John Carr v. Pacific Maritime Ass'n, Greg Brooks, Judy Checkers v. Pacific Maritime Ass'n

904 F.2d 1313 134 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2319 , 115 Lab.Cas. P 10,065 John CARR, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. PACIFIC MARITIME ASS'N, et al., Defendants-Appellees. Greg BROOKS, Judy Checkers, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. PACIFIC MARITIME ASS'N, et al., Defendants-Appellees. Nos. 87-6137, 87-6497. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted Sept. 16, 1988. Memorandum Filed Dec. 7, 1988. Memorandum Withdrawn March 17, 1989. Decided May 21, 1990. George W. Shaeffer, Jr., Silver, Kreisler, Goldwasser & Shaeffer, Newport Beach, Cal., for plaintiffs-appellants. Robert Remar, Leonard, Carder & Zuckerman, San Francisco, Cal., for defendants-appellees, Intern. Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union and its Local 63. J. Kevin Lilly, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Newport Beach, Cal., for defendant-appellee, Pacific Maritime Ass'n. George Shibley, Long Beach, Cal., for defendant-appellee, Local 13. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Before NORRIS, HALL and KOZINSKI, Circuit Judges. KOZINSKI, Circuit Judge: 1 Applicants for registration as class B longshoremen and clerks seek damages and injunctive relief,…

Applicants for registration as class B longshoremen and clerks seek damages and injunctive relief, claiming that the registration process was tainted by nepotism, favoritism and discrimination. The district court found that the applicants failed to exhaust contractual grievance procedures and that their failure was not excused. Plaintiffs appeal the district court’s grant of summary judgment and dismissal of their action. We review the district court’s grant of summary judgment de novo. Darring v. Kincheloe, 783 F.2d 874, 876 (9th Cir.1986).

I. FACTS

Plaintiffs are 128 casual longshoremen and clerks whose applications for registration as class B longshoremen or clerks in the Los Angeles area were rejected. 1 Defendants are the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), an association of West Coast stevedoring, shipping and terminal companies; the International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union (ILWU), the exclusive bargaining representative of longshoremen and clerks who work for PMA members; ILWU Local 13 (Local 13), the chartered, affiliated local of the ILWU for longshoremen in the Los Angeles area; and ILWU Local 63 (Local 63), the chartered, affiliated local of the ILWU for…

dissenting:

The federal courts have long followed a policy of giving great deference to private dispute resolution in labor relations. That policy is generally a sound one, but private resolution has its limits. As the United State Supreme Court noted in Hines v. Anchor Motor Freight, Inc., 424 U.S. 554, 571 , 96 S.Ct. 1048, 1059 , 47 L.Ed.2d 231 (1976), “Congress has put its blessing on private dispute settlement arrangements provided in collective agreements, but it was anticipated, we are sure, that the contractual machinery would operate within some minimum levels of integrity.” In the factual situation presented by this appeal, the private law system appears to have failed in its fundamental function of dispensing industrial justice. This case is thus an appropriate one for judicial intervention.

I

Appellants have made quite a compelling and troubling showing that the 1984-85 registration process was tainted with nepotism and favoritism: perhaps 309 of the 410 successful longshore registrants (out of 22,250 total applicants) had either family or other close connections with union or PMA officials, or with union members. Allegations regarding the composition of the Port LRC…