Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen & Enginemen v. Butte, Anaconda & Pacific Railway Company

This action arises out of a prior adjudication wherein Butte, Anaconda & Pacific Railway Company, appellee herein, sought and was denied an injunction against a strike then contemplated by appellants. Butte, Anaconda & Pacific Ry. Co. v. Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen & Enginemen, D.C.Mont.1958, 168 F.Supp. 911 . Jurisdiction, then and presently, exists because the action arises under the laws of the United States; viz. the Railway Labor Act, 45 U.S.C.A. §§ 151-163 , and the amount in controversy exceeds the jurisdictional limit in force when the action was originally filed. 28 U.S.C. § 1331 . This court has jurisdiction on appeal. 28 U.S.C. § 1291 .

In late 1957 appellee sought to induce appellants to agree to certain changes in the terms of their employment contracts. Appellee desired that switching crews, which were then composed of five men, be reduced to threé men. When appellants refused to accede to appellee’s demand, appellee, acting under section six of the Railway Labor Act, served upon appellants notices for changes in their contracts ( 45 U.S.C.A. § 156 ). The services of the National Mediation Board were- requested. A few months later, however, appellee attempted…