The Building & Construction Trades Council of Phila., 1629 (1963)

, and an amended charge filed on September 20, 1963, against The Building & Construction Trades Council of Philadelphia and Vicinity, AFL-CIO, James Loughlin , James O'Neill and Ed Goldstein , herein respectively called Respondent Council, Respondent Loughlin, Respondent O'Neill, and Respondent Goldstein . On November 6, 1963, General Counsel issued a complaint against these Respondents alleging violations of Section 8(b)(4)(1 ) and (ii) (B) and 8 ( b)(7)(C) of the Act. On November 13, 1963, Respondents filed an answer denying the allegations of illegal conduct.

A hearing on complaint and answer was held before Trial Examiner James F.

Foley in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 11, 12, and 13, 1963. Respondents, Charging Party, and General Counsel were represented at the hearing , and all parties were afforded an opportunity to be heard , introduce evidence, make oral argument, and file briefs . The parties waived oral argument and filed briefs after the hearing was closed.

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS

  1. JURISDICTIONAL FINDINGS During the 12-month period preceding November 6, 1963, Fisher, the Charging Party, purchased materials with a value in excess of $90,000 from suppliers located in States other than Pennsylvania which were shipped and delivered across State lines to Fisher in Pennsylvania. I find that Fisher is engaged in commerce within the meaning of Section 2 ( 6) and (7) of the Act, and that assertion of jurisdiction will effectuate the purposes of the Act.

    770-076-65-vol 149-104

    1. THE LABOR ORGANIZATION INVOLVED Respondent Council is a labor organization within the meaning of Section 2(5) of the Act.' III. THE UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES A. Issues The issues in this case are whether Respondents Council, Loughlin, O'Neill, and Goldstein engaged in conduct proscribed by Section 8(b) (4) (i) and (ii) (B) and (7) (C) of the Act, for objects proscribed by those subsections of the Act. With respect to Section 8(b) (4) (i) and (ii) (B), the question is whether they have engaged in illegal conduct against general contractor Fisher, subcontractors J. H. Terry and Co., Frank Bauer, John Capone, R. and L. Plumbing Contractors, Viking Aquatics lI make the following findings from documentary evidence and the testimony of Respondent Loughlin, business manager of Respondent Council. The Council is comprised of a membership of local unions affiliated with international unions which ale in turn affiliated with the Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO. It is chartered by the Building and Construction Trades Department and complies with and carries out its laws and decisions The local unions are admitted to membership upon application to and acceptance by the Council The members of the local unions participate in the business of the Council through delegates The delegates are elected to the Council by the membership of each local. A delegate from each local is the local's business manager duly elected as a delegate The Council has a constitution and bylaws and elected officers. The elected officers are chosen from and elected by the delegates Officers of the Council must be members of affiliated locals and in good standing in their locals for at least 12 months prior to their election as delegates to the Council The Council may enter into agreements with individual employers and associations of employeis, but no agreement with an association of employeis is binding unless submitted to and approied by the majority of the membership of affiliated locals present and voting in a referendum ballot According to the constitution and bylaws of the Council, its objects are to enlist the voluntary cooperation and support of eligible local unions, develop and maintain haimonious relations among them and the trades they represent, and to establish and maintain business relations and agreements betaeen it and employers and other persons to the ends that adequate wage scales and desirable working conditions for employees may be established and maintained in the building industry and the best interest of the building industry be served both for employers and employees. The Council enters Into agreements with individual general contractors in the greater Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, area, including Delaware County, and with the General Building Contractors Association acting on behalf of general contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers in the greater Philadelphia area, including Delaware County, relating to wages, hours, and working conditions of members of affiliated unions and other employees In the crafts the affiliated unions represent, the subcontracting of work to other employers , strikes, lockouts, and other work stoppages, and arbitration of disputes, disagreements , or questions arising out of the Interpretation of the agreements It signs, or any collective -bargaining agreement an affiliated union may have with the particular employer or employer association.

      Therefore, employees participate in the activities of the Council, and the Council exists for a purpose of dealing with employers concerning grievances, labor disputes , wages, rates of pay, hours of employment, or conditions of work. Council is a labor organization.

      Metallic Building Company, 98 NLRB 386, 387, 395, enfd. 204 F. 2d 826, 823 (C.A. 5), cert. denied 347 U.S. 911, and cases cited therein ; Hallsburton Company, 142 NLRB 644, 53 LRRM 1106, 1107. Davis V. Washington State Council Carpenters, et al., 47 LRRM 2245 (D.C. Wash., 1960 ), relied on by Respondents , Is Inapposite.

      In Its answer to a complaint dated February 2, 1961 , In an unfair labor practice proceeding before the Board, Case No. 4-CC-150, the Council admitted it was a labor organization. In a complaint In trespass it filed on October 2, 1963, in the Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, against the Charging Party and other parties, in connection with a matter arising out of this same dispute, Council stated that it was a 'collective bargaining institution in which capacity it functioned on behalf of more than 25,000 members of the Building and Construction Trades Crafts' Council admits it is a labor organization . National Organization Masters, Mates and Pilots of America, Inc.,

      AFL-CIO, et at. (J. W. Banta Towing Co.), 116 NLRB 1787, reversed on other grounds 253 F. 2d 66 (C.A. 7) ; National Maritime Union, AFL-CIO, et at., 121 NLRB 208, 209, enfd. 274 F. 2d 167, 171 (C.A. 2).

      BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION TRADES COUNCIL OF PHILA. 1635

      Pools, Inc., John Lozinak, Carr and Duff, Frohmander and Smith , Felton Construction Co., Eugene Varone, William Hessler, Aaron & Company, and Andrew Scanlon, and suppliers Warner Concrete Company, Di Francesco & Sons, and Fizzano Bros.

      Concrete Products, Inc.,2 by threats of strikes and physical attack and injury on these employers and their employees , and by strikes , physical assaults on employers and employees, picketing, including mass picketing , orders, directions, and oral appeals, for the objects of forcing or requiring Fisher to cease doing business with the subcontractors and suppliers ; forcing or iequiring the subcontractors and suppliers to cease business with Fisher ; and forcing or requiring supplier Fizzano and other suppliers to cease doing business with subcontractor Felton. With respect to Section 8(b)(7)(C) of the Act, the question is whether Respondents have picketed, or threatened with picketing, Fisher, the subcontractors and suppliers , for the object of forcing or requiring Fisher to recognize or bargain with the Council or one of its affiliated locals, or forcing or requiring Fisher's employees to accept or select the Council or one of its affiliated locals as their collective -bargaining representative, although such labor organizations are not currently certified as the representatives of such employees, and the picketing until enjoined by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on November 8, 1963, had been conducted more than 30 days without the filing of a petition for an election and certifi-cation as collective-bargaining representative pursuant to Section 9(c) of the Act.3

      B. Evidentimy findings 4

      Respondent James O'Neill is the president of Respondent Council and business manager of Local Union 690, United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices ,of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada. The Local and the International jointly and severally, are hereinafter referred to as Plumbers. Respondent James Loughlin is the business manager of Respondent Council Respondent Ed Goldstein is a delegate to the Council and a representative of the Philadelphia Metropolitan District Council of Carpenters, United Brotherhood of Joiners and Carpenters of America, AFL-CIO. The District and the International, -jointly and severally, are hereinafter referred to as Carpenters 5

      On or about May 20, 1963, general contractor Fisher began the construction of the International Motor Lodge, herein called Motor Lodge project, Tinicum Town-ship, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The estimated cost of this construction was $630,000.6 Fisher subcontracted the excavation and grading to Capone, an individual; the hauling of fill to Bauer, an individual; pile driving to Terry; construction of a swimming pool to Viking; electrical work to Lozinak, an individual; special 2 These subcontractors and suppliers are hereinafter respectively called Terry, Bauer,

      Capone, R and L, Viking, Lozinak, Carr and Duff, Frohmander and Smith, Felton,

      Varone, Hessler, Aaron, Scanlon, Warner, Di Francesco, and Fizzano.

      30n November 8, 1963, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania In Samof v. Building & Conatruotion Trades Council of Philadelphia, etc.

      (Fisher Construction Co.), 236 F. Supp. 120, a proceeding under Section 10 (1) of the -Act, found reasonable cause to believe that the Respondents In this proceeding had violated Section 8(b) (4)...

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