LABOR ORGANIZATIONS INTERFERENCE WITH EMPLOYMENT-LIABILITY FOR PROCURING DISCHARGE-RIGHTS OF MEMBERS-Blanchard v. Newark Joint District Council of United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America et al., Supreme Court of New Jersey, 71 Atlantic Reporter, page 1131.-Elmer E. Blanchard was a member of the organization named above and sued the same for damages for procuring his discharge from employment. From a judgment in his favor the union appealed, the appeal resulting in the judgment of the court below being affirmed. The facts appear in the opinion, which was delivered by Judge Bergen, and which is, except for the preliminary statement, as follows: The case shows that plaintiff was suspended as a member of the order, and fined $100 by the district council, which plaintiff refused to pay, claiming that the fine was not imposed according to the laws of the order, whereupon the defendants notified V. J. Hedden & Sons that, unless they discharged plaintiff, all the members of the order would refuse to work for the firm, and to avoid the loss of such labor, and for no other reason, Hedden & Sons discharged the plaintiff. Subsequently plaintiff paid the fine and appealed to a superior tribunal in the order, and was allowed to resume work. On his appeal plaintiff was sustained, reinstated in the order, and the district council required to refund the fine illegally exacted. The case discloses that plaintiff was illegally required to pay $100, and upon refusal deprived of employment by the acts of the defendants. This creates a right of action under Brennan v. Hatters, 73 N. J. Law, 729, 65 Atl. 165 Bulletin No. 70, p. 746]. The appellants, the defendants below, urged several points in support of their appeal. First. That the conduct of the defendants in inducing the discharge of the plaintiff by Hedden & Sons was within their legal rights. The argument on this point is that Hedden & Sons had no contract with plaintiff, and therefore might discharge him without cause. This does not meet the point, which is that plaintiff was deprived of employment because of unlawful threats made to Hedden & Sons, which influenced them to discharge him, and that this would not have happened except for defendants' conduct. Second. That defendants did not request the discharge of plaintiff. On this point it is sufficient to say that what they did amounted to such a request, and was accompanied with a threat if not complied with. Third. That the court was without jurisdiction to retain the case when motion for nonsuit was made, because the plaintiff had taken an appeal from the order of suspension and the imposition of the fine, from which it is argued he had submitted to the jurisdiction of the order. Taking an appeal from an order relating to the discipline of such an association does not amount to a waiver of damages resulting from the illegal act of the defendants in procuring the discharge of the plaintiff in order to enforce the act appealed from. Fourth. That there was error in admitting in evidence a printed of the trade rules of the order. The secretary of the association had been subpoenaed to produce the minutes showing the by-laws of copy the association. This he did not do, but produced a printed book which he said was a copy of the by-laws printed by the defendants for the use of its members. Whether competent or not its admission did not harm defendants, because the illegality of the proceedings suspending and imposing the fine which the by-laws were offered to prove had been decided in plaintiff's favor by a proper tribunal, and the plaintiff reinstated in the order and the fine returned to him. Fifth. That the nonsuit should have been granted because of failure to offer in evidence the constitution of the national organization. This was not relevant to the issue being tried. Sixth. That two letters were improperly admitted. One of these letters was written by the president of the national association, and the other by the general secretary of the association, each containing a notice to the district council of the disposition made of plaintiff's appeal. They were produced by the defendants on notice, and were competent. The remaining points relate to admission of testimony, which we do not find to be erroneous. The judgment below is affirmed. INDEX TO BULLETIN NO. 83. Arbitration and mediation of labor disputes in Indiana, report of commission on Condition of home workers in Belgian industries. Wages and hours of labor in the metal-working industries, October, 1903- Building trades, hours of labor in, in France compared with England_. France. France and Great Britain compared_ California, statistics relating to_. Child labor, 1907 and 1908. Chinese and Japanese, 1908. Child labor in California, 1907 and 1908. Colorado, 1906 and 1907. Montana, 1904 and 1905. Colorado, statistics relating to- Coal production, 1906 and 1907. Free employment bureaus, 1907 and 1908- Railroad employees, 1907- Connecticut, statistics relating to, 1908. Effects of the industrial depression. Factory construction__. Free public employment bureaus. Tenement houses- Cost of living of the working classes in the principal industrial towns of France. Hours of labor. Rates of wages France Summary of conclusions_ Page. 109 113 113-120 120-124 112 85 80-82 84 104, 105 105 105 104, 105 105 105 106 112 106 106 106 106 106 106-108 107 107 107 108 108 66-87 86, 87 85, 86 80-83 84, 86 67-69 70, 71, 85 71-77 77-80, 85, 86 Scope of the investigation_ Cotton industry in Great Britain, earnings of employees in.. Decisions of courts affecting labor : Assignments of wages-rights of assignees-priority of wage claims over claims of mortgagees-construction of statute_. Contract of employment 66, 67 85.86 92-95 144-147 intent to defraud-constitutionality of statute-imprisonment for debt__ 147, 148 wrongful discharge-remedy-duty to seek new employment--burden of proof Employer and employee-confidential relations- -disclosure of trade secretsinjunction 165-167 Employers' liability competence of fellow-servants-duty of employer-evidence of incompe- railroad companies-safe place to work-assumption of risk-contrib- 163-165 167-169 149, 150 150-153 153-157 157-163 un 169-179 boycott-secondary boycott-interference with employment-rights of Decisions of courts affecting labor-Concluded. contract with trade union as defense in action for employment of incom- strikes-conspiracy-injunction-interference 167-169 180, 181 ondary boycott-rights of employers and employees___ Wage claims-priority over claims of mortgagees-assignments-rights of assignees 157-163 144-147 Digest of recent foreign statistical publications: Belgium Les Industries a Domicile en Belgique. L'Industrie du Meuble a Malines. Salaries et Durée du Travail dans les Industries des Métaux au mois Germany 113 113-120 erung Great Britain 124-127 128-136 Annual Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories and Workshops for 137-141 Italy Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories on the Administration of the 142, 143 California, 1907 and 1908_. Inchiesta sul Lavoro Festivo in Italia e Studi sullo Legislazione EsteraDigest of recent reports of state bureaus of labor statistics: 143 Colorado, 1907 and 1908. Employees, railroad, in Employees in British textile industries, earnings and hours of labor of. Earnings and hours of labor in British textile industries, general summary of 100, 101 95-97 88-92 109 (See Colorado, 1907 Connecticut, 1908 France. Iowa, 1906 and 1907. Employers, statistical report of, in Iowa Employment agencies in California, 1908 Employment bureaus, free: Colorado, 1907 and 1908. Montana, 1905 and 1906 Employment on Sundays and holidays, in Italy Engineering trades, hours of labor in, in France compared with England- France and Great Britain compared. 80-82 Factories and workshops in Great Britain, report of chief inspector of: 84 Factory construction in Connecticut, 1908. Food: Fines and imposition on members of women's trade unions in Great Britain, protection against---. On administration of Factory and Workshop Act, 1901, by local authorities in 1907. France: Cost of, for average British and French workmen's budgets compared. Retail prices of commodities paid by working classes- Rates of wages in the building, engineering, and printing trades. Cost of living of working classes in principal industrial towns of. 66-87 85 80-82 67-71 Germany: Insurance against unemployment, experience of the city of Magdeburg and various European governments with- Unemployment, report on In Berlin and 27 suburbs, November 17, 1908. 71-80 128-136 120-124 124-127 |