Opinion ID: 464791
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Factual Background of This Case

Text: 19 In March, 1983, the UAW filed an administrative complaint with the Secretary alleging that Kawasaki Motor Corporation (Kawasaki) and its attorney-consultants Tate & Sykes (the Tate Firm), had engaged in conduct at Kawasaki's Lincoln, Nebraska plant which should have been reported under sections 203(a) and (b) of the LMRDA. These allegedly reportable activities involved Kawasaki's attempts to thwart the UAW's organizing drive, attempts which had already been the subject of the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) unfair labor practice proceedings and sanctions. Kawasaki Motor Corporation and International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, AFL-CIO (UAW), 257 N.L.R.B. 502 (1981), order enforced, 691 F.2d 507 (9th Cir.1982), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 1202, 103 S.Ct. 1186, 75 L.Ed.2d 433 (1983). 20 On March 29, 1982, the Director of the Labor Management Services Administration (LMSA) responded to the UAW's complaint by disclosing that investigations into the matter had already been conducted, and that [a]fter carefully reviewing the investigative findings, we have determined that reports were not required. Joint Appendix (J.A.) at 104 (emphasis added). Subsequently, the UAW learned through a request under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. Sec. 552, that the LMSA field staff investigation had indeed found that Kawasaki engaged in seven instances of reportable conduct, and that Kawasaki had specifically refused the Department's request that it file the required reports. Armed with this new information, the UAW asked the Director on April 19, 1982, to reconsider his March 29 decision that reports were not required. J.A. at 105. On April 26, 1982, the Director refused to do so, stating this time that [t]he evidence disclosed during the course of our investigation was not substantial enough to warrant further action, and that any further evidence in support of reopening should be referred to the Kansas City Area Office of the LMSA. J.A. at 106. 21 Faced with this shifting rationale for why the Department refused to take action, the UAW filed a formal petition with the Secretary of Labor on June 16, 1982, again requesting that he take enforcement action on the Kawasaki matter, and further, that he respond to the request within 21 days. In the absence of a response, the UAW filed a complaint on September 8, 1982, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Plaintiffs' amended complaint contained three counts: First, they sought a declaration that the Department's determination that reports were not required from Kawasaki was arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law, and an order compelling the Department to enforce the Act against Kawasaki. Amended Complaint paragraphs 1, 26-30, International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of America, UAW v. Donovan, 577 F.Supp. 398 (D.D.C.1983). Second, they sought a declaration that the Secretary's determination that reports were not required from the Tate firm was arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law, and that the Department's failure to require reports from the Tate firm was part of a continuing pattern and practice of failing to enforce the Act against these specific consultant-attorneys. Id. at paragraphs 2, 31-39. Finally, they sought a declaration that the Department had completely abrogated its responsibilities to enforce the Act's provisions against employers and their hired consultants, and an order compelling the Department to enforce those provisions in the future. Id. at paragraphs 3, 40-43.