Opinion ID: 201576
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Concerted Activities

Text: 11 The present appeals arise from a work stoppage directed by Local 4 against Otis that resulted from a dispute over the use of cranes to hoist and put in place elevator plunger/cylinder units. Local 4 claims that this practice is prohibited by the collective bargaining contract, which, it alleges, only allows use of a crane to hoist heavy material—a term that includes plunger/cylinder units—outside of building structures. It is Local 4's position that, inside buildings, these units must be hoisted manually. Otis responds that the use of cranes to move the plunger/cylinder units in the manner to which Local 4 is now objecting has been Otis' long-standing practice, a practice which it alleges was acquiesced in by Local 4 until recently. In fact, it claims, during the prior year alone, plunger/cylinder units for 50 to 60 elevators were installed with cranes. Neither side filed a grievance, 4 although Otis claims it offered to submit the dispute to expedited arbitration, a proposal that apparently was not acted upon by the IUEC. In fact, Local 4 officials have allegedly indicated that they will not file a grievance. 12 As is the case with many labor disputes, there is considerably more background to this controversy than meets the eye. Throughout the spring of 2004, there arose a series of work controversies between Otis and Local 4 in various sites throughout Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine, all of which involved Otis' use of labor saving devices. Brief of Appellee/Cross-Appellant at 9. In April 2004, Otis unsuccessfully sought injunctive relief in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine against Local 4 over alleged work stoppage activities related to disputes about safety precautions for union members working in elevator hoist ways. Otis Elevator Co. v. Local 4, Int'l Union of Elevator Constructors, No. 04-00074 (D. Me. Apr. 14, 2004) (transcript of conference in chambers) (finding no cause for granting equitable relief because the employees in question had already returned to work). Two days later, Otis again sought injunctive relief, this time for alleged work stoppage activities related to the installation of prefabricated electronic components and pre-drilled, pre-tapped doors. Otis Elevator Co. v. Local 4, Int'l Union of Elevator Constructors, No. 04-00074 (D.Me. Apr. 16, 2004) (transcript of conference in chambers). The court again denied a temporary restraining order, as it appeared that other work could be continued while the dispute was addressed through the Agreement's grievance procedure. Id. at 23-25. 13 Thereafter, commencing on May 13, 2004, Otis elevator employees at the Bentley College work site in Waltham, Massachusetts reported being instructed by Local 4 officials to refuse to work, purportedly over the installation of certain pre-tapped elevator doors. The stoppage spread to other work sites in the Boston area, with an additional eighteen elevator employees eventually joining the refusal to work. On May 14, 2004, Otis sought injunctive relief in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, as a result of which the court issued an order on May 19, 2004 requiring arbitration of the dispute and enjoining the work stoppage pending resolution of all issues deemed by the arbitrator to be related to the dispute over the installation of the elevator car doors. Otis Elevator Co. v. Local 4, Int'l Union of Elevator Constructors, No. 04-10966 (D.Mass. May 19, 2004) (Order to Arbitrate and Restraining Order). 14 On May 26, 2004, as a result of instructions given by Local 4 officials to its members, Otis was unable to proceed with the scheduled installation of plunger/cylinder units at four Boston-area job sites. Otis' operations were seriously disrupted, as were those of other contractors at the building sites. For example, at one job site, the contractor was forced to leave a hole open at the top of a completed building frame to permit installation of the plunger/cylinder unit at a later date. Finishing work in the building could not proceed until the top of the building was enclosed. According to Otis representatives, the work at the job sites in question had progressed to such a point that, until the plunger/cylinder units were installed, no other work was available to be assigned to the elevator mechanics. Thus, Otis claimed, two union members were sent home without pay for lack of work. Local 4 saw the matter differently. 15 By May 27, 2004, 90 of the 110 Local 4 members Otis employed in the Boston area, including all employees assigned to service elevators, were reporting sick or absent for personal reasons. Otis was thus unable to respond to service calls involving elevator malfunctions, including two such calls from a hospital.