Source: https://casetext.com/case/gen-teamsters-v-mitchell-bros-truck-lines
Timestamp: 2019-03-24 07:19:17
Document Index: 782531987

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 157', '§ 185', '§ 185', '§ 157', '§ 158', '§ 157', '§ 157']

Gen. Teamsters, v. Mitchell Bros. Truck Lines, 682 F.2d 763 | Casetext
Gen. Teamsters, v. Mitchell Bros. Truck Lines
682 F.2d 763 (9th Cir. 1982)
Gen. Teamsters,v.Mitchell Bros. Truck Lines
United States Court of Appeals, Ninth CircuitMay 17, 1982
Argued and Submitted November 6, 1981.
Decided May 17, 1982. As Amended July 30, 1982. Rehearing and Rehearing In Banc Denied October 15, 1982.
David W. Morthland, Miller, Anderson, Nash, Yerke, Wiener Hager, Portland, Or., and Williams S. Waldo, Paul, Hastings, Janofsky Walker, Los Angeles, Cal., for defendant-appellant.
Herbert B. Galton, Galton, Popick Scott, Portland, Or., for plaintiff-appellee.
Before KILKENNY and FLETCHER, Circuit Judges, and HATFIELD, District Judge.
Appellant Mitchell Bros. Truck Lines (Mitchell) transports goods in intra and interstate commerce. A substantial part of its freight is carried by tractors leased from owner-operators. In addition to this leased equipment, Mitchell also maintains a fleet of tractors driven by employees of the company. Mitchell, therefore, utilizes two classes of workers. One, sometimes referred to as "A" employees, are the drivers of equipment, owned by Mitchell. The other the so-called "B" employees, consists of individuals that own and operate their own trucking equipment. It is the status of these "B" employees that gave rise to the dispute in this case.
(b) Does the award of the arbitrator constitute approval of an unfair labor practice in violation of 29 U.S.C. § 157 and 158?
Appellants argue that under 29 U.S.C. § 185(a), the district court's jurisdiction is limited to suits for "violation of contracts" and that the word "contracts" was intended by Congress to be limited to "collective bargaining agreements." This argument is in direct conflict with the interpretation given by the Supreme Court to the word "contracts" under the section in Retail Clerks v. Lion Dry Goods, 369 U.S. 17, 82 S.Ct. 541, 7 L.Ed.2d 503 (1962). True enough, the Court there declined to decide whether a strike settlement agreement was a "collective bargaining agreement" but it did go on to hold that it was a "contract" for purposes of § 185(a). In placing a definition on the word "contract", the Court concluded that any agreement between the employer and the labor organization which was "significant to the maintenance of labor peace between them." was a "contract" within the meaning of this section. 369 U.S. at 28, 82 S.Ct. at 548.
"Sec. 220 Definition of a Servant (1) A servant is a person employed to perform services in the affairs of another and who with respect to the physical conduct in the performance of the services is subject to the other's control or right to control.
(2) In determining whether one acting for another is a servant or an independent contractor, the following matters of fact, among others, are considered: . . ." [Emphasis added]
"Arbitrators have no obligation to the court to give their reasons for an award. To require opinions free of ambiguity may lead arbitrators to play it safe by writing no supporting opinions. This would be undesirable for a well-reasoned opinion tends to engender confidence in the integrity of the process and aids in clarifying the underlying agreement." Steelworkers v. Enterprise Wheel Car Corp., 363 U.S. 593, 598, 80 S.Ct. 1358, 1361, 4 L.Ed.2d 1424 (1960). [Footnote omitted]
Judicial review of arbitration awards is very limited. Steelworkers Trilogy. Appellants' second argument does not give this court a reason to intervene and is rejected.
The Steelworkers Trilogy: Steelworkers v. American Mfg. Co., 363 U.S. 564, 80 S.Ct. 1343, 4 L.Ed.2d 1403 (1960); Steelworkers v. Warrior Gulf Nav. Co., 363 U.S. 574, 80 S.Ct. 1347, 4 L.Ed.2d 1409 (1960); Steelworkers v. Enterprise Wheel Car Corp., 363 U.S. 593, 80 S.Ct. 1358, 4 L.Ed.2d 1424 (1960).
Appellants' first argument on this contention is that the "only legally permissible conclusion" that can be drawn from the facts in this case is that the owner/operators are independent contractors. Consequently, the enforcement of the Arbitrator's award would give effect to an unlawful "hot cargo" agreement. Local 814, Teamsters v. NLRB, 512 F.2d 564 (C.A.D.C. 1975); A. Duie Pyle, Inc. v. NLRB, 383 F.2d 772 (C.A. 3 1967), cert. denied, 390 U.S. 905, 88 S.Ct. 819, 19 L.Ed.2d 871 (1968). Obviously, this argument is part and parcel of the issue of whether the owner/operators are employees or independent contractors. If on the record they appear to be independent contractors, this contention would be meritorious.
Appellants cite no authority in support of their contentions that enforcement of the award of the Arbitrator would result in this court's sanctioning a "pre-hire" agreement in violation of 29 U.S.C. § 157 and 158 and that the enforcement of the specific provision covering the owner/operators would constitute court approval of an unfair labor practice in violation of 29 U.S.C. § 158. We have found no authority which supports appellants' arguments on these points. A studied analysis of the provisions of §§ 157 and 158 convinces us that the appellants' claims are meritless. At best they seem to be figments of the imagination of resourceful counsel attempting to find a weakness in the decision of the lower court.
Finally, appellants insist that the district court should have given collateral estoppel effect to the decision of the California Municipal Court in Sirmons v. Mitchell Bros., No. 14400 (Sup.Ct., App. Div. San Joaquin County, Cal., 1979).
Judge Fetcher's emphasis on the arbitrator's "interpretation of federal law" misperceives the nature of the underlying controversy. The dispute is basically contractual. It revolves around the alleged breach of a settlement agreement in which there is a disagreement over the exact status of Mitchell Bros. lease drivers (the "B" drivers). Mitchell Bros. claims that these drivers are independent contractors and, therefore, fall outside the agreement. The union maintains that they are employees and thus covered by the contract. It is undisputed that the parties submitted this dispute to arbitration. The arbitrator, after a hearing, found that the "B" drivers were, in fact, employees of Mitchell Bros. rather than independent contractors. Beyond question, this is a factual determination in that the arbitrator had to take into consideration the entire background of the controversy, including the actions of the parties in carrying out the terms of the agreement and the control exercised by Mitchell over the "B" drivers. Although the standard, in fact, used by the arbitrator was set forth in NLRB v. United Insurance Co., 390 U.S. 254, 88 S.Ct. 988, 19 L.Ed.2d 1083 (1968), a federal case, we have difficulty characterizing his ultimate determination as an "interpretation of federal law."
"These considerations were the basis for our decision in Alexander v. Gardner-Denver Co., 415 U.S. 36 [94 S.Ct. 1011, 39 L.Ed.2d 147] (1974). In that case, petitioner, a black employee, had been discharged by respondent employer, allegedly for producing too many defective parts. Claiming that his discharge was racially motivated, petitioner asked his union to pursue the grievance and arbitration procedure set forth in the collective-bargaining agreement. The union did so, relying on the nondiscrimination clause in the collective-bargaining agreement, but the arbitrator found that petitioner had been discharged for just cause. Petitioner then brought an action under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in Federal District Court based on the same facts that were before the arbitrator. The District Court granted summary judgment for the employer, holding that petitioner was bound by the prior adverse arbitral decision. The Court of Appeals affirmed.
"This Court reversed, concluding that an employee's statutory right to a trial de novo under Title VII is not foreclosed by the prior submission of this discrimination claim to final arbitration under a collective-bargaining agreement. The Court found that in enacting Title VII, Congress had granted individual employees a non-waivable, public law right to equal employment opportunities that was separate and distinct from the rights created through the `majoritarian processes' of collective bargaining. Id. at 51 [94 S.Ct. at 1021]. Moreover, because Congress had granted aggrieved employees access to the courts, and because contractual grievance and arbitration procedures provided an inadequate forum for enforcement of Title VII rights, the Courts concluded that Title VII claims should be resolved by the courts de novo." 450 U.S. at 737-738, 101 S.Ct. at 1443. [Emphasis added.]
[38] FLETCHER, Circuit Judge, dissenting:
The arbitrator decided that, under the collective bargaining agreement, certain individuals were "employees" for purposes of that agreement. Appellees here argue that enforcement of the arbitrator's decision would violate federal labor law, specifically 29 U.S.C. § 157, 158, and 186(c)(5). The resolution of this question involves a determination as to whether those individuals are "employees" under federal labor law. See Joint Council of Teamsters, No. 42 v. Associated General Contractors, 662 F.2d 531 (9th Cir. 1981), aff'g 520 F. Supp. 3, 4 (C.D.Cal. 1981); Local 814, International Brotherhood of Teamsters v. NLRB, 512 F.2d 564, 566-67 (D.C.Cir. 1975). The majority, however, accepts the findings of the arbitrator as dispositive on this issue.
This is error. The Supreme Court made clear in Barrentine v. Arkansas-Best Freight System, Inc., 450 U.S. 728, 737-46, 101 S.Ct. 1437, 1443-48, 67 L.Ed.2d 641 (1981) that the decision of an arbitrator on issues of federal law is not binding on the courts where the federal statutory rights of employees are at stake. See also Alexander v. Gardner-Denver Co., 415 U.S. 36, 94 S.Ct. 1011, 39 L.Ed.2d 147 (1974). The district court in this case had an obligation to take evidence on and decide the issue of whether the individuals involved were "employees" under the federal statutes cited, and thus whether the arbitrator's decision was inconsistent with federal law. As the Supreme Court in Barrentine noted, the findings of the arbitrator may be accorded evidentiary weight as appropriate in a subsequent court proceeding. Id. at 743 n. 22, 101 S.Ct. at 1446 n. 22 (quoting Gardner-Denver, 415 U.S. at 60 n. 21, 94 S.Ct. at 1025 n. 21). This is not the same as saying that the court can abdicate its responsibility to decide issues of federal law, as I believe the majority has done here. I would remand to the district court for further proceedings.