Fred A. Alexander v. Pacific Maritime Association, a Non-Profit Corporation

This appeal is taken from judgment of the district court dismissing the action of the appellants upon the ground that, the complaint did not state a claim within the court’s jurisdiction. The holding of the district court was that the appellants were complaining of unfair labor practices under the National Labor Relations Act which were initially within the exclusive jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Board. The correctness of this determination is the issue upon appeal.

Appellants are ship clerks employed at the Port of San Francisco. They are not union members. The central theme of their complaint is that the International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union, their bargaining agent, with the co-operation of Pacific Maritime Association, the employers’' bargaining agent, has discriminated against them and in favor of union members in the manner in which employment and employment benefits have been dispensed under the collective bargaining agreement.

Since the complaint charges both the union and the employer with discrimination against appellants solely on the basis of their nonunion status, §§ 8(a) (3), 8. (b) (2) of the National Labor Relations Act would…