Montana labor news., 1939-11-09
COURT DECISION IN
FAVOR OF BREWERY
WORKERS UNION
Continued from Page u

W IN &AA(Cb lac
the plaintiffs affiliation with the
American Federation of Labor
should in no way affect the juris-
diction of the plaintiff over any
employees over which it had juris-
diction at the time of its utilization.
At the 1900 convention the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor undertook
to take such action as would pre-
vent jurisdictional disputes, this
opinion having reference specifically
to the attempted jurisdictional claim
of the Transfers Union over the
beer drivers. At that time Section
II, Article 9, was inserted by the
American Federation of Labor into
its constitution and still is a part
Of its constitution.
1t is obvious that a court will not
interfere with the rulings of a labor
organization made within the limits
of its constitution, even though the
court might not be of the same opin-
ion as the labor union as to the
merits of the controversy, but these
unincorporated organizations can
make contracts, and when they
clearly violate their contracts, espe-
cially where civil or property rights
are involved, they are subject to
correction by the courts.
=
The evidence in this case shows
that the unionized workers affili-
ated with the Brewery Workers
Union have property rights, prob
ably the most valuable that union
lied workers can have, which would
be taken away from them by a
transfer to the Transfers Union.
They have sick benefits, death bene-
fits, strike benefits and what is more
valuable than the others, the bene-
fit of collective bargaining.
4
The court rules broadly there
fore that from 1887 to the time
of the institution of this suit, that
jurisdiction over beer drivers as
between the American Federation
Of Labor, the Transfers Union
and the Brewery Workers Union
was in the Brewery Workers
Union, that at no time had the
American Federation of Labor the
power to change this jurisdiction
without the consent of the Brew
cry Workers Union.
The testimony is uncontradicted
that at no time has the Brewery
Workers Union yielded its jurisdic-
ton in any manner or to any extent.
It appears that in 1918 the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor undertook
to formally declare at its conven-
ton the jurisdiction over the beer
drivers to be in the Brewery Work
ers' Union. It is admitted also that
in pursuance of the 1918 action the
officers of the Brewery Workers
Union and the Transfers Union
entered into a formal written agree
ment in 1915, awarding jurisdiction
Of the beer drivers to the Brewery
Workers Union, for various consid-
erations set forth in the agreement
which is part of the record in this
case.
IT. appears also that at the 1888
convention of the American Fedora
ton of Labor, when the convention
in turn undertook to award jurisdic-
ton to the Transfers Union as pro-
vided by the report set forth near
the beginning of this opinion, that
the president of the Transfers
Union solemnly denied in open con-
vention that he had executed any
such agreement.
. =
. this incident is probably
unimportant except that if the
president of the Transfers Union
had admitted the 1915 agreement,
the resolution passed by the 1888
convention of the American Fed
Grafton of Labor would never have
been adopted and this litigation
would therefore have been avoid
ed.
The evidence thoroughly shows
that since the adoption of the 1898
resolution Of the American Fedora
ton of Labor the Transfers
Union and the American Federation
of Labor have endeavored to coerce,
and have coerced, employers of la
Dor not to employ beer drivers
affiliated with the plaintiffs, the
American Federation of Labor by
correspondence and the Transfers
Union by picketing and by personal
violence.
. =
for the court to withhold
substantially the relief asked for by
the plaintiff would amount to a ju-
dicial recognition of authority ac-
CURED by usurpation. Whatever may
be the factual situation at any time,
or place, wherever usurped author
ity comes in contact with the juris-
prudence of a democracy, it then
and there, instantly ceases to exist.
.
May the court make the added
observation that both reason and
l:.tor.. ,., orAo1,,r,xra 4hat fhoro fg