Retail Clerks Union v. Food Employers Council, Inc.

An employer appeals from a judgment confirming an award of an arbitrator in a labor dispute case. For the reason set forth below we modify the judgment and affirm it as so modified.

I

The employer, as a member of appellant Food Employers Council, is a party to a collective bargaining agreement with respondent union. That agreement prohibits an employer from permitting nonemployees (referred to as book or advance salesman) to perform work that would normally be performed by store employees who are members of the union. The award herein involved found numerous violations of that provision and awarded damages to the union for the benefit of its members. The award was confirmed.

On this appeal, the employer does not contest the arbitrator’s finding of the violations, but attacks only the award of damages. The agreement contains a long paragraph defining the damages to be awarded for violations. That provision reads as follows:

As we understand its brief, the employer does not question the validity of the provision fixing the amount of damages for the first violation after a warning, but attacks the emphasized portion providing for an increased award for successive…