Court Opinion

ID: 9636560
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 14:33:18.646885+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:09:46.880557
License: Public Domain

CLARK, Circuit Judge
(concurring in the result).
With some hesitation I concur in the result reached herein. It represents a more forthright vindication of the legislative policy as to labor relations than do the report and recommendations of the master; and since this court (in proceedings in which I did not participate) has referred the issues to a master, perhaps it is unwise, or at least unseemly, to reverse him more than is done herein. I am sure, however, that the “clearly erroneous” rule—applied in the district court to findings of fact of a district court master sitting in substance as a court of first instance on issues essentially judicial—has no proper application to this last and most delicate task of all in supporting the presently settled public policy (not to speak of our own dignity) in this most difficult and troubled socioeconomic field. I have already commented upon the anomaly of taking the finally decisive part of the proceeding out of the expert process created for it and committing it to lawyer friends of the court, who, however distinguished, are not specially trained for the task, are necessarily unfamiliar with the usually long drawn out past history of the particular case, and not occasionally are disposed by training and background to doubt the public policy itself. N. L. R. B. v. Giannasca, 2 Cir., 119 F.2d 756, 759, 135 A.L.R. 560; Corning Glass Works v. N. L. R. B., 2 Cir., 129 F.2d 967. Every case I see but shows me the more that this course is not merely extraordinarily expensive of time and money, but is stultifying to us in carrying out our responsibilities under the law, as it must be unsatisfactory to the master himself. It is no reproach to the distinguished lawyer who has already worked most faithfully on this case for more than two years at our behest to point out this anomaly and to state that the fault is in the method, not the individuals trying to work under it. The Board itself should be the agency to take and report the evidence to us as to the observance of our decrees; and we should require this duty of it.1 But in no event are we justified in repudiating our own responsibility to the extent of committing adjudication of the important facts to a nominee of ours just as though he were a court of first instance. At most he should be considered only our adviser; the duty of adjudication must remain with us.
If we had permitted ourselves the more extensive review which I think is our duty, we might well have made different findings, or at least have required further testimony, as to respondent’s failure or delay in rehiring so large a number of its former employees. We do find error in the master’s disregard of the Board’s chart showing discrimination against these men; but then we rather dissipate the effect of our ruling by holding this persuasive proof rebutted by the stereotyped answer2 of Brainerd, the personnel manager, that the men could not be quickly retrained for respondent’s work, so much had it changed its character in the intervening two or three months, and that their reinstatement would disrupt production. We had already said, however, at page 197 of 97 F.2d: “If this involves disturbance of the company’s business, it is no doubt unfortunate; but, having chosen *938to challenge the law, it must abide the loss.” It does not seem to me that the Board has any obligation to hunt up respondent’s foremen for more direct evidence on this issue; that suggestion implies altogether too heavy a burden of proof upon the Board. In the light of the evidence actually presented, I believe an award of back pay apportioned among the workmen as in F. W. Woolworth Co. v. N. L. R. B., 2 Cir., 121 F.2d 658, 662, would have been justified, and should have preferred that result, rather than such close adherence to the master’s report as is had.

 That the Board was reluctant to act in another case under different circumstances is not decisive here. Moreover, I conceive it to be a matter in which the Board owes an inescapable duty both to the court and to the legislature which framed the policy. The Board has facilities through its trial examiners of taking the testimony promptly and expeditiously. This is not a matter where its finding's are binding on us; indeed, if we feared the effect upon us of a report of the examiner or of the Board, we could dispense with either or both and order only the evidence to be reported.

 Which, of course, suggests lack of careful consideration of each separate case.