Opinion ID: 526766
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Contractual Relationship Between the Parties

Text: 3 Melvin Landry, a freight handler in the Port of New Orleans, is a member of appellee Dock Loaders and Unloaders of Freight Cars and Barges, Local Union 854 of the International Longshoremen's Association, AFL-CIO (Local 854 or the union). Appellee Cooper/T. Smith Stevedoring Company (Cooper/Smith) operates in the Port of New Orleans, hiring members of the union to load and unload freight. Cooper/Smith is a member of appellee New Orleans Steamship Association (NOSSA), a trade group of companies doing business in the port. NOSSA is the bargaining agent for shipping and stevedoring companies in the port. At the time of the incidents giving rise to this lawsuit, the terms and conditions of freight handlers' employment with the New Orleans stevedoring companies was governed by the 1983-1986 Deep-Sea Agreement, a collective bargaining agreement between Local 854 and NOSSA. 4 Under the agreement, freight handlers who worked a certain number of hours during a qualifying year received a registration card (also known as a G card) that entitled them to a hiring preference at the Waterfront Employment Center, where the freight handlers would appear for morning shape-up to be hired for the day by stevedoring companies. Employees eligible for a registration card also participated in a Guaranteed Annual Income Plan, which provided partial compensation to freight handlers when work was not available. Melvin Landry possessed a G card. Under the collective bargaining agreement, a registration card could be revoked by NOSSA for just cause. 1 5 The collective bargaining agreement contained grievance procedures that provided the exclusive mechanism to settle employment disputes between union members and the stevedoring companies. At each step in the process, the complaining freight handler was represented by the union. The first step involved an immediate discussion between a representative of the employer and of the union. If a satisfactory settlement was not reached, either side could refer the matter to the Permanent Disputes Committee, consisting of two representatives of NOSSA and two Local 854 officials. Under Step Two of the grievance procedures, the Permanent Disputes Committee conducted a hearing. If the dispute was not resolved at this level, the employer or the union could refer the grievance to binding arbitration by an independent arbitrator, which was the third and final step in the grievance process.