, the orders of the District
Court from which Vincent P. Brady has appealed at No.
16,266 and those from which Trans World Airlines, Inc.
and The International Association of Machinists have re-
spectively appealed at Nos. 16267 and 16268 will all be
afhimed.
ee
57 See International Ass’n of Machinists v. Friedman, 252 F.2d
846 (D.C. Cir.), cert. denied, 357 U.S. 926 (1958) where the court
reveiwed the internal appellate procedures of IAM and deemed
them fair and adequate.
58 Mr. Brady demanded punitive damages against IAM and com-
pensatory damages for mental anguish arising from the humiliation
and embarrassment he suffered. By a belated application which
was denied by the District Court, Mr. Brady moved to further
amend his complaint to join his wife who sought damages for loss
of his consortium.
39a
Each of the parties to these respective appeals will bear
his own costs.
A True Copy:
Teste:
Cierk of the United States Court of
Appeals for the Third Circuit.
40a
APPENDIX C
Judgments of United States Court of Appeals for the
Third Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
No. 16,266
Vincent P. Brapy, Appellant
Vv.
Trans Wortp Arruings, INc., a corporation of the State of
Delaware, and Tue INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF
Macurinists, an unincorporated association
(D. C. Civil Action No. 1884)
On AppeaL From THE Unitep States District CourT FoR
THE District or DELAWARE
Present: Hastie, Chief Judge, and McLavenuw and
Forman, Circuit Judges. :
Judgment
This cause came on to be heard on the record from
the United States District Court for the District of Dela-
ware and was argued by counsel.
On consideration whereof, it is nov’ here ordered and
adjudged by this Court that the judgment of the said
District Court, filed September 6, 1966, be, ard the same
is hereby affirmed. Each of the parties to this appeal
to bear his own costs,
ATTEST:
THomas F, Quinn
Clerk
August 13, 1968
i
4la
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
No. 16,267
Vincent P, Brapy, Appellant
v.
Trans Worip Arrungs, INc., a corporation of the State of
Delaware, and Tue INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF
Macurnists, an unincorporated association
Trans Wortp AmLrngs, Inc., Appellant
(D. C. Civit Action No. 1884)
On ApprEaL From tue Unrrep States District Courr FOR
THE District or DELAWARE
Present: Hastie, Chief Judge, and McLavanun and
Forman, Circuit Judges.
Judgment
This cause came on to be heard on the record from
the United States District Court for the District of Dela-
ware and was argued by counsel.
On consideration whereof, it is now here ordered and
adjudged by this Court that the judgment of the said
Distriet Court, filed September 6, 1966, be, and the same
is hereby affirmed. Each of the parties to this appeal
will bear his own costs.
ATTEST:
Tomas F, Quinn
Clerk
August 13, 1968
42a
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
No. 16,268
Vincent P. Brapy, Appellant
v.
Trans Wortp Areuines, Inc., a corporation of the State of
Delaware, and Tuer InrTerRNattonaL ASSOCIATION OF
MacHINIsts, an unincorporated association
Tue INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF Macutnists, Appellant
(D. C. Civil Action No. 1884)
On AppeaL From tue Unitep States Dzstricr Court For
THE District oF DELAWARE
Present: Hastie, Chief Judge, and Mclaveuumn and
Forman, Circuit Judges.
Judgment
This cause came on to be heard on the record from
the United States District Court for the District of Dela-
ware and was argued by counsel.
On consideration whereof, it is now here ordered and
adjudged by this Court that that portion of the order of
the said District Court, filed November 12, 1959, which
denied defendant’s motions to dismiss the second amended
complaint and to strike certain portions thereof, the por-
tion of the order, filed August 4, 1961, which denied de-
fendant’s motions for summary judgment, the order, filed
November 4, 1963, holding defendants liable for damages,
and paragraphs one through six of the judgment, filed
September 6, 1966, awarding damages to plaintiff, be and
the same are hereby affirmed. Each of the parties to
this appeal will bear his own costs.
ATTEST:
THomas F. Quinn
August 13, 1968 Clerk
43a
APPENDIX D
Opinions of the United States District Court for the
District of Delaware
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
D. DELAWARE,
Civ. A. No. 1884.
Vincent P. Brady, Plaintiff,
Va
Trans World Airlines, Inc., a corporation of the State of
Delaware, and The International Association of Ma-
chinists, an unincorporated association, Defendants.
Oct. 5, 1957—156 F. Supp. 82
* * * * * * * 7: * *
Leany, Chief Judge.
The facts appearing from the paper record show: In
1948, plaintiff, Vincent P. Brady, became a membe: of The
International Association of Machinists (“« TAM”’’) an unin-
corporated association, District Lodge No. 142, Local Lodge
No. 1244, located in Wilmington, Delaware, Brady lived
there. In February 1951, he was recalled by Trans World
Airlines, Ine. (**TWA’’), a Delaware corporation, for work
in Philadelphia. In August 1952, he became a member of
‘Local Lodge No. 1776 of the IAM in Philadelphia. On
March 28, 1956, he was notified by the union he was in
default on certain payments for dues and a reinstatement
fee and the sum theretofore tendered by him was insufficient
to cover this amount.'
On April 24, 1956, and May 5, 1956, Brady wrote to the
System Board of Adjustment requesting a hearing, but
without prejudice to his rights to file a subsequent court
1 Letter of March 28, 1956, from Gerald C. Coleman, Financial
Secretary of Local Lodge No. 1776, IAM, to Vincent P. Brady.
- ore
44a |
proceeding.? Hearings were held by the Board in Kansas
City, Missouri, on May 4 and 14, 1956. He had notice of
these hearings. He did not attend. On Mey 14, 1956, the
Board decided adversely to Brady.* On May 15, 1956, he
was discharged from employment by TWA pursuant to the
collective bargaining agreement between TWA and IAM
which required good standing membership in the union
as a condition of employment.‘
On February 4, 1957, Brady wrote to the Board and re-
quested reconsideration of its decision, alleging that Cliff
Miller, General Chairman, District 142 of IAM, who ap-
peared at the hearing of May 14, 1956, on behalf of IAM,
misrepresented vital facts to the Board The Board
denied this request and affirmed its May 14, 1956, decision
as finai and binding.® On April 22, 1957, Brady then
brought his action to this court against both TWA and
IAM seeking 1. reversal of the decision of the Board, 2.
reinstatement of employment with payment to him of all
wages, overtime pay, and vacation pay since his discharge,
3. reinstatement of all other benefits held by him as an
employee including a $15,000 life insurance policy, a sick-
ness and benefit policy, credit union privileges, retire-
ment benefits and seniority status, 4. judgment against
either or both defendants for damages for humiliation and
embarrassment suffered by reason of the discharge with-
out just cause by TWA, 6. allowance of a reasonable at-
* Letters of April 24, 1956, and May 5, 1956, from Vincent P.
Brady to the TWA-IAM System Board of Adjustment, Kansas
City, Missouri.
3 Order dated May 14, 1956.
‘ Article XXVI(a).
5 Letter of February 4, 1957, from Vincent P. Brady to the TWA-
IAM System Board of Adjustment, Kansas City, Missouri.
® Letter of February 14, 1957, from the TWA-IAM System
Board of Adjustment to Vincent P. Brady.
45a
torney’s fee, and 7. such other relief as the court would
deem proper.
Defendant’s original motions were ones under Fed,
Rules Civ. Proc, rule 12(b), 28 U.S.C. to dismiss plaintiff's
action for lack of jurisdiction of the court over the subject
matter of the complaint and for failure to state a claim
upon which relief can be granted. In the light of develop-
ments at oral argument, counsel for both defendants re-
quested the court to treat their motions as ones for sum-
mary judgment under FR 56(b).
I.
The Railway Labor Act, 45 U.S.C.A. § 151 et seq., orig-
inally passed in 1926, was amended ten years later to em-
brace carriers by air.’ A look at the early cases under
the Act is helpful to pinpoint the issues here,
1. The leading case of the Supreme Court in this area
is Moore v. Illinois Central R. Co., 312 U.S. 630, 61 S. Ct.
754, 85 L.Ed. 1089. After discharge by the Mlinois Central
Railroad, Moore, an employee, refused the jurisdiction of
the Adjustment Board, which had been set up as a board
of review in 1934. Instead, he accepted his discharge as
final and then brought suit in the state court for common
law breach of contract. The action was transferred to the
federal district court on diversity. When it reached the
Supreme Court, it was held ‘*netitioner was not required
by the Railway Labor Act® to seck adjustment of his con-
‘The complete story of the Act is available elsewhere. Seo Gar-
rison, ‘‘The National Railroad Adjustment Board: A Unique Ad-
ministrative Agency’’, 46 Yale L.J. 567, et seq.
®45 U.S.C.A. § 153, First (i> provides:
““(i) The disputes between an employee or group of em-
ployees and a carrier or carriers growing out of grievances or
out of the interpretation or application of agreements con-
cerning rates of pay, rules, or working conditions, including
cases pending and unadjusted on June 21, 1934, shall
AS SS Pe TRE ms
46a
troversy [with the railroad] as a prerequisite to suit for
wrongful discharge.’? 312 U.S. 630, 636, 61 S. Ct. 754, 756.
The Act, said the Court, did not require an administrative
finding before the filing of suit, nor did it remove the
jurisdiction of the courts to determine the controversy.
Subsequently, in Slocum v. Delaware, Lackawanna &
Western R. Co., 3389 U.S, 239, 70 S. Ct. 577, 94 L.Ed. 795,
the Court, in denying the power of any court to invade the
jurisdiction conferred on the Adjustment Board by the
Act, specifically ruled the Moore case inapposite since in-
terpretation there of a collective bargaining agreement
provision had no binding effect on future interpretations
by the Board. Thus it was held whereas the Adjustment
Board had exclusive jurisdiction to adjust grievances and
jurisdictional disputes of the type involved in Slocum, it
did not have exclusive jurisdiction over the claim of an
employee that he had been unlawfully discharged. The
Moore case stood firm.
2. Although Moore came up on diversity of citizenship,
no question arose of the employee’s failure to exhaust
remedies available under the employment contract when
the state law of the forum required it. When it did, a
host of problems were precipitated. Koppal, a discharged
employee, bypassed, as Moore did, his right to an appeal
before the Adjustment Board and elected to bring to the
federal district court upon diversity, an action for wrong-
ful discharge of employment. The jury returned a verdict
for plaintiff, but after motion, the trial court. set aside
the verdict and dismissed the complaint, apparently im-
pressed with the contention the administrative remedies
be handled in the usual manner up to and including the
chief operating officer of the carrier designated to handle
such disputes; but, failing to reach an adjustment in this
manner, the disputes may be referred by petition of the parties
or by either party to the appropriate division of the Adjust-
ment Board with a full statement of the facts and all support-
ing data bearing upon the disputes.’’
47a
under the employment contract, which sre comparable
to those described in the Railway Labor Act, had not been
exhausted by the plaintiff, as required by the state law of
Missouri.
The Eighth Cireuit reversed® on this ratio: The admin-
istrative adjustment of disputes did not have their source
in or subject to appraisement on the basis of state law,
but were questions relating solely to the federal Act; the
nature of these provisions under the Act were settled by
the Supreme Court in the Moore case, which was control-
ling. In the words of J udge Johnsen:
‘In the face of the declaration and construction, Mis-
souri would not, of course, be at liberty to hold contrarily
that the adjustment provisions cf a contract made under
and pursuant to the Railway Labor Act were compulsory
in nature and constituted conditions precedent to the right
to sue for wrengful discharge in an employment relation-
ship covered by the Act. Missouri law applicable to em-
ployment relationships under the Railway Labor Act, at
least within the field of any matters regnlated by the Act.
So far as a suit for wrongful discharge is concerned, the
administrative remedies prescribed by the Act and in-
corporated in a contract made under it would therefore
have to be treated by the Missonri courts, for justiciable
purposes in their forum, the same as a situation under
Missouri law of a contract in which no administrative ad-
justment provisions were contained,’? 1
® Koppal v. Transcontinental & Western Air, Inc., 8 Cir., 199
F.2d 117.
10199 F.2d at page 123.
Pe ear
48a
The dissenting judge (Riddick, J.) concluded that ex-
haustion of remedies was a matter of substantive law
which the forvm could legitimately exact in a federal
diversity case;
“It is true that in the Moore case the Supreme
Court said that the right of an employee to sue an
employer for damages for breach of a collective bar-
gaining agreement of employment was not dependent
upon the prior exhaustion of the employee’s adminis-
trative remedies under the Railway Labor Act. But to
give that statement the meaning which the majority
atiribute to it is to lift it out of context and to to ignore
the difference in character between rights and remedies
available to an employee before the Adjustment Board
under a contract made pursuant to the Railway Labor
Act, and those available to him in a common law action
for damages for breach of such a contract. * * *
Since a proceeding under the Railway Labor Act before
the Adjustment Board and an action at law in a
District Court for damages for breach of contract are
wholl; different in character, assert different rights,
and seek different remedies, in separate tribunals of
mutually exclusive jurisdiction, it ean not de said that
before resorting to one action the litigant must first
resort to the other. Where either action is available,
the litigant has his choice. That is all the Moore
case stands for. It certainly does not stand for the
proposition that in an action for damages for breach
of a Missouri contract, tried in a District Court in
Missouri whose jurisdiction is based solely upon di-
versity of vitizenship and the sum in controversy, the
substantive law of Missouri is not controlling.’’ "
3. The Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals
and affirmed the District Court. Transcontinental & West-
ern Air, Ine. v. Koppal, 345 U.S. 653, 73 S.Ct. 906, 97 L.Ed.
199 F.2d at pages 126-127.
49a
1825. In doing to, the Court’s attention was drawn not to
the impact of a federal act but to the demands: of state
substantive law. Thus, in the best tradition of Erie R.
Co. v. Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64, 58 S. Ct. 817, 82 L.Ed. 1188,
it was announeed ( per Mr. Justice Burton fur the Court
[with Mr. Justice Douglas dissenting]) 345 U.S. at page
662, 73 S.Ct. at page 910:
“* * * if the applicable local law, as in Missouri,
requires an employee to exhaust his administrative
remedies under his employment contract in order to
sustain his cause of action, he must show that he has
done so. Here respondent was employed by a carrier,
subject to Title IT of the Railway Labor Act, and his
employment contract contained many administrative
steps for his relief, all of which were consistent with
that Act. Accordingly, while he was free to resort to
the courts for relief, he was there required by the law
of Missouri to show that he had exhausted the very
administrative procedure contemplated by the Railway
Labor Act. In the instant case, he was not able to do
so and his complaint was properly dismissed.’’
The Moore case gave to the employee the legal right of
choosing his course of relief—either the Adjustment Board
or an independent action. Ostensibly, Koppal only con-
ditioned the employee's legal right ; in effect, it undermined
it. The saving feature implied in Koppal, that the declared
formality of exhaustion would in no way prejudice the em-
ployee in the bringing of an action, where that was his
choice, proved almost worthless, Practical application of
the Court’s decision by the lower courts, exampled in
Bower v. Eastern Airlines, Ine., 3 Cir. 214 F. 24 623,
became, for the discharged employee, a hazardous and even
losing game. . -
4. Bower was discharged by his employer and, for rea-
sons to he developed, appealed to the Adjustment Board.
The appeal proved unavailing. Bower then brought an
(oat See
50a
action for wrongfu! discharge in the federal district court
asserting diversity jurisdiction. The District Court dis-
missed the complaint, and the Third Circuit affirmed on the
ground the appeal before the Board was a voluntary elec-
tion, and, therefore, the Board’s determination was ‘‘final
and binding’’ under the provisions of the Railway Labor
Act.’*? The Court (per Hastie, J.) wrote, 214 F. 2d at
page 626:
‘«* * * Whether we say that the party is bound by
his own voluntary election between an administrative
1245 U.S.C.A. § 184 provides, in part:
“‘The disputes between an employee or group of employees
and a carrier or carriers by air growing out of grievances, or
out of the interpretation or application of agreements concern-
ing rates of pay, rules, or working conditions, including cases
pending and unadjusted on April 10, 1936 before the National
Labor Relations Board, shall be handled in the usual manner
up to and including the chief operating officer cf the carrier
designated to handle such disputes; but, failing to reach an
adjustment in this manner, the disputes may be referred by
petition of the parties or by either party to an appropriate
adjustment board, as hereinafter provided, with a full state-
ment of the facts and supporting data bearing upon the dis-
putes.
“*It shall be the duty of every carrier and of its employees,
acting through their representatives, selected in accordance
with the provisions of sections 181-188 of this title, to estab-
lish a board of adjustment of jurisdiction not exceeding the
jurisdiction which may be lawfully exercised by system, group,
or regional boards of adjustment, under the authority of sec-
tion 153 of this title.’’
45 U.S.C.A. § 153, First (m) provides:
**(m) The awards of the several divisions of the Adjust-
ment Board shall be stated in writing. A copy of the awards
shall be furnished to the respective parties to the controversy,
and the awards shall be final and binding upon both parties
to the dispute, except insofar as they shall contain a money
award. In case a dispute arises involving an interpretation
of the award, the division of the Board upon request of either
party shall interpret the award in the light of the dispute.”
Dla
and an alternative judicial remedy, or describe the
party who initiated the administrative proceeding as
estopped from denying its agreed final and binding
character, or view this as an application of the ra-
tionale of res judicata in a new area, we are satisfied
that the court should declare and enforce a rule of
repose against the reexamination of the merits of
plaintiff’s claim in this case.’’
Bower raised the cry, expected, that the Koppal case
necessicated the employee taking an administrative appeal
before instituting suit, but the Court of Appeals disagreed.
Koppal, like Moore, our Circuit said, ‘‘merely recognizes
the duty of a federal court in a Giversity action for wrong-
ful termination of employment to require the plaintiff to
show whatever exhaustion of administrative remedy may
be prerequisite tv suit under the procedural’? law of the
forum.”’ Investigating the law of Pennsylvunia, the Court
could isolate nothing there to suggest a suit for wrongful
termination of employment must be preceded by any ad-
ministrative procedure beyond an unqualified dismissal
that is not further reviewable within the cmployer’s or-
ganization. Thus, it was judged, Bower did not have to
obtain an Adjustnient Board ruling on his contentions
before invoking the jurisdiction of the district court. In
short, on this question, Bower had misunderstood Koppal
in thinking it required in every instance exhaustion of
remedies, and, even had Bower correctly read Moore and
Koppal on exhaustion, his move to go before the Board
was binding on him because, as it turned out, Pennsylvania
law did not in fact require it.”
'§ The reference to ‘‘procedural”’ is not altogether squared with
either the language of the disSenting opinion of the Court of Ap-
peals in Koppal, supra note 11, or the language of the majority
opinion of the Supreme Court in 345 U.S. 653, at pages 656-657,
73 S.Ct. 906, at pages 907-908.
** See, on this score, the dissent of Judge Brown in Sigfred v.
Pan American World Airways, Ine., 5 Cir., 230 F.2d 13, 19
et seq.
52a
0. Although the freely chosen alterzative, stated in Moore
and undisturbed in Slocum, has been impeded under Kop-
pel,” the employee is not entirely on the defensive for
this attitude has unleashed possibly new devices, equally
undesirable. In those states unmistakenly requiring the
exhaustion of remedies under the employment contract, the
employee is awarded more than the alternative Moore
intended to give him. He cannot only go before the Adjust-
ment Board for reinstatement, but, if unsuccessful, there-
after bring suit for wrongful discharge asserting he looked
to the Board only in deference to the niceties of state law,
citing the authority of the Supreme Court in Koppal.
Absent state requirement, he is bound to make a choice.
Whereas the discharged employee should be guided by
simple procedures geared to the sensitivities of his hard-
ship, in reality he has been subjected to the rigors of a
guessing game. The difficulty is that the decision of the
Supreme Court in Moore and its holding in Koppal are,
when served, barely digestible in the same system. Beyond
that, it may be asked whether the law has removed itself
18 Most recent is a decision of the Supreme Court in Brotherhood
of Railroad Trainmen v. Chicago River & Indiana R. Co., 353 U.S.
30, 77 S.Ct. 635, 1 L.Ed. 2d 622. The issue was whether a railway
labor organization can resort to a strike over matters pending be-
fore the Adjustment Board. In holding it could not, the present
Chief Justice, speaking for a unanimous eight-man court, asserted
the Railway Labor Act, and specifically 45 U.S.C.A. § 153, First
(i) and (m), supra, notes 8 and 12, literally means what it says—
that a dispute may be referred to the appropriate Adjustment
Board at the election of either party, in either which case the
Board’s decision becomes final and binding upon all parties con-
cerned. (The Court went on to hold that the District Coum~had
jurisdiction for injunctive relief notwithstanding the provisions
of the Norris-LaGuardia Act, 29 U.S.C.A. §§101, 115). This
fresh discussion, as applied here—that is, the effect of the carrier,
not the aggrieved employee, invoking the jurisdiction of the Board
on the apparent ability of the employee to maintain his independ-
ent action—could mean new barriers for the employee to cross.
53a
from the arena of common sense by adopting in the upper
reaches an unrealistic approach. To put the Socratic
question, does the employee who has been discharged, being
thus of an uneven mind—hounded by the realization of
loss of job and support for his family for an indefinite
period; overwhelmed by the bigness of Organization—
Union, Carrier—seemingly, and even actually, banded
against him;'* pressured by the increasing awareness he
has so little time to act to seek job restoration ;“7 and in-
duced by the thought the Adjustment Board is the quickest,
and even sole, means of doing so—grasp for relief almost
blindly ignorant in most cases of his legal position? In
any event, if indeed, a choice must be made, is that the
selective and measured act for which he is later to be
judged and refused admittance in the court house door?
II.
1. Facts of the case at bar do not quickly fall into any
of the slots discussed. However, certain avenues, referred
to in Bower, have been left open for the employee to ex-
ploit even after appeal adversely ¢o the Adjustment Board."®
It is toward these ends that plaintiff is moving. His con-
tentions in attacking these motions are that because of a
provision of the employment contract, Brady was deprived
of a freely decided election to which he was entitled, and
because of the alleged fraud perpetrated upon Brady and
16 Collective bargaining agreements usually provide, as does the
agreement in the case at bar between TWA and TAM, supra note 4,
that good standing in the union is a condition of employment with
the carrier.
17 Three days in the case at bar. Article XXVI(f) of the TWA-
IAM Agreement, infra the text of this opinion.
18 Described in these terms: ‘‘This does not foreclose the consid-
eration of questions of jurisdiction or of the essential fairness of
the administrative proceeding, even when these issues are raised
collaterally.’’ Bower v. Eastern Airlines, Inc., 3 Cir., 214 F. 24
623, 626.
54a
the Board of Adjustment their proceedings were robbed of
essential fairness. Therefore, it is urged this court has
the power to review the merits of plaintiff’s case, reverse or
affirm the Board’s decision, and grant or deny the further
relief requested in the complaint.
2. I first take up the question of whether Brady was
deprived of his right to free selection as between appeal
to the Adjustment Board and an independent action, since
it may be dispositive of many entangling issues involved.
This is in line with the permissive area of review defined
by the Third Circuit in the Bower case.
Plaintiff refers to Article XXVI(f) of the TWA-IAM
Agreement, which provides:
“If the employee discharged or to be discharged
under this Article contends that he is not properly sub-
ject to discharge under the terms of this Article, he
may protest such action to the TWA-IAM System
Board of Adjustment provided that such protest in
writing is mailed to the Board within three (3) days
after the date the employee is notified of such action.
This protest shall be submitted in duplicate to the
Chairman, TWA-IAM System Board of Adjustment,
with one copy to be mailed in care of the Vice-President
of Industrial Relations, TWA, Room 207 Administra.
tion Building, Municipal Airport, Kansas City, Mis-
souri, and the other copy to be mailed in care of the
General Chairman, IAM, Room 1019 Rialto Building,
Kansas City, Missouri. Both copies shall be sent by
registered mail, return reccipt requested. The date
of receipt of such written protest by the party with
the representative who is Chairman of the System
Board of Adjustment shall be considered as the date
of receipt of the protest by the Board. In the event
no protest is so filed within the above time limits, the
action will be considered as proper and will be final
55a
and binding upon all parties concerned. Within five
(5) days of receipt of such a protest, the System
Board of Adjustment will meet and consider the dis-
pute ***.’’ (Italics supplied.)
Since the agreement was made and entered into in ac-
cordance with the provisions of the Railway Labor Act,
as amenced, the policy declared therein is paramount.
From a plain reading of Article XXVI(f) it is evident that
if a discharged employee filed-no protest with the System
Board of Adjustment, his discharge would, by virtue of
his failure, be conclusive upon him. Such a provision is
a far cry from what the Supreme Court held in the Moore
case and reaffirmed in Koppal as to the solidarity of the
employee’s position. In the eyes of Brady, any discharged
employee, it could do no other but mislead. I find the
effect of Article XXVI(f) of the TWA-IAM Agreement
entirely vitiated the freedom of action to which the dis-
charged employee was entitled in choosing his course."
While the fact that Brady did expressly condition his ap-
1° Indicative of the confusion engendered even to parties familiar
with the procedural aspects of an appeal is the situation in the
case at bar. Formal notification of discharge did not reach Brady
until May 4, 1956. The Agreement provides, in Article XXVI(f),
that the protest must be mailed to the System Board of Adjustment
within three days thereof, and that hearing must be held within
five days after receipt. Brady, by letter of April 24, 1956, to the
Board requested an appeal. The Chairman of the Board replied
by letter of April 30, 1956, in which he set May 4, 1956, as the date
for hearing. After presentation of all the evidence at the hearing
on that date (the hearing was centrally located for employees—
Kansas City,-Missouri) the Board ruled that since Brady did not
receive formal notification of discharge until May 4, 1956, his
request for appeal of April 24, 1956, was premature. Consequently,
Brady was obliged to write aghin to the Adjustment Board within
three days of May 4, 1956. He did so by letter of May 5, 1956,
wuich was received on May 9, 1956, thus necessitating a hearing
on or before May 15, 1956. A hearing was held on May 14, 1956.
Brady was discharged on May 15, 1956.
Ae RTE OR IN eT te
oi i el
56a
peal to the Adjustment Board” does not thereby reserve
any rights to him, as plaintiff has argued, it does indicate
the existence of a coercive force operating on the dis-
charged employee’s free selection of alternatives and his
own meager effort to counteract that force. Consequently,
a free election must be deemed as being nullified under
these circumstances.?!
3. It thus remains to determine where plaintiff now
stands in this suit. No case is known to this court in
which a ruling of an Adjustment Board has been stricken
down on the grounds left to us in the Bower case. How-
ever, in view of the nature of the cause, it can only be
that the appeal by the discharged employee to the System
Board of Adjustment must be considered as never having
been entered at all. Pilaintiff’s position, therefore, with
respect to the allegations of fraud and all other matters
bearing on the decision of the Board, is bypassed. Brady
will be given the opportunity to elect he never had.
Whether plaintiff chooses to pursue his appeal to the
Board, or to commence an independent action is a decision
left, of course, to him. It is noted, however, that should
he start suit for wrongful discharge in the state court of
Delaware, he must be prepared to meet the challenge of
exhausting remedies, if Delaware so requires, as heretofore
discussed; if he sheuld elect to sue in federal court, the
usuai jurisdictional requirements must be satisfied.
© Letters of April 24, 1956, and May 5, 1956, from Vincent P.
Brady to the TWA-IAM System Board of Adjustment, Kansas
City, Missouri.
21 The importance of adhering to Article XXVI(f) was stressed
by the Adjustment Board itself in its ruling of May 4, 1956, which
found the appeal at that time not properly before it and granted
additional time to Brady to perfect it. Said the Board: ‘‘The
Board calls your attention to Article XXVI(f) ‘In the event
no protest is so filed within the above time limits, the action
(discharge) will be considered as proper and will be final and
binding upon all parties concerned.’ ”’ '
57a
4. Defendants’ motions are denied. I will entertain an
order not inconsistent with this opinion either staying this
action or dismissing it without prejudice, the date from
which plaintiff has, in accordance with the provisions of
the TWA-IAM Agreement, three days to select his forum.
Plaintiff submit order.
Vincent P. Brady, Plaintiff,
;
&
t
5 i
é
P
.
&
e
3
‘
i
V.
Trans World Airlines, Inc., a corporation of the State of
Delaware, and The International Association of Ma-
chinists, an unincorporated association, Defendants.
Civ. A. 1884,
United States District Court
D. Delaware.
Oct. 28, 1958—167 F. Supp. 469
Cates M. Wricut, Chief J udge.
ca ELLE L OS PON IED EE LYS LEI RE LEY I PSII TN ESB
SNR Ege SPN as
[1] This matter is before the court on reargument of
the decision rendered in Brady v. Trans World Airlines,
Ine.,' directed primarily to the impact the recent Supreme
Court pronouncement in Conley v. Gibson? had upon the
Brady determination. Consenting to rehear counsel! is a
proper exercise of this court’s discretion since Judge
Leahy, the author of the Brady decision, by reason of re-
tirement was ‘‘unavailable’’ within the purview of United '
SH
D.C. Del. 1957, 156 F. Supp. 82.
* Conley v. Gibson, 1957, 355 U.S. 41, 78 S. Ct. 99, 2 L. Ed.
2d 80.
58a
States v. Wheeler.* It is, however, with a great deal of
restraint and deference that reargument has been ordered
in view of Judge Leahy’s able opinion.
The issues raised by the parties have been exhaustively
explored and for purposes of delineation will be briefly set
forth and considered seriatim:
I. Does the System Board of Adjustment (Board) have
jurisdiction over the premises?
II. Assuming (I) is answered in the negative, what is
the scope of federal jurisdiction absent diversity of citizen-
ship?
IIT. Has a federal cause of action been properly pleaded?
I
[2] The initial inquiry pertaining to jurisdiction of the
Board is resolved by Conley v. Gibson.t There the Su-
preme Court precisely stated : °
$3 Cir., 1958, 256 F. 2d 745, 747.
“<* * * We pointed out that other exceptional circumstances
of unavailability of the first judge would be if he had died or
resigned ; it was obvious in these situations that if the petition
for reconsideration were to be heard at all, it would have to be
by another judge.’’
It is important to note that no order was entered by Judge
Leahy.
* Note 2, supra. See also Hargrove v. Brotherhood of Locomo-
tive Engineers, D.C. 1953, 116 F. Supp. 3; Brotherhood of Rail-
road Trainmen v. Luckie, Tex. Civ. App. 1955, 286 S.W. 2d 712;
Rose, The Railway Labor Act and the Jurisdiction of the Courts,
8 Lab. L.J. 9 (1957).
° 1957, 355 U.S. 41, 44, 78 S. Ct. 99, 101, 2 L. Ed. 2d 80. §3
First (i) of the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C.A. § 153) has no
application to carriers by air (Title II, § 201, 45 U.S.C.A. § 181),
however, the identical language herein pertinent is found in Title
IT, § 204, first par. (45 U.S.C.A. § 184):
“‘The disputes between an employee or group of employees
and a carrier or carriers by air growing out of grievances,
. 6 ee Oe laiiliietinds
59a
‘We hold that it was error for the courts below to
dismiss the complaint for lack of jurisdiction. They
took the position that §3 First (i) of the Railway
Labor Act conferred exclusive jurisdiction on the
Adjustment Board because the case, in their view, in-
volved the interpretation and application of the collec-
tive bargaining agreement. But §3 First (i) by its
own terms applies only to ‘disputes between an em-
ployee or group of employees and a carrier or carriers.’
This case involves no dispute between employee and
employer but to the contrary is a suit by employees
against the bargaining agent to enforce their statutory
right not to be unfairly discriminated against by it
in bargaining.’’
Although plaintiff’s complaint leaves much to be desired,
it is clearly discernible that plaintiff’s controversy is with
his bargaining agent and not employer, notwithstanding
that the employer is joined in the action to accord complete
relief. The series of events noted in Judge Leahy’s opinion
disclose that the Board heard the case and rendered its
verdict prior to Brady’s dismissal. Thus the Board
or out of the interpretation or application of agreements con-
cerning rates of pay, rules, or working conditions, * * * shall
be handled in the usual manner up to and including the chief
operating officer of the carrier designated to handle such dis-
putes; but, failing to reach an adjustment in this manner,
the disputes may be referred by petition of the parties or by
either party to an appropriate adjustment board, as herein-
after provided, with a full statement of the facts and support-
ing data bearing upon the disputes.’’
Thus it is apparent that the Conley construction of § 3 First (i)
Title I has similar application to Title II § 204 1 (45 U.S.C.A,
§ 184). ;
8«< # ® * On May 14, 1956, the Board decided adversely to Brady.
On May 15, 1956, he was discharged from employment by TWA
pursuant to the collective bargaining agreement between TWA and
TAM which required good standing membership in the union as a
condition of employment.’’ 156 F. Supp. 82, 83.
LE EELT OE NOS OLLIE CREE Re OG NAHE 80 vet
PLO
60a
could only have determined Brady’s claim vis-a-vis the
Brotherhood.’
[3] The fact that the dispute might encompass construc-
tion of the collective bargaining agreement is deemed en-
tirely irrelevant for unless the controversy is between em-
ployee and employer the Board is simply without juris-
diction’ and no agreement of the parties can extend its
authority.®
The covrt in resolving this issue is not unmindful of the
caveat noted in United Railroad Operating Crafts v. Wyer,
namely, ‘‘ * * * it is a fantastic thought that every employee
who is discharged under a union shop agreement can run
to Court about it.’”’’° This argument was effectively re-
butted in 8 Lab.L.J. at page 69:
““e * * The district court’s (Wyer Court) indif-
ference to the rights of the workers is shocking for it
So
* See 8 Lab. L.J. at page 59:
“‘However, if it is the situation where a hearing shows to
the employer’s satisfaction that the employee is not a member
of the union, and the employer acquiesces in the union’s de-
mand, the dispute is not between the employee and the carrier,
but between the employee and the union which is disputing his
merabership and pressing for the discharge. The union shop
contract is solely for the advantage of the union and, in all
probability, the employer would do nothing about discharging
the allegedly delinquent employee until prodded by the
union.’’
845 U.S.C.A. §184: ‘‘The disputes between an employee or
group of employees and a carrier or carriers by air * * *,”’
®“*The authority or jurisdiction of the System Board is statutory,
45 U.S.C.A. § 184. I. cannot be extended by agreement of the par-
ties, for it is not a private board of arbitration.’ American Air-
lines v. Air Line Pilots Ass’n, D.C.E.D.N.Y. 1950, 91 F. Supp.
629, 632.
1° United Railroad Operating Crafts v. Wver. D.C.S.D.N.Y. 1953,
115 F. Supp. 359, 365.
6la
further said that ‘it is a fantastic thought that every
employee who is discharged under a union shop agree-
ment can run to court about it.’
‘If it is a violation of the statute, why is it fantastic?
Since when have the courts become so much more im-
portant than the citizens whose rights they must re-
dress? Has the court become callous as to the work-
er’s rights? Possibly these cases will make the reader
wonder.’’ (Parenthesis supplied.)
Nor is the court impervious to the advantages derived from
having expertise and uniformity in the resolution ot labor
matters especially where the determination involves fu-
ture conduct." It is not thought, however, that denial of
Board jurisdiction in the instant proceeding will tend to
foment labor strife.
Of the policy to be served the most persuasive argument
is that -vhich attacks the Board under the factual setting
herein presented for the inherent bias engendered by its
composition of members representing exclusively manage-
ment and union. Article XII(b) of the TWA-IAM collec-
tive bargaining agreement provides:
‘*The System Board of Adjustment shall consist of
four (4) members, two (2) selected by the Company
and two (2) selected by the Union.”
It is simply repugnan: to our standards of fundamental
fairness and totally uarealistic to require an employee
to submit a dispute he has with his bargaining agent for
final determination to persons selected by and represent-
11 Slocum v. Delaware, L:. & W. R. Co., 1950, 339 U.S. 239, 70
S. Ct. 577, 94 L. Ed. 795, Alabaugh v. Baltimore & Ohio R. Co.,
4 Cir., 1955, 222 F. 2d 361.
12 Note 11, supra.
NETRA Te LOT, PO TE ET NIM, MTEL SRILA LON ERR SRE TETEH BR NESS TNA MSIE eet ERE
Ta a eR
62a
ing the bargaining agent. The decisional law end the legal
literature are replete with condemnation of this practice.'®
18«° @ * © Indeed, it might be diffievlt to find a constitutional
basis for relegating this controversy to the Railway Adjustment
Board as contended by defendants, and such procedure appears
particularly abhorrent when it is considered that the defendants
named herein participate in making the selections of membership
on the Board, who would pass upon the validity of their acts
charged to be in disregard of the trust imposed upon them.’’ Har-
grove v. Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, D.C. 1953, 116 F.
Supp. 3, 9.
“** * * We can only answer that in that event there is a public
interest in the impartial protection of any rights granted by an
Act of Congress that transcends the immunity of labor disputes
from all surveillance by a court of law.”’ Rychlik v. Pennsylvania
R. Co., 2 Cir., 1956, 229 F. 24 171, 175, reversed on other grounds,
1957, 352 U.S. 480, 77 S. Ct. 421, 1 L. Ed. 2d 480.
In Dr. Bonkam’s Case, 8 Co. Rep. 114a, 2 Brownl. 255, 77 Eng.
Rep. 647 (C.P. 1610), the defendant was fined by the President
and Censors of the Royal College of Physicians, pursuant to a
statute, for practicing medicine without a proper license. The
statute gave half the fine to tne Royal College of Physicians. In
holding this fine invalid Lord Coke said:
‘* # * * The censors cannot be judges, ministers, and parties ;
judges to give sentence or judgment; ministers to make sum-
mons; and parties to have the moiety of the forfeiture, quia
aliquis non debet esse Judex in propria causa, imo iniquum est
aliquem suae rei esse judicem; and one cannot be Judge and
attorney for any of the parties, * * *, And it appears in our
books, that in many cases, the common law will controul Acts
of Parliament, and sometimes adjudge them to be utterly void:
for when an Act of Parliament is against common right and
reason, or repugnant, or impossible tc be performed, the com-
mon law will controul it, and adjudge such Act to be void ;
See also Steele v. Louisville & Nashville R. Co., 1944, 323 U.S. 192,
65 S. Ct. 226, 89 L.Ed. 173; Tunstell v. Brotherhood of Locomo-
tive Firemen & Enginemen, 1944, 323 U.S. 210, 65 S. Ct. 235, 89
L. Ed. 187; Tumey v. State of Ohio, 1927, 273 U.S. 510, 47 S. Ct.
437, 71 L. Ed. 749; Edwards v. Capital Airlines, 1949, 84 U.S.
63a
II and II
[4] Unfortunately, concluding that the Board lacked au-
thority to determine Brady’s claim does not materially ad-
vance the jurisdictional ‘nquiry for plaintiff seeks nore
than simply upsetting the Board’s judgment."* Since di-
versity of citizenship is lacking the additional relief re-
quested can only be accorded in this forum if a cause of
action correctly invoking 28 U.S.C.A. § 1331 or § 1337 has
been asserted.
The claim as it now reads, resolving all doubts in favor
of the pleader, is in need of amendment for it is seriously
App. D.C. 346, 176 F. 2d 755, certiorari denied 338 U.S. 885,
70 S. Ct. 186, 188, 94 L. Ed. 548; Brotherhood of Railroed Train-
men v. Luckie, Tex. Civ. App. 1955, 286 S.W. 2d 712; Rose, Rail-
way Labor Act and Jurisdiction of the Courts, 8 Lab. LJ. 9
(1957) ; 40 Harv. L. Rev. 30 (1926).
4 Complaint, pp. 6-7:
‘Wherefore, plaiutiff seeks the following relief:
“‘T, An order of this Court reversing the decision of the
SBA, dated May 14, 1956.
“iI. An order directing TWA to reinstate Brady as an em-
ployee with payment to him of all wages, overtime pay and
vacation pay since May 15, 1956, with reinstatement of Brady
to all other benefits he held as an employee of TWA including
the $15,000.00 life insurance policy, the sickness and benefit
policy, credit union privileges, retirement benefits and his
seniority status retroactive to October 1, 1946 undiminished
by the time since May 15, 1956.
“IIT. A judgment against [AM and/or TWA for damages
for the humiliation and embarrassment suffered by Brady by
reason of his illegal discharge.
“IV. A judgment for damages suffered by Brady by reason
of the discharge without just cause by TWA.
**V. The allowance of a reasonable attorney’s fee which shall
be taxed and collected as a part of the costs of this suit.
“‘VI. Such other, further and different relief as the Court
may deem just and proper in the premises, ’’
questioned whether little more than an action sounding
ex delicto cr ex contractu has been formulated."* At oral
argument plaintiff expressly requested permission to as-
sert by amended complaint conduct which would set forth
a cause within the purview of Conley."
The court subscribes to plaintiff’s contention that Conley
v. Gibson” should not be limited to its facts but encom-
passes all forms of discrimination whether it be racial or
not. The case law which has attempted to limit redress in
federal courts to racial discrimination" is less persuasive
to this court than the decisions and literature which oppose
the placing of an arbitrary restriction.” There is no
justifiable reason without invoking constitutional mandates
to so limit federal relief where predicated solely on a
federal statute. In Hargrove v. Brotherhood of Loco-
* Brock v. Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, D.C.W.D.La.
1955, 129 F.Supp. 849.
16 Note 2, supra.
17 Note 2, supra.
18 Alabaugh v. Baltimore & Ohio R. Co., 4 Cir., 1955, 222 F.2a
861; Spires v. Southern Ry. Co., 4 Cir., 1953, 204 F.2d 453; Colbert
v. Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, 9 Cir., 1953, 206 F.2d 9,
certiorari denied, 1954, 346 U.S. 931, 74 S.Ct. 320, 98 L.Ed. 422.
19 Ford Motor Co. v. Huffman, 1953, 345 U.S. 330, 73 S.Ct. 681,
97 L.Ed. 1048; Mount v. Grand International Brotherhood of
Locomotive Engineers, 6 Cir., 1955, 226 F.2d 604, certiorari denied,
1956, 350 U.S. 967, 76 S.Ct. 436, 100 L.Ed. 839; Hargrove v.
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, D.C.1953, 116 F.Supp. 3;
8 Lab.L.J. 9 (1957); see also dissenting opinion in Brotherhood
of Railroad Trainmen v. Howard, 1052, 343 U.S. 768, at page 776,
72 S.Ct. 1022, at page 1026, 96 L.Ed. 1283.
*** * * Tt would have been the same if the Brotherhood had
discriminated against him on some other ground, unrelated to
race. It was the Brotherhood’s duty ‘to act on behalf of all
the employees which, by virtue of the statute, it undertakes to
represent.’ ”’
% Steele v. Louisville & Nashville R. Co., 1944, 323 U.S. 192, 65
S.Ct. 226, 89 L.Ed. 173.
SS ete 708 ae vlad ct J
mE eat eine Aa Gwe te
65a
motive Engineers the language of J ucige Pine is particu-
larly appropriate and is in the court’s astimation, a com-
plete answer to any attempt to restrict court supervision of
the RLA to racial discrimination : 1
“‘Although the Steele and related cases involved
racial discrimination, an analysis of the opinions makes
it clear that jurisdiction of the courts was not depend-
ent on that element exclusively, but related to their
power to determine whether or not the statutory duty
to represent all of the employees equally had been
met. Compare Ford Motor Co. v. Huffman, 345 U.S.
330 [73 S.Ct. 681, 97 L.Ed. 1048] where no racial ques-
tion was involved.’’
Further the coart is of the opinion that the authority
cited by defendants for the proposition that the bargain-
ing agent’s responsibilty is merely to refrain from execut-
ing agreements unlawful on their face, in terms or effect”?
directly conflicts with the language of Conley stated
below:
““* * * A contract may be fair and impartial on its
face yet administered in such a way, with the active or
tacit consent of the union, as tu be flagrantly discrim-
inatory as against some members of the bar raining
unit.’’
Thus little weight and consideration have been afforded
these decisions for it is fair to infer from the aforemen-
71 D.C., 116 F.Supp. 3, 9. See also discussion of the Hargrove
decision in Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen v. Luckie, Tex.Civ.
App.1955, 286 S.W.2d 712, 716.
*2 Hettenbaugh v. Airline Pilots Ass’n International 5 Cir., 1951,
189 F.2d 319; United R.R. Operating Crafts v. Northern Pacific
Ry. Co., 9 Cir., 1953, 208 F.2d 135, certiorari denied 347 U.S. 929,
74 S.Ct. 529, 98 L.Ed. 1081.
*8 355 U.S. 41, 46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 102, 2 L.Ed.2d 80.
66a
tioned quotation that discriminatory practices in adminis-
tering the bargaining agreement are federally condemned.”
Accordingly, plaintiff is granted leave to amend pursuant
to the course indicated at oral argument. TWA will be
retained as a party defendant as a precautionary measure
to insure plaintiff complete relief in the event he sustains
his burden.* In view of the foregoing, there is no sub-
stance to defendant TWA’s contention that the complaint
is deficient for non-joinder of the System Board of Ad-
justment.
An order may be submitted.
* Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80; see
also Richardson v. Texas & New Orleans R. Co., 5 Cir., 1957, 242
F.2d 230).
*5 Richardson v. Texas & New Orleans R. Co., 5 Cir., 1957, 242
F.2d 230. Article XXVI (p) of the TWA-IAM agreement is
further reason for not dismissing TWA as a party defendant:
“‘The Union shall indemnify and save the Company harmless
against all forms of liability that shall arise out of or by rea-
son of action taken by the Company, which action was re-
quested by the Union under the provisions of this Article
(Union Security).’’ (Parenthesis supplied).
Sr ah nedicrn RRNRSRMate Kboiteactemeieanir Bo haat Sa econ
67a
Vincent P. Brady, Plaintiff,
V.
Trans World Airlines, Inc., a corporation of the State of
Delaware, and The International Association of Ma-
chinists, an unincorporated association, Defendants.
Civ. A. No. 1884.
United States District Court
D. Delaware.
June 10, 1959—174 F. Supp. 360
* * a * * . * * * *
Cates M. Wricut, Chief Judge.
This matter is before the court on defendant, The Inter-
national Association of Machinists’ (IAM) motion to dis-
miss the Second Amended Complaint ‘‘on the grounds that
(1) the Court lacks jurisdiction over the subject-matter
of the Complaint, as amended; and (2) the Complaint, as
amended, fails to state a claim upon which relief can be
granted.’’ Diversity of citizenship does not exist. i
. Plaintiff’s essential allegations of fact are: !
‘Brady was not delinquent in the payment of his
dues. He tendered his dues in time to avoid being ;
held delinquent by the IAM. His tender of dues was
refused. The IAM’s refusal to accept his dnes is
unexplainable except on the basis that it wanted to
? Plaintiff’s Brief in Opposition to Motion to Dismiss Second
Amended Complaint, pp. 5-6.
““* * * Brady brings this action pursuant to the provisions
of the United States Code, Title 45, Chapter 8, and more par-
ticularly Title II, Section 201 and Title I, Section 2 of the
Railway Labor Act, to the’ extent the provisions of Title I,
Section 2 are made applicable by Title II, Section 201, the
aforesaid sections also being known as 45 U.S.C. [§§] 181 and
152, and pursuant to the provisions of 28 U.S.C. Section 1331
ana 1337.’’ Second Amended Complaint, par. 18.
a Pian Ee Naat Rl a RB Bais BUG TB eK FER VER 0 ie RNa he oN
68a,
be rid of Brady. Despite Brady’s timeiy tender of
dues, the IAM before the SBA and previously in this
Court claimed that Brady was delinquent. *** The
discrimination against Brady was the fact that the
IAM refused to accept tender of his dues which was
not the attitude the LAM took with respect to other
members of Brady’s Local 1776. Not content with dis-
criminating against Brady by refusing to accept his
dues, the IAM thereafter ‘pulled out all stops’ in an
effort to have Brady discharged. The tack the IAM
took was to claim that he had not paid dues (misrep-
resenting the fact). The action which the IAM took
against Brady under its claim that he had not paid
dues was action which the union did not take against
other members of Local 1776, who were, in fact, de-
linquent in the payment of their dues. The purpose
of Brady’s allegation (and what he believes the proof
in this case will show) is that the IAM made out a
fictitious case against Brady using a ‘test’, which test
the IAM itself was unwilling to apply to other mem-
bers of the IAM Local. Thus, the discrimination.”
A perusal of the aforementioned contentions indicates
that plaintiff sets forth two distinct claims, namely:
(1) Plaintiff was discharged in violation of 45 U.S.C.A.
§ 152.2
(2) The Brotherhood’s discriminatory actions in causing
plaintiff’s discharge constitute a breach of the bargaining
representative’s duty under the Railway Labor Act to
represent all members of the craft fairly without dis-
crimination.®
? This section is made applicable to Carriers by Air, 45 U.S.C.A.
§ 181.
* Conley v. Gibson, 1957, 355 U.S. 41, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80;
Steel v. Louisville & Nashville R. Co., 1944, 323 U.S. 192, 65 S.Ct.
226, 89 L.Ed. 173; Tunstall v. Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen
69a
[1] The court holds plaintiff’s averments re discrimina-
tion are sufficient to bring him within the purview of
this court’s adjudication filed October 28, 1958.*
[2] The bargaining representative’s statutory duty ‘‘to
represent fairly and without hostile discrimination all of
the employees in the bargaining unit’’, and ‘“‘not to draw
‘irrelevant and invidious’ distinctions among those it rep-
resents’’° clearly proscribes arbitrary invocations of union
security provisions to reprimand the membership.® If
inaction be interdicted™ manifestly affirmative discrimina-
tory conduct cannot be countenanced.
[3] Plaintiff’s claim that he was discharged in violation
of 45 U.S.C.A. § 152, particular! y Section 152, Eleventh (a),
raises a serious question of statutory construction. This
provision in pertinent part provides:
& Enginemen, 1944, 323 U.S. 210, 65 S. Ct. 235, 89 L.Ed. 187.
Brady v. TWA, D.C.Del.1958, 167 F.Supp. 469; Cherico v. Brother-
hood of Railroad Trainmen. D.C.S.D.N.Y.1958. 167 F.Supp. 635;
Vol. 2 U.S.Code Congressional Service, 81st Congress, 2d Session
1950, p. 4322: ‘‘Your committee also desires to make it clear that
nothing in this bill [S. 3295] is intended to modify in any way the
requirement that the authorized bargaining representative shall
represent all the employees in the craft or class, including non-
union employees as well as members of the union, fairly, equitably,
and in good faith. (See Steele v. Louisville & Nashville Railroad
Co., 323 U.S. 192, 65 S. Ct. 226, 89 L.Ed. 173, and Tunstall v.
Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen & Enginemen, 323 U.S. 210, 65
S.Ct. 235, 89 L.Ed. 187).
* Brady v. TWA, supra.
* Conley v. Gibson, 1957, 355 U.S. 41, 46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 102, 2
L.Ed.2d 80.
®<‘Tf the unions are to represent all of its members equitably, it
breaches its duty if it discriminates against an individual as well
as against a class or a recogifized minority group.’’ Cherico vy.
Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, D.C.S.D.N.Y.1958, 167 F.Supp.
6°5, 637.
7 Note 5, supra.
Es POORER. AR Met ¥ on
70a,
“Eleventh. Notwithstanding any other provisions
of this chapter, * * * any carrier or carriers * * * and
a labor organization or labor organizations duly desig-
nated and authorized to represent employees in ac-
cordance with the requirements of this chapter shall
be permitted
‘(a) to make agreements, requiring, as a condition
of continued employment, that within sixty days fol-
lowing the beginning of such employment, or the effec-
tive date of such agreements, whichever is the later
all employees shall become members of the labor or-
ganization representing their craft or class: Provided.
That no such agreement shall require such condition of
employment with respect to employees to whom mem-
bership is not available upon the same terms and con-
ditions as are generally applicable to any other mem-
ber or with respect to employees to whom membership
was denied or terminated for any reason other than
the failure of the employee to tender the periodic dues,
initiation fees, and assessments (not including fines
and penalties) uniformly required as a condition of
acquiring or retaining membership.”’
Defendant submits that the proviso language of the en-
actment merely declares illegal agreements which, on their
face, do not conform to the statute. Thus, under defend-
ant IAM’s view, so long as the collective bargaining agree-
ment is couched in terms of the Act, conduct under any
circumstance, cannot give rise to a federally cognizable
claim.
Although the proviso does appear to speak of ‘‘no agree-
ment shall’’ to adopt defendant LAM’s construction and so
limit its application,would render the provision impotent.
The Conley court rejected the identical argument where it
was urged as limiting the duty of the bargaining agent to
7la
refrain from negotiating agreements discriminatory in
terms and/or effect. Mr. Justice Black cogently observed : ®
““* * * A contract may be fair and impartial on its
face yet administered in such a way, with the active
or tacit consent of the union, as to be flagrantly dis-
criminatory against some members of the bargaini
unit.’’ [355 U.S. 41, 78 S.Ct. 102.]
The legislative history makes it crystal clear that if an
employee be expelled from membership for any reason
other ‘‘than his failure to tender the uniformly required
periodic dues, initiation fees, and assessments, he cannot
be required to relinquish his job because of his failure to
join or remain a member of a labor organization.’’® De-
fendant asserts that the court is precluded from resorting
to statements evidencing the policy bottoming the proviso
without demonstrating that the statutory language is am-
biguous.
45 U.S.C.A. § 152, Eleven (a) not unlike other provisions
of the Railway Labor Act is incapable of literal applica-
tion.” For instance, the section as worded suggests the
8 Note 5, supra.
®Vol. 2 U.S.Code Congressional Service, 81st Congress, 2d
Session 1950, p. 4322.
*° Pennsylvania R. Co. v. Rychlik, 1957, 352 U.S. 480, 488-489,
77 S.Ct. 421, 425, 1 L.Ed.2d 480:
“At first glance the language of Section 2, Eleventh (c)
would appear to be disarmingly clear: union-shop contracts
are satisfied if the employee belongs to any union which hap-
pens to be national in scope and organized in accordance with
the Act. -And if that be its meaning we would then have to
deal with the questions reached by the Court of Appeals. How-
ever, as so often happens, when the language of the statute
is read, not in a vacuum, but in the light of the policies this
Section was intended to serve, it becomes clear that the pur-
pose of Congress was not, as respondent contends, to give
employees in the railroad industry any blanket right to join
EY sc asa
as acne
DRRLAONESRRNY Atle: KL Anika we
72a
anomalous result that a member may not be discharged
for failing to maintain membership but only for failing
to acquire membership." Manifestly the drafters could not
have intended the aforementioned construction; neither
could they have purposed the interpretation placed upon
the second proviso by defendant.”
unions other than the authorized bargaining representative,
or to help dissident or arising new unions recruit new mem-
bers. Rather, the sole aim of the provision was to protect em-
ployees from the requirement. of dual unionism in an industry
with high job mobility, and thus to confer on qualified craft
unions the right to assure members employment security, even
if a member should be working temporarily in a craft for which
another union is the bargaining representative. * * iti
12 Compare 45 U.S.C.A. § 152 Eleventh (a):
‘“(a) to make agreements, requiring, as @ condition of
continued employment, that within sixty days following the
beginning of such employment, or the effective date of such
agreements, whichever is the later, all employees snall become
members of the labor organization representing their eraft or
class * * *.’” (Emphasis supplied.)
with first clause of TWA-IAM agreement, Article XXVI:
‘‘Back employee now or hereafter employed in any work
covered by this Agreement shall, as 2 condition of continued
employment in such work, within sixty (60) days following
the beginning of such employment or the effective date of this
Article, whichever is later, become a member of, and there-
after maintain membership in good standing * * *.”’ (Em-
phasis supplied.)
12 United States v. Shirley, 359 U.S. 255, 79 S.Ct. 746, 749, 3
L.Ed.2d 789:
‘‘Statutes, including penal enactments, are not inert exer-
cises in literary composition. They are instruments of govern-
ment, and in construing them ‘the general purpose is a more
important aid to the meaning than any rule which grammar
or formal logic may lay down.’ United States v. Whitridge,
197 U.S. 135, 143, 25 S.Ct. 406, 408, 49 L.Ed. 696. This is so
because the purpose of an enactment is embedded in its words
even though it is not always pedantically expressed in words.
73a
The 1951 amendment permitting carriers and employee
representatives to bargain for union security, discloses
that the sole requirement the bargaining agent could extract
from its members as a condition of continued employment
was the tender of ‘periodic dues, initiation fees, and assess-
ments (not including fines and penalties) uniformly re-
quired as a condition of acquiring or retaining member-
ship.’? 18
[4, 5] An employee whose discharge is precipitated by a
union covered under the provisions of the Railway Labor
Act for reasons other than enunciated in the statute, ab-
sent Congressional preemption," may have recourse to a
federal court. To hold otherwise would be a perversion of
the general statutory scheme and defeat entirely the de-
clared purposes of Congress.®
See United States v. Wurzbach, 280 U.S. 396, 399, 50 S.Ct.
167, 74 L.Ed. 508. Statutory meaning, it is to be remembered,
is more to be felt than demonstrated, see United States v.
Johnson, 221 U.S. 488, 496, 31 S.Ct. 627, 55 L.Ed. 823, or, as
Judge Learned Hand has somewhere put it, the art of inter-
pretation is ‘the proliferation of purpose.’ * * *”
845 U.S.C.A. § 152, Eleventh (a).
14 The instant proceeding is not one in which a System Board of
Adjustment created pursuant to 45 U.S.C.A. § 184 has jurisdiction.
Brady v. TWA, D.C.Del.1958, 167 F.Supp. 469. See also Felter
v. Southern Pacifie Co., 1959, 359 U.S. 326, 79 S.Ct. 847, 3 L.Ed.2d
854; Conley v. Gibson, supra; Cunningham v. Erie R. Co., 2 Cir.,
1959, 266 F.2d 411.
Vol. 2, U.S.Code Congressional Service, 81st Congress 2d
Session 1950, pp. 4321-4322:
‘** * * The proposal was made by Senator Lehman that your
committee’s intention be made clear that such employees were
not to be deprived of their employment as a result of the exer-
cise of the right extended by this bill. Your committee desires
to make it clear that the proviso clauses in paragraph eleventh
(a) are designed to protect such employees; thus if an em-
ployee is denied membership or is eligible for membership only
on terms and conditions not generally applicable to other mem-
Ree Diet alee 0 he KIS ales
1 LD Nh AM i ADE AIR pct seein Meat ih igs Soar in beghiees tie ne a ently ‘ |
eu shew’, 1 HH Hees, "4
yhigtaninden
T4a
Prior to the 1951 amendment an employee could not be
discharged at the request of the certified bargaining agent
for failing to retain union membership.’*® No language in
45 U.S.C.A. § 152, Eleventh (a) permitting a carefully cir-
cumscribed form of union security indicates that Congress
intended to deprive the federal courts of actions based
upon allegatiors that a union member was certified for
discharge by his bargaining agent, notwithstanding he had
fulfilled his financial obligation to the brotherhood.
bers, he cannot be requested to give up his job because of his
failure to join a labor organization. Furthermore, if mem-
bership is denied or if an employee is expelled from member-
ship for any reason other than his failure tc tender the uni-
formly required periodic dues, initiation fees, and assessments,
he cannot be required to relinquish his job because of his fail-
ure to join or remain a member of a labor organization. * * *”’
‘‘# # ® Tt is the view of your committee that the terms of
S. 3295 are substantially the same as those of the Labor-Man-
agement Relations Act as they have been administered ani
that such differences as exist are warranted either by experi-
ence or by special conditions existing among employees of our
railroads and airiines.’’ Vol. 2 U.S. Congressional Service, 81st
Congress, 2d Session 1950, p. 4321.
Compare 29 U.S.C.A. § 158(a) (3):
‘*#@ ® ® Provided further, That no employer shall justify any
discrimination against an employee fer nonmembership in a
labor organization, * * * (B) if he has reasonable grounds
for believing that membership was denied or terminated for
reasons other than the failure of the employee to tender the
periodic dues and the initiation fees uniformly required as
a condition of acquiring or retaining membership.’’
16 Vol. 2 U.S. Congressional Service, 81st Cong., 2d Sess., pp.
4319-4321; 45 U.S.C.A. § 152, Fifth. See also Pennsylvania R. Co.
yv. Rychlik, 1957, 352 U.S. 480, 489, 77 S.Ct. 421, 1 L.Ed.2d 480.
‘*® ® ® Tt is true that at the time of its passage in 1951 Subsection
Fifth of § 152 made it unlawful for a railway to require an em-
ployee to join any union as a condition of employment, and we may
assume, arguendo. that that subsection still forbids a ‘closed shop.’
#¢’ Otten v. Baltimore & Ohio R. Co., 2 Cir., 1953, 205 F.2d
58, 60.
75a
There remains for consideration a third soarce of fed-
eral jurisdiction, namely, the union security provision of
the collective burgaining agreement violates the second
proviso of 45 U.S.C.A. § 152, Eleventh (a). The contrac-
tual provision in pertinent part provides: "
“*(a) Each employee now or hereafter employed in
any work covered by this agreement shall, as a sondi-
tion of continued employment in such work, within sixty
(60) days following the beginning of such employment
or the effective date of this Article, whichever is later,
become a member of, and thereafter maintain member-
ship in good standing (as herein defined), in the Union,
except as provided otherwise herein. Such condition
shall not apply * * * with respect to any employee to
whom membership is denied or terminated for any rea-
son other than the failure of the employee to tender
the dues uniformly required of other members of his
classification (and at his point on the Company’s sys-
tem) as a condition of acquiring or retaining mem-
bership.
‘*For the purpose of this Article, ‘membership in
good standing in the Union’ shall consist of the pay-
ment by the eizployee of dues for each calendar month,
not later than the last day of the following calendar
month, which are uniformly required of members of
his classification (and at his point on the Company’s
system) as a condition of acquiring or retaining mem-
bership.
**(e) When an employee becomes delinquent by not
meeting the requirements of (a) above for ‘member-
ship in good standing in the Union’, the following pro-
cedure shall be observed :.
7 TWA-IAM agreement, effective March 11, 1955, Articie XXVI,
pp. 62, 63, 67,
SSiatinive. - " -
ee OSS I DR Ne BOI: Be 5 AE ahs INO Raha ihe gett wah tems . ~+ into sla OF 0 OO a abe
76a
**(1) The General Chairman of the Union shall
notify the employee by registered letter, return receipt
requested, copy to the Company’s Vice President of
Industrial Relations, that the employee is delinquent
in the payment of dues as specified herein and accord-
ingly is subject to discharge as an employee of the
Company. * * *
‘*(n) Whenever the term dues is referred to in this
Article, such use of the word ‘dues’ shall include initia-
tion or reinstatement fees, periodic dues, and assess-
ments (not including fines and penalties), * * *.’’
The definition of membership in good standing set forth
in the above-quoted Article es ‘‘the payment by the em-
ployee of dues for each calendar month, not later than the
last day of the following calendar month’’ does not seem
to conform with Article E, Section 14 of the LAM constitu-
tion which in essence provides for a three month grace
period.”* At one stage of the proceedings counsel for de-
fendant conceded the variance : ”
‘*Now, the way he gets that is this: The union shop
agreement itself provides that a member shall be in
good standing if he is not delinquent for more than
one month. In other words, the union shop agreement
provision is stronger than what is in the union laws.
People can be members of the union in places where
they do not have a union shop, and they would not be
affected the same way. But it says one month. Then
it has a provision in it that says that that delinquency
of one month can be met up until the end of the next
calendar month.
18 Tnternational Association of Machinists Constitution, Article
E, See. 14.
19 Transcript of proceedings Apiil 21, 1958, Argument pp. 39-40.
77a
“So as far as the wording of the union shop agree-
ment itself is concerned—suppose the plaintiff had only
been delinquent for February, he would have nearly had
up until the end of March to meet his delinquency. And
if that was what we were talking about, then his argu- '
ment would be a good argument. However, that was
not what Mr. Miller replied to him. What Mr. Miller
replied to him, which was more generous than what !
was in the union shop agreement, was the provisions of t
the union constitution which are before the court which .
provide that a man shall lose his good standing auto-
matically when he is three months delinquent. It does
not make any difference whether we figure that three
months on February 1 or on February 28, * * *»
(Emphasis supplied. )
This matter was brought to the attention of counsel sua
sponte by the court wherein after pointing out the afore-
mentioned discrepancy the court suggested : 2
‘In view of the foregoing, does not Article XXVI
(e) which prescribes the procedure for union certifica-
tion for delinquency ‘by not meeting the requirements
of (a) above for membership in good standing in the
union’ raise a statutory claim? It seems to me that
Article XXVI (e) would permit the discharge for a
dues delinquency of but two months and since the cun-
stitution permits a three months delinquency before
termination of union mempership, I question whether
this is not specifically contrary to the second proviso |
of 2 Eleventh (a): )
** “Provided, That no such agreement shall require
such condition of employment with respect to em-
ployees to whom membership is not available upon
the same terms and conditions as are generally appli-
cable to any other member or with respect to employees
* Letter dated February 4, 1959.
2 saa he —
Whee is Ph jw : a aE Sais Tina Re oo Shrine eed Deel ee ee e AS DD ARR leat et
ee pois
78a
to whom membership was denied or terminated for any
reason other than the failure of the employee to tender
the periodic dues, * * * uniformly required as a condi-
tion of acquiring or retaining membership.’ (Em-
phasis supplied. )
‘Thus, under the above construction, could there be
any question but that the court has jurisdiction in the
premises ?
‘Since this matter is raised for the first time by
me, J] would appreciate hearing the views of counsel
at their earliest convenience.’’
1AM replied that counsel’s previous statement was erro-
neous and proceeded to submit a revised construction.”
Plaintiff answered, ‘‘that on analysis there is no incon-
sistency between Article E, Section 14 of the IAM con-
stitution and Article XXVI (a) of the TWA-IAM agree-
ment,’’ however, ‘‘there is considerabie difference between
the IAM’s explanation of the consistency of the two sec-
tions and Brady’s.’’ 7
21“<(Jpon consideration of the point raised in the Court’s Febru-
ary 4th letter, the language of the entire Article XXVI(a), and
the record of the proceedings before the System Board of Adjust-
ment, counsel believes that he was in error in stating during the
April 21st argument that there is any difference between Article
XXVI (a) and Article E, Section 14 of the IAM Constitution.’’
Supplemental Memorandum of IAM in Support of Motion to Dis-
miss Second Amended Complaint, p. 5, filed March 4, 1959.
*2 Supplemental Reply Brief of Vincent P. Brady, p. 3, filed
April 22, 1959. But see plaintiff’s letter of February 16, 1959:
‘‘ Although I have not argued that the inconsistency with respect to
dues between the Union Constitution and the IAM-TWA Agree-
ment invalidates the agreement under the Federal Statute, I be-
lieve the argument is meritorious and is encompassed within the
complaint as initially filed and as amended.’’
joao PKcalebibiidllas
79a
[6] Under the recent Supreme Court pronouncement in
Felter v. Southern Pacific Co., * it would seem unquestion-
ably that the validity of an agreement executed pursuant to
45 U.S.C.A. § 152, Eleventh (a) is federally cognizable, not-
withstanding that the case solely presented a 45 U.S.C.A.
§ 152, Eleventh (b) agreement.
Particularly applicable to the present litigation is foot-
note 3, wherein Mr. Justice Brennan states :
‘‘The Trainmen’s position, concurred in by the com-
pany, is that this provision means that no revocation
cards are to be recognized ‘except those reproduced
by our organization.’ While this construction of the
agreement is hardly an obvious one, it is the construc-
tion put on the agreement by the parties to it, the
Southern Pacific and the Trainmen, and since peti-
tioner in this suit does not question it as a matter of
construction, we of course accept it here.
‘‘Since there was no question of interpretation or
application of the collective agreement, but rather only
one of its validity under the statute, the case is not
one in which resort to the grievance and Adjustment
Board machinery provided by the Railway Labor Act
was required. ‘This dispute involves the validity of
the contract, not its meaning.’ ‘Brotherhood of Rail-
road Trainmen v. Howard, 343 U.S. 768, 774, 72 S.Ct.
1022, 1025, 96 L.Ed. 1283. Cf. Slocum v. Delaware,
L. & W. R. Co., 339 U.S. 239, 242-244, 70 S.Ct. 577, 578-
580, 94 L.Ed. 795. The case presents an employee dis-
pute as much, if not more, with the labor organization
as with the employer. Cf. Steele v. Louisville & N. R.
Co., 323 U.S. 192, 205, 65 S.Ct. 226, 233, 89 L.Ed. 173.”
Unfortunately the posture of the immediate proceeding
does not mirror Felter, supra, with respect to the con-
*8 1959, 359 U.S. 326, 79 S.Ct. 847, 850, 3 L.Ed.2d 854.
4 Note 23, supra.
struction of the respective bargaining agreements. In
Felter the agreement, as construed by the carrier and bar-
gaining agent, was not questioned by the aggrieved em-
ployee. Here no accord on the interpretation of Article
XXVI has been reached.
In view of plaintiff’s allegation that defendant violated
45 U.S.C.A. § 152, Eleventh (a), and the patently ambigu-
ous contractual language, with one possible construction
leading toward illegality, it is deemed that jurisdiction in
the premises has been properly reposed in this court within
the purview of Felter, supra.
Accordingly, defendant’s motion to dismiss the second
amended complaint is denied. The court further denies
defendant’s application for an interlocutory certificate pur-
suant to 28 U.S.C.A. §1292(b). To place this case in
proper perspective for appellate review the factual dis-
putes should be resolved.
Submit order.
2 Noie 23, supra.
8la
Vincent P. Brady, Plaintif,,
v.
Trans World Airlines, Inc., a corporation of the State of
Delaware, and the International Association of Ma-
chinists, an unincorporated association, Defendants.
Civ. A. No. 1884.
United States District Court
D. Delaware.
July 11, 1961—196 F. Supp. 504
a * * * * e * * * *
Cates M. Wricut, Chief Judge.
Plaintiff has sued the above-named defendants for rein-
statement to his job and various forms of damages. He
contends his discharge by defendant TWA, purportedly
based upon a valid union-shop agreement with defendant
IAM, was in violation of the Railway Labor Act.! Plain-
tiff and the IAM have filed cross-motions for summary
judgment.
[1] After considering the oral argument and various
parts of the record, it appears this case may not be dis-
posed of under Rule 56, 28 U.S.C.A., as construed by our
Court of Appeals. In this Circuit, a District Court, in
disposing of a motion for summary judgment, may not
draw inferences from admitted facts, Bragen v. Hudson
County News Company, 3 Cir., 1960, 278 F.2d 615; may
not use supporting affidavits to overcome well-pleaded
facts, Hart & Co. v. Recordgraph Corp., 3 Cir., 1948, 169
F.2d 580; and apparently may not even assume facts
against the moving party, Krieger v. Ownership Corp., 3
, 1959, 270 F.2d 265.
[2] In the present case, the question of whether Brady
was discharged ‘‘for any reason other than the failure
? That statute is set out at 45 U.S.C.A. §§ 151-168, 181-188.
82a
* * * to tender the periodic dues, initiation fees, and assess-
menis (not including fines and penalties) uniformly re-
quired as a condition of acquiring or retaining member-
ship.’’ (Railway Labor Act, § 2, Eleventh), is at best one
of mixed fact and law. Of a similar nature is the issue of
‘‘discrimination’’ on the part of the IAM. Although taere
are many admitted facts, there is a sharp dispute as to
the inferences to be drawn therefrom, and the Court cannot
say the law compels one possible inference as against an-
other on each material issue. The area of agreed facts
also appears somewhat less than counsel have presumed.
[3] Defendant IAM has moved to strike plaintiff’s de-
mand for trial by jury. intermixed with this issue is the
question of whether plaintiff, if successful on his substan-
tive claims, might be entitled to punitive damages. If so,
then his claim for a jury trial may be well-founded, for a
court of equity, in the absence of express statutory provi-
sions, is without authority to assess punitive damages.
William Whitman Co. v. Universal Oil Products Co., D.C.
D.Del. 1954, 125 F.Supp. 137. This latter problem will be
dealt with first.
[4] Plaintiff relies on two separate and distinct statutory
provisions. The first is based on §2, Eleventh, of the
Railway Labor Act, a 1951 enactment in the nature of a
proviso ‘‘intended to relax the prohibitions contained in
paragraphs fourth and fifth of Section 2 * * * against all
forms of union security agreements. * * *’? S.Rep. No.
2 The Court’s jurisdiction over this phase of the action is clear,
for § 2, Fourth, Fifth, have been authoritatively construed to be
enforceable by the courts. Texas & N. O. R. Co. v. Brotherhood of
Railway and Steamship Clerks, 1930, 281 U.S. 548, 50 S.Ct. 427,
74 L.Ed. 1034; Virginian Railway Co. v. System Federation No.
40, 1937, 300 U.S. 515, 57 S.Ct. 592, 81 L.Ed. 789; Railroad Em-
ployees’ Co-op. Association v. Atlanta B. & C. R. Co., D.C.D.Ga.
1938, 22 F. Supp. 510. Since § 2, Eleventh, was intended solely
to limit the effect of those sections, its :aterpretation and enforce-
ment is likewise Icft tu the courts.
CN tte ha iat ee ES oie
83a
2262, 8ist Cong., 2nd Sess. (1950). The Senate Report
further stated, ‘‘[T]he terms of [§ 2, Eleventh] are sub-
stantially the same as those of the Labor-Management Re-
lations Act as they have been administered. * * **? Vio-
lations of the corresponding provisions in the Taft-Hartley
Act, 29 U.S.C.A. § 158(a) (3), (b) (2), cannot lead to puni-
tive damages. Local 60, United Brotherhood of Carpen-
ters, ete. v. N.L.R.B., 1961, 365 U.S. 651, 81 S.Ct. 875, 6
L.Ed.2d 1. Moreover, the regulation of the economic
relations between labor and management is an exceedingly
delicate matter, and this Court is unwilling to employ the
crude device of punitive damages as a remedy in causes
founded on a detailed and pervasive federal statutory
scheme without express authorization from Congress. See
United Mine Workers of America v. Patton, 4 Cir., 1954,
211 F.2d 742, 47 A.L.R. 2d 850.
[5] Plaintiff’s second statutory basis for this action is
the duty of a union to bargain fairly on behalf of those
it represents and not to act with ‘thostile discrimination’?
towards members of the bargaining unit. Steele v. Louis-
ville & N. R. Co., 1944, 323 U.S. 192, 203, 65 S.Ct. 226, 89
L.Ed. 173. Although the rationale that express statutory
authority is necessary to award punitive damages as a
remedy for violations of a federal statute is somewhat in-
apposite where the statutory duty itself is only implicit,
the Court does not believe the Steele doctrine authorizes
such relief. No ease has yet gone so far.‘ Moreover, the
very threat of punitive damages, as a remedy for viola-
tions of a duty which in effect limits the scope of collective
bargaining between labor and management, may have un-
$ Full equitable relief in the form of injunctions is obtainable to
remedy Steele violations in spite of the provisions of the Norris-
La Guardia Act, 29 U.S.C.A. §§ 101-115. Graham vy. Brotherhood
of Locomotive Firemen, 1949, 338 U.S. 232, 70 S.Ct. 14, 94
L.Ed. 22.
* The cases cited by plaintiff all involve state law and are, there-
fore, inapposite here.
SA ER LS wt ae gas eee a INOS
LIENS ATONE ANNIE NE Ye
RRP VI Na OL ree
wt Nivea ES Ratu:
84a
foreseeable effects upon the institution of free collective
bargaining itself.° In this situation, the fact that the duty
itself has been read into the Act by the courts may well
be cause to limit the relief obtainable to equitable remedies
and compensatory damages. Because of this danger, the
duty itself has been restricted by the courts and gives
only limited protection. Under these circumstances, the
Court does not believe punitive damages may he recovered
in actions based upon the Steele doctrine.
[6] The complaint also asserts a common law cause of
action, based on state law, either of wrongful discharge
(against TWA) or malicious interference with an employ-
ment relationship (against the IAM).’ The issue of puni-
tive damages need not be reached here, for the Court finds
§ 2, Eleventh, of the Railway Labor Act has deprived the
states of their power to regulate discharges under union
security agreements within the scope of that statute. Un-
like the Taft-Hartley Act,® the union security provisions
5 See the dissent of Mr. Chief Justice Warren in United Auto-
mobile, ete., Workers of America v. Russell, 1958, 356 U.S. 634,
652, 78 S.Ct. 932, 2 L.Ed.2d 1030. The majority held there that
since the state had power to act, it could award all damages al-
lowed by state substantive law. The dissent, however, assumes
some pertinency when, as here, we are dealing solely with federal
law.
®See Wellington, Union Democracy and Fair Representation:
Federal Responsibility in a Federal System, 67
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