Opinion ID: 401038
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Defendants' Rebuttal

Text: 36 Once plaintiffs have proved a prima facie case of purposeful discrimination, defendants must rebut plaintiffs' case by discrediting plaintiffs' evidence or providing a nondiscriminatory explanation for the apparently discriminatory result. Teamsters, 431 U.S. at 360 n.46, 97 S.Ct. at 1876 n.46. If the defendants fail to rebut the prima facie case, plaintiffs prevail on the issue. 14 37 At no point in this eleven year proceeding have defendants disputed the validity of plaintiffs' statistics relating to the allocation of grain work. In fact, the statistical data was derived from the defendant companies' Answers to plaintiffs' Interrogatories. Defendants challenged the designation of black grain workers as the sample and argued that the analysis should have focused upon all black longshoremen. We responded to this contention in Part I, supra and need not reiterate our holding. 38 Instead, defendants offered explanations for the statistical disparity which they contend satisfied their rebuttal burden. First, they contend that because the offensive clause was included at the insistence of black Local 1419, in following its mandate they were only following the wishes of those who now claim to have been discriminated against. This appears to be factually correct; nevertheless, it does not excuse discrimination on the part of the union or the employer. The rights assured by Title VII cannot be bargained away-either by a union, by an employer, or by both acting in concert. United States v. St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Co., 464 F.2d 301, 309 (8th Cir. 1972) (en banc), cert. denied, 409 U.S. 1116, 93 S.Ct. 913, 34 L.Ed.2d 700 (1973). We have held (t)he fact that a contract required this limitation (of employment opportunities) is not a justification if it is discriminating. United States v. Hayes International Corp., 456 F.2d 112, 117 (5th Cir. 1972). Clearly, then, neither the existence of the contract nor its origin can exonerate defendants' discriminatory practices. 39 Second, defendants claimed that because blacks in the longshore industry fared overall as well as or better than whites, any misallocation of grain work is irrelevant. As we stated above, this type of analysis transforms plaintiffs' claim into one of industry-wide discrimination. Whether blacks as a whole suffered economically has no bearing on the issue of discrimination in the allocation of grain work. Swint, 539 F.2d at 92. Plaintiffs readily admit that industry-wide earnings of blacks may be relevant on the issue of backpay. This evidence has no place in the liability phase, however. Id. Defendants also argue that grain work was no more desirable than any other type of work. Although it paid a 20cents per hour premium, it was unpleasant. The desirability of grain work is irrelevant as well. Title VII provides for equal opportunities in all jobs whether better or worse than others. Teamsters, 431 U.S. at 338 n.18, 97 S.Ct. at 1855 n.18; Hayes International Corp., 456 F.2d at 118. 40 Finally, defendants argued that the casual nature of the longshore industry precludes a finding of discrimination. We have already described the shape-up process and the many variables that determine a longshoreman's position and earnings. The unpredictability of available work coupled with the personal choices inherent in the system normally would complicate our inquiry. Because so many of the factors determining work patterns are not within the employer's control, and in fact are determined by the employees, it is more difficult to attribute statistical imbalances to a discriminatory motive on the part of the employers. Here, however, we need not speculate as to the reasons for the imbalance because the contract shows that such an allocation was required. Whether the casual nature of the industry could or would have produced similar disparities is irrelevant in the face of the explicit language of the Deep Sea Agreement. 41 We hold that defendants failed to rebut plaintiffs' prima facie case of purposeful discrimination in the allocation of grain work during the existence and application of the 50-50 clause. The statistical data introduced by plaintiffs pertains only to the period during which the discriminatory contract was in force. Because our conclusions are based upon evidence relative to this period only, our finding of discrimination is limited accordingly. Plaintiffs contend that even after the deletion of the 50-50 clause, the practice of discriminatory allocation continued. We turn now to that claim. 42 D. Discrimination in the Allocation of Grain Work After the Deletion of the 50/50 Clause 43 Thus far we have held that there was purposeful discrimination in the allocation of grain work during the pendency of the grain clause. Plaintiffs contend that the discriminatory practice continued after the deletion of the clause and that the court below erred in refusing to consider the issue. Defendants argue that plaintiffs waived the issue of post-clause discrimination because they failed to request its consideration by the court. 44 It is plaintiffs' assertion that the clause was eliminated after the close of the record; defendants contend the opposite. We find plaintiffs' assertion ironic. If the clause were eliminated after trial, the record would have closed, and thus the only evidence plaintiffs could have produced would have concerned the practices existing during the application of the clause. Because a court's consideration need not extend to claims for which plaintiffs produce no evidence, Rivera v. City of Wichita Falls, 665 F.2d 531, 536 n.6 (5th Cir. 1982), the district court would have been justified in refusing to consider the claim of post-clause discrimination. Thus, if plaintiffs are correct in their assertion as to when the clause was eliminated, the only way they could be entitled to a finding on post-clause discrimination would be by petitioning the court to reopen the case, which they have not done. 45 On the other hand, if the clause were eliminated during the trial, plaintiffs' failure to request a ruling would not constitute a waiver of the claim. Plaintiffs claimed that defendants were guilty of allocating grain work in a discriminatory manner. The contract clause was offered as evidence of that practice. While plaintiffs certainly objected to the clause, the subject of their claim was the practice of discriminatory allocation, whatever its source, and the court's inquiry should have focused on the practice. By bringing such a claim, plaintiffs requested consideration of the issue of post-clause discrimination. An additional request would not have been necessary. 46 We believe both parties are partially correct in their statements as to when the clause was deleted. The trial took place from July 22 to September 20, 1974, during the time that the Deep Sea Agreement was being renegotiated. The Agreement was to expire on September 30, 1974. By mid-September, it must have become painfully apparent that the grain clause was doomed, and as a tactic of this litigation, Williams v. NOSA, 466 F.Supp. at 673, NOSA and Locals 1418 and 1419 decided to eliminate the clause from the new contract. But the new contract was not actually effective until October 1, 1974. So although it was agreed during the trial that the clause would be deleted, the action was not officially taken until after the trial ended. 47 Because the trial court was aware of the imminent elimination of the clause, we find that the issue was before it and should have been considered. At the close of the trial, however, plaintiffs had produced no evidence on the issue. In subsequent affidavits submitted on a summary judgment motion, plaintiffs offered evidence showing that the discriminatory practice continued notwithstanding the elimination of the clause. Defendants responded with counter-affidavits. When plaintiffs moved for reconsideration of the grain issue in 1979, their supporting memorandum noted the conflicting affidavits and insisted that the issue could not be resolved without an evidentiary hearing. 48 The trial court granted plaintiffs' motion for reconsideration of the grain issue. But, without another hearing and relying only upon the evidence adduced at trial five years earlier, the court reiterated its former holding that the proper comparison was between blacks and whites in the entire industry. This conclusion foreclosed a decision on post-clause discrimination in grain work. The grain work issue was not mentioned despite the fact that plaintiffs brought to the court's attention the conflicting affidavits. The court, however, would consider only the industry-wide claim. 49 Plaintiffs are entitled to a hearing on the issue of post-clause discrimination. We remand this issue to the district court so that all parties may present evidence as to whether or not discrimination continued after the 50-50 clause was deleted.